There is ample evidence that children born to poorer families do not succeed at the same rate as children born to the middle class. On average, low-income children lag behind on almost every cognitive, behavioral, emotional, and health measure. These gaps start early--some of the newest research suggests that cognitive gaps are detectable in…

This study investigated the effect of preschool experience (two types of preschool: Madrasa and non-Madrasa) on the cognitive development of children in East Africa. In the three countries studied (Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania/Zanzibar) preschool education is burgeoning and government standards are being set. This quasi experimental evaluation used…

Compared parental perceptions of the use of internal information sources--intuitions, religious beliefs, personal childhood experiences--to use of external sources for information about their toddlers' development. Found that parents perceived the internal sources as being used more frequently and as more useful for information on their child's…

Reviews studies comparing short- and long-term effects of language-based socially and cognitively interactive play enrichment in day care and the home during infancy. Found that both day care and home children experiencing intervention advanced to high levels of language and cognitive functioning compared to control children. Advantages of home…

A group of 119 children in Sweden were followed from infancy to age 8 to determine the relationship between type of child care children received and their later development. At the age of 8, children were given aptitude tests and were rated by teachers on school performance and social and personal development. A number of background variables were…

An extended longitudinal study compared cognitive development in children adopted from Romania before 24 months and in United Kingdom adoptees with an additional sample of Romanian children adopted after 24 months. Findings indicated that there was considerable catch-up among late-placed Romanian children but they exhibited lower cognitive scores…

Follow-up comparisons were made of the intellectual, cognitive, academic and social performances of three groups of low-income children in kindergarten through fifth grade who differed in the amount of preschool education they had experienced. Children in Groups A and B had been enrolled in the University of Western Ontario Laboratory Preschool…

Examined how child care experiences related to cognitive and language development from birth through age 3. Found that care quality was modestly related to cognitive and language outcomes, after adjusting for several factors. Cumulative experience in center-based care related to better outcomes than did experience in other care. Children in…

This 5-year study involved the design, development and evaluation of a combined day care and parent guidance program for infants and preschool children, and included comparisons between participants' development from 6 months to 5 years of age and the development of a group of similar children reared entirely at home. Major elements of the parent…

Data were collected on the type of day care experienced by 119 Swedish children who were followed from their first year of life to age 8. Types of day care included: (1) center care continuing from the first or second year; (2) center care begun at a later age; (3) mixed care, or, transition from family day care to center care; (4) day mother…

This is the evaluation report of the third year of operation, 1970-71, of the Fort Worth Central Cities Project, which was initiated in 1968-69 to provide structural preschool experiences for two- to five-year-old children from an economically deprived area in the Fort Worth inner city. The Project was a joint effort of the Southwest Educational…

This study, part of a naturalistic longitudinal study of infants being reared in a variety of family life styles, attempted to establish the extent to which differing parenting patterns affected early developmental outcomes. Subjects were 200 infants: 50 of single mothers who headed their family units, 50 of mothers in communal living groups, and…

This paper, part of a long term study, reports the effect of a modified Montessori preschool experience on cognitive development, school-related behaviors, and social interactions and perceptions of disadvantaged children. Each of thirty-five disadvantaged Negro children (31 in nursery classes and 4 in elementary classes) was pair-matched with a…

This paper presents a study of the effects of "typical" infant day care on children's behavior and development. The variables studied include center versus home programs, length of time in day care, age of child and sex of child. Subjects for the study were 114 boys and girls (ranging in age from 12 to 36 months) enrolled in either a day…