Joseph J. Sparling

Early Childhood Education: Young Adult Outcomes From the Abecedarian Project

The high-risk infants who initially enrolled in the Abecedarian Project, a longitudinal prospective study of the benefits of early childhood educational intervention within a child care setting, were followed up as young adults (age 21 years). One hundred-eleven infants were in the original sample; 104 took part in the follow up. Treatment was provided in 2 phases: during preschool and in the primary grades. Participants received either both phases, 1, but not both, or neither. Assignment to groups was random. Those in the preschool treatment group earned significantly higher scores on intellectual and academic measures as young adults, attained significantly more years of total education, were more likely to attend a 4-year college, and showed a reduction in teenaged pregnancy compared with preschool controls. Preschool treatment was associated with educationally meaningful effect sizes on reading and math skills that persisted into adulthood. School-age treatment served to maintain preschool benefits for reading, but by itself, the effects were generally weaker than those of the preschool program. Statistically significant differences in the attainment of full economic independence were not found at this stage, but would not be expected among young adults still attending school. The incidence of self-reported violence and lawbreaking was not significantly reduced, although trends in the data favored the treated group. The reported incidence of marijuana use was significantly less among treated individuals. The positive findings with respect to academic skills and increased years of post-secondary education support policies favoring early childhood programs for poor children.

Family and classroom correlates of head start children's developmental outcomes

Program quality is an important theme for Head Start. Even staunch supporters of Head Start are concerned that too few Head Start classes are of the quality that is needed to best promote childrens growth and development. This study examined relationships between classroom quality and child outcomes among 145 Head Start children from poor quality to more stimulating home environments. Results indicated that children in higher quality Head Start classrooms performed better on measures of achievement and preacademic skills, regardless of the quality of their home environment. Children from better home environments seemed to benefit more from classroom quality in the area of problem solving and reasoning than did children from less stimulating homes. Teacher characteristics such as education, experience, and attitudes were not associated with classroom quality in this group of 32 Head Start classrooms. On the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale, no classroom received a rating of inadequate, but only 9% met or exceeded the score that would be considered developmentally appropriate.

Adult Outcomes as a Function of an Early Childhood Educational Program: An Abecedarian Project Follow-Up

Adult (age 30) educational, economic, and social-emotional adjustment outcomes were investigated for participants in the Abecedarian Project, a randomized controlled trial of early childhood education for children from low-income families. Of the original 111 infants enrolled (98% African American), 101 took part in the age 30 follow-up. Primary indicators of educational level, economic status, and social adjustment were examined as a function of early childhood treatment. Treated individuals attained significantly more years of education, but income-to-needs ratios and criminal involvement did not vary significantly as a function of early treatment. A number of other indicators were described for each domain. Overall, the findings provide strong evidence for educational benefits, mixed evidence for economic benefits, and little evidence for treatment-related social adjustment outcomes. Implications for public policy are discussed.

Early Educational Intervention, Early Cumulative Risk, and the Early Home Environment as Predictors of Young Adult Outcomes Within a High‐Risk Sample

The extent to which early educational intervention, early cumulative risk, and the early home environment were associated with young adult outcomes was investigated in a sample of 139 young adults (age 21) from high-risk families enrolled in randomized trials of early intervention. Positive effects of treatment were found for education attainment, attending college, and skilled employment; negative effects of risk were found for education attainment, graduating high school, being employed, and avoiding teen parenthood. The home mediated the effects of risk for graduating high school, but not being employed for teen parenthood. Evidence for moderated mediation was found for educational attainment; the home mediated the association between risk and educational attainment for the control group, but not the treated group.

