Extending pre‐school experience as preventive intervention: Relationships with later reading achievement

Abstract

This study investigated the predictive validity of decisions made by a pre‐school teacher concerning the cognitive and social maturity of her pupils to enter formal schooling, based on their performance on the Neale Scales of Early Childhood Development.Thirty‐five children selected from the rolls of a Melbourne pre‐school which had maintained records over a ten‐year period were followed up in primary school and their reading ability assessed. Findings showed that subjects who had undertaken an additional pre‐school year following advice based on their Neale Scales’ performance were reading significantly better than those who had displayed similar developmental anomalies but who bad not been exposed to further pre‐school experience; moreover, the former were reading as well as or better than children selected on the basis of their pre‐school profiles as being ready for school.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

May Hale

May Hale is Director, Diamond Creek Pre‐school

Marie D. Neale

Michael F. McKay is Senior Research Fellow, and Marie Neale is Research Professor, Krongold Centre, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3168. (address for reprints)