Abstract/Notes: This paper discusses the long-term effects of preschool experience on sixth and seventh grade students. Subjects (n=200) were primarily black, lower-SES, Head Start children who, in 1968-69, were randomly assigned to one of four preschool programs: Bereiter-Engelmann, Darcee, Montessori, and Traditional. In 1976-77, approximately 140 of the children were given the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Revised (WISC-R) and the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT). Overall "F" Tests on the achievement scores of sixth graders indicated two significant differences among programs on Reading Comprehension (p=.05) and Spelling (p=.05). Program differences on Reading Total scores were significant at the .10 level. Among seventh graders there were program differences on Reading, Spelling, and Language subtests (p=.10). Four multi-variate analyses of variance comparing the SAT Total Reading and Total Math scores and WISC-R Verbal and Performance IQ scores of children in each of the four programs indicated that the Montessori program was consistently superior to the other three programs, although these program differences were not statistically significant. Comparison of sixth and seventh grades shows that preschool program participants made average gains of 6 months in Total Reading and 1 month in Total Math. At grade seven, three groups remained 1 year behind grade level. The Montessori group was about a half year behind grade level. There were no significant IQ differences between the groups. Long-term program effects on achievement were found. Overall, children from the Montessori program consistently outperformed the others. (Author/RH)

Language: English

Abstract/Notes: The IEA Preprimary Project is a longitudinal, cross-national study of preprimary care and education designed to identify how process and structural characteristics of the settings children attended at age 4 are related to their age-7 cognitive and language performance. Investigators collaborated to develop common instruments to measure family background, teachers’ characteristics, setting structural characteristics, experiences of children in settings, and children’s developmental status. Data from 10 countries are included in the analysis; in most countries, the sample of settings is representative of preprimary settings in that country. For the analysis, a 3-level hierarchical linear model was employed that allowed decomposition of variation of child outcomes into three parts—variation among children within settings, among settings within countries, and among countries. Four findings are consistent across all of the countries included. Age-7 language improves as teachers’ number of years of full-time schooling increases and the predominant type of activity teachers propose in settings is free choice rather than personal/social. Age-7 cognitive performance improves as children spend less time in whole group activities and the variety of equipment and materials available increases. There were also a number of findings that varied across countries depending on particular country characteristics. The findings support child-initiated activities and small group activities and are consistent with developmentally appropriate practices promoting active learning.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2006.07.007

ISSN: 0885-2006, 1873-7706

Abstract/Notes: Reported are findings of a longitudinal study on the differential effects of five preschool programs on comparable groups of 4-year-old disadvantaged children. Descriptions are given for the five preschool programs studied: the Bereiter-Engelmann program, which involves intensive oral drill in verbal and logical patterns; the Karnes Ameliorative program, a psycholonguistic model derived from the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities; the community integrated program, which provided a traditional nursery school experience sponsored by community groups; the Montessori program, which provided a prepared environment and a program structured around the prescribed manner in which the child learned from materials; and a traditional preschool or nursery program. Included in a summary of findings were that no statistically significant differences were found among groups on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children 10 years later; that Student Interview data revealed no difference in the child's self concept of school performance across interventions; and that Locus of Control scores were found to be significantly related to Binet IQ scores for all Ss. (SBH)

Language: English

Pages: 25

Abstract/Notes: Contextual influences on private speech were examined in two preschools differing in the learning environments they provide for children. Observations of 3- to 5-year-olds were made during free-choice periods in a Montessori and a traditional (play-oriented) program. Consistent with Vygotsky's theory that make-believe play serves as a vital context for the development of self-regulation, the incidence of private speech was much higher during open-ended activities, especially fantasy play, that require children to determine the goal of the task, than during closed-ended tasks with predetermined goals. In line with previous research, the more direct involvement, or external regulation, teachers displayed, the lower the rate of children's private speech. In addition, transitions (as opposed to involvement in activities) were linked to reduced private speech, whereas engagement with peers, in the form of associative play, predicted greater self-directed language. Diminished make-believe play, greater teacher direct involvement, and heightened time spent in transitions largely accounted for the lower incidence of private speech in the Montessori compared with the traditional preschool. Contextual factors also contributed to a drop in private speech at age 5. Implications for fostering children's verbal self-regulation during early childhood are considered.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1016/S0885-2006(99)80065-9

ISSN: 0885-2006, 1873-7706

Abstract/Notes: Pretend play is common in childhood. Yet by age 4, children shown pretend and real activities in a book said they would choose to do the real activity over the pretend one. The present studies extended this research, examining children’s actual behavior in laboratory and school settings (Study 1, n = 32, M = 59.32 months; and Study 2, n = 16, M = 54.08 months), their choices about pretend roles (Study 3, n = 50, M = 59.48 months), and parents’ perspectives on what children prefer (Study 4, n = 83). As in prior work, 4-year-olds preferred real activities from a book; by 5, children also engaged more with real activities. In contrast, 3- to 4-year-olds preferred pretend roles and 5- to 6-year-olds were ambivalent. Parents correctly predicted children’s preference for real activities, but they did not predict that children’s reality preferences increase with age.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1080/15248372.2019.1709469

