Educational and Developmental Gains in Early Childhood (EDGE) 4.0
Two years of kindergarten provide additional measurable gains in children’s learning and development, with the potential to promote a more equitable start to school.
- Children benefit more when they regularly attend for the funded hours, at a high-quality service.
- High quality is achievable everywhere, not just in advantaged communities.
Supporting and retaining experienced teachers through equity funding and workforce conditions makes the most difference to child outcomes.
How much difference does 2 years make?
Understanding Directions
+5 months of development
Early numeracy, working memory and behaviour regulation
+2-3 months of development
The quality of what happens between teachers and children was strong across all three areas that were measured.
Where services reached that standard, the thing that most set them apart was having experienced teachers.
Victorian rooms studied in this research do particularly well on two of the three areas: children feel safe and cared for, and the day is organised so children know what to expect and time is used well.
The third area is where the system has room to grow. That is the teaching itself: how adults extend children's thinking, ask questions that stretch them, and build language and concepts through conversation.
Professor Tricia Eadie, lead researcher of EDGE and Director of the REEaCh (Research in Effective Education in Early Childhood) Centre at the University of Melbourne, said the findings provide important evidence about the benefits of giving children an additional year of high-quality early learning.
“The EDGE study adds robust, contemporary evidence that early childhood education is a critical investment in children's futures,” said Professor Eadie. “These are meaningful developmental advantages that matter from day one in the classroom. What's encouraging is that these findings come about from accessible, funded early learning that's available to all families.”
Dr Caroline Croser-Barlow, CEO of the Front Project said “Victoria's experience shows that three-year-old kindergarten is a wise investment for governments. This study charts the roadmap for other states and territories as they roll out, or consider rolling out, two years of kindergarten. Fund the workforce and conditions, alongside the places, so children get the full benefit of a high-quality program.”
Building the evidence for two years of kindergarten
Victoria was the first state in Australia to offer every three-year-old a funded place in kindergarten, on top of four-year-old kindergarten. Between 2020 and 2029, kindergartens (including programs in long daycare) have been scaling up their offering from 5 – 15 hours per week.
The EDGE study looks at what two years of kindergarten actually does for children, alongside how such a significant reform has been implemented and the lessons to be learned.
The study is built around five connected areas of focus:
Measuring the difference it makes
Tracking children's learning and development over time, to build a genuine evidence base for what a second year of kindergarten actually achieves.
Testing how well the rollout is working
Evaluating how three-year-old kindergarten is being delivered across the state, and finding ways to improve or adjust implementation.
Sharing insights with policymakers
Feeding what we learn back into the cycle of policy design and decision-making, with a focus on both quality and fairness.
Giving the sector practical, useable information
Providing teachers, educators, centre leaders and providers with real insight into the programs, practices and learning experiences that make three-year-old kindergarten work well.
Showing the return on investment
Weighing up the educational, social and economic benefits of two years of kindergarten, to help build the case for continued and future investment in children, particularly those experiencing disadvantage.
Publications to date
The EDGE study protocol (2023) sets out the research design behind the EDGE study, tracking the impact of two years of funded kindergarten on children's learning and development.
The EDGE project is a five-year research project (2022 to 2027) tracking Victoria's rollout of three-year-old kindergarten. It's led by the University of Melbourne, in partnership with The Front Project and the Victorian Department of Education and funded by the Paul Ramsay Foundation and the Ian Potter Foundation.
We have drawn on EDGE's findings to look beyond Victoria. Our previous roadmap, Two years of preschool: Every child. Everywhere., maps what other states and territories would need to deliver universal three-year-old preschool of their own. It sets out the conditions for quality, the capability areas required to build it, and the mechanisms governments can use to manage a reform at this scale.
The study exists because Victoria became the first state in Australia to fund three-year-old kindergarten for every child, and committed to scaling it up over nearly a decade. A reform at this scale, delivered this fast, needed an evidence base that didn't exist. Nobody had tracked what two years of kindergarten does for children at a population level, or what it takes to deliver a reform like this well.
Around 90 early learning services across rural, regional and metropolitan Victoria are taking part. Over four years, the research team is following more than 4,000 children, talking with their families, and working alongside the teachers, educators and directors delivering the program.
EDGE's findings feed directly into government policy and decision-making, shaping how the rollout is adjusted as it continues. They give teachers, educators and centre leaders practical evidence about what works in the room.