Harmful Effects of Academic Early Education? A Look at the Claims and the Evidence
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Date
2015-06-15
Authors
Stockard, Jean
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
National Institute for Direct Instruction (NIFDI)
Abstract
Two on-line publications released in May, 2015 warned of the dangers of early childhood
education programs that promote academic skills. A group called “Defending the Early
Years” released a short document by Nancy Carlsson-Paige and associates titled Reading
Instruction in Kindergarten: Little to Gain and Much to Lose (Carlsson-Paige, McLaughlin, &
Almon, 2015). Shortly thereafter Peter Gray used this information for a blog post on the
Psychology Today website titled Early Academic Training Produces Long-Term Harm:
Research Reveals Negative Effects of Academic Preschools and Kindergartens (Gray,
2015). Both postings contend that academic preschools and kindergartens have no lasting
effect on students’ later academic success and can even promote long-term harm to
children’s social and psychological development. Given the provocative nature of these
conclusions, the NIFDI Office of Research and Evaluation was asked to examine their basis.
The first section below summarizes misrepresentations in the publications, and the second
section briefly examines theoretical assumptions embodied in the discussions and their
implications.
Description
8 pages
Keywords
Technical Report, Reading Instruction in Kindergarten: Little to Gain and Much to Lose, Nancy Carlsson-Paige, Misrepresentation