A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Volume 2--Chapter 1-Funded Early Childhood Programs

Background

The Observational Study of Early Childhood Programs was designed to expand our knowledge of the early childhood experience of disadvantaged preschoolers. The study is based on observations of 119 programs at 5 sites over a two year period. The types of programs observed included the following: Head Start programs, school-sponsored programs, or community-based daycare centers.

Selected Findings

• Children in early childhood classrooms spent, on average, about one-third of their time in goal-directed activities (e.g., math and language arts, science, table games, looking at books), one-quarter in art and music activities or exploratory play, and about twenty percent in classroom routines (e.g., arrival and departure, set up and clean up, toileting).

• In a substantial number of classrooms, activities expected to be included in the daily curriculum of an early childhood classroom did not occur. In more than half of the classrooms, no children were engaged in science or natural world activities. In about one-third of classrooms, no children were observed looking at books. In one quarter, there were no math or language activities, and in more than a quarter, there was no storytime.

• Children spent almost half their time in small groups (alone or with six or fewer children) and about 40 percent of the time they were in one large group.

• Classroom staff were actively involved with children nearly 70 percent of the time (excluding naps and mealtimes). It was relatively rare for staff to spend time with individual children; more than 30 percent of children had no individual interaction with an adult during the observation period.

• While classrooms and staff look similar across all three program types, Head Start classrooms had significantly lower child/staff ratios. Teachers in school-sponsored programs had higher educational credentials, but were often assisted by an untrained aide. Head Start classrooms usually had a trained teacher assisted by a trained aide.

• All three program types maintained acceptable levels of quality, on average. Head Start centers were among the highest rated and the level of quality was more consistent than in the other program types.

• Lower child/staff ratios were positively associated with global measures of classroom quality such as space, equipment, classroom safety, schedule and curriculum, and teacher behavior. Teachers with a college degree tended to be more responsive to children, to use positive techniques more often, and to spend more time interacting with children; the type of preservice and inservice training provided by Head Start, including CDA certification, seems to provide similar positive benefits. The level of parent involvement was also associated with higher overall quality, teacher involvement with children, and children receiving individual teacher attention.

Conclusions

• These early childhood settings resembled one another in many ways and generally provided an adequate early childhood experience, but none were rated as excellent. While regulating program characteristics can ensure adequate care, it does not necessarily produce the high quality experience that we would want for all children.

• To raise quality, one approach would be to alert early childhood staff, through training, to the more subtle aspects that contribute to quality, e.g., true individualization of the educational program and an emphasis on child-directed learning.

Volume 2--Chapter 1-Funded Early Childhood Programs

Background

This special substudy of Chapter 1 early childhood programs was designed to examine relationships between Chapter 1-funded prekindergarten classrooms and children's cognitive and social-emotional development and to describe how children's experiences changed from preschool to kindergarten. The design included individual assessments of the cognitive and social-emotional development of 750 children enrolled in Chapter 1-funded classrooms in 16 school districts during the fall and spring of their prekindergarten year. In addition, classroom observations and interviews were conducted with principals and teachers at each site. A subset of 131 children was followed into 48 kindergarten classrooms at four sites, including individual assessments and classroom observations.

Selected Findings

• The Chapter 1-funded classrooms maintained a level of quality that can be characterized as adequate. Staff were highly educated, with backgrounds in early childhood, strong parent involvement was evident, and instruction was not all large group and teacher-directed. However, about one third of programs failed to meet the National Association for the Education of Young Children, NAEYC, guidelines for child/staff ratios. Programs tended to be half-day, requiring parents to opt for lower quality full-day care from other sources in order to work or receive employment training.

• About one-quarter of time was used for daily routine activities, and one third in goal directed and exploration activities. Many activities took place in small groups. However, expected activities were often missing: math, language, and science activities did not occur daily in one out of seven classrooms, and sand or water play was missing in one out of two classrooms.

• Classroom staff actively interacted with children more than half the time; classrooms could be better organized to support and encourage the social-emotional development of young children.

• Analysis of the effect of teacher interaction on children's learning provides a complex picture. There is clearly a role for teacher guidance and support of children in their activities, but the challenge is to gauge their actions so as not to inhibit the independent organizing and planning strategies of children individually and with peers.

• The most prevalent transition was from higher quality prekindergartens to lower quality kindergartens. There was no evidence that operating prekindergarten programs through the public schools provided better continuity of experience for children.

Conclusions

• Rather than using Chapter 1 funds to expand half-day kindergarten programs to full-day, better uses of funding may include: supporting slots for children in existing prekindergarten programs in the community; working cooperatively to expand half-day community prekindergarten programs; enhancing the quality of kindergarten programs by funding staff positions to reduce child/staff ratios in classrooms enrolling concentrations of eligible children; alerting both prekindergarten and kindergarten staff, through training, to aspects of quality such as developmentally appropriate classroom activities, grouping arrangements, and interaction patterns.

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Last modified November 29, 2000 (eal)