Educational Interventions for Preschoolers in Poverty: A Literature Review & A Proposed Optimal Model

This literature review explores educational interventions for preschoolers and their families who are living in poverty. Extant research identifies strong correlational factors of living in poverty with hindered educational development before formal schooling. Children who enter kindergarten from families under the federal poverty threshold are less ready to learn when compared to the more advantaged peers. The children from low-income families who aren\u27t reached by these interventions eventually drop out at higher rates, are more prone to criminal behavior, and acquire fewer jobs in the workforce. This review highlights successful intervention programs as well as programs that produced insignificant results. An analysis into the characteristics of successful interventions further specifies why these programs can contribute to the leveling of the achievement gap in America. This review culminates in a proposed optimal model for most effective early education intervention program