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[Study Aims and Study Questions] Early Childhood Reform in Seven Communities - October 1996
Over the past three decades an enormous number of research and evaluation studies have focused on programs to serve young children and their families. Research strategies have included small, carefully-designed research and development projects; multi-site, national demonstration initiatives; and studies of the "real world" of community-based child care, preschool, and family support agencies. This overview of trends in research will be divided into three parts:
Research on prekindergarten and child care programs began in the 1960s and 1970s with a focus on questions of program efficacy, examining program outcomes and the extent to which positive outcomes persist over time after children move into elementary education. More recently, research has shifted to emphasize understanding the components of program quality, assessing effects of variation in program characteristics, and exploring the best approaches to producing positive, lasting outcomes (Barnett et al., 1988).
Program Efficacy Studies
The Early Intervention Research Institute (Casto, White, and Barnett, 1986) collected hundreds of reports of research studies on the effects of early childhood programs for disadvantaged and handicapped children. Most involved classroom-based programs for three- or four-year-olds and measured short-term academic outcomes, (defined as one to two years beyond the end of the program). Overall, there were positive effects in cognitive ability (measured by IQ tests) and school readiness of approximately the same magnitudes for disadvantaged and handicapped samples. Studies showed the result of a boost in IQ for children who experienced preschool intervention, ranging from one-third of a standard deviation in the Comparative Curriculum Study (Karnes, et al., 1983) to more than two standard deviations for the Milwaukee Project (Garber, 1988). Less intensive intervention of half-day preschool for one year resulted in the smaller IQ gains; while the more intensive intervention of full-day intervention almost from birth resulted in the higher IQ gains (Ramey, Bryant, & Suarez, 1985). Hubbell's 1983 review of over 1,500 studies of the Head Start Project found a similar pattern of positive short-term effects. Socio-emotional outcomes were not consistently measured in this body of literature (Datta, 1983).
A related set of research studies tracked the performance of children over time after they left early childhood interventions. In most cases, experimental groups continued to outperform controls in elementary school on school achievement tests, grade-point average, and rates of retention in grade, and placement in special education:
Program Quality Studies
Initial interest in assessing dimensions of program quality was seen in comparative studies of different curricula (Karnes, Schweidel, & Williams, 1983; Miller & Bizzell, 1984; Weikart, Epstein, Schweinhart, & Bond, 1978). No explainable differences were found among the various curricula's outcomes. Another body of early research, sought to understand whether child care was harmful to children. As Phillips and Howes put it in their review, "On the contrary, the overwhelming message was that children in good quality care show no signs of harm, and children from low-income families may actually show improved cognitive development" (Phillips and Howes, 1987).
The next wave of child care research focused on understanding the dimensions of the construct "quality" and representing the diversity of child care settings. Most noteworthy for its design and comprehensiveness is the National Day Care Study (NDCS)(Ruopp, Travers, Glantz, & Coelen, 1979). The NDCS found that smaller groups of children and higher teacher/child ratios resulted in better social and cognitive outcomes for children. A variety of subsequent studies have found associations among lower ratios, smaller groups, better educated teachers, more constructive caregiver behavior, and better developmental outcomes for children (e.g., Field, 1980; Vandell & Powers, 1983; Clarke-Stewart & Gruber, 1984; Howes & Rubenstein, 1985; Bruner, 1980; Smith & Connolly, 1981). Another recent set of studies have examined the interaction of static variables such as group size, physical environment, and staff training with dynamic variables such as teacher/child interaction in influencing outcomes. For the most part, these studies found that attendance at higher quality centers resulted in better social, language, and cognitive outcomes for young children (McCartney, 1984; Phillips, McCartney, & Scarr, 1987; Vandell & Powers, 1983; Vandell, Henderson, & Wilson, 1987; Howes & Olenick, 1986; Rutter, 1981; Holloway and Reichart- Erickson (1988).
A recent study in California experimentally manipulated staff/child ratios from 1:8 to 1:9 or 1:10 and found evidence of declines in program quality in classrooms with higher ratios (Love, Ryer and Faddis, 1992). A similar study in Florida revealed positive effects on the quality of teaching and on child outcomes from the state's improvement of standards for teacher:child ratios and staff training. (Howes, Smith, & Galinski, 1995).
Recognizing that family and child care environments are not independent influences on a child's development, other recent research focuses on the interactions among features of the child care setting and aspects of the child's family environment such as SES, family structure and maternal satisfaction with employment (e.g., Cochran & Robinson, 1983; Howes & Olenick, 1986; Phillips, McCartney, & Scarr, 1987; Kontos & Feine 1987; Goelman & Pence 1987). The specific effects of child care depend on the quality and type of care, the child's experiences in care and the child's family context.
Family child care, which is used by about 25% of employed mothers, has only recently been included in studies of early childhood programs as a setting variation (Fosburg, 1981, Clarke-Stewart and Gruber, 1984; Goelman and Pence, 1987; among others). Describing the nature of family child care settings and the quality of children's experiences in these settings is the aim of two new studies. The Family Child Care Quality Studies are investigating how variations in the quality of family child care affect children's development and the effects of training on the quality of family child care settings (Families and Work Institute, 1991a & 1991b; 1992).
