Program administrators and policy makers have placed a priority on expanding access to inclusive, center-based early care and education (ECE) for low-income children with special needs, a "doubly vulnerable" population characterized by academic and social-emotional achievement gaps at kindergarten entry. Yet, no research has documented…

Families facing poverty suffer from many other stresses, with children's school performance being one of the common topics. A life of poverty and the related unfavourable circumstances should not define children's life stories. Ensuring this is not the case is partly the responsibility of professionals working with families. It is important to…

This study investigated effects of Home Instruction of Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY), a paraprofessional home visiting program, on parents and children. The program site served low-income, Spanish-speaking families. On average, mothers were 31 years old (SD = 4.78) and children were 3 or 4 years old (M = 3.92, SD = 0.92). Participants (n…

A study involving six elementary and two junior high students with learning disabilities investigated whether parents provided four home schooled students with instructional environments that facilitated the acquisition of basic skills. Results found the home school students were academically engaged about two-and-a-half times as often as public…

This paper provides a summary of a Home Start Followup Study (HSFS) which was initiated in 1976. An attempt was made to examine the durability of gains made as the result of families' (parents and their 3- to 5-year-old children) participation in the program. In addition, the study was designed to determine whether program duration (one versus two…

This report summarizes the findings of the Developmental Continuity Consortium, a collaborative effort of twelve research groups conducting longitudinal studies on the outcomes of early education programs for low-income infants and preschool children initiated in the 1960's. The educational experiments conducted were of three general types: (1)…

This paper summarizes a larger report of the findings of the Developmental Continuity Consortium, a collaborative effort of twelve research groups conducting longitudinal studies on the outcomes of early education programs for low-income children initiated in the 1960's. Summarized are: (1) Methods (problems of secondary analysis, problems of…

Research on selected early childhood education program elements was reviewed to determine the effects of these elements on children's academic and social development. Four influencing factors concerning academic effects were investigated: (1) home intervention; (2) preschool intervention; (3) kindergarten programs; and (4) socioeconomic factors.…

This study examined the efficacy of two educational practices designed to prevent learning difficulties in children from high risk families (N=64) during the first 8 years of life. The preventive treatments included: (1) educational daycare plus family education from birth to age 5 followed by a home/school resource program from kindergarten…

The Consortium for Longitudinal Studies was formed to answer the question of whether early education programs have measurable long term effects on the performance of children from low income families. Every early intervention study that had a specific curriculum, focused on children from low income families, was completed prior to l969, and had an…

This followup study of the effects of the Mother-Child Home Program developed by the Verbal Interaction Project (VIP) measures the school performance of nine groups of 162 third grade children from low income families. The program of 92 home sessions spaced over two school years focused on the mother and child as a socially interactive dyad, and…