University of Mississippi eGrove Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 2017 The Impact Of Pre-Kindergarten Programs On Student Achievement In Mississippi Elementary Schools Fletcher B. Harges University of Mississippi Follow this and additional works at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd Part of the Educational Leadership Commons Recommended Citation Harges, Fletcher B., "The Impact Of Pre-Kindergarten Programs On Student Achievement In Mississippi Elementary Schools" (2017). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 513. https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/513 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at eGrove. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of eGrove. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. THE IMPACT OF PRE-KINDERGARTEN PROGRAMS ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IN MISSISSIPPI ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS A Dissertation Presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Educational Leadership The University of Mississippi by FLETCHER B. HARGES August 2017 Copyright © 2017 by Fletcher B. Harges All rights reserved ABSTRACT Each of the states bordering Mississippi invests large amounts of money in providing children with state-funded pre-k programs in their public schools. However, Mississippi falls behind these states and does not similarly invest in this effort to provide many of its children with the opportunity to attend state-funded pre-k programs. Because school readiness is such a huge concern for instructional leaders of Mississippi schools, there is a need to determine the benefits associated with offering pre-k to all students throughout the state. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the impact pre-k has on the academic achievement of students in Mississippi school districts.