# Presentation: 760014

## Birth Cohort

- Jennifer Park
- National Center for Education Statistics
- Institute of Education Sciences
- IES Research Conference
- June 2006

## Presentation Overview

**Presentation Overview**
-  Describe the goals and design of the ECLS-B
-  Identify special features of the design
-  Describe data released to date

## Purpose of the ECLS-B

- Measure child cognitive, physical, and socioemotional development from infancy to kindergarten entry
- Measure the ways in which home learning environments and early care and education providers support that development

## ECLS Conceptual Model

**School**

**Family**

**Early Care and Education**

**ECLS Conceptual Model**

**Child**

## Sample Design

- Nationally representative sample of children born in 2001.
- sampling frame drawn from U.S. birth certificates.
- Oversamples of special populations
- low birth weight	– American Indian/Native Alaskan
- very low birth weight	– Asian/Pacific Islander
- twins			– Chinese*
- n 14,000.
- 	* The separate oversample of Chinese infants permits precision in statistical comparisons of Asian/Pacific Islander infants with members of their largest ethnic subgroup.

## Study Design

- Data are collected at multiple points in time.
- Data are collected from multiple sources.
- children			–  teachers
- mothers and fathers		–  schools
- child care providers
- Data are collected through multiple methods.

## Collection Status

| Wave | Collection Year | Sample Size |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 9 Months | 2001 | 10,688 |
| 2 Years | 2003 | 9,835 |
| Preschool
(4 years) | 2005 | Pending |
| Kindergarten | 2006 | In Field Fall ’06 |
| Kindergarten
(late entry only) | 2007 | In Field Fall ‘07 |

## Components by Wave

**2 years**

- Child assessments
- Parent interview
- Father questionnaires

- Child assessments
- Parent interview
- Father questionnaires
- Early care and education provider interviews
- Early care and education observations

**9 months**

**Preschool**

- Child assessments
- Parent interview
- Resident father questionnaire
- Early care and education provider interviews
- Early care and education observations

## Components by Wave (continued)

- Child assessments
- Parent interview
- Teacher questionnaire
- School characteristics data *
- Wrap around care provider questionnaire
- Early care and education provider interviews

- Child assessments
- Parent interview (abbreviated)
- Teacher questionnaire (possibly)
- Wrap around care provider questionnaire

- * From CCD and PSS.

**Kindergarten ‘06**

*(late entry only)*

**Kindergarten ‘07**

## Child Assessment

-    *Indirect *
-   Parent/guardian interview
-   Interviewer observations
**   ***Direct *
-   Nursing Child Assessment Teaching Scale (NCATS)–9 months
-   Bayley Short Form - Research Edition –9 months and 2 years
-   Language and literacy, and mathematics –preschool and kindergarten
-   Two Bags Task–2 years and preschool
-   Toddler Attachment Q-Sort-45 (TAS-45)–2 years
-   Physical growth measurements –all waves

## Percentage of children demonstrating certain mental skills at 8 to 10 months of age and at 11 to 13 months of age: 2001

- SOURCE: Flanagan, K. and West, J. (2004). *Children Born in 2001: First Results from the Base Year of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort. *NCES Publication 2005-036.

**Percent**

## Percentage of children demonstrating certain physical skills at 8 to 10 months of age and at 11 to 13 months of age: 2001

- SOURCE: Flanagan, K. and West, J. (2004). *Children Born in 2001: First Results from the Base Year of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort. *NCES Publication 2005-036.

**Eye hand coordination**

**Sitting**

**Prewalking**

**Walking**

**Balance**

**Percent**

## Parent Interview

- Prenatal health care and behaviors (9-month only)
- Neonatal and child health
- Developmental milestones and temperament
- Home learning and language environment
- Child care participation
- Parent employment and education
- Parent attitudes and knowledge of child development
- Family health and parental depression

## Parent Interview(continued)

- Marital history and relationships
- Nonresident biological father background
- Household composition
- Welfare and public assistance
- Household income and assets
- Household food sufficiency
- Social and community support
- Neighborhood quality

## Percentage of infants who experience various home learning activities at least 3 times a week with family members: 2001

- SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort, Restricted-Use File (NCES 2004-093). Unpublished estimates weighted by W1R0.

