Louisville, KY, USA. Decades of research point to the need for a universal preschool education program in the U.S. to help give our nation's children a sound cognitive and social foundation on which to build future educational and life successes.

 

Making preschool available to all children age three and older in the United States would carry great benefits, say three Yale scholars who have won the 2008 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award in Education.

 

The change would improve the school-readiness of the nation’s young children, fill a gap for working families, lower the high school dropout rate, reduce crime and boost the economy. The award winners — Edward Zigler, Walter Gilliam and Stephanie Jones — made this argument in their winning 2006 book. The authors provide detailed analyses of the many different longitudinal research designs on pre-school, highlighting the pluses and the minuses of each study.

Forty U.S. states now fund pre-kindergarten programs, but the programs enroll fewer than 10 percent of all preschoolers, Zigler, Gilliam and Jones found. Using research gathered over four decades, the authors describe the social, educational, and economic benefits for the nation as a whole that may result from the implementation of a universal pre-school program in America. They set out specific actions that can be taken to develop such a system.

 

The Grawemeyer Foundation at UofL annually awards $1 million — $200,000 each — for outstanding works in education, psychology, music composition, ideas improving world order, and religion. Their award nomination said the book “stands alone in its field for its accessibility, clarity, timeliness and ability to combine a solid research background with practical recommendations.” 

 

This book brings together recognized experts from the fields of psychology, education, economics and political science to make their argument for expanded access.

 

A Vision for Universal Preschool Education. Edward Zigler, Walter S. Gilliam, Stephanie M. Jones. Cambridge University Press: 2006. ISBN-10: 0521612993; ISBN-13: 978-0521612999.

 

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