Intensive educational intervention for children of poverty

Abstract

This editorial addresses three issues for which there is increasing scientific and practical knowledge about solutions. First, poverty, especially intergenerational poverty, is re-affirmed to have devastating effects on families and children. These include delays in young children's developmental progress, lowered aspirations, and increased apathy among older children and adults, and school failure or withdrawal of many capable children. Second, intensive targeted interventions in the first five years of life are evaluated as effective in preventing the significant intellectual dysfunction that may result from intergenerational poverty. Effectiveness of interventions, however, depends on (a) the quality and intensity of the intervention (with no demonstrated positive outcomes for weak programs); (b) the integration of educational programs with other aspects of a child's life, including later schooling experiences; and (c) the severity of the child's initial biosocial risk. Third, issues about how to develop and implement a nationwide effort to prevent environmentally induced handicaps are highlighted. The political and economic problems to be confronted are beyond the realm of science, but the societal benefits that can be realized provide a compelling rationale for creating a new coalescence of public and private resources dedicated to enhancing families who cannot assure their children an intellectual adequate environment.