Malin, Antero; Melhuish, Edward; Phan, Mai; Sammons, Pam; Siraj-Blatchford, Iram; Sylva, Kathy; Taggart, Brenda (08/2008). Preschool Influence on Mathematic Achievement. Science 29.Vol. 321. No. 5893. p1161-1162.
This study found that enrolling a child in a preschool program greatly increased their academic achievements. This was especially true in the United States where “prekindergarten improved mathematics and reading at kindergarten (17), with greatest gains if preschool started between 2 and 3 years… (18)” From this discovery, the reader can see the importance of enrolling a child in an educational program very early in their development. Preschool does not only help children in elementary school, but “preschool benefits in secondary school.” Therefore, academic success is shown to continue on throughout the years of a child’s education.
Further important statistic correlations were also found. “Low birth weight and lower parental occupational, educational, or income status were significantly and independently linked with lower mathematics scores.” From this statistic the reader can see how children from these backgrounds are already more likely to do increasingly poorer in school. This is why the implantation of an early-child education program can enhance their learning and aid in leveling the playing field. “The effect of 1 year of part-time preschool [is] equivalent to increasing family income by more than £10,000 (U.S. $19,000) a year (8).” So even though a child may be from a background that is statistically less likely to produce a child that does well in school, early education demonstrate the massive affect these types of programs have on a child.
From the evidence presented in this study, “preschool experience is critical for children's future competence, coping skills, health, and later employment (6).” The advantages of an early-child education program are very evident, and reach far beyond the academic aspects of the classroom. The “benefits outweigh the costs (7).”
This study clearly supports how amazing and advantageous enrolling a child in an early-education program truly is. From reading this article, numbers can now hold up the claims presented by what many people observe in their daily lives. With this backing, perhaps more government aid can be given to these programs, especially Head Start which specializes in low-income families and non-English speaking students. By investing in these programs, people will be investing in America.
I would like to further investigate the type of funding that goes into fueling Head Start programs versus other early childhood education programs.
Hi Amanda:
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the substantive initial sources you found, and feel that you're setting yourself up well in this exploratory stage of your research. At the same time that studies demonstrate the effectivity of head-start, they also seem to suggest the challenges posed by working with children from marginalized social and economic contexts. The questions you pose out of this research (1: "how do teachers respond to children who lack the skills needed to match the other children?" 2: "What provisions can, and do, teachers have in place to catch-up children that fall behind?" 3: How are funding decisions made?) all seem extremely challenging.
My biggest advice, at this stage in the game, would be to avoid getting bogged down with the unmanageable complexity of all these different issues. Reading widely is important, but in the near-future you'll want to focus in on a researchable question or topic-area that's manageable considering the amount of time you have to dedicate to this course. I don't point this out as though it were a criticism: I point this out because of the extremely thorough and complete job you're doing so far. When researching, it's important not to spiral out of control! There's always so much more to learn!
I look forward to seeing how your work progresses from here.
I really like how curious you are this shows in your writing. You research your subjects extensively. Try to focus your energy. You will go far. I can tell that children and education are two things that really interests you. However, there are some questions still left unanswered in this bibliography how does it help with the childs "future competence, coping skills, health, and later employment?" And how does the benefits outweigh the costs?
ReplyDelete