Does the early development instrument predict academic achievement in Ontario French schools?

This article pursues three research questions: (a) Does the EDI predict Grade 3 reading, writing, and math scores among Ontario French-language students? (b) Which EDI domains have the strongest effects? (c) Do any such patterns differ from those found among Ontario’s English-language schools? Data come from 2,696 students in Ontario French-language schools who started kindergarten between 2003/04 and 2005/06 and entered Grade 3 between 2006/07 and 2009/10. Multilevel regression models, controlling for individual- and school-level demographics, find that (a) almost all EDI domains were statistically significant predictors of at least one domain of achievement, and most had significant effects in all three; (b) communication and cognitive skills were the strongest predictors, with effect sizes ranging from .22 to .58, followed closely by socioemotional readiness; (c) these results are similar to those found among Ontario English-language students, except that socioemotional readiness has stronger effects and physical readiness has weaker effects among French-language students. We discuss the EDI’s predictive power across different educational curricula, and why developmental domains may differ in their effects. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
Source: Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research