INTRODUCTION TO HIGH SCOPE APPROACH (PART A)

GRACE NGA HUI JUN (SCKD2400126):

INTRODUCTION

The name of the approach is famously acknowledged as high scope approach.

BACKGROUND: 

    David Weikart and others created the Perry Preschool Program in the 1960s as a model approach designed to help disadvantaged preschool children develop the skills needed to succeed in the public school system. The program emphasizes the importance of teaching the cognitive understandings needed for academic success in reading and mathematics (DeVries & Kohlberg, 1987).

   Weikart became a school system administrator in Michigan during the 1950s. He was astonished by how badly the poor African American children were doing in school. Because the school officials did not allow him to change the school system, he decided to come up with a new kind of curriculum that would benefit and push the children’s IQ further. This is when he came up with the “Perry Preschool Project.”

Full 30 mini historic 1970 film about Perry Preschool Project: https://youtu.be/hu8cRqWvVaw?si=yH-RlK6RNh5i7Erp

    Weikart developed the High Scope approach with the Perry Preschool Project in Ypsilanti, Michigan which is in the United State of America in October of 1962 to serve children in response to persistent high school failure which makes him the founder of the approach.

    Nowadays, this approach is particularly common in East Asian countries such as China, South Korea, and Japan, where education systems are highly competitive. It’s also widely seen in places like Hong Kong and Singapore, especially in urban areas where school performance is closely watched. In recent years, similar patterns have started to appear in other parts of the world where high-stakes testing is becoming more common. 

video link of Dr. David Weikart speaks about HighScope's founding in 1970:  https://youtu.be/mN-R6BnX-BM?si=XfT9IRSrHde9f9y3