As recently as the first half of the 20th Century, researchers and scientists believed that cognitive and physical development in children was largely, even primarily, determined and dictated by inherent biological factors, and that environment had little effect on those areas of development. By the 1960s and 1970s, researchers had come to the realization that environment did indeed have a significant effect on cognitive and physical development (Early Intervention, 2004). In the 1960s, programs like Head Start and many other types of interventions were designed and arranged in order to provide potentially advantageous environmental opportunities for low-income children who may otherwise miss out on positive developmental influences (Early Intervention, 2004). There have been countless studies done on the effects of these sorts of programs, both here in the United States and around the world; let’s briefly examine the results and effects of some of these programs.
The American Psychological Association recently released a report entitled “The Recession’s Toll on Children,” and asserts that low-income children are far more likely to have both cognitive and physical problems with development, with poverty “undermining their chances for successful lives.” According to the article, 1 in 5 children live in poverty, with over 15 million children living in poverty in 2010. The report asserts that early interventions could help avoid many of these developmental issues (Novotney, 2010).
These low-income children are not just susceptible to issues pertaining to cognitive development, but are also statistically more likely to suffer from health issues such as asthma, anemia, and other physical disorders. With the dangers of poverty so clear, many different programs have attempted to intervene with high-risk groups in an effort to stave off such potential problems (Novotney, 2010).
There have been several different intervention programs, such as one called “Tools of the Mind,” which was based on the work of a Russian researcher named Lev Vygotsky. This year-long program focuses on cognitive issues, helping children avoid problems with impulse control and social-interactive behavior, by encouraging group play and other activities that involve children interacting with other children. The program has shown measurable, positive results for many of the children involved in the program (Novotney, 2010).
Another report published in the Journal of the American Psychological Association discusses the “Head Start” program, one of the most well-known of early-childhood intervention programs. With the growing realization in the 1950s and 1960s that environment could play an enormous role in childhood development, President Lyndon Johnson and the Congress at the time initiated a program called “Head Start,” a national program developed for public-school children that offered various forms of assistance to low-income children (Early Intervention, 2004).
Reports about the success of Head Start have always been mixed, though some of this is purely political (given the various Congressional battles over funding for these sorts of programs). Overall, though, these and other similar programs have demonstrably been seen to offer statistically measurable improvements in the cognitive and physical development of children involved in such programs (Early Intervention, 2004).
Other studies have examined the role of such intervention programs for children of other cultures. In Hawaii, for example, there are statistical disadvantages for children of Native descent versus those of colonization descent. Native Hawaiian children face a host of different problems that trace their roots back to colonization, such as “persistent structural discrimination,” among other hurdles. These children have shown a marked proclivity for higher rates of suicide, substance abuse, and delinquency. The Journal of Aggression and Violent Behavior published a study that examined an early-childhood intervention program aimed at Native Hawaiian children. This program placed an emphasis on strengthening Native youth’s focus on their Native and cultural roots, alongside their contemporary Western culture. Children who have gone though this program have shown measurable improvements in self-esteem, peer interaction, and other behaviors (Trinidad, 2009).
From even further beyond the borders of the contiguous United States comes a report from Istanbul, Turkey that discusses some of that nation’s early-childhood intervention programs. The particular study examined in this report was modeled after the Head Start program from the United States; in addition, programs aimed at teaching coping and other skills to the parents of low-income children were examined. As with nearly every other study that examines early-childhood intervention, measurable success was found in the programs as well (Kagitcibasi, et al 2001).
The consensus seems clear: children who grow up in poverty are at much greater threat for a vast array of disorders, both cognitive and physical. They demonstrate lower test scores, poor physical growth and development, a wider range of social and peer-interaction disorders, and countless other problems. Additionally, the consensus seems clear that well-designed early-childhood intervention programs offer statistically measurable advantages over children who are not offered such opportunities. There are countless programs, with wide-ranging results in terms of efficacy, but there is no question that, when properly administered, such programs can be enormously influential on the lives of low-income children.
References:
Manz, Patricia H., & McWayne, Christina M. (2004). Early interventions to improve peer relations/social competence of low-income children . Encyclopedia On Early Childhood Development, Retrieved from http://www.enfant-encyclopedie.com/pages/PDF/Manz-McWayneANGxp.pdf.
Early intervention can improve low-income children's cognitive skills and academic achievement. (2004). American Psychological Association, Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/research/action/early.aspx.
O'Donnell, et al. (2010). Preventing school failure, drug use, and delinquency among low-income children: long-term intervention in elementary schools. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry.
Novotney, Amy. (2010). The recession's toll on children. Journal of the American Psychological Association, 41(8).
Kagitcibasi, et al. (2001). Long term effects of early intervention: Turkishlow-income mothers and children. Applied Development Psychology, 22.
Trinidad, Alma M.O. (2009). Toward kuleana (responsibility): a case study of a contextually grounded intervention for native hawaiian youth and young adults.Aggression and Violent Behavior, 14.