DOCUMENT RESUME ED 059 780 PS 005 444 AUTHOR Butler, Annie L.; And Others TITLE Literat'ire Search and Development of an Evaluation System ) Early Childhood Education. I. Researched Characteristics of Preschool children. INSTITUTION Indiana Univ., Bloomington. SPONs AGENCY Office of Education (DHEW), Washington, D.C. PuB DATE Apr 71 cONTRACT OEC-0-70- 033-284 NOTE 400p. EDRS PRICE N1F-$0.65 HC-$13.16 DESCRIPTORS Anglo Americans; Behavior Change; *Bibliographies; Child Development; Data Analysis; Data Collection; *Early Childhood Education; *Evaluation Techniques: Federal Programs; *Individual Characteristics; Negro Youth; Objectives; *Preschool Children; Program Evaluation; Projects; Researr.h; Test Results; Visual Perception ABSTRACT The objectives and major questions to be addressed during this project are as follows: CO To identify those characteristics of preschool children which relate to later performance in primary school:(2) To review existing standardized and non-standardized tests and other appraisal instruments, which may measure changes occurring in preschool participation.;(3) To develop an evaluation. design for surveying preschool programs funded by ESEA Titles I and III;CO To develop an evaluation system which will provide data which relate to individual characteristics and the characteristics of preschool programs. The project contains three parts. Part I includes an extensive literature search of recent research and fugitive literature which pertains to the developmental characteristics and learning capabilities of preschool children. Part II consists of a statement of developmental objectives and a review of evaluation instruments. Part III provides the necessary data for the evaluation of programs funded by ESEA Title I and Title III programs. For the literature search, a group of 10 reviewers with expertise in the areas in which they would be reading were chosen. Findings resulting from data analysis include:(1) Advantaged Anglo children under five years of age perform better on the Rod and Frame Test and the Figure Ground and Form Constancy subtests of the Frosting Developmental Test of Visual Perception than Negro children; and (2) Children as young as three can copy designs with sticks to a measurable degree (Fot' related documents, see PS 005 445-448-) (Author/CI4) U.S. DE ,PTMENT OF HEALTH. EDL ,;ATION & WELFARE OFFICE OF EDUCATION THIS DOCUMENT HAS SEEN REPRO [WEED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROM THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIG INATING IT POINTS OF VIEW OR OPIN- IONS STATED DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT OMCIAL OFFICE OF EDU CATION POSITION OR POLICY LITERATURE SEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF AN EVALUATION SYSIMA IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION I. RESEAaCHED CHARACTERISTICS OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN Annie L. Butler Edward E. Gotta Nancy L. Quisenherry Robert P. Thompson April, 1971 7144 1-0The work herein reported was performed purauant to contract OEC-0-70-5033-284 Co) with the Office of Education, U.S. Department of Health Education and Welfare through. Indiana University. Contractors undertaking such work under Government sponsorship are encouraged ret to express freely their professional judgment in the conduct of the work. N'Air-de Points of view or opinions stated do not, therefore, necessarily represent ail official Office of Education position or policy. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT A project of this magnitude requires the expertise of many persons. Without them the monumental task of revi wing and summarizing this vast amount of research could not have been accomplished.We would, therefore, like to acknowledge same of the particular contributions which have been made. The reviewers who located, read, and abstracted the research were unusual in their dedication to the task and in their understanding of the importance of their cooperative efforts. For their painstaking efforts and long hours. spent in searching out and reviewfng the research onthree- through five-ye ld children, we wish to thank Nancy Dirksen, Judy Hemenway, Robert Hunner, Mary Martin, William Murphy, Ray Novaco, Kailas Panda, Anita Stoeppel and Charlene Thorpe. Much credit is also due to the consultants who helped us struggle with problems of analysis of the data and who were able to provide di tion through their thoughtful discussions and abilities to provide suggestions for procedural problems. These consultants were Milton E. Akers, Executive Director, National Association for the Education of Young Children, Ernest Campbell, ChairmanDepartment of Sociology and Anthropology, Vanderbilt University; Alma David, Professorof Education, University of Miami; Harold Fletcher, Director of Research, Institute of Human Development, Florida