RESUMEN
The current paper reports long-term impacts of the Chicago School Readiness Project (CSRP) on measures of achievement, cognitive functioning, and behavioral regulation taken toward the end of students' high school careers. The CSRP was a self-regulation-focused early childhood intervention implemented in Head Start centers serving high-poverty neighborhoods in Chicago. The intervention was evaluated through a cluster randomized control trial, providing us with rare longitudinal evidence from an experimental study. However, the study was limited by issues with low power and baseline differences between experimental groups. Here, we report on follow-up data taken approximately 11-14 years after program completion, including measures of participants' (N = 430) academic achievement, executive functioning, emotional regulation, and behavioral problems, and we provide a range of analytic estimates to address the study's methodological concerns. Across our estimates, we found little evidence that the program had lasting impacts on indicators of late-adolescent functioning. Main effects were estimated with some imprecision, but nearly all models produced null effects across the broad array of outcomes considered. We also observed few indications that effects were moderated by posttreatment high school quality or later assignment to a light-touch mindset intervention. Implications for developmental theory and early childhood policy are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).
Asunto(s)
Problema de Conducta , Instituciones Académicas , Humanos , Preescolar , Adolescente , Chicago , Estudiantes/psicología , CogniciónRESUMEN
Families face challenging decisions about early care and education (ECE) for their children. Decisions about what is best for each child and family are constrained by family and contextual factors and are prone to disruptions. This study provides a descriptive look at patterns of ECE settings children were in the year prior to kindergarten, beginning in Fall 2019 through Spring 2021, a period during which most ECE arrangements were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and into the 2020-2021 kindergarten year. Analyses of survey (N = 121) and interview (n = 25) data from families whose children entered kindergarten in Fall 2020 revealed multiple and cascading disruptions during this time. Disruptions were nearly universal, and families made continual accommodations as they juggled employment needs and children's ECE needs. Findings from this study have implications for how actual and anticipated disruptions may have a greater influence on families' child care decision-making into the future.
RESUMEN
Using data from a large longitudinal sample (N = 1,292) of children and their caregivers in predominantly low-income, nonurban communities, we investigated longitudinal relations between attuned caregiving in infancy, joint attention in toddlerhood, and executive functions in early childhood. The results from path analysis demonstrated that attuned caregiving during infancy predicted more joint attention in toddlerhood, which was in turn associated with better executive function performance in early childhood. Joint attention was a stronger predictor of executive functions for lower-income families. Moreover, joint attention mediated the relation between attuned caregiving and executive functions, and this mediation was amplified for lower-income families. These results highlight joint attention as a key mechanism through which attuned caregiving supports the development of executive functions, particularly for low-income families. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
Asunto(s)
Atención , Función Ejecutiva , Niño , Preescolar , Humanos , Renta , Relaciones Madre-Hijo , PobrezaRESUMEN
The current paper reports long-term treatment impact estimates for a randomized evaluation of an early childhood intervention designed to promote children's developmental outcomes and improve the quality of Head Start centers serving high-violence and high-crime areas in inner-city Chicago. Initial evaluations of end-of-preschool data reported that the program led to reductions in child behavioral problems and gains in measures of executive function and academic achievement. For this report, we analyzed adolescent follow-up data taken 10 to 11 years after program completion. We found evidence that the program had positive long-term effects on students' executive function and grades, though effects were somewhat imprecise and dependent on the inclusion of baseline covariates. Results also indicated that treated children had heightened sensitivity to emotional stimuli, and we found no evidence of long-run effects on measures of behavioral problems. These findings raise the possibility that developing programs that improve on the Head Start model could carry long-run benefits for affected children.