Executive Summary

The High/Scope model of preschool education is an open framework of educational ideas and practices based on the natural development of young children, developed by David Weikart and his colleagues in the 1960s. Based on the child development ideas of Jean Piaget, the High/Scope preschool model views children as active learners, who learn best from activities that they themselves plan, carry out, and reflect upon. Adults arrange interest areas in the learning environment; maintain a daily routine that permits children to learn actively; and join in children's activities, asking questions that extend children's plans and help them think through what they do. They encourage children to engage in a variety of key experiences that contribute to their own development. • Compared to other preschool programs, preschool programs using the High/Scope model significantly contribute to the overall development of children from families of both low and middle socioeconomic status, particularly to the development of their initiative, social relations, and music and movement abilities. Use of the model helps improve the intellectual and social abilities of middle-class children with and without disabilities