Effects of Enrichment Preschooling at Bourke: A Further Follow-up Study

Abstract

As a test of the persistence of the effects of enrichment preschooling, and as a further stage of the evaluation of the Bourke preschool, 96 Aboriginal and white children, preschooled and non-preschooled, were given a battery of tests in 1974 measuring verbal intelligence, language development and classificatory skills. There was a statistically significant trend for preschooled Aboriginals and whites to score better on these criteria, than unpreschooled children at primary school, Kindergarten through Third Grade although relatively few of the specific comparisons attained statistical significance. Though there was still some erosion of earlier gains in the older cohorts, this effect was mitigated by the selection procedures, which rejected (non-preschooled) children scoring highest on a selection test at age 3.