Gathering Data to support my Stance (NCLB) and (IDEA)) Kelleher, B.E. (2009)

The article's literature review indicates that research regarding long-term preschool effects has been developed well. But, Head Start's long-term advantages have rarely been researched, and no adequately sound research design has been used (Barnett and Hustedt 2005: 21). The research's correlated conclusions are that influence of Head Start on children depends upon differences between the program's developmental quality and that of the educational environments that children hailing from low-income households would otherwise have experienced (Ludwig and Phillips 2008: 260).

This section reviews three leading researches on preschool education's effectiveness. The essay analyzes six key research categories which have enhanced Head Start's policy and academic analysis, for better understanding the research elements that can be employed in policy evaluation. The essay deals with research exploring Head Start's effectiveness in the long run.

Schweinhart, et al. (n.d)

Findings

The primary conclusion of the Perry Preschool study's midlife phase is that quality preschool education to young poverty-ridden children promotes their social and intellectual development during childhood, as well as their academic success, economic status and decreased crime commission during adulthood.

The study that uses the data most effectively

Kelleher's 2009 study most effectively employed data. It assessed six major researches into Head Start's effectiveness...

1969 -- The Westinghouse Study
1. 1995 -- Lee and Loeb

1. 1995 -- Currie and Thomas

1. 2000 -- Currie and Thomas

1. 2002 -- Garces, Thomas, Currie

1. 2005 -- U.S. Administration for Children and Families

How does each use data to communicate the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of early childhood programs such as the Head Start program?

Shonkoff, et al. (2012)

The study by Shonkoff and colleagues made use of data from the age of 0-18 years (childhood -- adulthood) for elucidating and demonstrating roles of different governmental institutions in childhood development. This study reveals that not even 2% of government educational fund has been allotted toward childhood development. This revelation is contrary to Kelleher's report, wherein childhood program funding has risen progressively.

Schweinhart, et al. (n.d)

This study's sample was 123 children hailing from poor, African-American families who were evaluated to have high risks of failure at school; 58 of these children were randomly assigned to a preschool program group imparting high-quality education at 3-4 years of age, with the remaining 65 assigned to another, without a preschool program. The study then demonstrated early childhood educational programs' effectiveness in later education, economic standing, overall arrests, arrests for intense crimes, drug and property crimes, as well as subsequent jail/prison sentences over the lifetime of study participants…