Science · 2011 · 422 citations · 22 references
EducationEarly Childhood EducationHuman DevelopmentChild DevelopmentEarly Childhood PolicyEarly InterventionEarly ChildhoodEarly Childhood Education FundingEarly Childhood Education PolicyComparison Group DesignEarly Childhood Program FundingEducational Attainment EffectsFamily Socioeconomic StatusLongitudinal Outcome MeasurementPre-kindergarten Program EvaluationPublicly Funded PreschoolSubgroup Differences
Early education research has informed policy and developmental science, yet gaps remain in understanding how program scale, dosage, and subgroup differences affect long‑term outcomes. This study examines the long‑term well‑being effects of the Child‑Parent Center program in over 1,400 participants. The program is a publicly funded, preschool‑initiated intervention offering up to six years of service in inner‑city Chicago schools. Program participation was associated with higher educational attainment, income, SES, and health insurance coverage, and lower justice‑system involvement and substance abuse, with the strongest enduring effects for preschool, especially among males and children of high‑school dropouts; longer duration mainly benefited education and SES, while dosage within components was largely unrelated, supporting sustained benefits into the third decade.
Advances in understanding the effects of early education have benefited public policy and developmental science. Although preschool has demonstrated positive effects on life-course outcomes, limitations in knowledge on program scale, subgroup differences, and dosage levels have hindered understanding. We report the effects of the Child-Parent Center Education Program on indicators of well-being up to 25 years later for more than 1400 participants. This established, publicly funded intervention begins in preschool and provides up to 6 years of service in inner-city Chicago schools. Relative to the comparison group receiving the usual services, program participation was independently linked to higher educational attainment, income, socioeconomic status (SES), and health insurance coverage, as well as lower rates of justice-system involvement and substance abuse. Evidence of enduring effects was strongest for preschool, especially for males and children of high school dropouts. The positive influence of four or more years of service was limited primarily to education and SES. Dosage within program components was mostly unrelated to outcomes. Findings demonstrate support for the enduring effects of sustained school-based early education to the end of the third decade of life.
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