Final answer:
The HighScope Perry Preschool Study was the first to determine the lasting effects of high-quality preschool education on children's educational and economic outcomes. Subsequent studies, like Temple and Reynolds in 2007, supported these findings. However, later studies such as the Vanderbilt study in Tennessee challenged the long-term effects, suggesting that program quality is a significant factor in outcomes.
Step-by-step explanation:
The study that was first to determine the lasting effects of high-quality preschool education on educational and economic outcomes for children is the HighScope Perry Preschool Study. This foundational research, conducted in the 1960s, illustrated significant long-term benefits for children who attended a high-quality preschool program.
Not only did participants show improved educational outcomes, but they also demonstrated economic benefits such as higher earnings and less need for government assistance later in life.
Later studies, like the one by Temple and Reynolds in 2007, further supported the notion of investing in preschool education, demonstrating a high return on investment for quality early childhood programs.
The debate on pre-K education's value, however, became more nuanced with conflicting findings from studies such as the one conducted by Vanderbilt researchers on Tennessee's state-funded pre-K program, which indicated initial benefits that faded by third grade.
This sparked questions about whether the issue was between high-quality versus low-quality pre-K programs and whether other factors in subsequent K-3 education might impact long-term outcomes.
The benefits of pre-K education are supported by programs such as Head Start, which was implemented following the powerful findings of the Coleman Report and has been successful in providing academic-centered preschool to students from low socio-economic backgrounds.