Research Questions

The PCER initiative focused on the impact of the intervention curricula on students’ reading and pre-reading, phonological awareness, early language, early mathematics knowledge, and behavior (including social skills and problem behaviors) at the end of pre-kindergarten and kindergarten. These domains of knowledge and skills are predictive of academic success in the early years of elementary school (Downer and Pianta 2006; Miles and Stipek 2006). As a result, the research questions for the initiative primarily concern student outcomes and also include classroom outcomes due to their potentially mediating or moderating roles. The research questions are:

1. What is the impact of each of the 14 preschool curricula on preschool students’ early reading skills, phonological awareness, language development, early mathematical knowledge, and behavior?
2. What is the impact of each of the 14 preschool curricula on these outcomes for students at the end of kindergarten?
3. What is the impact of each of the 14 preschool curricula on preschool classroom quality, teacher-child interaction, and instructional practices?