Universal Preschool Research Paper

Universal Preschool

Topic Overview

My research paper is focusing on the topic of universal preschool in the United States. I will be researching if there is evidence supporting a need for preschool for all age eligible children. My goal is to present evidence supporting why this is important and why it is beneficial.

Reasearch Questions

There are many questions regarding the topic of universal preschool. What research is there documenting if children have more success in school by receiving an early childhood education? Is it monetarily beneficial for goverments to fund the cost of these programs? What type of financial return is there on the investment? There are programs in place today offering free or reduced priced preschool on an income verication scale. There is a huge population of lower to middle class families that do not qualify for such programs, yet do not make enough to pay the private tuitiont cost. There are lottery systems in place offering a desginated number of open seats in free preschool programs in certain town and cities. Should we be allowing a lottery system to decide which children head start in the education based on the town they live in and what number a computer eraates for them?

Signifigance

This topic is of importance to me because I am in the field of early childhood education.

I had worked for the past five years in a program that was a combination of state funded as well as privatley funded. By working in this type of environment I got a first hand expierience as to the delicate balance between the school relying on parent's tuition as well as funding form the state. In those five years I also got to witness first hand how much is offered in an early childhhod education classroom. It is truly amazing the dedication those educators put into their students. I have seen children grow socially, elopmentally, acedimaclly in these

envirents.
Funding for these programs seems to be the biggest hurdle. How will states pay for it? How much will it cost to offer these programs to all, not just some. Should there still be a type sliding scale tuition base? Should it be required then for all familes to use preschool?
Evidence
What research and evidence is there supporting the need for preschool for students? Is there evidence supporting that it is beneficial? In one research study it was documented that children who are enrolled and particiapate in a quality preschool program have better health, social-emotional, and cognitive outcomes than those children of same age who were not enrolled. For children from lower income families and those at-risk for academic failure, the research shows that they will begin kindergarden 12-14 months behind peers. (Duncan 2015) At the beginning of their formal education "career" these students are already behind. That can begin a continuous cycle of playing catch up and feeling of failing.
Young children who attend a quality preschool program have a higher success in school throughout their academic career. Because these children are with educators trained in early childhood development and education, early intervention to any developmental delays can be diagnosed immediatley. There is research documenting that children who attend quality preschool programs are less likely to have to use special education services or be retained in their grade. The research continues through high school where these students are more likely to also graduate from high school as well as attend and graduate college. (Duncan 2015)