ldren learn and what they should be taught. Teaching in the elementary grades can be largely didactic, and many early childhood professionals feel that young children should be taught on a developmental model. They tend to favor a handling of subject matter that is integrated rather than discrete (Pierson, 1991, p. 29). This developmental approach favors a curricula in which the lines between work and play are quite blurred. The teacher's role is that of one who observes, encourages, mediates, and extends the children's thinking and creativity.
Critics further question whether public school programs for three and four-year-olds can deliver what is promised. Data from Head Start and other "catch-up" programs show a dropping off effect in academic benefits after a few years. The early, immediate gains do not seem to hold in the later years of public schooling (Stegelin, 1992, p. 202). However, the Perry Preschool study, a longitudinal research program, cited a substantial correlation between early childhood education and long-term societal gains. The Californ
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