Which homes? A response to Scarr and McCartney (1988) |
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| Authors: | P Levenstein |
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| Institution: | State University of New York, Stony Brook. |
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| Abstract: | Scarr and McCartney's (1988) Bermudian study shows the futility of using the Verbal Interaction Project's Mother-Child Home Program (MCHP) to prevent later educational disadvantage in preschoolers who are not at risk for such disadvantage. Recently published research is cited to support a conclusion that poverty alone does not predict school disadvantage so much as poor parents frequently having low motivation and less than high school graduation, unlike the Bermudian sample. Significant positive school effects through eighth grade are noted to have occurred when the MCHP was used with Massachusetts preschoolers who were socioeconomically at risk for educational disadvantage and thus were of lower SES than the advantaged Bermudian children. Methodological issues are also discussed. |
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