When does 1 + 1 not equal 2? The relative advantage of public school-based pre-k versus Head Start for low-income children’s kindergarten cognitive and self-regulatory skills.

• DOI: 10.1037/dev0001335
• Publication Date: 2022-04-28T14:26:12Z
• Authors: Anna D. Johnson; ; Owen N. Schochet; Anne Martin; Sherri Castle; Diane Horm; Deborah A. Phillips
• Keywords: Head start; Cognitive skill; Child Development

Decades of research suggest that both Head Start and public pre-kindergarten (pre-k) programs boost low-income preschoolers' kindergarten skills. What is not yet well understood whether there are relative advantages transitioning from after 1 year into a school-based pre-k program for the immediately before children's developing cognitive self-regulation This an important question, because in many communities provide competing early education options 4-year-olds, leaving policymakers, educators, parents wondering which pathway best promotes mix skills predictive success elementary school. Only one study-conducted prior to significant recent demographic policy changes affecting focused exclusively on outcomes-has addressed this question. We extend work with contemporary data 362 children assess self-regulatory 2 years versus at age 4. The child sample was evenly split by gender diverse race/ethnicity (50% Hispanic/Latinx; 36% Black; 7% White). Results showed who transitioned 4 marginally higher literacy (d = .13) significantly greater math .18) than remained second year, but were no differences Implications contemporary, pressing issues discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).