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Survey of Curriculum Instruction To identify what, if any, curricula are being used in Providence’s early learning programs, Ready to Learn Providence mailed a survey in 2004 to all of the city’s licensed preschools, approved nursery schools and Head Start programs. Thirty of the 52 programs (58 percent) responded. Only one of the respondents indicated that it did not use any formally developed curriculum. Eighty percent of the respondents said they use more than one curriculum in their programs. The curriculum most often cited was Creative Curriculum for Preschool, a research-based framework that focuses on 11 child interest areas, such as blocks, art, library and outdoors. Respondents cited at least 12 other curricula. Twenty-seven percent of the respondents said they use curricula created by their own staff and teachers. While the Rhode Island Early Learning Standards (ELS) are not a curriculum but rather a set of expectations for children about to enter kindergarten, 30 percent of the respondents said they had begun incorporating ELS into their programs. The results of this survey have helped R2LP identify professional development needs in the city. They also provide a baseline in the ongoing debate over a common curriculum at the preschool level. R2LP’s Play and Literacy Forum, held in November 2004, featured Diane Trister Dodge in part because the survey revealed the wide use of her curriculum in Providence’s centers. View the survey as a pdf file |