ConnerTippetts

AbecedarianProject
PSY1100

AbecedarianProjectResearch
Thefirstvideoclipgivesagoodintroductiontothegeneraltopicsurroundingthe
CarolinaAbecedarianProject.Ithighlightsagovernmentalprogramoriginatinginthe
1960sandcontinuingintomorerecenttimes.HeadStart,asitiscalled,serves
underprivilegedfamilies,potentiallygivingthemanacademicadvantageovertheir
currentpovertystrickenlife.Agroupofscientistsfromvariousspecialtiesconsultedon
howtobestcreatethisprogramanditeventuallybecameHeadStart.Theirmission
includespreparingforschoolandpromotinglongtermsuccess.Theseideaslead
directlyintotheAbecedarianProject.
Asthesecondvideoexplains,agroupofpsychologistsstartedtheprojectto
solveaproblem.Intheearly70s,thisgroupwentoutamongtheNorthCarolina
populationandhandpicked111newbornstoparticipateinthelifelongstudy.The
purpose:toseetheeffectearlyeducationhasonanindividual.Nostudyhadeverbeen
conductedtothisscaleastheAbecedarianProjectuntilthispoint.Thechildrenwere
takentolabsessionsonaspecifictimescheduleandlearnedgameswithspecific
agendas.Onewowfactfromthesecondvideowasthatupuntilthatpoint,these
childrenhadmoredatacollectedonthemthananyothergroupofchildrenintheworld.
[1]

Asthestudywenton,thechildrenlearnedfasterandhadhigherIQscoresthan
theirnonstudypeers.Afteryearsofdatacollectingonthesameindividuals,evenafter
theywerereleasedintothepublicschoolsystem,theresultscontinued.Childrenwith
earlyeducationmaintainedhigherIQscoresandaccomplishgreaterachievementsthan
theirnonearlyeducationpeers.Oneofthestudysparticipantsaysinthesecondvideo
howheisnotdifferentfromanyone,exceptthathelovestolearn.[2]
TheTEDtalkvideobyTimothyBartikhasaveryinterestingandeconomictake
ontheissueofwhattheworthisofearlyeducation.Hetalksabouttheeffectof
investinginearlyeducationandhowitimproveseconomicdevelopmentandincrease
stateeconomy.Hearguesthatearlyeducationoutputssmarter,morequalified
employeesintotheworkenvironmentofastate.Higherskilledworkersmakemore
moneyandpaymoretaxesincreasingastateseconomy.Oneinterestingthingshe
pointsoutisthatinvestinginearlychildeducationisjustthat,aninvestmentthatwill
increaseinvaluewithtime.[3]
Sohowcanweputthisinformationintopracticeinreallife.Iagreewiththe
stancemadebyBartikthatevenifwedonthavekids,investinginearlychildhood
educationwillnotonlyimprovetheirlivesandfutureskills,butthecommunityinwhich
theyareapartof.EarlychildhoodeducationhasshownthroughtheAbecedarian
ProjectandmanyothersourcesincludingBartiksresearch,thattheireducationbefore
theageof4canlearninformationthatisfeltthroughouttheirentirelives.
OneinterestingvariableoftheAbecedarianstudyispovertysinfluenceonan
individual,morespecificallyasaninhibitorysource.Povertyincreasesapersons

chanceoflackoffocusinschool,perhapsbecausefocusisturnedtofinancialsecurity,
thanalgebra.Povertyalsotendstobeinheritedfromgenerationtogeneration.Those
bornintopovertyhaveahigherlikelihoodofbeingpoorintheirlife.Theimpoverished
alsodonthavetheresourcesormoneytoputtheirchildthroughanearlyeducation
programoutoftheirownwallet.Onewaytoputearlyeducationintopracticesoall,
includingthepoor,canreapthebenefitsofearlyeducationismakingitfreeforall
citizens,meaningfederallyfunded.Thisisaburdenonalreadytighttaxbudgets,butas
allfoursourcesconclude,theimportanceofearlyeducationorpreschoolcannotbe
understated.[3,4]
Earlyeducationhasaprofoundeffectontheindividual'sfuturewhetheritbea
betterjoboradrivetolearn.Earlyeducationissupremelyimportant,ifthegoalisbetter
educatedworkforcewithbetterskillsandthewilltolearn.Somecountertheseideas
madeinfavorofearlyeducationdismissingtheargumentsaying,childrenthatyoung
can'trememberanythinglearnedbefore4,butstrongevidencefromtheAbecedarian
projectdismantlesthisclaimbecausetheevidenceisclearthatchildhoodeducation
affectsanindividualthroughouttheirlifetimepositively.Aswelookattheeffectsearly
childhoodintervention,wewillfindthenecessityearlyeducationhasontheindividual
andcommunityinskills,wealthandoverallimprovementinlearningoutcomesincluding
drivetolearnandaccomplishmore.

Bibliography
source1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0pNlACUXkI
source2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YyZ8FkFsK4
source3
https://www.ted.com/talks/timothy_bartik_the_economic_case_for_preschool
source4
http://nieer.org/resources/research/AbecedarianStudy.pdf