ERIC Number: ED608426
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 5
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-
EISSN: N/A
Head Start Dosage: Is More Better? Research Notes
McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership at National Louis University
Early educational interventions, such as Head Start, have been widely recognized as an effective way to mitigate the negative effects of poverty on early learning and development (Camilli, Vargas, Ryan, & Barnett, 2010). In the past decade, there has been a strong expansion of early childhood programming, including Head Start and state-funded prekindergarten programs. However, the cost of the programs calls into question the extent to which this expansion can be maintained. A tension exists between serving as many children as possible and providing the most impact with limited economic resources (e.g., Barnett & Hustedt, 2011; Steuerle, Reynolds, & Carasso, 2007), making the study of program design such as length and intensity of programming critical to efforts to serve low-income or at-risk children in the most efficient fashion. This paper reviews two frequently cited studies that looked at Head Start programs, the nation's largest early educational intervention, and examined the impact of one program factor, intervention dosage, on children's school readiness outcomes. In the two studies, program dosage was defined as the amount of services children received, and was measured as the duration of program enrollment (i.e., one year versus two years) and the intensity of the program (i.e., half day versus full day).
Descriptors: Preschool Education, Disadvantaged Youth, Intervention, School Readiness, School Schedules, Outcomes of Education, Preschool Children, Attendance, Program Effectiveness
McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership at National Louis University. 6200 Capital Drive, Wheeling, IL 60090. Tel: 847-947-5063; Fax: 847-947-5063; e-mail: McCormickCenter@nl.edu; Web site: https://mccormickcenter.nl.edu/
Publication Type: Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Preschool Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Robert R. McCormick Foundation; Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS)
Authoring Institution: McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership at National Louis University
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test; Woodcock Johnson Tests of Achievement
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A