Universal Pre-Kindergarten: Who will pay the price?



I talked a little about Head Start a couple weeks back, discussing the merits and weaknesses of the program.

California released an interesting study about the merits of UPK, (Universal Pre-Kindergarten). For details, click here.

One of the primary problems with Head Start that I discussed was the problem with hiring and retaining college-educated teachers. The new California study makes estimates "based on the assumption that the preschools would follow quality standards such as having low student-teacher ratios and requiring college-educated teachers."

What is the likelihood that this will happen?? Don't look to New York as a model. According to authors Herzenberg, Price, and Bradley (2005, September 15) from the Economic Policy Institute, NY early childhood educators with a four-year college degree fell from 42% in 1980 to 23% in 2000 and similar levels in the 2000-04 period.

So the California study says that some amazing benefits will be realized if quality programs are provided. Questions of the day: do people believe it, and will they be willing to pay?

OT implications? Our profession provides a lot of preschool services with people who are trained below the baccalaureate level, specifically with COTAs. Are preschool services different when they are provided by an OTR?

We don't have the outcome data to talk about specific service levels and relative benefits to kids. But will someone else simply start comparing Head Start and UPK outcomes and begin making broad policy recommendations about levels of mandated education for professional staff? Don't be surprised. In a state like NY, cost of programs is not always a prime consideration. What's more, will teacher unions step up to protect uncredentialed or lowly credentialed professionals, or will the unions see UPK as a growth industry? Don't underestimate the power of the lobby. I encourage people to watch NY and California preschool closely. Change is in the wind.



Reference:

Herzenberg S., Price, M., & Bradley, D. (2005, September 15). Losing Ground in New York early childhood education: Declining workforce qualifications in an expanding industry, 1980-2004. Retrieved from http://www.epinet.org/issuebriefs/216/ib216e-ny.pdf January 5, 2006.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

On retained primitive reflexes

Each year I receive several emails from colleagues about 'retained primitive reflexes.'  I am also seeing an increased number of reports from local 'health care' providers who are documenting these alleged problems so I thought I would write a summary of my opinion on this topic.   Predatory 'health care' providers including some OTs, PTs, chiropractors, and behavioral optometrists are creating a new 'market' for treating this alleged 'problem.'  Parents should be very wary of these practitioners and other professionals should challenge these practices whenever they are seen. The following is the kind of information that causes concern and was provided to me by a colleague as a sample from a student's IEP: The student continues to demonstrate the following retained primitive reflexes that at times interfere with his ability to demonstrate appropriate adaptive responses: Fear Paralysis Reflex, Moro Reflex, Palmer Reflex, Tonic Labyri
Read more

Deconstructing the myth of clothing sensitivity as a 'sensory processing disorder'

Please note first that there is no formally recognized clinical designation of  'sensory processing disorder.'   It is a term constructed by occupational therapists that has not been formally recognized by the larger medical community. In our clinic we receive many referrals from local pediatricians when parents have concerns about children being overly sensitive to their clothing.  Most often the children referred are from four to seven years old and the families are severely disrupted by the children's behaviors and responses to clothing issues.  Commonly, children will have severely constricted tolerance for certain outfits, want to wear the same clothes repeatedly, complain that clothing is itchy/scratch/bumpy/wiggly/ouchie, and this all leads to disruption of daily dressing routines.  There is no doubt that the behavioral concerns are very real. The pediatricians tend to be appropriately conservative and provide families with good behavioral management suggestions
Read more

A Critical Appraisal of Therapeutic Listening

Image
History: According to Frick (2002, p. 358), auditory training has been used in Europe since the mid-1900s to address sensory processing disorders and these techniques have been recently popularized in the United States. Frick has based her Therapeutic Listening program on the work of Dr. Alfred Tomatis and Dr. Guy Berard, both of whom are French physicians. Both the Tomatis and Berard programs are delivered by specific machines using earphones but these devices do not have FDA approval and have been banned in the United States (Barrett, 2003). Frick (2001) states “With the advent of new technology, similar altered music has become available on compact disc. The discs do not replace either the Tomatis Method or the Berard Method. The compact discs do provide a less intense way to access both the auditory and vestibular systems to impact neural function and integration and are easily available to clinicians in a variety of practice arenas.” The CDs referenced on Frick’s webpages are ass
Read more