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Inner-city children who participated in an intensive childhood education program in Chicago from preschool to third grade were more likely to get a college degree than their peers who did not, according to a study published Monday by the National Institutes of Health.
For 30 years, researchers followed two groups of children who received different levels of education in their formative stages of life: 989 individuals who participated in the inner-city Chicago childhood educational program Child-Parent Center, and 550 people from low-income families who attended one of five randomly selected early-childhood intervention programs. The study, which observed individuals from birth to 35 years old, was the first to follow participants beyond age 25, according to its authors.
The intensive early-childhood program is distinguished by its thorough reading and math instruction as well as its regular educational field trips. In addition, parents of program participants are given a range of benefits, including job and parenting skills training, access to social services and support groups. These parents are also encouraged to volunteer in classrooms and on field trips.
Participants who attended the intensive program in preschool had a 15.7 percent chance of receiving an associate degree or higher, an 11 percent chance of achieving a bachelor’s degree and a 4.2 percent chance of getting a master’s, while the peer group had a 10.7 percent chance of getting an associate or higher, a 7.8 percent chance of bachelor’s and a 1.5 percent chance of a master’s degree. Students who were in the program through third grade attained even more.
