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Top Takeaways is a series of recaps from important conversations, town halls, webinars and virtual events about early learning.

Does preschool help children become more successful adults? In a , Dr. Alison Gopnik (coauthor of , among other books) writes, 鈥淭wenty-five years ago, I thought that there wouldn鈥檛 be a straightforward answer to this question鈥攄evelopment is just too complicated and hard to study. I was completely wrong.鈥� ( of .)

Nevertheless, researchers continue to explore how to sustain the benefits that early childhood education (ECE) generates. In Robert C. Carr鈥檚 paper, (jointly published in September by the Hunt Institute and the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University) the key word is can. Ample evidence points to the boost children get by starting their education early, but a review of the research reveals 鈥渕ixed long-term impacts.鈥� A lot depends on subsequent teaching and the environment in which it happens.

To explore these issues, Dr. Dan Wuori of the Hunt Institute moderated an Early Efforts conversation among:

• Dr. Craig Ramey, Virginia Tech
• Dr. Alison Gopnik, the University of California at Berkeley
• Dr. Francis Pearman, Stanford University
• Dr. Robert Carr, Duke University

Here are our takeaways:

1. Early childhood is the brain鈥檚 R&D phase. Gopnik described young children as amazing learners. 鈥淭hey explore,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey consider possibilities. They go out into the world and consider what it is like much more than grown-ups do.鈥� Nurturing adults can make the most of this phase by stimulating imagination, creativity and possibility; adversity shortens it.

Just because the years are a period of rapid learning, Gopnik said, some educators assume pre-K should be more like 鈥渟chool,鈥� but she maintained that social and emotional support is just as important as academic skills.

2. The Abecedarian project continues to yield benefits. Ramey described the as a randomized control trial that measures the impact of providing full-time, high-quality educational intervention from infancy through age 5. The landmark study continues to shape the field of early education.

Last year, filmmaker Carlota Nelson captured its influence in her documentary . 鈥淚f anything,鈥� Ramey said during the webinar, 鈥渨e鈥檝e underestimated lifespan long-term effects.鈥� These include functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans of adult brains that show structural changes in the regions for abstract thinking and language acquisition as well as benefits that accrue to the children of the adults who participated decades earlier.

Watch the Brain Matters 迟谤补颈濒别谤:听

3. We know what produces the greatest results. The original Abecedarian Project, which inspired so much replication, lasted聽an entire school day and involved highly qualified staff.

Ramey and colleagues studied a replication implemented all across Louisiana and found , among other effects. 鈥淭he children at the greatest risk derive the greatest benefits,鈥� he stated, 鈥渨hether you measure that at the level of family resources or at the level of neighborhoods.鈥�

4. High-quality kindergarten is necessary to sustain the advances of preschool. When policymakers discuss early learning, they frequently frame the benefits in terms of kindergarten readiness, but the lasting benefits also matter, and these only develop when quality teaching and school environments remain in place.

鈥淲hile high-quality ECE programs can promote foundational skills and dispositions for learning,鈥� explains, 鈥渃hildren鈥檚 acquisition of foundational skills will naturally plateau after they have mastered those skills.鈥�

Therefore, the impact of high-quality ECE on foundational skills diminishes during elementary school (see graph, right). When done right, kindergarten enhances the preschool effect. conducted in Tennessee describes 鈥淪ustaining Environments鈥濃�攊nvolving both highly effective teachers and high-quality schools鈥攁nd finds that only about 9 percent of children got what they needed in kindergarten, and without it, the pre-K boost faded by third grade.

5. The consequences go beyond education. Gopnik provided further context to the conversation, noting that what happens outside school also affects children鈥檚 fates. Policy supports for parents have a symbiotic relationship with education, contributing to 鈥渁 sense of alternatives and things you can do beyond your narrow experiences.鈥�

Ramey, who began his Abecedarian research in 1972, when he was 26 years old, declared, 鈥淭his effort is not for the fainthearted or the ill-prepared,鈥� adding that 鈥渢he future of democracy and our capitalistic competitive economy鈥� were at stake. It鈥檚 a life鈥檚 mission worth fighting for.

This story originally published on Early Learning Nation and is now archived on 91涩漫. Learn more here.