|
Facts In Action
|
In
Brief:
Quality
Preschool Settings Have Long-Term Impact
Since
1993, the Cost, Quality, and Child Outcomes in Child Care Centers
Study has been examining the quality of preschool settings and
its relation to child developmental outcomes by following children
from preschool through elementary school. In the September/October
2001 issue of Child Development, the study's investigators
published findings on the relationship between child care quality
and children's cognitive and social development between the ages
of four and eight years.
The
study found that:
- High-quality
child care has a long-term effect on children's language skills,
math skills, and attention skills through second grade. In addition,
children in high-quality settings in preschool showed greater
sociability and fewer problem behaviors in second grade. These
benefits are even more pronounced for at-risk children, particularly
in the areas of math skills and problem behaviors.
- Different
classroom practices such as the smoothness of transitions between
activities in the classroom, the provision of a safe and respectful
climate for children, the amount of cross-disciplinary connection
between subjects, the social support for student learning and
student engagement, are related to children's academic and language
skills.
- Close
teacher-child relationships (which are characterized by high levels
of teacher sensitivity and responsiveness to children) are related
to better language skills, attention skills, and social skills,
and fewer behavioral problems.
Source:
"The Relation of Preschool Child-Care Quality to Children's
Cognitive and Social Developmental Trajectories through Second Grade,"
E. Peisner-Feinberg, M.R. Burchinal, R.M. Clifford, M.L. Culkin,
C. Howes, S.L. Kagan, and N. Yazejian, Child Development,
Volume 72, Number 5, 2001.
For
more information:
contact Ellen S. Peisner-Feinberg, Frank Porter Graham Child Development
Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB#8180, 105
Smith Level Road, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-8180, or e-mail ellenpf@unc.edu.
Facts in Action, April 2002
|
| Goodbye from the printed version of Facts in Action. |
|
