Over a three-year period (1995-98), four studies involving 950 kindergartners from urban and rural schools in Tennessee, Kentucky and Kansas were conducted by Dr. Donald DeMoulin, Department of Educational Studies, University of Tennessee-Martin. The studies looked at the impact of the I Like Me! program on different factors affecting the development of kindergarten-age students.

Study #1 analyzed the cumulative impact of the I Like Me! program on the development of a positive self-concept in kindergarten children. (“Self-concept” is a term that encompasses two areas of child development: self-esteem - how children feel about themselves-and self-efficacy-how children feel about what they do and the affect this has on how they approach tasks such as learning.)

Study #2 looked at the effectiveness of the format and length of the program.

Study #3 analyzed the impact of the personalized reader approach on students’ reading comprehension.

Study #4 looked at the effect of the program on students who are kindergarten age but, as a result of their late birthdays, experience delays in their emotional and cognitive development.

RESEARCH FINDINGS:
Study# 1
The I Like Me! program contributed significantly to the overall growth in positive self-concept in children involved in the studies. Pre-test and post-test results showed an average overall gain of approximately 7% in children involved in the studies..

• On average, boys and girls experienced equal growth in positive self-concept.


• Children from different social economic levels experienced similar growth overall.


• Self-concept development in Caucasian, African- American, Asian, and Hispanic student participants improved significantly. (Future studies will include more children of Native American and other ethnic backgrounds.)


Study #2
On average, kindergartners who participated in the 12-week program on a continuous basis demonstrated greater benefit in overall self-concept growth

• than children who did not receive the personalized reader at all,


• than children who received the personalized reader, but no instruction or involvement from their teacher and/or parents, or


• than children who received the personalized reader but only periodic I Like Me! program instruction from teachers.


Study #3
The use of the personalized I Like Me! reader improved reading comprehension and recall in kindergartners by an average of 46.8 percent over children using non-personalized readers.

Study #4
I Like Me! enhances self-concept in children with developmental delays and has a significant impact on their overall readiness to enter kindergarten. Children in this test group showed an average gain of 53.1 percent in self-concept development following the 12- week I Like Me! program.

The results also suggest that the I Like Me! program improves classroom behavior.

• Some teachers reported as much as a 40 percent decline in classroom management problems during the 12-week program.


SUBSEQUENT RESEARCH FINDINGS:
From the results of the initial study, additional assessments were taken during the 1998-1999 school year and were compiled into the following composite analysis. The I Like Me! program continues to positively impact the overall self-concept of kindergartners. Both the self-esteem element and self-efficacy elements contributed to the overall advance. Analyses continue to suggest that children have a good feeling toward themselves and toward school at this age and the significance of the I Like Me! program fosters an effective impact on building both self-esteem and self-efficacy elements. Analyses further suggest that:


• Gender was not a factor in self-concept , self-esteem, and self-efficacy development as data for both boys and girls produced mean significant gains with the largest gain identified with girls.
  
  
• Race was not a factor among the different ethnic groups: Caucasian students, African American students, Asian students, Hispanic students, Native American students, and in the category of "Other" experienced positive growth in self-concept with the largest gain identified within Caucasian students.
  
  
• Children regardless of socioeconomic status (SES) benefited from the impact of the program in overall self-concept in both self-esteem and self-efficacy elements---the greatest gain in self-concept, esteem, and efficacy was identified in the "Free" category.
  
  
• Children from different geographic (identified using the U. S. Department of Education Regional Divisions) showed positive gains in all categories of self-concept, esteem, and efficacy indicating that the I Like Me! program is equally effective in all regions in enhancing self-concept, self-esteem, and self-efficacy in kindergartners.
  
  With the additional information, the I Like Me! program is making a continued, positive impact not only in overall self-concept growth, but in self-efficacy and self-esteem elements as well. The ongoing analyses further indicate that I Like Me! is a program that can be replicated throughout the United States--meeting the diverse needs of kindergartners across a wide-range of cultures.
  
  

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