Compensatory education

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Under compensatory education refers to an education with the aim of the academic performance of children and young people from socially disadvantaged families to raise.

Sometimes programs that are aimed at (young) adults and try to strengthen their parenting skills are also referred to as compensatory parenting.

Compensatory upbringing was developed in the United States in the 1960s. As part of the “war on poverty ” and the “ Great Society domestic agenda ”, attempts were made there to “abolish poverty forever” ( President Lyndon Johnson ). One step that has been taken to achieve this goal has been the development of compensatory education. The discussion about compensatory education dominated many educational efforts and projects in Germany for years.

Goals of compensatory education

The aim of compensatory upbringing is to support poor children and children from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds and disadvantaged neighborhoods (ghettos) in order to reduce educational disadvantage and to create equal opportunities . In addition, social problems such as crime, drug use, alcoholism, unemployment, social welfare dependency, parenting of minors and abortions are often addressed. Special compensatory education programs are aimed at disadvantaged groups such as only girls or only children with a migration background. An example of a program aimed exclusively at migrants is HIPPY .

Country comparisons

The American Head Start Program is usually named as the most important compensatory education program. It is one of the largest and most expensive compensatory education programs in the world. So far, around 24 million preschoolers in the US have participated in Head Start (as of April 2007). In 2006, more than 909,000 children and families in care took part in Head Start; the budget was more than 6.7 billion US dollars . There are a total of around 218,000 paid head-start supervisors and a total of around 1,365 volunteer supervisors. A total of around 1,600 head-start projects are currently taking place in the USA. Other well-known compensatory education programs include the Milwaukee Project , the Abecedarian Early Intervention Project , the 21st Century Community Learning Centers, and the High / Scope Perry Preschool Project .

The first Early Excellence Center has also been founded in Germany. Since Germany's mediocre performance in the PISA study , the call for more compensatory education has been loud in Germany.

In Great Britain, the Early Excellence Centers were set up in 1997 as part of the Sure Start program. The Sure Start program is based closely on Head Start.

Successes in compensatory education

Overall, there is cause for cautious optimism.

“There is empirical evidence that early interventions can also have a long-term preventive effect, for example against the development of delinquency. In this way you can actually help to break the “cycle of disadvantage”. Such goals can only be achieved [...] with considerable effort: the interventions should start early and be intensive, broad and flexible; they must be properly designed in terms of content and well implemented, include the child, their parents and relevant institutions and should be offered across the board. The hope, which is very attractive for various reasons, is narrowly defined in terms of content and clearly delimited in terms of time - ie, above all, also less complex - primary preventive programs could permanently solve the various problems of high-risk families, does not seem justified on the basis of the current research situation. "

- Toni Mayr

Prerequisites for the success of the compensatory upbringing are a high level of professionalism and competence of the helper and an early interruption of the disturbance dynamics, as well as continuous help. The intervention must be intense. There is ample evidence that low-intensity help does little or nothing. Apparently there is a lower limit beyond which interventions no longer produce measurable success. It was shown, for example, that in family-related intervention projects, one home visit per week is useless and two home visits per week are of very little benefit. There were only strong effects from three home visits per week. If these requirements are met, compensatory education can be effective.

Edward Zigler and Sally J. Styfco warn, however, against relying only on the successes of compensatory upbringing instead of striving for effective poverty reduction:

“The empirical literature [...] offers good and bad news. The bad news is that neither Head Start nor any other preschool program can vaccinate children against the havoc poverty wreaks. Early intervention simply cannot overcome the impact of poor housing conditions, malnutrition and poor health care, negative role models and below average schools. However, good programs can prepare children for school and perhaps help them develop better adaptation and coping skills that allow them to live better, if less than perfect, living conditions ”

- Zigler and Styfco

Evaluation of various programs of compensatory education

Programs deemed successful

  • Abecedarian Early Intervention Project - Children from socially disadvantaged families were given the opportunity to attend a well-equipped kindergarten. They were also vaccinated. Achievements : By age 21, children had a higher IQ than control group children, attended college more often, and were more likely to be skilled workers.
  • Big Brothers Big Sisters - children from a wide variety of family backgrounds are provided with mentors that match the children's interests and personality. Boys get a mentor and girls get a mentor. Success : Children show positive changes in terms of their motivation to learn and social skills such as communication and teamwork skills.
  • Career Academies - Pupils from poor backgrounds are given the opportunity, under certain conditions, to attend special classes that prepare them particularly well for college. The program is particularly aimed at migrants. They receive math and English lessons at a high level. Achievements: Career Academies students are more likely to graduate later in life and have a higher income. Criticism: The program is chargeable for the students.
  • Check & Connect - poor students get a mentor who coaches them in important life decisions. Achievements : Students attend school more regularly and graduate more often.
  • High / Scope Perry Preschool Project - based on the pedagogical ideas of anti-authoritarian pedagogy by Alexander Sutherland Neill ; Children from poor neighborhoods had the opportunity to learn independently in a learning house. Achievements : Children were less likely to be criminals in adulthood, had more school-leaving qualifications and were less dependent on welfare. Therefore the project was also profitable for the state. For every $ invested in the project, $ 17 was saved in social aid.
  • Milwaukee Project - Children of poor mentally challenged mothers received a personal trainer. Achievements : At the age of 6, the children had an IQ of 120. The IQ of the comparison group was only 87. The differences in intelligence, however, became more similar later. At the age of 14, the test participants had an IQ of 101, the comparison group an IQ of 91.
  • Nurse-Family Partnership - program of compensatory education in the USA, a trained nurse visits poor families and educates them about healthy behavior during pregnancy and child-rearing. Achievements : At the age of six, children were more likely to be ready for school, were less likely to have behavioral problems and were less likely to commit crimes.

