Effectiveness of School Readiness Programs for Preschool Children: A Meta-Analysis Study

Oct 15, 2026

Meta-analysis assessing the effect of school readiness programs on preschool children was conducted using experimental and quasi-experimental studies published between 2008 and 2022. Searches across national and international databases identified 3254 studies, with 16 studies meeting the inclusion criteria for evaluation. Findings showed school readiness interventions were positive and statistically significant, producing a large effect size (g = .932). Significant group differences emerged by age and intervention duration, informing the design of more effective programs.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

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Pages28

Reading Time1 h 11 min

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Effectiveness of School Readiness Programs for Preschool Children: A Meta-Analysis Study Aysel ÇOBAN1 Hacettepe University Hatice Selcen ASLAN3 Başkent University Özge KOCA5 Hacettepe University Ensar YILDIZ2 Sivas Cumhuriyet University Ayşegül ÖĞÜTCEN4 Hacettepe University Fatih KAYNAR6 Hacettepe University Abstract The current study adopted meta-analysis method to determine the effect of school readiness programson preschool children. The researchers scanned national (i.e., Turkish) and international databases for studies conducted using experimental and quasi-experimental methods which were published between 2008 and 2022 that met this study’s inclusion criterion. The search yielded 3254 studies on school readiness, of which 258 adopted experimental or quasi-experimental designs. However, 16 studies (N = 3254) meeting the inclusion criteria were evaluated within the scope of this study. The school readiness intervention programs were found to be positive and significant, and using the standard set forth by Cohen (1992), the results yielded a large effect size (g = .932) . The results highlighted significant differences in groups in terms of age and duration of the intervention variables. The overall results will shed a light in designing effective school readiness intervention programs. Keywords: Meta-analysis, Preschool, Early childhood, Primary education, School readiness, Children DOI: 10.29329/epasr.2023 .600.3 Submitted: 20 March 2023 Accepted: 20 July 2023 Published: 30 September 2023 1Assoc. Prof. Dr., Faculty of Education, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Türkiye, ORCID: (0000-0002-0631-0064) [Correspondence](Correspondence: yslcbn@yahoo.com)[: yslcbn@yahoo.com](Correspondence: yslcbn@yahoo.com) 2Dr, Faculty of Education, Sivas Cumhuriyet University, Sivas, Türkiye, ORCID: (0000-0003-3741-1121), Email: [ensaryildiz@outlook.com.tr](ensaryildiz@outlook.com.tr) 3Res. Ass., Faculty of Education, Başkent University, Ankara, Türkiye, ORCID: (0000-0003-3007-6375), Email: [selcenb4@gmail.com](selcenb4@gmail.com) 4CoHE 100/2000 PhD Scholarship Holder, Faculty of Education, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Türkiye, ORCID: (0000- 0003-4985-9070), Email: [aysegulogutcen@gmail.com](aysegulogutcen@gmail.com) 5CoHE 100/2000 PhD Scholarship Holder, Faculty of Education, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Türkiye, ORCID: (0000- 0001-6040-7273), Email: [ozge.koca@hacettepe.edu.tr](ozge.koca@hacettepe.edu.tr) 6PhD Student, Faculty of Education, Sivas Cumhuriyet University, Sivas, Türkiye, ORCID: (0000-0001-5142-2316), Email: [fatih.kaynar@yahoo.com](fatih.kaynar@yahoo.com) Introduction The early childhood period covers the critical years when the child's developmental speed and learning capacity are at their highest. A good early childhood education increases all developmental areas of the child in a balanced way with an important infrastructure, and it helps the child receive a level that includes all the prerequisites required for academic learning (Lipscomb et al., 2013) . Previous research has suggested that children who have received preschool education are at least one academic year ahead of their peers, and receiving preschool education makes significant contributions to their further education lives and developments (Herreras, 2017) . The education given in these early years provides long-term and permanent effects in both the personal and educational lives of individuals (Kurniah et al., 2019; Tremblay et al., 2017) . A body of literature on the subject in the international context (e.g., Kokkalia et al., 2019; The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD], 2015) has revealed that readiness is among the most important priorities of many countries, and in order to increase the welfare of the society in the 21st century, countries aim to raise more qualified citizens by making the education in childhood and youth more successful in their early childhood education

FAQs

What was the purpose of the study?

To determine the effect of school readiness programs on preschool children using a meta-analysis approach.

Which studies were included in the analysis?

Experimental and quasi-experimental studies published between 2008 and 2022 that met the study’s inclusion criteria.

What were the main findings regarding effectiveness?

School readiness interventions were positive and significant, with a large effect size (g = .932), and differences were observed by age and intervention duration.

Oct 15, 2026

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