ISSN: 1524-8372

Abstract/Notes: Individual development plans, which are sometimes designed as ‘agreements — contracts’, can be considered the most rigid type of regulation on the individual level in the history of preschool in Sweden. Today we speak about a deregulated school. This regulation seems to have changed its character, gradually drifting from school regulation to individual and self-regulation. The study aims to map and discuss the variation of content and positions for children in the documentation from all preschools in a municipality in the south of Sweden. Documentation and individual development plans (IDP) are studied from preschools with different pedagogical profiles. Materials from Montessori- and Reggio Emilia-inspired preschools are focused on. A critical didactic perspective refers to a discussion and critical scrutiny of the structure of contents, assessment and position of children in different types of documentation. The perspective leads to questions such as: how is content constructed, and what governs the choice of content in IDPs and documentation at the institutional and individual levels? How is content related to pedagogical profile? What identities and positions are formulated for children in relation to various contents and profiles? The empirical data in the study were gathered in 2008 and comprises text in the form of governing documents on different levels: as municipal guidelines, profile descriptions on the municipality’s websites and IDP forms. Tentative results show a variation with both similar and diverse constructions of contents and positions related to pedagogical profiles.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1177/1476718X10389148

ISSN: 1476-718X

Abstract/Notes: Preschool children attending two Montessori schools (26 boys, 23 girls at School A; 33 boys, 33 girls at School B) were administered the IES Arrow-Dot Test along with several other psychological tests in order to establish preliminary preschool norms and to test the hypothesis that I-scores would decline, while E- and S-scores would rise over ages 3 to 6. The data supported the hypothesis; however, there were clear differences between the two schools which indicated that much more than age and IQ were determining the level and pattern of the scores.

Language: English

DOI: 10.2466/pms.1969.29.1.235

ISSN: 1558-688X, 0031-5125

Abstract/Notes: The dynamic and complex nature of children’s sense of physical environment (Lim, Barton, 2010) with respect to the location of the space concerning cultural conditions, relations, and parameters direct design criteria to meet pedagogic, physiologic, and biological needs and requirements of the children in the preschool interiors. This enquiry has grown out of the desire to examine the parameters, cultural aspects, dimensions, or contexts affecting the built environment in the preschool interiors where children spend most of their time out of their home. Conceptual components affecting the interior space of pre-school education centers are identified and based on literature review, interviews, surveys, observational data, and statistical concepts such as education models, socio-economic conditions, appreciation of adults, child–teacher–parent relations, and location related to culture. These contextual connections and relations with the interior environment shaped the body of the study. Based on the above-mentioned items, a research questionnaire was used in centers located in the Çankaya and Çayyolu regions of Ankara. Subjects were randomly selected from among the parents of these preschools’ students. Accordingly, the research questionnaire was directed to a total of 200 respondents from 15 pre-school centers; these preschool education centers are the ones applying the Montessori education model, providing education in English and highlighting features like physical space comfort, etc. Those centers have maintained their corporate identity thanks to the above-counted features. Consequently, data has shown that the education model, socio-economic conditions, appreciation of adults, child–teacher–parent relations, and location have an indirect and direct bearing on parent perception of the preschool centers which affects the centers’ formation of Interior spatial design. [Anaokullarının mekansal oluşumu,çocuğun,değişen fiziksel çevre koşullarına bağlı olarak gelişen karmaşık ve dinamik bir etkileşim sürecidir. Farklı kültürel koşullar, ilişkiler ve parametreler bu mekanlarda pedagojik, psikolojik ve biyolojik gereksinimleri doğurmaktadır. Bu çalışmanın amacı çocukların ev dışında en çok vakit geçirdiği ana okullarının mekan oluşumunda etkili olan kültürel parametrelerin, boyut ve bağlamını ortaya koymaktır. Literatür taraması, mülakat ve istatistiksel araştırma sonucunda elde edilen verilere göre; Eğitim Modeli, Socio-Ekonomik koşullar, Yetişkin ölçütü, Çocuk-Eğitim-Ebeveyn İlişkileri ve Konum Kültür ile ilişkilidir. Bu kavramsal İlişkiler çalışmanın gövdesini oluşturmaktadır. Yukarıda belirtilen unsurlarla ilişkili olarak Ankara Çankaya ve Çayyolu semtlerinde yer alan anaokullarında anket çalışması yapılmıştır. Anketler, bahsi geçen bölgede 15 Anaokulunda 200 katılımcıya uygulanmıştır. Anaokulları Montessori eğitim modeli uygulayan, İngilizce eğitim veren, fiziksel şartları ile öne çıkan ve bir markanın zinciri olmak üzere sınıflandırılmıştır. Sonuç olarak, yapılan farklı sınıflandırmalara bağlı olarak, değişen kültürel parametrelerin Anaokullarının mekansal oluşumunda direk ve dolaylı etkisi bulunmaktadır.]

Language: English

DOI: 10.5505/megaron.2017.49469

ISSN: 1309-6915

Abstract/Notes: 25 children in a morning class of a Montessori preschool were administered a program of perceptual-motor training which stressed control of impulsiveness and development of attentional skills. 24 children in the afternoon class were controls. All children were administered a battery of psychological tests prior to training and again 7 mo. later at the termination of the training. All the children (both groups) exhibited a mean 12- to 13-point gain in Peabody Picture Vocabulary IQ and a mean 13- to 14-point gain in Draw-A-Person IQ. In addition, experimental Ss exhibited mean gains on the Auditoryvocal and Visual-motor Sequential subtests of the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities and in Ego-control scores of the Arrow-Dot Test. Controls showed no such gains. It is concluded that the perceptual-motor training program might supply a useful adjunct to the regular Montessori curriculum.

Language: English

DOI: 10.2466/pms.1971.32.1.71

ISSN: 1558-688X, 0031-5125

Language: English

Published: Chicago, Illinois, 1967