Language Development in Two Groups of Socially Disadvantaged Young Children

Abstract

Two groups of socially disadvantaged young children were studied for a 2-yr. period. The experimental children (those with 2 yr. of enrichment) and controls (no enriched schooling) were tested at the beginning of the first grade and retested at the beginning of the second grade with the ITPA. Results indicate: (1) a significant performance difference between experimental and control Ss over the 2 yr, (2) all significant subtest differences over the 2 yr. favor the experimental group, with the differences primarily a function of control group decrement; (3) both groups show similar patterns of psycholinguistic performance. These findings support the hypothesis that early enrichment helps to offset language disability related to the socially disadvantaged condition.