Work

Montessori public school pre-K programs and the school readiness of low-income Black and Latino children.

Year: 2014

Type: article

Abstract: = 6,700) enrolled in two different types of Title-1 public school pre-K programs: those in programs using the Montessori curricula and those in more conventional programs using the High/Scope curricula with a literacy supplement. Parents and teachers reported on children's socio-emotional and behavioral skills with the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment (DECA), while children's pre-academic skills (cognitive, motor, and language) were assessed directly with the Learning Accomplishment Profile Diagnostic (LAP-D) at the beginning and end of their four-year-old pre-K year. All children, regardless of curricula, demonstrated gains across pre-academic, socio-emotional, and behavioral skills throughout the pre-K year; however, all children did not benefit equally from Montessori programs. Latino children in Montessori programs began the year at most risk in pre-academic and behavioral skills, yet exhibited the greatest gains across these domains and ended the year scoring above national averages. Conversely, Black children exhibited healthy gains in Montessori, but demonstrated slightly greater gains when attending more conventional pre-K programs. Findings have implications for tailoring early childhood education programs for Latino and Black children from low-income communities.

Source: Journal of Educational Psychology

DOI: 10.1037/a0036799

Authors: Arya Ansari, Adam Winsler

Institutions: The University of Texas at Austin, George Mason University

Language: English

Topic: Early Childhood Education and Development

Subfield: Education

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Quality education, Reduced inequalities, Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funders: Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade/Monroe, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development