Week 6 - Research Project Source List and Thesis Statement

Although additional funding for early childhood programs would require more money from tax payers, assisting these non-profit programs would be beneficial because it would educate parents, help children with special needs, offer quality preschool education to every child, and help our economy by increasing employment rates.


1. Schaub, Maryellen. "The Expansion of Early Childhood Education." American Journal of Education 115.2 (Feb. 2009): 337-341. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. UAF Rasumson Library, Fairbanks, AK. 27 Feb. 2009 http://libapps.uaf.edu:2060/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=36188502&site=ehost-live.

This article was written by Maryellen Schaub. Maryellen is a sociologist at Penn State University. She specializes in children, family and education. In this article she reviews two books which are about early childhood education. This article is helpful for my research project because it is showing how much the early childhood industry has grown in recent years. This would be beneficial in proving of the importance of it as our country is slowly realizing and implementing it.



2. Swiniarski, Louise. "Starting School Early in Britain: A Model for Universal Preschool Education." Early Childhood Education Journal 35.1 (Aug. 2007): 19-24. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. UAF Rasmuson Library, Fairbanks, AK. 27 Feb. 2009 http://libapps.uaf.edu:2060/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=25779607&site=ehost-live.

This article is a great example of Great Britain’s early childhood educational practices. It also has a lot of helpful information including the benefits of early learning from real research. The author is a professor at Salem State College in the Education Department. The schooling for Britain’s children starts as early as age 3 and has even started providing schooling starting at birth.



3. Howes, Carollee, et al. "Ready to learn? Children's pre-academic achievement in pre-Kindergarten programs." Early Childhood Research Quarterly 23.1 (Mar. 2008): 27-50. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. UAF Rasmuson Library, Fairbanks, AK. 27 Feb. 2009 http://libapps.uaf.edu:2060/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=28688812&site=ehost-live.

This article was researched and written by seven professionals in the field of early childhood. It provides real data which shows results all over the spectrum of early learning starting before the age of 5. Not only does it read all the results collected by the observers, but it also shows the quality of the observers themselves. This study also seems to conclude that the quality of the program made a difference in overall academic outcome of the children involved.



4. Diamond, Karen E., Hope K. Gerde, and Douglas R. Powell. "Development in early literacy skills during the pre-kindergarten year in Head Start: Relations between growth in children's writing and understanding of letters." Early Childhood Research Quarterly 23.4 (Dec. 2008): 467-478. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. UAF Rasmuson Library, Fairbanks, AK. 27 Feb. 2009 http://libapps.uaf.edu:2060/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=35611112&site=ehost-live.

This article is research that studied the early development of literacy skills in pre-k programs. This is helpful to my research as it shows that early learning opportunities are beneficial at an earlier stage than what is currently offered in most states. The authors are part of Purdue University’s Child Development and Family Studies department.



5. Gormley Jr., William T., Deborah Phillips, and Ted Gayer. "Preschool Programs Can Boost School Readiness." Science 320.5884 (27 June 2008): 1723-1724. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. UAF Rasmuson, Fairbanks, AK. 1 Mar. 2009 http://libapps.uaf.edu:2060/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=33219878&site=ehost-live.


This article is based on the Oklahoma universal preschool system which is based in the school system. This article is featured in the ‘Science’ magazines education section and the authors are experts in behavioral and education areas. It’s also featured in Early Childhood Research Quarterly. It also provides a visual graph which shows the actual achievement results among pre-k before entering kindergarten. It proves that kids who participate in this school based preschool system, were more ready for kindergarten than those who did not. http://libapps.uaf.edu:2149/cgi/content/full/320/5884/1723



6. Mead, Sara. "A Foundation for Success." American School Board Journal 195.11 (Nov. 2008): 25-29. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. UAF Rasmuson Library, Fairbanks, AK. 1 Mar. 2009 http://libapps.uaf.edu:2060/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=34633109&site=ehost-live.

Sarah Mead is the Senior Research of the New American Foundation. Her article takes an in-depth look at the benefits of quality preschool programs. The title is: “High quality pre-k programs can narrow achievement gaps and improve students’ chances in elementary schools.” This hits at the center of my argument for my research paper. “Quest for Quality,” one section of her article emphasizes the importance of quality programs for all. By providing quality pre-k programs for all children regardless of income, our nation will only see improvements.



