Professor James Heckman’s newest research, co-authored by Ganesh Karapakula, focuses on the life-outcomes of the original participants of the Perry Preschool Program from the 1960s. The Perry Preschool Program served as an early intervention educational program, and researchers followed the economic and social outcomes of the preschooler participants. The findings from the study produced the leading evidence for the high economic return of preschool education programs.
Heckman and Karapakula’s 2019 study, “Intergenerational and Intragenerational Externalities of the Perry Preschool Project,” found that the investments in early childhood education, as seen in Perry Preschool, paid off intergenerationally. Examining the lives of the now-middle-aged program participants, Heckman and Karapakula discovered that not only participants benefitted from the program but so did their children. Children of Perry Preschool alums showed evidence of improved success in their education and employment, as well as their development of cognitive and socioemotional skills. These positive benefits are shared intergenerationally, and led Heckman and Karapakula to conclude that the impact of investments in early childhood education have second-generation effects.
Click here to read more on the study of how high-quality early childhood education strengthens families and supports positive life-outcomes.