THEEFFECTOFPRESCHOOLONCHILDDEVELOPMENT1

TheEffectofPreschoolonChildDevelopment

EmilyMatney
RodneyColley
FCS400
BridgewaterCollege

THEEFFECTOFPRESCHOOLONCHILDDEVELOPMENT2

Abstract

Thiswasastudylookingatthecorrelationsbetweenpreschoolattendanceatayoungageand
laterlifeoutcomesineducation.Educationlevelsaffectotherpositiveornegativeoutcomes
forthosewhodoordonotfurthertheireducationafterhighschool.Askingseniorsinhigh
schoolwhattheirplansareaftergraduationincorrelationwiththeirpreschoolattendance
yearsbefore,orlackthereof,istheinformationwearelookingtoobtain.Thegovernmentis
currentlypushingforallchildrentoattendpreschoolprogramsintheUnitedStates.Our
researchwillhelpdecidejusthowimportantthismovewillbe.

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GroupResearchPaper:Preschool
Introduction
Thepurposeofthisresearchistodiscoverthecorrelationbetweenchildrenwhoattend
preschoolandtheirfuturesuccessinrelationtohealthandsocioeconomicstatus.Itdescribes
thelikelycharacteristicsofchildrenintheirsuccessasaresultofattendingpreschoolto
determineifitisredundantorifpreschoolactuallyhasareallongtermeffectonstudentsin
thefuture.Doesitmakesenseforthegovernmenttocontinuetofundtheteachingof
preschool?Typically,preschoolfocusesonchildrenbetweentheagesofthreeandfivethat
havesurpassedtoddlerhood,yetarenotoldenoughtoattendkindergarten.Aneffective
programwouldaccelerateandpromoteachildsdevelopmentalabilities,providingasolid
foundationforabetterstarttotheireducation.Someresearchsuggeststhatchildrenwho
wentthoughapreschoolprogramhaveahigherIQattheageof5opposedtotheindividuals
whodonotattend.
Asoflate,PresidentObamahasbeenstrivingtorequirethatallchildrenstarttheir
educationaljourneywithpreschool.StandingbehindmodelssuchasthePerryProject,
acknowledgingitinhisStateoftheUnionspeechonhowattendeeswere3050percentless
likelytocommitacrime(Entman,2013).Theideabehindthispushisthatpreschoolisa
waytoeffectivelydiminishsomeofthesocialproblemswithpoverty.Childrenaretaughtthe
basicskillsneededtocontinuemovingforwardintheeducationalworldandinsociety.We
looktogetourinformationfrommultiplearticlesandprekindergartenmodelssuchasthe
PerryPreschoolProjectandconductourownsurveys.Inconductingourownresearch

THEEFFECTOFPRESCHOOLONCHILDDEVELOPMENT4
throughsurveys,wewillaskopenendedquestionsinhopesofgettingstudentstoelaborate
onwhethertheyseethemselvescontinuingtheireducationinthefutureorwheretheymaybe
infiveortenyears.
Thissurveywillbeanonymousanddistributedtoseniorsinhighschool.Thereason
fortargetingthisaudienceisbecause,atthispointinlife,studentshaveageneralideaof
whethertheywouldliketocontinuetheireducationorchooseadifferentpathlikegettinga
jobortakingagapyear.Thepurposeoftakingasurveywillbetocollectqualitativedata
insteadofquantitative.Thedatawillhelpusanalyzetherelationshipbetweenpre
kindergartenattendanceandfuturebehaviorsresultingineitherpositiveoutcomeslike
furtheringtheireducationbygoingtocollegeornegativeoutcomeslikedroppingoutof
schoolornotgoingtocollege.
ReviewofLiterature
Theresearchwascenteredaroundthedifferenttypesofeffectsprekindergartenmay
haveonthereadinessforotheracademicsandlongtermoutcomesinparticipants.According
toresearchbyGayer,Phillips,&Gormley(2008),apreKprogramincreases
cognitive/knowledgescoresbyapproximately0.39standarddeviation(p.1).Duetothe
stressbeingputonstandardizedtests,researchindicatesthatstudentsplacedinpre
kindergartenprogramsaroundtheagesofthreeandfourbecomemoresuccessfulintheir
schoolwork,thusmakingteachingtothestandardslessstressful.Also,studiessuggestthat
studentswhocompleteaprekindergartenprogramtendtohavemoresuccessfullife
outcomes,suchasbetterhealth,careers,andcommonknowledge(Muennig,Schweinhart,

