The HighScope Early Education Model
and Its EffectsLarry Schweinhart
HighScope Educational Research Foundation
www.highscope.org
The HighScope Preschool Curriculum
Adult-Child In-teraction
Learning En-vironment
Daily routine
ChildAssessment
InteractiveEducation
Interactive EducationAdults help children – Take initiative Develop on key indicators:
Social and emotional Movement and physical Cognitive
Language and literacy Science and mathematics Arts and music
Adult-Child InteractionAdults • Have strategies for interacting with
children. • Encourage children’s efforts rather than
praise them indiscriminately.• Help children take a problem-solving
approach to resolving conflicts.
Learning Environment• Classroom organized into interest areas.• Materials varied, show respect for
individual differences, stored where children can reach them.
• Teacher influences the flow of activities while giving children opportunities for active learning.
The Daily RoutineComponents
• Plan-do-review times• Cleanup time• Snack time• Small-group time• Large-group circle time• Outside time
Gives teachers and children opportunities to influence learning.
Child AssessmentAdults • Work as a team on child assessment.• Take notes daily on episodes of children’s
behavior.• Plan next steps with children daily.• Assess children’s development with the
HighScope Child Observation Record, found valid and reliable in Head Start.
HighScope Perry Preschool Study
Comparison 1: program versus no program groups
Comparison 2: HighScope vs. Nursery School vs. Direct Instruction preschool curriculums
191 study participants living in poverty and at risk of school failure
Randomly assigned to initially similar groups Data collected annually from 3 to 11, and at
14, 15, 19, 27, and 40, 8 % missing
Comparison 1:
Major findings over time
Arrested 5+ times by 40
Earned $20K+ at 40
High school graduate
Basic achievement at 14
Committed to school at 14
Ready for school at 5
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
Program group No-program group
Comparison 1
Large return on investment (Per participant in 2008 constant dollars discounted 3% annually)
Costs
Benefits
Preschool
Earnings Taxes Crime & Jus-tice System
Four Approaches to Early Childhood Education
Child
Responds Initiates
Teacher
Initiates
Direct
Instruction
High
Scope
Responds
Custodial
care
Nursery School
Comparison 2:
The Curriculum Models Direct Instruction - Teacher-directed
script with child “lines” focuses on academics.
High/Scope - Children learn actively through plan-do-review and group times.
Nursery School - Children learn through play.
Comparison 2:
Child Experience by Curriculum
Teacher-initi-ated activities
Child-initiated activities
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Direct InstructionHigh/ScopeNursery School
Comparison 2:Some Curriculum Effects
through Age 23
People give you a hard time
Ever arrested for a felony
Ever emotionally impaired
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Direct InstructionHighScopeNursery School
HighScope Teacher TrainingTraining for Quality Study
Certified High/Scope trainers have trained over 16,000 early childhood teaching teams of all backgrounds.
Classrooms with High/Scope-trained teachers have better environments, daily routine, adult-child-interaction, and overall implementation.
Children in these classrooms have better initiative, social relations, creative representation, music and movement skills, and overall child development.