## Percentage distribution of the frequency that infants are read to by family members, by socioeconomic status (SES): 2001

- SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort, Restricted-Use File (NCES 2004-093). Unpublished estimates weighted by W1R0.

## Mean 9-month NCATS scores, by maternal education: 2001

- Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), Restricted Use File (NCES 2004-093).

**Notes:**
The NCATS is designed to capture behaviors that would lead to problems over time.  Consequently, there are little differences between types of parents and children at 9-months.  You would, however, expect that scores at 9-months would predict differences at 2-years.  We do not yet have that data, however, but we can see that there are some differences based on Mother’s education.  These do not look like much, but from lowest to highest these score differences are close to one standard deviation.  The differences, of course, are on the mother’s end, as the children have only so many resources at their disposal to use to communicate with their mothers.

For each increase in mother’s education levels up to the Bachelor’s degree level, the NCATS total score and parent scores are significantly higher than the prior level. Scores for mother’s with a bachelor’s degree do not differ significantly from mother’s with graduate level education.

For the NCATS child score, scores are lower for infants whose mothers did not complete high school compared with mothers who had a bachelors or graduate degree.

The NCATS total score and parent score are positively related to mother’s educational attainment. 

## Father Questionnaire

**Resident**

**Nonresident**

**Father**

- Feelings on Being            a Father
- Activities with Child
- Parenting Practices and Discipline
- Relationship with Partner/Child’s Mother
- Family, Employment, and Education Background
- Health
- Social Support and Community Involvement

- Expectations for Child Development
- Separations from Child

- Amount of Contact
- Child Support
- Living Arrangements

## Percentage of children at about 9 months of age, by presence of a father in the household: 2001

**Percentage of children at about 9 months of age, by presence of a father in the household: 2001**

- SOURCE: Flanagan, K. and West, J. (2004). *Children Born in 2001: First Results from the Base Year of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort. *NCES Publication 2005-036.

**No father in household**
**20%**

**Biological father**
**79%**

**Nonbiological father**
**1%**

## Percentage of infants who experience various home learning activities at least 3 times a week with fathers residing in the household: 2001

- SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort, Restricted-Use File (NCES 2004-093). Unpublished estimates weighted by W1F0.

## Child Care Provider Interview

- Center characteristics, services and staffing (if applicable)
- Caregiver background and health
- Learning environment
- ECLS-B child’s development
- Other children in care
- Parent involvement
- Caregiver beliefs and attitudes
- Caregiver-child relationship

**Child Care Provider Interview**

## Percentage of children, by primary care arrangement at about 9 months of age: 2001

- SOURCE: Flanagan, K. and West, J. (2004). *Children Born in 2001: First Results from the Base Year of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort. *NCES Publication 2005-036.

**No nonparental care**
**50%**

**Relative care**
**26%**

**Nonrelative care**
**15%**

**Center-based care**
**9%**

**Multiple arrangements**
**1%**

## Child Care Observation Measures

- Counts of adults and children
- Infant-Toddler Environment Rating Scale (ITERS) (Center-based care, 2 years)
- Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale, Revised Edition (ECERS) (Center-based care, preschool)
- Family Day Care Rating Scale (FDCRS) (Home-based care)
- Items from Arnett Scale of Caregiver Sensitivity

**Child Care Observation Measures**

## Unique Features

- Direct child cognitive and physical assessments over time
- Oversamples of special populations
- Videotape of mother-child interaction
- Inclusion of fathers as well as mothers
- 	Interviews and observations of child care settings

## Data Training Opportunities

- Future Data Training Seminars and Conference Participation
- ECLS-B Data Users Training Seminar (January 10-12, 2007)
- SRCD Pre-conference Training Seminar (March 28, 2007)
- AERA Professional Development Seminar (April 2007)
- NICHD-NCES ECLS-B First Release Conference (May 8-10 2007)
- Recent Training Seminars and Conference Participation
- ECLS-B Data Users Training Seminar (January 2006)
- PAA Pre-conference Training Seminar (March 2006)
- AERA Professional Development Seminar (April 2006)
- AERA Institute on Statistical Analysis for Policy (April 2006)
- Jean Piaget Society Program Presentation (June 2006)

## For more information:

**ECLS website**
_**http://nces.ed.gov/ecls/**_

**ECLS email address**
_**ecls@ed.gov**_