Does preschool intervention affect children's perceived competence?

This study investigates the effects of the federally funded Child-Parent Center (CPC) preschool program on children's perceived school competence in Grade 6. A total of 757 low-income Black children participated in this Head Start-type program at 3 and 4 years of age. One hundred thirty (130) eligible children from similar socio-economic circumstances served as the comparison group and entered school in kindergarten with no preschool experience. Multiple-regression analysis indicated that participation in preschool intervention was significantly associated with more positive perceptions of school competence. This finding, however, was not duplicated when the model was estimated using a two-stage estimation of treatment effects. Estimated effects of preschool participation on reading and math achievement in Grade 6 were consistently significant and meaningful across all methods of analysis. Findings support the positive direct effects of preschool intervention on school achievement rather than on perceived school competence.