EVALUATION OF CREATIVE CURRICULUM

Evaluation of a Creative Curriculum in Preschool Literacy Readiness

Abstract

Much effort has been expended in developing intervention programs to help improve the early literacy and school readiness skills of young children. This article presents the results of a needs assessment project aimed at identifying priorities for community intervention programs aimed at ensuring that young children enter school ready to learn. A panel of 30 carefully selected early childhood panelists completed 4 rounds of questionnaires designed to develop a prioritized list of key community needs and programs. Several implications for educational intervention and service provision can be drawn from this project. The article may provide a blueprint for others wishing to identify key community needs related to important early childhood issues.

Chapter1

Introduction

During the last decade, scientists and practitioners across disciplines relevant to child development, early childhood education, and early childhood intervention have worked toward a conceptualization of school readiness intended to guide research and practice. To participate in and benefit from formal schooling, children need to be physically healthy and develop strong foundations across multiple, broadly defined domains that include: language and communication; emerging and early literacy; early mathematical knowledge; cognitive skill and conceptual knowledge; social competency; self-regulation of attention, behavior, and emotion; motivation to learn, and positive dispositions toward learning. However, at entry to kindergarten, children from poor families and minority groups often show fewer of the competencies and dispositions associated with school achievement. Early delays are quickly magnified as these children move through the early grades and become more likely than their more affluent and majority peers to score lower on tests of academic achievement, such as reading skill, receive special education, repeat school grades, and be diagnosed with mental retardation and learning disabilities(National, 1997).

Most educators and scientists across relevant disciplines agree that early childhood is a critical time to begin preventing achievement gaps. Comprehensive services programs intended to close these gaps typically offer a combination of child-focused early childhood education, parent-focused intervention, and other health and social services. One of the highest priorities for those programs is ensuring that all children have the early experiences necessary for developing the emerging literacy, language, and cognitive skills essential for succeeding in school. However, data derived from recent evaluations of such programs underscore the need for approaches to early childhood education and care that more systematically develop this knowledge. Addressing this need is especially crucial given the rapid emergence of state initiatives for universal preschool and other programs targeting poor children from birth to five, and given the increased use of formal and informal out-of-home group care.

Rationale

Research indicates that to structure environments and interactions that promote learning, adults need strategies for developing positive relationships with children, and for developing children's motivation, social competency, and self-regulation of attention, behavior, and emotion, including strategies for classroom or group management that reduce aggressive and disruptive behavior. Thus, scientifically validated approaches are needed that the adults responsible for promoting children's learning and development in each early childhood education and care setting can implement ...