[Reading-hall-of-fame] Toward a Life Cycles Education Policy

[Thomas Sticht]

Research Note

October 23, 2004

Early Childhood Education and Early Adulthood Education:
A Life Cycles Perspective for Educational Policy

Tom Sticht
International Consultant in Adult Education

In a recent report for the Economic Policy Institute of Washington, DC,
Lynch (2004) provides an analysis of several early childhood development
(ECD) programs and concludes that they produce a considerable benefit to
cost ratio. He states, "Investments in high-quality ECD programs
consistently generate benefit-cost ratios exceeding 3-to-1=97or more than=
 a
$3 return for every $1 invested=97well above the 1-to-1 ratio needed to
justify such investments. (p. vii).

Importantly, on this same page Lynch states that many of these ECD
programs  "=85also provide adult education and parenting classes for the
parents of young children." (p vii).  This suggested to me that perhaps a=
=20
significant percentage of the benefits that ECD programs produce might
result from the effects of what might be called early adulthood
development (EAD) activities. In other words, it seems possible to me tha=
t
much of what is attributed to early childhood education programs might
actually be resulting in some significant part from the educational or
motivational effects that such programs have on the adult parents or
parents-to-be of the children who are enrolled in the programs.  If that
is so, then these studies of ECD may also be taken as studies of EAD, and
call for a much greater investment in the education of young adults who
are of childbearing and rearing ages.

Following  are some extracts taken directly from Lynch=92s report that
suggest how adult education of the children=92s parents, even if this is
only indirect education through participation with the program operators,=
=20
may be important in influencing the long term benefit-cost ratios that
Lynch describes.

Perry Preschool Project (Ypsilanti, Michigan, 1962-1967)

"Description: One hundred and twenty-three African American children with
low IQs (in the 70 to 85 range) and from families with low socioeconomic
status were randomly assigned to one of two groups: one enrolled in a
pre-school
program and one not. Those enrolled in preschool attended for two
school years at ages three and four. Services included daily 2.5-hour cla=
sses
and weekly 1.5-hour home visits with mother and child. Evaluations of the
children were performed annually until the children reached age 11, and t=
hen
again at ages 14, 15, 19, and 27. A forthcoming analysis will follow the
children
through age 41." (p. 24)

"The economic benefits of the Perry Preschool Project were probably
under-estimated
=85For example, given that the preschool program was a form of childcare,
some of the mothers of program participants were probably able to increas=
e
their employment and earnings relative to what they would have been
without the program, and thus they probably also increased their tax
contributions and decreased their welfare consumption." (p. 26)

The Prenatal/Early Infancy Project (Elmira, New York, 1978-1982)

"Four hundred first-time mothers were enrolled in the program before
their 30th week of pregnancy. The women enrolled in the program were
overwhelmingly at high risk of poor child and family outcomes: 85% were u=
nder
age 19 and/or unmarried and/or of low socioeconomic status. The women
were randomly assigned to one of two intervention groups or one of two
control
groups." (p. 26)


"Intervention group mothers also felt the benefits of the program.
Intervention
group mothers in the high-risk sample spent fewer months on welfare
(60.4 versus 90.3) and received food stamps for less time (46.7 months ve=
rsus
83.5 months) than did the high-risk control group mothers. By the time th=
e
children were 15, intervention group mothers in the high-risk sample were
much less subject to arrest (18% versus 58%), conviction (6% versus 28%),
and incarceration than were the mothers in the high-risk control group.
Intervention
group mothers in the high-risk sample experienced fewer subsequent
pregnancies (1.5 versus 2.2) and went a longer time between the first and
second birth (68.8 months versus 37.3 months) than did the mothers in the
high-risk control group. The intervention group mothers in the high-risk
sample
also reported many fewer episodes of impairment due to alcohol or drugs t=
han
did the high-risk control group mothers." (p. 27)


The Abecedarian Early Childhood Intervention (North Carolina, 1972-1985)

"At age five all the children were reassigned to either a special
intervention
program through age eight or a control group. The intervention program
involved having parents engage in specific supplemental education activit=
ies
for the children in their homes. The parents were provided with education=
al
material and training, with which to engage their children, roughly every=
 two
weeks. Data were collected at ages three, five, eight, 12, 15, and 21."
(p. 28)

"When the preschoolers were approximately four and a half years old, data
were collected on the mothers who were under age 18 at the time they gave
birth.
These young mothers were more likely to have graduated from high school,
attained post high school education, been employed, and been self-support=
ing
than were the young mothers in the control group. On average, these young
mothers had more education (11.9 years versus 10.3 years) than did the
control
group=92s mothers. Moreover, only 23% of these young mothers had an
additional birth compared to 40% of control group mothers." (p. 30)


The Chicago Child-Parent Center Program (Chicago, Illinois, 1967 to prese=
nt).

"Parental involvement with the schools was much higher among the parents
of center children than it was for the parents of non-center children. By
ages 20 and 22, the high school graduation rates for center children were
50% and 65% compared to just 39% and
54% for non-center children. " (pp. 31-32)

Early Head Start

"Early Head Start is an extension of the Head Start program that targets
low-income
pregnant women and families with infants and toddlers. It serves over
60,000 children from birth to age three in some 700 programs nationwide."
(p.32)

"A carefully controlled, randomized assessment of the Early Head Start
program is in progress but has not yet been completed. However,
preliminary results have been reported=85 By age three, children in Early
Head Start performed significantly better than control groups on
cognitive, language, and social-emotional development indicators. Their
parents were more emotionally supportive, used less punitive parenting,
provided more stimulating home environments, and read more to their
children. The parents were also more likely to participate in education
and job training and less likely to have another child during the two
years after enrollment in Early Head Start than were control group
parents." (p.34)

Educational Rights of Children and Adults

Rosa Maria Torres (2003) has argued for what I call a "life cycles" polic=
y
for education in which it is recognized that educational policies do not
affect only one generation but through the intergenerational transfer of
language and literacy they affect many cycles of lives across generations.
She has argued that, "=85the children=92s right to education should inclu=
de
the right to educated parents."

Given the data from Lynch (2004) extracted above, it appears entirely
possible that much of the benefits of early childhood development program=
s
have their roots in the effects that such programs have as adult educatio=
n
intervention programs for the children=92s parents. For this reason,
advocates of both early childhood education and adult education should
join forces in seeking equitable funding for adult education and literacy
development. It just could be that one of the best investments we can mak=
e
for children=92s education, is an investment in the education of adults.

All children have a right to educated parents!

References

Lynch, R. G. (2004). Exceptional Returns: Economic,Fiscal,and Social
Benefits of Investment in Early Childhood Development. Washington, DC:
Economic Policy Institute (http://www.epinet.org)

Torres, R. M. (2003). The fundamental linkages between child, youth and
adult learning and education. http://www.iiz
dvv.de/englisch/Publikationen/Supplements/60_2003/
eng_someconclusionsandelements.htm

Contact: Dr. Tom Sticht
International Consultant in Adult Education
2062 Valley View Blvd.
El Cajon, CA 92019-2059
Tel/fax: (619) 444-9133
Email: tsticht@aznet.net