Preschool education for young children is becoming a more significant issue in American society because of the increasing numbers of children enrolled by parents or care-givers in preschool learning, “Since 1985, the number of 3 to 5-year-olds attending preschool or prekindergarten programs around the country has jumped 35 percent. Last year, some 4.5 million American kids attended” (Morgan, 1997, S12). There are a few reasons fueling this increase in preschool programs. One is the increasing number of working single-parents and two-career families in this country, many whom rely on preschool programs as a form of education and child-care. Another reason for the increase in enrollment in preschool programs is based on the growing body of evidence that behavior and even academic performance fundamentals are shaped much earlier in childhood than previously thought. As a recent report by New York’s Carnegie Corporation’s Task Force on Learning in Primary Grades stated, “Academic self-image is shaped between the ages of 3 and 10 and children who take an early dislike of schoolwork or have doubts about their academic worth face disadvantages in all future learning” (Preschool, 1997, PG).
Despite the reasons fueling the increased enrollment in preschool programs, the debate is still ongoing in the literature as to whether there are significant benefits in learning based on preschool attendance. A review of the current literature seems to strongly indicate that there are great benefits in learning that accrue to children who participate in preschool programs before entering traditional k-12 education. The Carnegie study outlined the blueprint for academic success, one that begins by offering all American children access to two years of quality preschool learning. Many studies available in the literature support the Carnegie contention with empirical evidence. One study on 3- to 5-years-olds at the University of North...