A recent national study examined the interaction of costs, quality, child outcomes, and policy influences in a sample of 100 non-profit and for-profit child care centers in four states. Observers rated quality in most centers as from poor to mediocre, with almost half of infants and toddlers in rooms with less than minimal quality. The study also found that children who live in states with higher regulatory standards receive higher quality care. (Cost, Quality, and Outcomes Study Team, 1995).
Confirming earlier findings on staff education and training, many studies have found that formal schooling and specialized training result in more attentive and nurturing behavior by staff (Berk, 1985; Peters & Kostelnick, 1981; Arnett, 1986; Howes, 1983; Ruopp et al., 1979; Feeney & Chun, 1985; Phyfe-Perkins, 1981; Love, Ryer & Faddis, 1992). The National Child Care Staffing Study examined relationships among child care staff, their working conditions and the quality of center-based child care. Their findings reveal that the quality of most centers was barely adequate, and that children in lower quality centers with more staff turnover were less competent in language and social development. Despite higher levels of education than the U.S. workforce in general, child care teachers earn very low wages which have actually decreased by over 20% in ten years while staff turnover rates have tripled in the same period. (Whitebook, Howes and Phillips, 1989, Whitebook, Phillips & Howes, 1993).
Parallelling the development of programs and research on classroom-based early childhood programs are initiatives that can best be labeled "family-oriented early childhood intervention programs". Aimed at a similar target group of low-income children and families, such programs seek to promote attentive parenting, parent's personal development, child development and learning by providing information, social support, and some direct services to families.
The first distinct strand of family-oriented early childhood intervention programs, in the 1960s, was premised on the notion that maternal socialization and early teaching strategies, particularly in low-income black, families, failed to prepare their children for school. Programs generally focused on teaching mothers how to structure the home environment, and interact with their young children in more cognitively stimulating and socially appropriate ways. As was true for outcome studies of center-based programs, evaluations generally found positive short-term outcomes, but a more mixed pattern of effects over the longer term. For example, Gray & Klaus found program-favoring effects on the quality of the home environment and maternal teaching style in the Early Training Project; and Lambie, Bond, & Weikart on the "supportiveness" of maternal verbal behavior with the child in the Ypsilanti-Carnegie Infant Education Program. Over the longer term, studies of the Florida Parent Education Program (Gordon, 1967), the Early Training Project (Gray & Klaus, 1968), and the Mother-Child Home Program (Levenstein, 1971) all found evidence of long-term program-favoring effects on children's school careers, as measured by promotion, special education placement, and high school graduation. However, in a similar initiative, the Ypsilanti-Carnegie Program, (Epstein & Weikart, 1979) researchers found no residual program effects on parent-child interaction or child outcomes five years after the program had ended.
The more recent Prenatal and Early Infancy Project (PEIP) provided intensive, continuous, individualized home visits for poor, unmarried mothers, beginning prenatally, can promote enhanced child development and adult personal development. Participants were more likely to engage in positive parenting behaviors and were less likely to have abused or neglected their children. Two years after the intervention ended, participants returned to school more rapidly after the baby's birth, were employed for more time, and had fewer subsequent pregnancies. (Olds, Henderson, Tatelbaum, and Chamberlin, 1988a). More mixed outcomes were observed in seven Ford Foundation Fair Start projects, which assisted low-income mothers during the first two years of their child's life through a home visitation strategy. (Larner, et.al.,1992).
Programs combining parent support and child development services
Two federal demonstration programs in the 1970s, the Parent Child Development Centers (PCDCs) and the Child and Family Resource Programs (CFRPs), provided a mix of child development-focused intervention, and multi-faceted family support (ranging from health and social services, to meals, transportation, and adult basic education). The PCDC evaluation found significant program-favoring effects on such maternal behaviors as emotional responsiveness, affectionateness, praise, appropriate control, and encouragement of child verbalization (Andrews, et al., 1982) and on children's I.Q. at ages 2 and 3. The CFRP evaluation found positive effects on use of community resources, maternal self-reported control of events, and participation in job training. However, there were only very modest program-favoring effects on parental teaching skills, and no child development effects (Travers, Nauta, & Irwin, 1982).
Four other initiatives have explored the feasibility and effects of combining parent-focused and child development strategies:
Project CARE was developed to contrast effects of intensive educational day care plus family education, and family education without the day care component. Ongoing evaluation showed that at each year through 54 months, the group of children that received day care plus family education were significantly higher on measures of intellectual development (Bryant, personal communication). Program mothers also reported reduced levels of stressful life events and more supportive interactions with others in the community (Ramey, Bryant, Sparling, and Wasik, 1985).
