MARVELOUS ME

 

OVERVIEW

 

Marvelous Me - Preschool Edition is designed to enhance the self-concepts of preschool children. The children are to accomplish this through guided activities such as singing, dancing, and participating in large group activities all centered around six themes. It has not been found to significantly improve self-concept of preschool children compared with a control group in samples with children who are not at-risk. At-risk children significantly improve on self-concept in the program compared with the control condition.

 

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM

 

Target population: Preschool children

 

Marvelous Me - Preschool Edition consists of 45 minute sessions, three times per week, for four weeks. The goal of the 12 sessions is to develop the positive self-concepts of preschool children, and do so by focusing on six themes: feelings, self-image, getting to know myself, family, friends, and community. Each session has a similar format with activities varying from session to session. The activities may include art projects, songs, dances, large group activities, books, finger plays, or puppets. Parents receive six handouts to encourage involvement. The handouts list additional activities that parents are encouraged to do with their children.

 

EVALUATION(S) OF PROGRAM

 

Sullivan-Temple, K. and R. Ravid (1991). Marvelous Me - Preschool Edition: Enhancing Self-Concept Development in Preschool Children. Mid-Western Educational Research Association. Chicago, IL.

 

Evaluated Population: Study 1 - 158 preschool children from 10 classrooms in one nursery school and one day care center near a large Midwestern metro area. The children come from mostly middle class to upper-middle class Jewish families.

Study 2 - 58 inner-city, black, at-risk preschool children (ages 3 and 4) in Chicago.

 

Approach:

Study 1 - Five control classrooms (N=55 children) and five experimental classrooms (N=72 children) were randomly assigned. The authors do not list the activities of the control group. The experimental group participates in the Marvelous Me - Preschool Edition intervention.

 

The authors used the Purdue Self-Concept Scale for Preschool Children, the All About Me Checklist, and a Teacher Questionnaire to measure outcomes for this study. The Purdue Self-Concept Scale for Preschool Children is a test where children point to a picture (one of two pictures) that best describes them. The All About Me Evaluation Checklist is completed by parents and teachers after program implementation. It is a 13-item list of characteristics which children with positive self-concepts have been found to possess. The teacher questionnaire is for teachers to fill out for feedback on the effectiveness of the program.

 

Study 2 - Thirty experimental and 28 control students completed the Purdue Self-Concept Scale for Preschool children. Parents completed the All About Me questionnaire

 

Results: Study1 - The experimental group did not score significantly higher on self-concept than the control group. In the All About Me Checklist, parents reported a significantly greater increase in five of the 13 behaviors listed ("says 'I can do that,'" "shares," "shows leadership qualities," "speaks in large groups," "plays with group") than the teachers did. There were also no significant differences among five year olds, four year olds, or three year old children in gains from the program.

 

Study 2 - The students were not significantly different at posttest, but the experimental group had, on average, gained 8.67 points on the self-concept measure while the control group had only gained 2.14 points. The experimental group's gain was significantly higher than the control group. Parents did not significantly differ on the behavior measure (All About Me Checklist). For the teacher report, the experimental group teacher marked "more often" (on all 13 items) for more kids in the experimental group compared with the control group.  The difference was statistically significant for 7 out of 13 individual items.

 

Researchers do not report adjusting for random assignment at the classroom level.

 

SOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION

 

http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview.cgi?LPid=411

 

References

 

Sullivan-Temple, K. and R. Ravid (1991). Marvelous Me - Preschool Edition: Enhancing Self-Concept Development in Preschool Children. Mid-Western Educational Research Association. Chicago, IL.

 

Program categorized in this guide according to the following:

 

Evaluated participant ages: Early Childhood (0-5).

 

Program components: School-Based, Parent or Family.

 

Measured outcomes: Education and Cognitive Development.

 

KEYWORDS: Early Childhood (0-5), Children (3-11), Preschool, School-Based, Early Childhood Education, Education, Academic Self Concept, Manual

 

 

Program information last updated 8/19/09

 

 

		© Child Trends 2004