THE IMPACT OF PRESCHOOL EDUCATION PROGRAMS ON THE COGNITIVE AND AFFECTIVE BEHAVIORS OF APPALACHIAN CHILDREN IN BEDFORD AND HUNTINGDON COUNTIES, PENNSYLVANIA

The investigation focused on the impact of Head Start/Day Care Programs, utilizing materials developed by the Appalachia Educational Laboratory (AEL), over a three-year period on the cognitive and affective behaviors of Appalachian children in Pennsylvania during the 1979 to 1980 school year in Bedford and Huntingdon Counties.;The impact was determined by comparing the behaviors of 57 students who had participated in the programs and 34 students who had not participated in any type of preschool program but selected as "matches" on the bases of age, sex, parents' occupations, and parents' educational status. Students under investigation were in the first, second, and third grades representing 18 schools in six school districts.;Data were obtained from cumulative records pertaining to grade retentions, class assignments, grade point averages, and teacher ratings of students on the School Behavior Checklist: Individual Form (SBC:IF).;Statistical procedures used for the analysis of data included chi-square tests, analysis of variance, and the Newman-Keuls test.;The programs operated in the 1976 to 1977 school year for 185 children in Bedford, Fulton, and Huntingdon Counties at nine centers providing full-day programs based on AEL materials, Classroom Learning and Activities Plans and the Day Care and Home Learning Activities Plans.;The overall analysis indicated that there were no significant differences between the former Head Start/Day Care students and a comparable group of students who had not participated in any type of preschool program in: (1) the number experiencing retention in grades and assignment to special education or transitional classes. (2) the grade point averages in reading/language, and mathematics. (3) the composite scores attained on the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT) in reading and mathematics. (4) the total scores for coping and non-coping behaviors on the SBC:IF.