Scholars have long debated the benefits of preschool, or prekindergarten, education. Several small-scale studies have documented that preschool contributes to better educational, occupational, and social outcomes for disadvantaged children over the long term (1) and is cost-effective (2). Large-scale, long-term studies, how- ever, are unusual. On page 360 of this issue, Reynolds et al. (3) help fill that void. They report on a 25-year-long study, involving nearly 1400 former students, that examines the effect of the Child-Parent Center Education Program, a publicly funded preschool program in Chicago, Illinois, on subsequent educational achievement, socioeconomic status, health, and crime. Their results demonstrate consistent and enduring benefits for children who began preschool at age 3 or 4 (compared with children who began kinder- garten when older), and especially for males and children of high-school dropouts. In particular, by age 28, the former preschool students had higher educational levels, incomes, socioeconomic status, and rates of health insurance coverage—and lower rates of substance abuse and legal problems— than the kindergarten students.
The study:
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/333/6 ... =shortener School-Based Early Childhood Education and Age-28 Well-Being: Effects by Timing, Dosage, and Subgroups
Arthur J. Reynolds, Judy A. Temple, Suh-Ruu Ou, Irma A. Arteaga, Barry A. B. White
Published Online June 9 2011
Science 15 July 2011:
Vol. 333 no. 6040 pp. 360-364
DOI: 10.1126/science.1203618
Advances in understanding the effects of early education have benefited public policy and developmental science. Although preschool has demonstrated positive effects on life-course outcomes, limitations in knowledge on program scale, subgroup differences, and dosage levels have hindered understanding. We report the effects of the Child-Parent Center Education Program on indicators of well-being up to 25 years later for more than 1400 participants. This established, publicly funded intervention begins in preschool and provides up to 6 years of service in inner-city Chicago schools. Relative to the comparison group receiving the usual services, program participation was independently linked to higher educational attainment, income, socioeconomic status (SES), and health insurance coverage, as well as lower rates of justice-system involvement and substance abuse.
"Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.” -King T'Challa, Black Panther
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