The HighScope Early Education Model

and Its EffectsLarry Schweinhart

HighScope Educational Research Foundation

www.highscope.org

The HighScope Preschool Curriculum

Adult-Child In-teraction

Learning En-vironment

Daily routine

ChildAssessment

InteractiveEducation

Interactive EducationAdults help children – Take initiative Develop on key indicators:

Social and emotional Movement and physical Cognitive

Language and literacy Science and mathematics Arts and music

Adult-Child InteractionAdults • Have strategies for interacting with

children. • Encourage children’s efforts rather than

praise them indiscriminately.• Help children take a problem-solving

approach to resolving conflicts.

Learning Environment• Classroom organized into interest areas.• Materials varied, show respect for

individual differences, stored where children can reach them.

• Teacher influences the flow of activities while giving children opportunities for active learning.

The Daily RoutineComponents

• Plan-do-review times• Cleanup time• Snack time• Small-group time• Large-group circle time• Outside time

Gives teachers and children opportunities to influence learning.

Child AssessmentAdults • Work as a team on child assessment.• Take notes daily on episodes of children’s

behavior.• Plan next steps with children daily.• Assess children’s development with the

HighScope Child Observation Record, found valid and reliable in Head Start.

HighScope Perry Preschool Study

Comparison 1: program versus no program groups

Comparison 2: HighScope vs. Nursery School vs. Direct Instruction preschool curriculums

191 study participants living in poverty and at risk of school failure

Randomly assigned to initially similar groups Data collected annually from 3 to 11, and at

14, 15, 19, 27, and 40, 8 % missing

Comparison 1:

Major findings over time

Arrested 5+ times by 40

Earned $20K+ at 40

High school graduate

Basic achievement at 14

Committed to school at 14

Ready for school at 5

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

Program group No-program group

Comparison 1

Large return on investment (Per participant in 2008 constant dollars discounted 3% annually)

Costs

Benefits

Preschool

Earnings Taxes Crime & Jus-tice System

Four Approaches to Early Childhood Education

Child

Responds Initiates

Teacher

Initiates

Direct

Instruction

High

Scope

Responds

Custodial

care

Nursery School

Comparison 2:

The Curriculum Models Direct Instruction - Teacher-directed

script with child “lines” focuses on academics.

High/Scope - Children learn actively through plan-do-review and group times.

Nursery School - Children learn through play.

Comparison 2:

Child Experience by Curriculum

Teacher-initi-ated activities

Child-initiated activities

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Direct InstructionHigh/ScopeNursery School

Comparison 2:Some Curriculum Effects

through Age 23

People give you a hard time

Ever arrested for a felony

Ever emotionally impaired

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Direct InstructionHighScopeNursery School

HighScope Teacher TrainingTraining for Quality Study

Certified High/Scope trainers have trained over 16,000 early childhood teaching teams of all backgrounds.

Classrooms with High/Scope-trained teachers have better environments, daily routine, adult-child-interaction, and overall implementation.

Children in these classrooms have better initiative, social relations, creative representation, music and movement skills, and overall child development.