I focus on the role of preschool intervention and developmental psychology researchers in defining the concept of the "disadvantaged child" and in designing and evaluating remedies to alleviate educational "disadvantages" in young children. I argue that preschool interventions concentrated especially on compensating for…

Reviews the literature on the effects of summer programs, and offers a reinterpretation of the role of summer learning in cognitive development. (PCB)

PROCEDURES TO HELP THE TEACHER OF DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN RECONSTITUTE THE MODELS OF LEARNERS AND CLASSROOMS TO WHICH SHE IS ACCUSTOMED ARE PRESENTED. THESE PROCEDURES ALSO HELP TO ELIMINATE THE EDUCATIONAL RETARDATION OF DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN. SEVEN PROCEDURES WERE DISCUSSED--(1) "CONTACT WITH THE CULTURAL MAINSTREAM"--ON THE ASSUMPTION…

This study was the third in a series, and its primary objective was the identification and description of successful compensatory educational programs for disadvantaged children. Programs were considered successful if they demonstrated cognitive benefits that were statistically and educationally significant. The second objective of this study was…

This research review indicates that immediate developmental gains demonstrated in compensatory preschool education programs are soon dissipated, and offers possible reasons for this effect. It is suggested that compensatory programs be reexamined and further research conducted to find how to make preschool programs more beneficial. (GO)

The language, intellectual, and social deficits of economically deprived children are the targets of a 4-year study designed to follow the educational progress of a group of deprived children from preschool through grade 3. This document reports on the preschool year, the first phase of the longitudinal study, which investigated whether or not…

Author cites research studies which challenge some of the basic assumptions underlying Head Start programs and outlines the hard choices that must be made. (MB)

Results of studies of the effects of early childhood compensatory education programs indicate long-term benefits but not long-term cognitive gains. These findings may be explained by an interaction of the programs being studied at any early point in social change (rising tide) with a hypothesized intervening variable (cognitive effects). (DB)

The first issue of the IRCD Bulletin describes the scope and functions of the Information Retrieval Center on the Disadvantaged. Noted is its focus on the psychoeducational development of socially disadvantaged children and youth. To aid professionals working in this field, IRCD serves as an information clearinghouse and publishes bibliographies…

The need for educational reform is argued, based on a growing awareness of the general ineffectiveness of school for most children. Alternative educational programs based on behavioral analysis are judged inadequate, because they are based upon the same inappropriate goals as traditional education. In order to make educational reform effective, it…

The New York State Experimental Prekindergarten Program, which operates in 52 school districts, is designed to reduce potential educational deficits of economically disadvantaged children. This article reports on the program's effects on cognitive functioning of children in their kindergarten years and discusses implications for educational…

INDIVIDUAL STYLES OF LEARNING VARY CONSIDERABLY, AND NOT ENOUGH ATTENTION HAS BEEN PAID TO THIS FACT BY TEACHERS AND EDUCATORS. IF A BRIGHT CHILD MAKES VERY POOR PROGRESS IN SCHOOL, THE IMMEDIATE ASSUMPTION TODAY IS LIKELY TO BE THAT HE HAS AN EMOTIONAL PROBLEM. ACTUALLY, HE MAY SIMPLY TAKE A LONG TIME TO "WARM UP," AND HAS BECOME SO…

A preschool curriculum for lower class children was developed based on Piaget's theory. Evaluation procedures were developed to parallel a Piagetian curriculum. According to Piagetian theory, the mechanism of classification is the coordination of the intensive and extensive properties of a group of objects. The ability to dichotomously classify…