Specific sub-tests of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI) and Merrill-Palmer Scales have been observed to evoke behavioral expression of phase-specific conflicts. Clinical observations of a disadvantaged inner-city population suggest that what is being tested is the preschool child's experience with adults in the…

Empirical research shows that poor emotional competence is an early risk factor for the development of psychopathology. Numerous school-based prevention programs have been developed with the goal of decreasing behavior problems. Several of these programs include a discrete emotions component, but none of them are solely or primarily guided by…

This study examined relations among cortisol reactivity and measures of cognitive function and social behavior in 4- to 5-year-old children (N=169) attending Head Start. Saliva samples for the assay of cortisol were collected at the beginning, middle, and end of an approximately 45-min testing session. Moderate increase in cortisol followed by…

Despite widespread support for early education among policymakers and business and community leaders, the most frequently cited obstacle to expanding quality or access is fiscal constraints. Thus, in an attempt to accommodate these publicly supported programs within the confines of limited state budgets, policymakers leverage states' general…

A behaviorally-uninhibited temperament, callous-unemotional (CU) features, and harsh parenting have been associated with specific patterns of aggressive behavior in older children and adolescents. We tested the additive and interactive effects of these factors in predicting different types of aggressive behavior in a high-risk preschool sample.…

The effects of an eight-week instructional program in creative dance/movement on the social competence of low-income preschool children were assessed in this study utilizing a scientifically rigorous design. Forty preschool children from a large Head Start program were randomly assigned to participate in either an experimental dance program or an…

Observations of one mainstreamed child and one "ordinary child" at each of 12 day care centers were compared. Five of the 12 mainstreamed children were mentally retarded, and seven had a slight developmental retardation mainly due to deprivation. Observations of 10-minute duration, totaling 4 hours and dispersed across 7 days, focused on…

THE PRESCHOOL INVENTORY BEGAN AS AN ANSWER TO THE NEED FOR SOME TYPE OF INSTRUMENT THAT WOULD PROVIDE AN INDICATION OF HOW MUCH A DISADVANTAGED CHILD, PRIOR TO HIS INTRODUCTION TO HEAD START, HAD ACHIEVED IN AREAS REGARDED AS NECESSARY FOUNDATIONS FOR SUBSEQUENT SUCCESS IN SCHOOL. MEASURING BASIC INTELLIGENCE WAS NOT THE GOAL. RATHER, THE…

THIS 10-MONTH STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO COMPARE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF (1) A HIGHLY STRUCTURED TEACHING PLAN FOR LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION AND (2) A DEVELOPMENTAL, FLEXIBLE INSTRUCTIONAL APPROACH IN CORRECTING LANGUAGE DEFICIENCIES. THE EXPERIMENTAL CONDITIONS WERE ESTABLISHED CONSISTENT WITH THE RECOGNITION OF THE NEED TO INTERVENE EARLY IN THE…

A 4-week preschool enrichment program was conducted in the Bethlehem, Pennsylvania area during the summer of l964 to counteract the educational deficiencies of the culturally disadvantaged. Four- and five-year-old Negro, Puerto Rican, and Caucasian children attended six classrooms staffed by three master teachers and 22 student teachers. About ll5…

In 1970, three studies were conducted for the Children's Television Workshop in the ghetto areas of Bedford Stuyvesant and East Harlem in New York City and Washington, D.C. The Bedford Stuyvesant study was designed to establish a reliable reading on the penetration of Sesame Street in low income areas and to determine whether or not the program…

To aid in providing remediation for the language and cognitive skills of disadvantaged children, the UCLA Head Start Research and Evaluation Center compared three language programs: the UCLA Preschool Language Program, the Behavioral Research Laboratories' Readiness for Language Arts Program, and an unstructured Placebo Program. Each of the…

This exploratory study clarifies the goals and functions of long day and short day preschools, as related to the requirements of the client groups being served, and analyzes their effects on children's socialization and elementary school achievement. It was hypothesized that low socioeconomic status children who had attended long day preschools…

Reported is a study to determine whether selected variables characterizing disadvantaged pre-school children and teachers related to achievement in a Science - A Process Approach curriculum. Two groups of children were considered in this study. The primary instructional group of 466 Head Start children received instruction in Science - A Process…

This document reports on a 2-year study of the influence of males on the development of children and impact of male aides on child-care activities. The study originally developed from clinical observations and research results concerned with effects of fathers' absence on children and adolescents. The first year of the program was for…