Annotation from the Connection Collection
You are viewing a record from the Connection Collection, a searchable annotated bibliography database. It links you with research-based information that you can use to connect schools, families, and communities.
| Title: | How preschool education influences long-term cognitive development and school success |
| Author: | Barnett, W. S., Young, J. W., & Schweinhart, L. J. |
| Year: | 1998 |
| Resource Type: | Book Chapter |
| Publication Information: |
In W. S. Barnett & S. S. Boocock (Eds.), Early care and education for children in poverty: Promises, programs and long-term results New York: State University of New York Press. |
| Connection: | School-Family |
| Education Level: | Early Childhood/Pre-K |
| Literature type: | Research and Evaluation |
Annotation:
This study used data from the High/Scope Perry Preschool study to explore four alternative theories regarding the reasons for the program's effects on participating children's cognitive and social development. The theories, or models of causal pathways, were tested using structural equation modeling. One of the models was cognitive, focusing on the influence of early support for cognitive development. A second focused on the program's initial effects on children's socialization, a third on the program's effects on parents, and a fourth presumed "no substantive effects on children or parents at all" (p. 168). The Perry Preschool program addressed 3- and 4-year-old children from low-income African American families. The program involved daily 2 1/2 hour preschool classes for children and weekly ninety-minute, teacher-conducted home visits with mothers and children during the school year. The curriculum focused on supporting children's cognitive development through child-centered, individualized instruction. The initial study of the Perry Preschool program was an RCT involving a sample of 128 African American children; all the children had IQs below 90. Achievement measures used in the study included the Stanford-Binet IQ test and California Achievement Tests. Data were collected at children's entrance to the study, annually through age eleven, and at ages fourteen, fifteen, nineteen, and twenty-seven. Even with the adult sample, attrition was extremely low. However, the sample size is small for use with structural equation modeling. Only the cognitive model was found to be statistically significant. This model suggested that the program's immediate effects on children's cognitive abilities in turn influenced later educational outcomes: "Early achievement gains appeared to set in motion a cycle of lasting improvements in achievement, motivation, and behavior" (p. 180). In contrast, the socialization and parent involvement models were "strongly rejected" (p. 176). Data analysis did indicate, however, that mothers' participation in their children's education, mothers' academic motivation, and mothers' personal behavior also influenced children's achievement and educational attainment.
Suggested Citation Style:
- Barnett, W. S., Young, J. W., & Schweinhart, L. J. (1998). How preschool education influences long-term cognitive development and school success. In W. S. Barnett & S. S. Boocock (Eds.), Early care and education for children in poverty: Promises, programs and long-term results. New York: State University of New York Press.