Research Findings: A substantial body of research has demonstrated social and academic benefits of sociodramatic play (SDP) for young children. However, substantially less research has explored the factors related to increased amounts of SDP occurring during free play, an activity time that comprises the greatest portion of the daily schedule in…

Schools in the United States are highly segregated by socioeconomic group. Segregation is pervasive throughout all levels of the school system but particularly prevalent in early childhood environments. Increased racial/ethnic and socioeconomic diversity in classrooms and schools has been shown to lead to positive developmental and social outcomes…

Enrollment in early childhood education programs can be an important stepping stone to higher educational achievement, particularly for low-income children. This report examines the extent of absenteeism in the District of Columbia Public Schools' (DCPS) school-based Head Start program in the 2013-2014 school year (SY). Absence rates and the share…

An initiative to coordinate early learning programs across a major city in the Midwestern United States was undertaken in 2013. The opinions of teachers regarding effects on instruction and children were not included in the development and implementation of the program. This omission is important because multiple scholars have pointed to the…

This study compared the standardized reading achievement scores in grades 1, 2 and 3 of two groups of students: one group who participated in Pre-Kindergarten (PK) in a large urban public school district in North Texas, with the assessment results of a group of grade level peers with similar ethnic and socioeconomic characteristics, who did not…

As the demand for services from therapists in the educational environment continues to grow, both physical and occupational therapists seek innovative and effective ways to meet the identified needs of the child and school environment. Train-the-trainer model of service delivery can be used to meet the needs of both the therapist and the preschool…

The school accountability movement has led to a marked increase in the use of standardized test scores to measure school and teacher productivity, yet little is known about the correlation between test score gains and improvements in long-term outcomes. In the first chapter of my dissertation, I study the impact of a school choice policy in…

In a series of New Jersey Supreme Court decisions known as Abbott v. Burke, the 28 (now 31) urban school districts serving the state's poorest students were ordered to create systems of high-quality preschool for all three- and four-year-old children, beginning in the 1999-2000 school year. The Abbott Preschool Program now serves approximately…

"Childhood Programs and Practices in the First Decade of Life" presents research findings on the effects of early childhood programs and practices in the first decade of life and their implications for policy development and reform. Leading scholars in the multidisciplinary field of human development and in early childhood learning…

Analyzes the expanding federal role in K-12 education after the mid-1960s. Provides a brief historical overview of Title I and Head Start and discusses some of the major evaluations of these programs. Contains 111 references. (SLD)

The Ed. S. Cook Elementary School, located near the Capitol Homes Housing Project, the Martin Luther King Village, and a six to eight block deteriorating inner-city neighborhood, served 666 pupils in grades kindergarten through seven in the main building and an additional 80 infants, toddlers, and kindergarten-age children in the Title IV-A Child…

DESPITE THE AMERICAN CREDO OF EQUAL OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL, "UNEQUAL EDUCATION" MAY BE NEEDED TO ENABLE EVERY CHILD TO DEVELOP HIS POTENTIAL TO "COMPETE ON FAIR TERMS" WITH THE REST OF SOCIETY, ESPECIALLY THOSE CHILDREN WHO ARE HANDICAPPED BY DISADVANTAGEMENT AND RACIAL DISCRIMINATION. BUT COMPENSATORY EDUCATION PROGRAMS FOR THIS GROUP WILL NOT BE…

Title I is a compensatory education program supported by funds from the U.S. Department of Education. The purpose of Title I is to provide opportunities for children to acquire the knowledge and skills described in the state content standards and to meet the state performance standards for all students. In 2000-2001, the Title I, Part A program…

Title I is a compensatory education program supported by funds from the U.S. Department of Education. The purpose of Title I is to enable schools to provide opportunities for children to acquire the knowledge and skills described in the state content standards and to meet the state performance standards for all students. In 1999-2000, Title I…