First Friday Q&A is back!
Today’s question actually comes from a recent conversation with my dad, who asked, “What’s the deal with public preschool? Is it really necessary?”
So here are some interesting things we know about the benefits of preschool, and little bit about why we have to be aware of what type of programs generated these results, so that we can avoid a bait and switch situation.
(If you’re unable to view the video, you can also find it on YouTube here.)
References:
Preschool ROI:
New Research: Early Education as Economic Investment is a report from the National Conference of State Legislators with a great synopsis of the economic view of preschool and the return on program investments.
Gold Standard Programs:
Landmark studies of quality early childhood programs, such as the High Scope Perry Preschool Study, the Abecedarian Project, and the Chicago Child-Parent Center have established a strong case for the powerful impact of early education, particularly for low-income/high-risk children. As Ellen Galinsky outlined in her book, Mind in the Making: The Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs
These studies, established in the 60s, 70s, and 80s (respectively), have each shown positive outcomes, not just in academic proficiency and IQ scores, but in reduced special education needs, higher graduation and employment rates, greater earnings, and fewer criminal offenses.
Beware of Bait and Switch: Preschool programs are being sold based on the results garnered from studies of the “gold standard” programs. These same results can not be expected if the actual programs implemented don’t resemble those programs at all and are just new vessels for “push-down” curriculum.
Do you have a child development question for First Friday Q&A? Send it in! I’d love to hear what’s on your mind!
I am so glad you are bringing this up. Getting behind public preschool sounds great for society, but as we all know, if the government regulates something it knows little about, the results will be poor. Push-down curriculum is a huge concern, as is standardization, which will surely tie the hands and creativity of talented and versatile teachers who understand the unique needs of young children far better than Washington. I’m afraid the chances of The State successfully mandating Gold Standard early education to low income and at risk children is not likely. It’s not easy just because the children are smaller. Let’s all stand up and speak out for child-centered and developmentally appropriate preschools—which is a gift for the body mind and heart that all young children and their families deserve. Then we can work kindergarten! Just imagine.
The real dirty little secret about public preschool is the effect it has had on preexisting early childhood programs, particularly nursery schools and childcare settings. My granddaughter’s nursery school, an excellent cooperative, went out of business after 60 plus years because of Universal PreK. The day care center I directed before I retired closed after 35 years. UPK was one of the causes. In the meantime, school districts are giving out UPK slots to some highly questionable programs, mostly because the district’s administrators aren’t educated about early childhood. Parents have fewer and fewer options and for some, arranging for care around the Pre K hours is a problem. In addition, programs that are publicly funded are susceptible to the kind of “pushing down” of the curriculum that has made Kindergarten problematic. A system that funded Pre K in a variety of settings, that recognized that there are many ways of approaching curriculum and that teachers with two year degrees in Early Childhood may be just as, if not more, effective than certified teachers who have never worked with children under five might be a system worthy of support. Until then I am highly skeptical.
Very valid concerns–I share many of them with you. I’m glad you added them to the discussion!
As always, I appreciate how thorough you are when you discuss a topic and that you include all the links. As it is something I’ve been musing on . . .
Just a thought, would something be better than nothing?
Would it be beneficial to just start something, and work from there to reach a gold standard? Or have nothing, until a gold standard can be implemented?
I don’t have the answers (nor expect you to have them), but I guess I wonder if it’s at least a step in the right direction? For example, even though most kindergartens aren’t necessarily using developmentally appropriate practices, the research I’ve read on full day vs half day kindergarten shows that children from low socio economic demographics (the ones that can benefit the most, afford it the least) benefit and are more “successful” with full day, even using various measures of that success, not just academics.
Musing. Thanks for the video and your input.