The stated purpose of this paper is to review some of the critical issues that arise in the planning and conduct of the evaluation of action programmes amongst the socially and educationally disadvantaged, and to suggest the means that might be adopted to overcome the inherent difficulties. The discussion first focuses on the characteristics of…

British and U.S. preschool intervention projects are now reporting dramatic long-term follow-up findings that appear to vindicate the claim that preschool can serve as an "innoculation against failure," especially with disadvantaged children. However, important questions remain about the generalizability of these effects in other…

Arguing that summaries of 562 studies from 1985 through 1994 reveal that almost no attention is paid to the cognitive effects of Head Start programs, this report criticizes Head Start as being steadily and more generously funded without evidence that it helps children's scholastic achievements. The report criticizes available studies as practicing…