Controversial programs

  • Early Excellence Center - program of compensatory education based on Head Start in Great Britain and Germany. Daycare centers are being created and parents are being trained. The successes are controversial. The program has not yet been evaluated.
  • Head Start - the first compensatory education program and one of the largest and most expensive. The program is seen as successful by some scientists and unsuccessful by others.
  • SMART (compensatory education) - Volunteers help poor children with homework, read to them and visit libraries with these. Successes : partially successful. The children read better than unsupported children from similar backgrounds. However, they read worse than their peers.

Programs deemed unsuccessful

  • 21st Century Community Learning Centers - US Government Program. The children are looked after by educators and social workers after school. They receive help with homework and can take part in sporting and artistic activities. Without success. The students' academic performance did not improve.
  • Fast ForWord - a computer program designed to help poor children learn to read better.

Without success

No benefit of the program could be proven.

  • Hawaii Healthy Start - a government program in Hawaii. Mothers from the lower classes were visited by trained family helpers and advised on upbringing.

Without success means: The children were mistreated as often and had to be placed in foster families as often as children from the control group.

Criticism of the compensatory education

Compensatory education programs are controversial in the United States. Psychologist Arthur Jensen describes compensatory education programs as a waste of money; the IQ cannot be increased but is genetically determined.

The British sociolinguist Basil Bernstein , on the other hand, argued that upbringing is generally unsuitable to compensate for shortcomings in society as a whole.

Meier, Menze and Torff accused compensatory upbringing of elevating the middle class to the general standard and thereby alienating working-class children from their world.

See also

literature

  • Barnett (1995): Long-Term-Effects of Early Childhood Programs
  • Barnett (1996): Lives in the Balance: Age-27 Benefit-Cost Analysis of the High / Scope Perry Preschool Program
  • Garbner, Howard L. (1988): Milwaukee Project: Preventing Mental Retardation in Children at Risk

Web links

Abecedarian Early Intervention Project

Early Excellence Center

Head start

High / Scope Perry Preschool Project

Milwaukee Project

Comparison of different programs

literature

  • Barnett (1995): Long-Term-Effects of Early Childhood Programs
  • Barnett (1996): Lives in the Balance: Age-27 Benefit-Cost Analysis of the High / Scope Perry Preschool Program
  • Garbner, Howard L. (1988): Milwaukee Project: Preventing Mental Retardation in Children at Risk

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Head Start Program Fact Sheet ( Memento of the original from May 21, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.acf.hhs.gov
  2. ↑ Hans Weiß: Poverty as a Development Risk - Possibilities of Prevention (PDF; 40 kB) ( Memento of the original from October 20, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. - Downloaded November 25, 2007 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.dji.de
  3. ↑ Toni Mayr: Developmental Risks in Poor and Socially Disadvantaged Children and the Effectiveness of Early Help . In: Hans Weiß (Ed.): Early intervention with children and families in poverty . Ernst Reinhardt, Munich / Basel 2000, ISBN 3-497-01539-3 ; P. 163
  4. ↑ Toni Mayr (2000): Developmental Risks in Poor and Socially Disadvantaged Children and the Effectiveness of Early Help. In: Hans Weiß (Ed.): Early intervention with children and families in poverty . Ernst Reinhardt, Munich / Basel 2000, ISBN 3-497-01539-3 ; P. 159
  5. ↑ Toni Mayr: Developmental Risks in Poor and Socially Disadvantaged Children and the Effectiveness of Early Help . In: Hans Weiß (Ed.): Early intervention with children and families in poverty . Ernst Reinhardt, Munich / Basel 2000, ISBN 3-497-01539-3 ; P. 159
  6. ↑ Zigler, Styfco 1994, p. 129, quoted from: Philip Zimbardo : Psychologie - 16th, updated edition. Pearson Studium, Munich 2004, ISBN 978-3-8273-7056-3 , ISBN 3-8273-7056-6 , p. 426
  7. ↑ Jensen, Arthur (1972): Genetics and education . Harper & Row, New York.
  8. ↑ Jensen, Arthur: The g factor: the science of mental ability Westport, Conn. [u. a.]: Praeger
  9. ^ Bernstein, Basil (1970): Education cannot compensate for society New society (London).
  10. ^ Meier, Menze, Torff (1974): The misery with compensatory education . Giessen: Edition 2000, Verlag Andreas Achenbach