Early School Good For Kids
Posted by
Kevin
I don’t think there is much doubt about this any more, but here is more evidence that pre-school is good for kids, even the most disadvantaged:
Minority preschoolers from low-income families who participated in a comprehensive school-based intervention fared better educationally, socially and economically as they moved into young adulthood, according to a report by University of Minnesota professors Arthur Reynolds and Judy Temple. The study is published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association’s (JAMA) Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. Reynolds is a child development professor in the College of Education and Human Development and Judy Temple is a professor in the department of applied economics and in the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs.
“This study is the first to show that large-scale established programs run by schools can have enduring effects into adulthood on general health and well-being,” Reynolds says. “Early childhood programs can promote not only educational success but health status and behavior.”
Reynolds’ research group discovered that by age 24, children who were involved in preschool programs were more likely to finish high school, attend four-year colleges and have health insurance coverage, and less likely to be arrested for a felony, be incarcerated or develop depressive symptoms. For example, the preschool group had higher rates of high school completion with 71.4 percent finishing high school compared with a 63.7 percent finish rate among those in the non preschool group. Those who attended preschool also were more likely to have health insurance with 70.2 percent having insurance compared with 61.5 percent of those not in preschool. Those children in the program also had lower rates of felony arrests with 16.5 percent compared with 21.1 percent and lower depressive symptoms with 12.8 percent compared with 17.4 percent.
Universal pre-school would not be the first thing I introduced if I was made Supreme Ruler of the Universe, but it would be in the top five. For a relatively modest investment, it returns enormous amounts to society.
Meh. You just want to take the kids away from their parents earlier, so you can raise more Godless Commies. No, really.
Comment 8/9/2007
Well, my early teachers were all godless commies. Didn’t mind either part then, although the socialist fascist crap gets on my nerves in retrospect. It’s also rather difficult to argue that teachers would resist teaching attributes different from the average American family (statistically school teachers donate Democrat over Republican nearly 80% to 20%, pretty far from the statistical norm), or even that they should (teachers have freedom of speech, too).
Said study has some pretty significant statistical issues, though, mostly in the inability to really eliminate selection bias.
Comment 8/9/2007
Yes, I too was heavily influenced politically by my preschool teachers. I remember one in particular who just would not shut up about Eisenhower’s dynamic conservatism and its blurring effect on traditional party differentiation.
Comment 8/9/2007
So we’d better make our children involved in preschool programs. It is a better choice.
Sounds reasonable!
Comment 8/10/2007
Since this study wasn’t randomized, it would be foolish to draw conclusions about the effects of preschool from it.
Comment 8/10/2007