Effects of Home and School Computer Use on School Readiness and Cognitive Development Among Head Start Children: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial

Data from 122 Head Start children were analyzed to examine the impact of computer use on school readiness and psychomotor skills. Children in the experimental group were given the opportunity to work on a computer for 15–20 minutes per day with their choice of developmentally appropriate educational software, while the control group received a standard Head Start curriculum. Four standardized tests were administered at baseline and 6 months later to assess their school readiness, visual motor skills, gross motor skills, and cognitive development. The experimental group performed significantly better than the control group on the school readiness test. The effect of computer use at school was strongly enhanced by the children’s home computer experience. The data were inconclusive regarding the potential effect of computer use on motor skills. These findings underscore the importance of early childhood computer use in the development of minds and bodies of children from socioeconomically disadvantaged families.