Reviews research on the effects of Montessori schooling on children. Results are presented in six sections: (1) general verbal intelligence; (2) perceptual, motor, and performance IQ development; (3) academic achievement and school readiness; (4) attention, concentration, resistance to distraction, and impulsiveness; (5) Piagetian conceptual…

Assessed the role of attention processes as mediators between family environment and school readiness, analyzing data from 1,002 children and their families participating in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care. Found that sustained attention partially accounted for the link between family environment and achievement and language outcomes.…

This article describes the Early Years Summit, meetings between kindergarten and preschool educators in New Canaan, Connecticut, to improve communication and foster collaboration. Outcomes included defining the kindergarten curricula and outlining expectations for children's preschool experiences. The Summit collaboratively drafted a statement of…

Researchers examined relationships among children's television viewing, school readiness, parental employment, and the home environment's educational quality. Thirty low-income parents completed surveys. Their preschoolers completed IQ and school readiness assessments. Television viewing adversely related to school readiness and the home…

Examined the effects of attendance at a large-scale public school preschool program on children's school-related skills and the relationship of elements of program quality to the program's efficacy. Found that the program provided developmentally appropriate experiences for disadvantaged young children that contributed to increased skills in first…

Compared the beliefs of preschool teachers, kindergarten teachers, and parents regarding children's school readiness in one mostly Hispanic and Black high-need urban school district. Found that parents held remarkably similar beliefs, regardless of ethnicity or education. Parents rated all classroom-related readiness resources such as…

The early childhood educational field has garnered attention with initiatives to foster skill acquisition in young children prior to kindergarten entry. These initiatives, in conjunction with the rigorous demands of curricular reform and a burgeoning accountability movement, invoke questions regarding the adequacy of the instruments used to assess…

In this article, the author describes some of the key research findings that demonstrate the relationship between school readiness and preschool play. She begins with definitions of both school readiness and play, and then describes the teacher's role in ensuring that play is used effectively to promote school readiness. The author goes on to…

The study examined the multivariate relationship between dimensions of preschool emotional and behavioral adjustment assessed at the beginning of the year by the Adjustment Scales for Preschool Intervention (ASPI) and multiple learning and social competencies at the end of the year with an urban Head Start sample. This study also examined the…

The EZ-Yale Personality Motivation Questionnaire (EZPQ) was used to measure motivation as a facet of school readiness in a sample of 133 children during the spring of their final year of Head Start. Three motivational constructs assessed by the EZPQ, academic mastery motivation, negative reaction tendency, and outerdirectedness, were associated…

The growth in public preschool education is based on research that shows high-quality prekindergarten has a positive effect on children's chances of succeeding in school and life. Beneath the surface of this growth, however, lies a troubling lag in preschool education participation by the nation's largest, fastest growing and yet most…

The Even Start Family Literacy Program, in its fourth year of operation, provides a literacy environment based on the Family Intergenerational-Interaction Literacy Model (FILM) in the southwest area of Oklahoma City. The FILM model is designed to provide a family literacy education program for parents, extended family, and their preschool children…

The study explored the relationship between mothers' and fathers' pre-kindergarten reports of family cohesion and children's academic and social competence in kindergarten and first grade, to assess the role of family level processes in children's adjustment to school. The family cohesion factor was divided into…

This document reports on the findings of the Fiscal Year (FY) 1992 evaluation of the Illinois Prekindergarten Program for Children At Risk of Academic Failure, initiated in 1985 through a statute authorizing the State Board of Education to implement and administer a grant program to public school districts to conduct preschool education programs…

This study sought to determine the effect of developmental preschool on school readiness and kindergarten achievement for at-risk children. The study involved 40 preschool-age and 40 kindergarten-age children. These children were divided into two experimental groups and two control groups for the purpose of comparing standardized test scores. The…