An educational intervention improves developmental progress of young children in a Romanian orphanage

From 1991 to 1994, a group of Romanian and American colleagues undertook an experimental and humanitarian effort to try to improve the quality of life, mental health, and developmental progress of young children in a Romanian orphanage. In the context of institutional care, we experimentally introduced stable adult-child relationships, small group size, and a protocol of enriched caregiving and educational activities. These procedures were adapted from an intervention in childcare centers in the United States that had been proven effective in reducing intellectual decline in at-risk children. Developmental scores for orphanage children were derived from the Denver II (a revision of the Denver Developmental Screening Test; Frankenburg & Dodds, 1990), which was translated into Romanian and administered as a pre- and posttest to the experimental subjects and comparison groups in the same institution. Mixed models combining both within- and between-subject heterogeneous variance-covariance structures were utilized to analyze the impacts of time, intervention/control group assignment, child sex, child age, and interaction of Group × Time on the developmental scores. For the developmental outcome variables, the effects of group assignment (experimental vs. comparison) were highly significant. There also was a Group × Time interaction effect. We conclude that an educational intervention which includes the addition of resources and training can be initiated and sustained in an orphanage for young children as a way of improving institutional care. ©2005 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

Project CARE A Comparison of Two Early Intervention Strategies to Prevent Retarded Development

This study sought to determine whether variations in intensity of early educational intervention are related to different patterns of mental development during the first three years of life. Sixty-four high risk children were randomly assigned at birth to a more intense treatment condition (Educational Daycare Plus Family Education) or a less intense treatment condition (Family Education Alone). Both groups were compared to similar high risk children who did not receive educational intervention from our project. Standardized tests of mental development were administered at regular intervals. Gains in IQ scores at 36 months were greater for the more intensely treated group than for the other two groups, which did not differ significantly from one another. The observed differences were due primarily to the decline of mental performance over time in the Control and Family Education Alone groups, suggesting that early education prevents intellectual decline in high risk children whereas less intense treatments may not. Developmental trends and policy implications of these results are noted.

Informational Needs of Parents of Young Children with Special Needs

A national sample of 367 parents (267 mothers and 100 fathers) of children with special needs, ages birth to 8 years, were surveyed regarding their informational needs and preferred sources for parenting information. The major need that emerged was for information on how to promote the development of their children with special needs. Parents also expressed a need for information on dealing with the emotional and time demands of parenting, identifying community resources, planning for their childs future, and understanding their childs legal rights. Preferred sources for information varied according to topic and the educational level of the parent. Responses are reported for mothers by level of education and for fathers.

Partners: A Curriculum to Help Premature, Low Birthweight Infants Get Off to a Good Start.

Partners, a curriculum emphasizing adult-child interactions, or partnering, was developed in the mid-1980s at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center and was first used in the Infant Healt...

The Carolina Approach to Responsive Education A Model for Day Care

This paper describes a comprehensive educational program for preschool children and their families. The model, named the Carolina Approach to Responsive Education, is a multidisciplinary approach to child and family services derived from a general systems theory of development. This educational approach is the result of a longitudinal research and development program designed to create a comprehensive system of family supports which, in turn, will have positive effects on the development of young children.

Infant Health and Development Program for Low-birth Weight, Premature Infants: Program Elements, Family Participation, and Child Intelligence

The Infant Health and Development Program was an eight-site randomized controlled trial testing the efficacy of early intervention to enhance the cognitive, behavioral, and health status of low birth weight, premature infants. The 377 intervention families received for the first 3 years of life: (1) pediatric follow-up, (2) home visits, (3) parent support groups, and (4) a systematic educational program provided in specialized child development centers. The control group (n = 608) received the same pediatric follow-up and referral services only. This paper describes the delivery of the intervention and its outcomes. A Family Participation Index that was the sum of participation frequencies in each of the program modalities unique to the intervention revealed that program implementation was not different across the eight sites. Index scores did not vary systematically with mothers ethnicity, age, or education or with childs birth weight, gender, or neonatal health status; but they were positively related to childrens IQ scores at age 3. Only 1.9% of children of families in the highest tercile of participation scored in the mentally retarded range (IQ less than or equal to 70), whereas 3.5% and 13% of children in the middle and lowest participation terciles, respectively, scored in the retarded range. Similar findings were obtained for borderline intellectual functioning. These findings are consistent with previous research linking intensity of intervention services with degree of positive cognitive outcomes for high-risk infants. The determinants of variations in individual family participation remain unknown.