The federally funded Comprehensive Child Development Program (CCDP), begun in 1989, reflects many of the lessons from these studies. The CCDPs serve children from birth through school entry, provide a comprehensive range of services and strategies to children and parents. The first year evaluation report reveals that CCDPs were successfully providing participants with the core services, although the majority of project sites had difficulty meeting families' needs for accessible, affordable child care (Hubbell, et al., 1991). A subsequent progress report after two years of operation showed modest positive impacts of the program on participants' education/job training participation, use of community resources, parenting, and some aspects of child development and provided data on average annual program costs of $8243 per family. (Comprehensive Child Development Program Interim Report to Congress, 1995).
Another growing federal program initiative is the Even Start Program which links adult literacy, parent education and early childhood services. Initial evaluation findings include positive outcomes in adult literacy, increased parental expectations regarding the children's schooling, but only mixed evidence of effects on parenting practices and parental employment. (St. Pierre, et.al.,1995)
The Public School Early Childhood Study (PSECS), the first national study of public school-based prekindergarten programs, included a descriptive study of state initiatives, a survey of 1225 school districts, and case studies of thirteen public school programs. It found that schools operating a wide variety of types of programs from Chapter I prekindergartens to Head Start to child care for fee-paying parents. The overall quality of programs varied widely with the most glaring lacks were in the area of multicultural materials and activities, attention to children's physical development and provision of comprehensive services. (Mitchell, Seligson and Marx, 1989).
Information from two linked national studies--the National Child Care Survey and the Profile of Child Care Settings--provided the first detailed picture of the supply and demand for early childhood programs since early 1970s. These new studies focus on both employed and non-employed mothers. The consumer study provides information on child care usage patterns, parent satisfaction, search methods and conceptions of quality for all mothers with a special substudy of low-income households (Hofferth, et al., 1991). The supply study includes data on the incidence of various forms of child care and operational details such as group size, staffing patterns and turnover (Kisker, et al., 1991).
The National Observational Study of Early Childhood Programs compared classroom practices in 150 settings in Head Start, school-based and other community-based child care programs. Using a variety of observational measures, the study found substantial similarity across program types, but a higher proportion of Head Start classrooms rated overall as good quality, and a higher proportion of child care centers as minimal in quality. (Layzer, et.al.)
Several projects have examined the issue of continuity between and among the various programs a child attends over time - most notably the evaluation of Project Developmental Continuity, a Head Start Demonstration (Bond and Rosario, 1982) and a more recent national study of program practices related to transitions between preschool and kindergarten. The latter study found that only 13% of school had formal policies on transition, although schools and early childhood programs reported substantial differences in practices related to instruction and parent involvement. (Love, Logue, Trudeau & Thayer, 1992).
The Children's Defense Fund (CDF) has completed a variety of studies of the effects of federal and state funding and policy in programs for young children and their parents, such as:
In recent years, the Government Accounting Office has contributed an ongoing series of reports on early childhood services, including studies of levels of need and participation rates in programs (U.S. Government Accounting Office, May, 1994; July, 1993), the costs and availability of comprehensive, high quality programs (U.S. Government Accounting Office, July, 1989, March, 1995), and relationships between varied federal programs and funding streams (U.S. Government Accounting Office, October, 1994).
Finally, the environment for policymaking in early childhood reflects the influence of a variety of task forces and commissions which draw on research findings and issue reports which frequently receive substantial attention from media and political leaders. Examples of this genre of research dissemination and synthesis include the following:
Over the past three decades the conceptual and theoretical constructs underlying various intervention strategies have evolved. A first wave of programs sought to improve the child's cognitive functioning by providing experiences that essentially substituted for the deficient parent. Another early approach was to train parents/caregivers to alter parenting behaviors to promote cognitive functioning and health. However, in reality, most child-focused programs included some form of parent involvement or education and many of the parent-focused programs provided activities for the child either in the home or in a center-based program. The idea that these foci are mutually reinforcing and that effective programs address both the child and parent is the prevalent view today (Seitz, 1990; Young & Marx, 1992).
The range of expected outcomes from early childhood programs has also tended to broaden over time. The narrowly cognitive focus of early programs gradually gave way to attention to social and emotional well-being as well as physical health for children and improved life outcomes for parents. The range of program effects -- from prenatal health behaviors and enhanced parent-child relationships, to increased economic self-sufficiency, and the prevention of abuse and neglect -- indicates the variety of public policy functions that family support and education programs may be able to fulfill. Most of the long-term evidence relates to more successful social adjustment and school careers for program children. But there is also a growing, albeit still modest, body of data pointing to an improved life course for mothers and better long-term parent-child relationships. In other words, these programs may be uniquely suited to altering the likely life course of two generations. (Weiss, 1988b).
Summarizing the major findings from early educational intervention research, Ramey and Ramey, (1992), identify six principles that characterize programs with the strongest effects.
The complexity of delivering a program that focuses simultaneously on child, parent and family; that begins before birth and carries on until the child is well into elementary school; and that is designed to affect all developmental domains is great. The lack of an adequate body of research on these collaborative, multifocused, intensive, comprehensive programs is the most serious limitation of the literature to date.
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