A study of environmental stimulation: An orphanage preschool project.

Personality Studies Conducted in Nursery Schools

“…Skeels, et al (28), whose study at the University of Iowa seems to show most clearly the influence of environment on intelligence, concluded that the greatest contribution of the nursery school was in keeping children of average ability froin lOSing this ability; that such children may become feeble-minded in an impoverished environment.…”

“…Skeels , et al (28) , using both teachers' ratings and timed observations in a study of environmental stimulation of orphanage children, found that over a period of time the experimental (nursery school) group showed marked superiority over the control (n 0 n -n u r s e r y s chool) group in social maturity. The experimental group engaged in more s pontaneous activities with other children and continued longer in single activities .…”

“…Skeels, et al (28), using the McCaskill series of motor skills to measure motor achievement, found that the nursery school boys were superior to control boys in motor skills at every age and that nursery school girls made higher scores than control girls at every age but four . It appeared that motor coordination itself was dependent on maturation and that differences occurred mainly in motor skills that nursery school children had an opportunity to practice.…”

BinetIQChanges of Orphanage Preschool Children: A Re-Analysis

“…The purpose of the original research study (2) was to determine the effects of preschool education introduced into the lives of a group of underprivileged children of average and below average intelligence. This was accomplished by setting up a preschool in which half of the children of preschool age in residence in the orphanage were enrolled.…”

“…Analyses of effects of preschool attendance upon intelligence in the original study (2) were made on 46 preschools and 44 control children. The other children could not be used because they' did not have two intelligence tests, the reason being short residence in the project.…”