State University; Dorothy Haupt, Head Early Childhood Education, The Merrill-Palmer Institute; and Merle Karnes, Professor of Special Educa- tion, University of Illinois. It would be impossible to exaggerate the contribution of our clerical staff who typed the abstracts and checked many of the references for accuracy and who also did much of the proofreading as well as the typing of biblio- graphy and manuscript. To Nartha Berning3 Sandra Clark Pam Lawrence, Deborah Liffick, Susan Papp and Carole Payne we are most appreciative. y of the facilities and services of Indiana University have been involved in the project The services of a large research library were essential to the task. Our job was particularly facilitated by the help given by Eva Kiewitt, the education librarian, in the location and use of materials. Continued support in terms of use of facilities and encouragement have been given by the administration of the School of Education. We are grateful for their continued interest in L. project. Annie L. Butler Edward E. Gotts Nancy L. Quisenberry Robert P. Thompson CONTENTS I. Introduction 1 Statement of the Problem Description of Parts of the Project 5 introduction to Part I 7 II. Procedures Literature Search 8 Analysis of the Data 10 III. Findings 13 Psychomotor Domain 17 Summary 68 Cognitive Domain 74 Summary 256 Affective Domain 267 Summary 370 IV. Conclusions 377 V. Appendices 385 A. List of Journals Searched 385 B. Abstract Sheet 389 C. Coding Guides 395 D. Categories for Analysis of Data 403 E. Revised Affective Categories 407 INTRODUCTION The research in lecent years in the area of child development and early childhood education has drawn increasing attention to the import- ance of preschool experiences in relation to the later educational pro- gress of children and has led to wide acceptance that the first four or five years of a child's life are the period of most rapid growth in physical and intellectual characteristics and of greatest susceptibility to environmental influence The early years also provide the all im- portant basis for later development.Theoretical as well as emperical descriptions of development point up the way Chat the developments of one period are in part determined by ea lier developments which in turn influence later developments. According to the theory of Piaget, the greater the variety of situations to which the child must accommodate his behavioral structures, the more differentiated they become. Consequentely, early exposure to a wide variety of activities involving social and intel- lectual interactions with children and adults greatly enhances a child's ability to learn. The reverse may also be true.Deprivations are most damaging in their effects in the early years when growth and change are most rapid. It seems that such deprivations can be compensated for only with great difficulty in later years if at all. Some of the seeming irreversibility of easily established progressions may well be due to the fixing by experience of affective behaviors and physiological patterns in both qualitatively and quantitatively different ways that may be non- opti al for the later acquisition of particular cognitive structures, a matter which Piaget also echoes in his emphasis on parallel courses of cognitive and affective development. Recent attention has focused on the great neglect of the human needs of some of our yor-g children and the large numbers of children who enter school unable to make use of the learning opportunities provided. Investigations have demonstrated that child rearing practices in low socioeconotic families make for incompetence under particular task demands in the larger society. While these parents may be sincerely encouraging outwardly, often their lives do not provide models of the competency be- haviors which they wish for their children, and they often do notpossess the skills to motivate their children toward the active mastery of behaviors which are necessary for competence in our society. As a result, tco many children in the lower socioeconomic strata do not learn to learn; their speech, concepts, experience and drive to achieve are inadequate for learning. These children who enter school at a disadvantage have little opportunity to overcame their initial deficiencies. Therefore, since the traditional school is unprepared for the deficits which these children may present, the children of minority and other disadvantaged groups tend to fall furtherbehind in the development of skills which are critical in making a living and participating fully in modern society. These children have the greatest need for early school experience, for theyare most in need of help in developing their ability to live independently and creative- ly in a modern society. Recognition of the importance of early childhood education, par- ticularly for the three to five year old has