Early Childhood Education Programs Can Make a Difference in Academic, Economic, and Social Arenas

As the year 2000 approaches, states are not progressing uniformly toward meeting the first of eight national education goals - by the year 2000, all children will start school ready to learn - enacted in Goals 2000 legislation (Lunenburg & Irby, 1999). Goal One implies universal access to appropriate preschool environments, parental support in the child's preschool education, and attention to health and prenatal care. The first national education goal and the position statement of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) sets the stage for a national commitment to early childhood education. NAEYC underscores developmentally appropriate preschool learning environments, the critical role parents play in the education process, and the importance of health and nutrition in the preparation of children for learning (Bredekamp, 1987: Bredekamp & Copple, 1997). Preschool Experience Preschool experiences are designed to provide cognitive and social enrichment during early childhood development. The goal of these experiences is to promote children's ability to successfully make the transition to school (Reynolds, 1994; Schweinhart & Weikart, 1988; Wachs & Green, 1982) and to prevent poor school adjustment outcomes such as school failure, unemployment, and poverty. Studies of a wide variety of programs such as Head Start, Even Start, Follow Through, Learning to Learn and other model programs have shown that one or two years of preschool can improve children's school readiness, early scholastic achievement, and school competence such as lower grade retention and special education placement (Barnett, 1992; Haskins, 1989; Hubbell, 1983; McKey et al., 1985; Reynolds, 1995; White, 1985). Research supports the effects of preschool programs on long term outcomes such as reduced school dropout rates and increased employment (Berrueta-Clement, Schweinhart, Barnett, Epstein, & Weikart, 1984; Reynolds, 1994; Schweinhart, Barnes, & Weikart, 1993). Evidence indicates that once children's achievement patterns are established, there is a high degree of continuity from that point forward, and early attainment sets boundaries on later attainment (Belsky & MacKinnon, 1994; Entwisle, Alexander, Cadigan, & Pallas, 1986). The academic difficulties experienced by many minority children are traceable to adjustment problems and patterns of underachievement that begin in the first few years of formal schooling (Alexander & Entwisle, 1988; Belsky & MacKinnon, 1994). The child who gets off to a slow beginning in the early school years carries a record of failure; and because of the cumulative nature of topics in the early curriculum such as reading and mathematics, a disadvantaged learner may be hindered by gaps in understanding that may be difficult to overcome (Alexander & Entwisle, 1988; Belsky & MacKinnon, 1994). Compared to a generation ago, the large majority of children who enter kindergarten now have had extensive nonparental child care experience, either a center-based preschool experience or extrafamilial home-based child care (Belsky & MacKinnon, 1994; West, Hauskien, Chandler, & Collins, 1992). It seems reasonable that children with considerable nonparental preschool experience might be expected to have fewer adjustment problems when starting school (Belsky & MacKinnon, 1994; Ladd & Price, 1987). Consistent with this view, studies of high quality child care indicate that such preschool experience is related to positive functioning in the early elementary grades (Andersson, 1989; Belsky & MacKinnon, 1994; Field, 1991; Howes, 1988). On the other hand, poor quality child care is associated with poor functioning, both during kindergarten and during later schooling (Vandell, Henderson, & Wilson, 1988). For example, a recent investigation of 227 child care centers in five major metropolitan areas in the United States found the quality of care to be "barely adequate" (Whitebrook, Howes, & Phillips, 1990). …