| Title: |
Are Preschool Programs Becoming Less Effective? EdWorkingPaper No. 23-885 |
| Language: |
English |
| Authors: |
Anamarie A. Whitaker (ORCID 0000-0002-6865-5850); Margaret Burchinal (ORCID 0000-0002-3606-7843); Jade M. Jenkins (ORCID 0000-0002-2000-3087); Drew H. Bailey; Tyler W. Watts (ORCID 0000-0002-2741-0873); Greg J. Duncan (ORCID 0000-0002-9869-6311); Emma R. Hart (ORCID 0000-0003-3808-0838); Ellen Peisner-Feinberg (ORCID 0000-0001-9716-9977); Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University |
| Source: |
Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. 2024. |
| Availability: |
Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. Brown University Box 1985, Providence, RI 02912. Tel: 401-863-7990; Fax: 401-863-1290; e-mail: annenberg@brown.edu; Web site: https://annenberg.brown.edu/ |
| Peer Reviewed: |
N |
| Page Count: |
40 |
| Publication Date: |
2024 |
| Document Type: |
Reports - Research |
| Education Level: |
Early Childhood Education; Preschool Education |
| Descriptors: |
Preschool Education; Program Effectiveness; Educational Quality; Educational Research; Randomized Controlled Trials; Social Change; Program Content; Educational Practices; Program Administration; At Risk Students |
| Abstract: |
High-quality preschool programs are heralded as an effective policy tool to promote the development and life-long wellbeing of children from low-income families. Yet evaluations of recent preschool programs produce puzzling findings, including negative impacts, and divergent, weaker results than were shown in demonstration programs implemented in the 1960s and 70s. We provide potential explanations for why modern evaluations of preschool programs have produced less positive and more mixed results, focusing on changes in counterfactual conditions and preschool instructional practices. We also address popular explanations such as subsequent low-quality schooling experiences that, we argue, do not appear to account for weakening program effectiveness. The field must take seriously the smaller positive, null, and negative impacts from modern programs and strive to understand why effects vary and how to boost program effectiveness through rigorous, longitudinal research. |
| Abstractor: |
As Provided |
| Entry Date: |
2025 |
| Accession Number: |
ED672217 |
| Database: |
ERIC |