Preschool Experiences of Advantaged Children

Abstract

Experiences of advantaged children were examined among 85 kindergarten, 72 first-grade, 61 second-grade, and 66 third-grade boys and girls. Preschool and nonpreschool/nonday-care groups scored significantly higher on academic self-esteem than a day-care group. The preschool group scored higher on CTBS Mathematics than the other two groups, and the preschool and day-care groups had significantly fewer absences in public school than the nonpreschool/nonday-care group.

Long-Term Effect of Early Relationships for African American Children’s Academic and Social Development: An Examination From Kindergarten to Fifth Grade

“…Similar to teacher ethnicity, the context from which children are transitioning may also help (or hinder) children's adjustment and school success. For instance, Warash and Markstrom-Adams (1995) found that children who transitioned from a center-based educational program had an advantage compared with children who transitioned from other types of child care as evidenced by higher academic self-esteem and mathematics scores. Growing evidence indicates that children tend to have better academic skills if they attend center-based care (Fantuzzo et al, 2005;Huston et al, 2003;National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care Research Network, 2001;Schweinhart, Barnes, & Weikart, 1993;Sylva & Wiltshire, 1994), and especially if they attend publicly financed prekindergarten programs (Gormley, Gayer, Phillips, & Dawson, 2005;Magnuson, Ruhm, & Waldfogel, 2004).…”