7.
"PRE-K/EARLY CHILDHOOD." American School & University 80.3 (Nov. 2007): 22-30. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. UAF Rasmuson Library, Fairbanks, AK. 1 Mar. 2009 http://libapps.uaf.edu:2060/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=27714530&site=ehost-live

This article provides designs and school additions for pre-k programs in regular elementary schools. Pictures are actual designs and completed additions at these schools. It also includes information such as price for additions to the building, design team, completion date and photographer. This is super exciting information for my research project. This information is provided by SHW Group and they are education architects.


8. Bartik, Timothy J. “The Economic Development of Early Childhood Programs.” W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. 25 Jan. 2008.
http://www.upjohninst.org/early_childhood_full_report-2-28-08.pdf


This article is helpful in providing economic benefits of early childhood programs. The researcher is the senior economist at W.E. Upjohn Institute. This will help in my research because it helps bring home the fact that teaching children at an earlier stage life will actually benefit our economy. His study shows that for every $1 spent on early childhood, society can expect at least 5 times in return.



9.Karoly, Lynn A. Bigelow, James H. “The Economics of Investing in Universal Preschool Education in California.” The Rand Corporation. 2005. http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/2005/RAND_MG349.pdf

This above article provides real research done in effort to show the investment benefits of a universal pre-k program in California. It shows the financial gain of preschool investment by tax payer dollar. It includes the effectiveness for advantaged and disadvantaged children. Not just disadvantaged children benefit from quality preschool programs. This research was provided by the Rand, a non-profit corporation.



10. Toppo, Greg. “Universal preschool students perform better.” USA TODAY. 26 June 2008. http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-06-26-preschool-universal_N.htm

This article by USA Today summarizes a study conducted by Georgetown University. The study was performed on 3,500 kindergarten students in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Oklahoma has had state-funded preschool for the past 18 years. Their findings concluded that kids who completed the universal preschool program were on average 5-9 months ahead of the students who did not, depending on the subject area.



11. Hawley, Theresa, Ph.D. “How Early Experiences Affect Brain Development, Second Edition.” Zero To Three http://www.zerotothree.org/site/DocServer/startingsmart.pdf?docID=2422

This article provides important information about how the brain develops in the early years. It clarifies how early experiences affect a child for the rest of their life. It drives home my point of why kids should start learning at an earlier age than what is currently required. The article is provided from a well known resource among all early childhood professionals, called Zerotothree.org.



12. “Quality: The Critical Need for Pre-K.” Pre-K Now. April 2008. http://www.preknow.org/documents/presentations/Quality_Pre-K.pdf

This presentation explains the importance of quality pre-k programs across the USA. It gives statistics of quality pre-k programs. This also provides information of how to measure quality pre-k. It provides visual graphs that show which states provide quality pre-k and which do not. Pre-K Now is a non profit organization which advocates the need for pre-k programs across the United States starting for 3 and 4 year olds.


13. Wesson, Kenneth A. “Early Brain Development and Learning.” Science Master. Nov 2003. http://www.sciencemaster.com/columns/wesson/wesson_early_01.php

Kenneth Wesson is neuroscience education consultant and is a brain specialist. He works with educators from preschool to university level in brain development and learning issues. This article helps me by providing information about crucial brain development learning opportunities in the early years. He goes into describing how the brain of a child works in the early, most important years of their life.



14. Kuhl, Patricia Dr. “Childhood Development: Early Learning, the Brain and Society.” Research Channel. 9 Feb. 2008. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fcb8nT0QC6o

Dr. Patricia Kuhl is co-director of the Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences at the University of Washington. This video emphasizes the importance learning opportunities from experts in the field. It was televised at the University of Washington, and provided by the alumni association. This will help in my research proving the importance of early learning in children, the earlier the better.


15. Parents as Teachers. “Analysis Correspondence between Parents as Teachers Standards and the Head Start Performance Standards.” Parents as Teachers http://www.parentsasteachers.org/atf/cf/%7B00812ECA-A71B-4C2C-8FF3-8F16A5742EEA%7D/HS-EHS%20correspondence%20analysis%20final%20version.pdf

Parents as Teachers is a non profit organization that provides parent and child learning opportunities from before a child is even born. This program provides parents with information on crucial early childhood development. The article provides information comparing the standards of the Parents as Teachers organization to the Head Start Performance Standards nationwide. This proves helpful in my research to provide more information on Parents as Teachers and why it isn’t just an empty home visiting session. More funding for this program would only benefit our society.