Research Paper

Topic: Early Childhood Education

Thesis: Studies show that children who attend preschool increases long term achievements in academics, social, and emotional skills in elementary school.

Format

· 5-6 Pages (not including work cited pages)

· MLA Format

· Teacher gave example of format for paper.

·

Paper Requirements

· Must have a sentence outline included.

· 3rd Person

· Paper must be qualitative, quantitative, or both. Not Argumentative.

· Synthesis Paragraph

· Quotes in paper but not overly.

· Original not plagiarized. Teacher will use Turnitin.com.

Works Cited

· Each works cited entry must have in text citations in body.

· Mixture of in text citations and parenthetical citations.

· Annotated Bibliography and Works Cited pages.

· Must have at least 5 primary/and or secondary sources databases or other libraries. Vary the types of sources: ebooks, peer review, journal articles, 3 database must be used, interviews are examples. You can use Google Scholar and any source on the Internet ending in org, net, mil, gov, edu. 5–10-year publication currency is required.

· I submitted an Annotated Bibliography to my teacher for practice. What I submitted is down below.

Annotated Bibliography of Early Childhood Education

Studies show that children who attend preschool increases long term achievements in academics, social, and emotional skills in elementary school.

Cyr, Daron. “The Payoff of Preschool: Investing in CT’s Youngest Residents.” Neag School of Education | UConn, University of Connecticut, 1 Dec. 2021, education.uconn.edu/2020/12/23/the-payoff-of-preschool-investing-in-cts-youngest-residents.

Research shows that preschool has a big, positive impact on children’s brain development, relationships, and learning, as well as a bigger benefit for society as a whole, because it helps them learn and grow. Preschool exposure was compared in Connecticut’s Alliance districts, the 33 districts with the lowest Accountability index metrics, versus non-Alliance districts. Over the last four years, an average of 71.1 percent of children entering kindergarten in Alliance districts have attended preschool, compared to 87.25 percent of children entering kindergarten in other districts. Students who attend pre-K tend to display stronger school readiness and academic improvement over time, as well as long-term benefits such as improved academic achievement beyond kindergarten, social-emotional skills, and educational attainment. Pre-kindergarteners with better language, literacy, numeracy, and executive functioning skills do better in early elementary and middle school. Children are more likely to struggle or perform below average throughout elementary and even middle school if they don’t have access to high-quality prekindergarten education.

Meloy, Beth, et al. “Untangling the Evidence on Preschool Effectiveness: Insights for Policymakers.” Learning Policy Institute, Learning Policy Institute, 31 Jan. 2019, learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/untangling-evidence-preschool-effectiveness-report.

Evidence from the 1960s and 1970s indicated substantial benefits for children attending early learning programs. Children who attended early learning programs were more prepared for school, less likely to be diagnosed as having special needs, and less likely to be held back in elementary school. They were more likely to finish high school and go to college. Evidence also shows they are less likely to become parents, commit crimes, or depend on welfare. These findings and the long-term societal benefits of $17 for every $1 spent have prompted several states to invest in pre-school programs to improve children's outcomes.

Nakamichi, Keito, Naoko Nakamichi, and Jun Nakazawa. "Preschool social-emotional competencies predict school adjustment in Grade 1." Early Child Development and Care 191.2 (2021): 159-172.

Preschoolers' social-emotional competencies were studied to see if they could predict their peers relationships and academic success in the first grade. 48 children in this study were given tests to see how well they did at things like cool or hot executive functions, understanding others, social problem-solving, and getting along with their peers. Academic success and peer acceptance were evaluated at the completion of Grade 1. A path analysis found that cool and hot executive functioning in preschool had direct and indirect influence on student success in elementary school by the theory of mind and social problem-solving. Peer acceptance in preschool encouraged peer acceptance in grade one. The results emphasize the critical significance of social-emotional skills in peer interactions and academic success. 

Nold, James, et al. “Early Childhood Education: Academic and Behavioral Benefits of Prekindergarten Educational Programming.” SAGE Open, vol. 11, no. 2, 2021, p. 215824402110101. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211010154.

State-funded prekindergarten educational programs for all children are unusual in the United States. No funding is available in five states, three states offer free prekindergarten, and some states only provide partial aid. The goal of this study is to look at some of the benefits of prekindergarten education programs and find reasons to expand the program to all economically eligible children. Six K-5 cohorts were examined on attendance, behavior, and test performance in two groups. The two groups were students who participated in prekindergarten educational programs and those who did not. There were statistically significant results with behavior, specifically office referrals. Fewer office referrals were received by students who attended prekindergarten. Academically, students who completed prekindergarten outperformed their non-prekindergarten peers, but not statistically. Lessons learned from research could make local and state governments more likely to fund prekindergarten education for all kids.

Throndsen, Jennifer E., et al. “The Relationship Between Mathematical Literacy at Kindergarten Entry and Public Preschool Attendance, Type, and Quality.” Early Childhood Education Journal, vol. 48, no. 4, 2019, pp. 473–83. ProQuest, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-019-01014-7.

Many children are more academically prepared than others when they start kindergarten. Prior preschool experiences play a role in kindergarten preparedness. This study's goal was to investigate the association between kindergarten math readiness, preschool enrollment, preschool type, and preschool quality. For one school year, researchers collected data on 45,895 public school kindergarten children's preschool enrollment and kindergarten-entry mathematics literacy assessment results. Researchers used a two by two factor ANOVA, independent group means t-tests, and regression analysis to investigate the associations involving early mathematical literacy performance and children's preschool enrollment, preschool type, and preschool quality. Overall, the findings indicated that children from a variety of socioeconomic situations had better early mathematics literacy when they attended preschool.