THEEFFECTOFPRESCHOOLONCHILDDEVELOPMENT5
Montie&Neidell,2009).Studiesindicatethatprekprogramscanbebeneficialinteaching
andintroducinglifeskillsinfunactivities,Preschoolcanevenhelpchildrendevelophealthy
habitssuchasteethbrushing,handwashing,andexercisethatwillcontributetotheir
generalwellbeing,withouttakingtimeawayfromacademiclearning(Stipek,2006).
Researchsupportsprekindergartenforcertaincategoriesofstudentsbecauseitbetter
preparesstudentsforeducationalgrowth.Thistranslatestobettertestscoresandlessstress
forstudentandteacher.Basedonpastresearch,wewillbeinvestigatingtheoverallsuccess
ofhighschoolseniors,andseeingifprekprogramshaveaffectedtheseresults(Cynthia,
2013,p.3236).
Threefourthsofyoungchildrenparticipateinpreschoolprogramsmainlytargetingat
highriskchildren(Schulman,Barnett,2005).Thebeneficialratesofchildrenofdifferent
ethnicities,socioeconomicstatuses,andamixtureofgeneralpublicshowthatpre
kindergartenismorebeneficialtodifferentcategories(Muennig,Schweinhart,Montie&
Neidell,2009).Hispanic,AfricanAmerican,andCaucasianchildrenallbenefitdifferently
fromprekindergartenprograms(Gormley,Kitchens,&Adelstein,2013,p.4).Alsostudents
fromdifferentsocioeconomicbackgroundstendtobenefitdifferentlyfromprekindergarten
programs.Studiesshowthatchildrenfromlowincomehouseholdshavebeenshownto
producelifelongimprovements(Muenning,Schweinhart,Montie&Neidell,2009,p.1431).
Studentswhoparticipateinfreeorreducedlunchtendtobenefitmorefromprekindergarten
thanstudentswhodonot(Muennig,Schweinhart,Montie&Neidell,2009).Gormley,
Kitchens,&Adlesteinalsostatethatchildrenwhohavemotherswithhighereducationswill

THEEFFECTOFPRESCHOOLONCHILDDEVELOPMENT6
alsoexcelineducation(2013,p.2).Althougheachchildwillbenefitdifferentlyfrompre
kindergarten,allchildrentendtobenefitatsomelevel(Groark&McCall,2011).
Theearlyeducationsystemhasmadeitsothatmostyoungchildrenareallotted
varioustypesofprograms.Unfortunately,mostprekindergartenprogramsinplacenoware
inconsistentfromoneanother,makingithardforelementaryschoolteacherswhoare
expectedtoteacheveryoneonthesamelevel.Thegovernmenthasbeenmakingapushto
createuniformpreschoolprogramsforchildrenofallsocioeconomicclassestoprovideequal
opportunitytoall(Barnett&Hustedt,2003,p.5457).Researchonstudentswhoattendpre
kindergartenhelpdeterminewherefundsgo,whatstudentsoutcomesare,andhowtoplace
studentsintoprekindergartenprograms.Prekindergartenallowsforstudentswhodonot
havetheeducationalsupportathometobeabletoobtainsomeofthesameopportunitiesas
otherchildrenpossiblylivinginahighereconomicstatushome.
Researchshowsthattheneedforhighqualitypreschooleducationdoesnotstopat
theeligibilitylimitsfortargetedpreschoolprograms.Rather,itproceedsona
continuumuptheincomescale.Manymiddleincomechildrenparticularlythose
fromfamiliesinthelowerportionofmiddleincomelacktheopportunitytoattend
highqualitypreschoolprogramsandasaresultoftenstartschoolunprepared.This
situationcanseriouslyaffecttheirchancesforsuccessthroughoutschool.(Schulman,
Barnett,2005)
Childrenwhodonothavetheopportunitytobethebesttheycanbecauseoftheirhomelife
relyonprektoofferthatopportunity.Aschildrenfromlowincomefamiliesinpreschool

THEEFFECTOFPRESCHOOLONCHILDDEVELOPMENT7
evaluationstudiesarefollowedintoelementaryschool,differencesbetweenthosewho
participatedinpreschoolandthosewhodidnotontestsofacademicachievementare
reduced.therearelongtermeffectsonimportantsocietaloutcomessuchasyearsof
educationcompleted,earnings,andreducedcrimeandteenpregnancy(Roadmap2013).
Although,forstudents,typicallyinmiddleclassorhigherhouseholds,whoobtainthesameor
maybeevenbettereducationathomeprekindergartenseemstohaveamoreshorttermeffect
thatishardtodetermineifitisworththecost.
Inordertomakethesystemmorebeneficialtoallstudents,thestateshouldbeginby
havingsomesortofregulationsorguidelinesforallprekindergartenandpreschool
institutionssoallchildrenareonsomewhatsimilareducationaltracks.Researchsuggests
Childrenfromlowincomefamiliesbeginschool,onaverage,overayearbehindtheir
middleclasspeersinbasicacademiccompetencies(Stipek,2006),leadingonetobelieve
thatthereneedstoberulesputintoplacetoregulatewhenchildrenstartschoolsothat
everyonewillbeonthesamelevel.Thenextstepfortheresearchistodeterminewhattypes
ofprogramswouldbenefitchildrenofallsocioeconomicstatusesandethnicities.Ifresearch
coulddiscoverwhatwillworkforallstudents,thenitmaybemoreworthwhiletoenroll
students.Educators,however,donotwanttoalreadybeplacingstudentsintocategories.
Thereforetheresearchneedstotestwhattypeofinclusivestrategieswillworktobetterthe
outcomeofallstudentsattendingprekindergarten.
MethodsAndProcedures

