The research reported investigated the efficacy of intervention, developed by a speech-language therapist and implemented by a teacher, for the language and phonological awareness (PA) abilities of pre-school, socially disadvantaged children. One study established that children from low socio-economic (SES) backgrounds had poorer skills on both…

This study investigates the association between home computer experience and cognitive development among preschool children in inner-city Head Start programs. Approximately 200 children enrolled in four Head Start centers in Detroit, Michigan were recruited to participate in this study. Data was collected from parents regarding the children's…

For over four decades, the federal Head Start program has provided millions of young children from impoverished backgrounds with access to early childhood education and basic health services. By some important measures, Head Start has helped put children on the path to academic and economic success. Teachers in the Head Start program play a…

This report addresses the following four questions by reporting on the impacts of Head Start on children and families during the children's preschool, kindergarten, and 1st grade years: (1) What difference does Head Start make to key outcomes of development and learning (and in particular, the multiple domains of school readiness) for low-income…

Although research has clearly supported the use of school-wide positive behavior support (PBS) in elementary school settings, data-based research has not been conducted to support program-wide PBS in early childhood settings. The purpose of this study was to specifically support teachers' use of universal features of program-wide PBS and to…

Support for publicly funded pre-kindergarten has increased tremendously in recent years as parents, educators and policy makers have come to recognize the many benefits of high-quality early education. As of 2008, 38 states and the District of Columbia invest in pre-k programs, and many school districts are doing so on their own with local and…

The purpose of this study was to compare the parent/child interactions between Russian immigrant and non-immigrant families in a rural Missouri school setting. A questionnaire was administered to 30 American families and 30 Russian immigrant families. Data concerning developmental level upon kindergarten entry were gathered from kindergarten…

Amid a recession that's squeezing state budgets and pushing more families into poverty, teams of officials from 39 states gathered near Washington last week to explore ways to better meet the educational and health needs of young children. The Sept. 16-18 meeting, sponsored by the National Governors Association, came as the U.S. House of…

The purpose of the investigation was to examine the developmental trajectories of bilingual preschoolers' comprehension of Spanish and English and to determine whether a lengthy summer vacation impacted children's development during the preschool years. Participants included 83 bilingual children who were followed over a 2-year period during which…

Broadly, the current study contributes to the growing body of evidence supporting the positive effects of PA (phonological awareness) interventions for preschoolers, demonstrating that PA instruction need not be postponed until kindergarten. Specifically, the current study addresses the paucity of research on PA training in preschool by testing…

This Technical Report is designed to provide technical detail to support the analysis and findings presented in the "Head Start Impact Study Final Report" (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, January 2010). Chapter 1 provides an overview of the Head Start Impact Study and its findings. Chapter 2 provides technical information on the…

This study evaluated the influence of general and mathematics-specific classroom instructional quality on the mathematical development of a sample of Head Start preschool children. It also examined whether children's age, pre-test mathematical knowledge, and English language learner status influenced the quality of their curricular…

Souto-Manning examines the role of classroom discourse analysis in helping to change a teacher's perceptions of English Language Learners from students who need "fixing" to experts from whom teachers may learn. She finds that blurring the lines between teacher/student and subject/object positions opens up pedagogical third spaces that are often…

Using all available government data, this paper calculates the actual, per-child costs of Head Start (including Early Head Start), child care provided under the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), and prekindergarten/preschool programs. Besides being substantially higher than often reported by the relevant government agencies, the resulting…

Head Start, the federal program that provides preschool education, health, and social services for children from poor families, is one of the United States' most popular government programs. Created in 1965, it has endured as a symbol of commitment to children, serving just fewer than one million children a year in neighborhood sites across the…