The Alaska School Effectiveness Project produced several reports in a series of reviews of research literature on such topics as the participation of parents in the education of their children. Using an ERIC search and conventional library methods, the question raised was, "Do programs which involve parents in the education of their children…

This eight-year follow-up study, examining the educational impact of a compensatory early childhood program upon disadvantaged students, compares mean scores of the treatment group of 410 former preschool and all day kindergarten students with those of a comparison group of 141 traditional half day kindergarten students. Empirical evidence shows…

This study investigated the relationship between visual attending and learning in a group of 16 Head Start children from low income families. Attending behavior (defined as "eyes oriented towards the teacher and/or teaching materials for a full 5-second interval") was measured for each child during a 10-minute story period on four…

This study represents a segment of an evaluation of the effects of two diametrically-opposed instructional strategies on inner-city kindergarten children who had varying preschool experiences. The child- and parent-oriented "enrichment" approach was used in one school while the teacher- and goal-oriented "direct instructional"…

An intervention program was designed to study offsetting progressive school retardation of deprived children and the impact of the program on the community. This third report presents findings at the end of the fourth grade, 3 years after the experiment ceased. Subjects were 88 children, all Negro, and 27 of these served as a distal control group.…

The Westinghouse Learning Corporation and Ohio University carried out a study on the impact of Head Start for the Office of Economic Opportunity. The main inquiry of the study concerned the difference between Head Start first, second, and third graders and non-Head Start first, second, and third graders in intellectual and social-personal…

Four basic models that are used to account for the discrepancies in educational and intellectual attainment between minority groups and the dominant culture are outlined. These are the Deficit Model, the School-as-Failure Model, the Cultural Difference Model, and the Social Structure Model. Four studies relating to the impact of preschool…

Psychological maltreatment is increasingly receiving attention as a prevalent and destructive form of child abuse and neglect that constitutes a mental health problem. This article discusses the current state of knowledge of psychological maltreatment; a rationale for its study; its impact on school readiness and academic achievement; and…

Subjects in the 1970 British Birth Cohort Study included 2,900 hospitalized and 11,000 nonhospitalized children. Data analysis shows associations between length of preschool hospitalization and vocabulary at ages 5 and 10, and reading and mathematics attainment at age 10. Associations were also found between hospitalization frequency and…

Criticizes methodology and findings reported in the "Consequences" article, particularly in regard to disparities in characteristics of the samples, validity of the measures, and interpretation of results. (NH)

Longitudinally examines the stability of the association between maternal behavior and preschool children's cognitive abilities. Outcome measures included both school readiness (assessed at ages five and six) and achievement on mathematics and vocabulary subtests of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills at grade six. (Author/RH)

The first in a series of three books on P-16 systems of education, P-16: The Last Education Reform chronicles the establishment of Ohio's first regional P-16 Compact and how one community began the process of large scale systemic education reform not just for K-12 education, but for its entire education system--preschool through college and…

This follow-up study examined the outcomes of children who had participated in the Michigan School Readiness Program (MSRP), a preschool program for 4-year-olds identified as being at risk for school failure, up to 5 years following their participation in the program. For the evaluation, 338 children who had participated in the state-funded…

State-funded pre-Kindergarten is a growing phenomenon in the United States. The majority of 4-year-olds now spend time every weekday in care outside of their home and many of these children are being served in preschool classrooms funded with state education dollars. The public strongly supports such programs and there is generally bipartisan…

Improving literacy skills is fundamental to providing all children with the best possible opportunities to become successful and self-fulfilled at school, at work, and in the community. Developing the skills of reading and writing helps children to achieve and communicate a greater understanding of the subjects within the school curriculum. The…