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Thequestionsweselectedhavebeenchosentohelpusgetabetterunderstandingof
whatlifestylethesubjectleadsbaseduponpreviousresearch.Wewanttoseeiftheyare
headedinarelativelypositivepathoriftheyseemtobestrugglingwithestablishingasolid
foundationfortheirfuture.Wewillalsolookatwhetherornottheoutcomescouldberelated
totheirenrollmentinpreschoolasayoungchild.Thisquestionnaireistobeansweredby
seniorsinhighschool.Seniorsinhighschoolareatacriticalpointintheirlivesbecausethey
aregettingreadytomakesomeofthebiggestlifedecisionstheywilleverface.Seniorsare
thinkingabouttakingagapyearandworkingaftergraduationorfurtheringtheireducationby
goingtocollege.Whicheverpaththeychooseoftenhastodowiththeirtypeofanddedication
toeducationupuntilthispoint.Therefore,doespreschoolenrollmentplayafactorlaterin
thechildslifewhenmakingthesedecisions?
AcademicSatisfaction
Thefirstsetofquestionsisrelatedtoacademicsatisfactioninthesubjects.Asking
whatclassestheteenagerperceivestobetheirmostsuccessfulandleastsuccessfulservesthe
purposeoffindingifthereisacorrelationbetweenpreschoolenrollmentandadvancementin
acertainsubjectareas.Researchshowsthatchildrenwhoattendedpreschoolhadhigher
mathematicalachievementsatageten(Melhuish,Sylva,Sammons,SirajBlatchford,Taggart,
Phan,etal.2008).Doesthiscontinuetocarryintoadolescenceofhighschool?Askingfor
eachindividualsubjectsGPAwillassessifthereisacorrelationbetweenpreschoolattendees
andoveralleducationaloutcomes.Thegeneralizationoffeelingstowardsschoolistoassessif
childrenwhoattendedpreschoolstillwanttolearnlaterinlife,inbothhighschooland

THEEFFECTOFPRESCHOOLONCHILDDEVELOPMENT9
college.Thisisimportantbecauseagreatpreschoolteachesstudentsthattheyliketolearn
(Cynthia,2013,p.3236).
ExtracurricularActivities
Childrenwhoparticipateinsportsgenerallyhaveacceptablegradesbecauseplaying
requirementsforceathletestoachievepassinggrades.Thisincentivetogetgoodgrades
improvesthechanceatbeingacceptedintoacollege.Therefore,wewouldliketoseeifthere
isacorrelationbetweenstudentswhoplaysportsandwhetherornottheywereenrolledin
preschool.Workingwhileinhighschoolcanalsobecorrelatedtofutureoutcomescausedby
aseriesofoutsidefactors,butformostchildrenithasalottoshowabouttheircharacterand
theirwillingnesstoworkforthings.Thisextraeffortshowsthatstudentswillcontinueto
workfortheirincomewithorwithoutfutureeducation.
SocioeconomicStatus
Askingthesubjectwhathisorherfamilyincomeis,inrelationwithclass
advancementandGPA,shouldgiveusagoodviewofwhetherpreschooltrulyhelpsstudents
inlowersocioeconomicclasses.Itisrepeatedlyfoundintheresearchthatthecategoryof
childrenwhobenefitthemostfrompreschoolarethosewhosufferfinanciallyathome.The
questionrelatedtothesubjectshealthisalsorelatedtosocioeconomicstatusasresearchhas
shownthatpeoplewhoareinlowersocioeconomicclassestendtobehealthierandevenmore
accidentprone(Muennig,Schweinhart,Montie&Neidell,2009).Therefore,doespreschool
andhealthhaveacorrelationinstudentsfromloweconomicclasses?

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Thesequestionsarebasedonthingsthatgenerallytendtoshowapositivefuture
outcomeforchildrenaroundthisage(seniorsinhighschool),suchasgoodgrades,interestin
highereducation,andextracurricularactivities.Allofthoseneedtobecomparedtothe
opportunitiestheymayormaynothavehadduetosocioeconomicstatus.Therefore,wewant
toknowtheanswerstothesequestionsfromthepointofviewofchildrenwhohaveandhave
notattendedpreschoolasayoungchild.Thesequestionsansweredbyyoungadultsinhigh
schoolwillhelpusdecidejusthowimportantandbeneficialpreschoolhasbeenorifthereis
anycorrelationatallbetweenfutureoutcomesandstandingstopreschoolatall.

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THEEFFECTOFPRESCHOOLONCHILDDEVELOPMENT11
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