Personal narratives of 20 middle-class Japanese preschoolers, half of them 4 years old and half 5 years old, and their mothers were analyzed using stanza analysis and high point analysis. The patterning in stanzas yielded the following: (1) with regard to the proportion of three-verse stanzas, there were no differences between the groups of…

Forty-four boys and 23 girls aged 3 to 6 years attending preschools serving mostly middle class populations participated in a nonreversal discrimination task with gender typing and size of stimulus the relevant target dimensions. Results support predictions based on gender schema theory regarding salience of gender-to-gender schematic and…

Examined associations between early substitute care and White middle-class college students' psychosocial development and academic performance. No day care in infancy followed by full-time day care at ages two and four was best predictor of above-average high school academic achievement; part-time care throughout infancy and early childhood was…

This study compared literacy knowledge in preschoolers from low- and middle-class homes. Students and parents completed assessments and questionnaires about literacy activities. Results indicated that children from low-income homes were at a disadvantage in understanding written language. Literacy development also related to amount of early…

A total of 103 preschool children of lower and middle socioeconomic status families were observed in three preschool programs during 15 standardized free play periods for the purpose of investigating preschool children's preferences for different types of traditionally used play materials. The influence of age, sex, and socioeconomic status (SES)…

The study examines and compares free/spontaneous play behaviors of 20 Hispanic (from Ponce, Puerto Rico) and 20 Anglo (from State College, Pennsylvania) 5-year-old children from middle class socioeconomic strata. Within each of the groups there were 10 boys and 10 girls. Each child was observed in a group play setting in four observational…

A study compared the oral and written language concepts of preschoolers from low- and middle-income homes. Subjects, 33 4-year-olds from 3 separate Head Start programs and 31 4-year-olds from three different private schools, were administered 9 informal language assessments in the fall and again in the spring. Parents of the subjects were…

Preschool and kindergarten programs for poor and middle-class children fell into three types: (1) didactic programs, which stressed academic skills and had relatively negative social environments; (2) child-centered programs, which deemphasized academic skills and had positive social environments; and (3) intermediate programs, which fell between…

Most research on the long-term outcomes of early enrichment programs for low-income children suggests that the effects of Head Start participation and similar experiences are to help narrow the gap between academic achievement of low-income and higher-income children. The failure of children from low-income families to excel in public schools has…

This paper describes three studies that evaluated the Marvelous Me-Preschool Edition curriculum, a 12-session program designed to enhance the self-concept of preschool children. The program is organized around 6 central themes: feelings, self-image, getting to know oneself, family friends, and community. Children participate in activities such as…