The influence of an affective curriculum on the cognitive performance of four and five year olds

Abstract

Forty-eight four and five year old children enrolled in the Honey Tree Child Developmental Center, Spartanburg, South Carolina, were divided into two groups of 24Ss each based upon pre-treatment ABC Inventory test scores using a matched pairs procedure. ExperimentalSs were given a special program of affective training experiences known as the Magic Circle Preschool/Kindergarten curriculum. The structured affective training procedure took place for three months duration, 20 minutes each day. The control subjects also had a 20 minute daily break from their usual routine but the break was spent in doing informal, unstructured activities. Except for the special 20 minute daily period the children were given no differential treatment and did not function as separate groups. A post-test of the ABC inventory was administered. Statistical analyses revealed that both groups significantly improved over time, but also that the experimental group was clearly superior to the control group in achievement.