Straight Platform Politics

Prekindergarten: The New Cure For Social Ills–Part 2

The pre-k movement: will we ever learn?

Psychologists investigated the wild claims of the self-esteem movement and found, to their dismay, that these claims were just that – claims – and nothing more. Their investigation uncovered several disadvantages of high self-esteem, but by then a generation had paid the price for this foolishness. See Part 1

Now we have more absurd claims from the pre-k movement. Are we going to be foolish again or are we going to learn from our mistakes? Are we going to ignore the negative effects of prekindergarten until another generation pays the price?

Any academic improvement from pre-k has been shown to dissipate by the end of the first grade. But the pre-k classroom misbehavior and aggression, which has been well documented, persists longer than any boost in academic performance.

If the wild claims of the pre-k movement are true, those states (like Georgia and Oklahoma) that have had pre-k systems in place for over 10 years should show a solidly positive academic effect. However, they don’t. In fact one such state was the worst performer in terms of fourth-grade reading tests.

Pre-k advocates continue to cite a pre-k project that is at least 40 years old. The Perry Preschool Project had only 58 children in the experiment group and all were considered intellectually challenged. The parents were required to be actively involved with the pre-k program and with the home visitation component of the project. This was not a typical pre-k program and any positive result cannot be expected, and has not been duplicated, in state-run prekindergarten systems.

Some economists may tout pre-k as an important component of economic development, but that is only because they want more mothers of young children to stay in or to enter the workforce. Pre-k is childcare and state-run pre-k is free (not for the tax-payers) childcare. It’s all about what is good for business; it is not about what is good for the child.

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Pre-Kindergarten: The New Cure For Social Ills–Part 1

The pre-k movement: will we ever learn?

Psychologists finally took the time to study the wild claims of the self-esteem movement and found, to their dismay, that these claims were just that – claims. High self-esteem in children did not cause them to have better academic performance, better job performance, less sexual activity, less drug or alcohol use, less aggressive or violent behavior, or better relationships.

People with high self-esteem were found to actually have poorer academic and job achievement, to experiment with sex, drugs, and alcohol at earlier ages, to be more aggressive and violent, and to have poorer relational skills. They were also prone to depression due to their inability to handle criticism in a constructive manner.

So now we have pre-k advocates making similar wild claims: unlimited social and economic benefits. Participating in high quality (a fall-back qualifier) pre-kindergarten will cause children to be more likely to graduate from high school, enroll in college, earn more, stay employed, and be healthier. They will be less likely to become pregnant, engage in criminal and sexual activity, pursue drug, alcohol, and cigarette use, and rely on welfare.

Pre-k is also touted to be a vital and sound component of economic development. It supposedly   is a sound investment producing a sizeable return (7-16% depending on who is making the baseless claim) on every dollar spent. Pre-k has been linked to a more productive workforce and a 3.5% increase in gross domestic product.

Wow! Even high self-esteem couldn’t top that. But where is the reputable research to support all these wild claims? It took psychologists over 20 years before they seriously investigated the claims of the self-esteem movement. And by then we had a generation negatively impacted by the real results of inflating self-esteem. See: The Self-Esteem Movement Part 3 and See: The Self-Esteem Movement Part 4  

Is it going to take us 20 years before we understand the folly of the wild claims of the pre-k movement? 

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The Self-Esteem Movement: Whatever Happened To Common Sense? Part 4

The self-esteem movement: The claims

Parents and teachers were led to believe that the wild claims of the self-esteem movement were true. Boosting self-esteem and protecting children from life’s adversities were of great importance. Unfortunately, the claims are not only bogus but have proven to be dangerous. See Part 3

Claim: High self-esteem will decrease crime. Research indicates: High self-esteem is more likely to be present in a person of aggression and violence than low self-esteem. Schools are now required to develop policies on how they will deal with bullying and how they will deal with the aggressive child – the bully. Is baseless self-esteem causing some children to become bullies?

Claim: High self-esteem will improve academic performance. Research indicates: If anything, it is the other way around. Namely, high academic performance will improve self-esteem. If boosting self-esteem improved academic performance, then American students should be at the top in international math and science tests. They are not and have not been so for years. They consistently have been at or near the bottom. They consistently, however, have been at the top in overrating their performances on these tests. See Part 2

Claim: High self-esteem will deter youth from getting into sex, drugs, and alcohol. Research indicates: High self-esteem leads to earlier sex, drug, and alcohol use. These youth seem to minimize the risks involved - what has happened to others will not happen to them. They have been raised in a protective bubble and have an unreal outlook on life.

Research also debunks the claims concerning correlations between high self-esteem and forming good relationships, reforming criminals, enhancing job performance, and improving how one deals with stress.

Roy Baumeister is a psychologist and a former advocate of the self-esteem movement. His research has debunked the claims of the movement and his advice is that nonprofits, policymakers, parents, teachers, and therapists should forget about self-esteem and invest in self-control.

Now that is common sense.

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