ABSTRACT
Human cognition develops in interaction with numerous environmental factors. The social environment is an important context in which development is shaped. Previous studies have shown children’s socioeconomic status (SES) to be an important predictor for various cognitive variables as well as academic achievement. In this chapter, we investigate the relation between children’s SES and nonverbal intelligence, working memory, and phonological awareness and how institutional programs may mitigate the influence of children’s backgrounds in two studies involving two different language-promoting preschool programs. Study 1 investigates effects of a phonological awareness training program, while Study 2 focuses on bilingual versus monolingual preschool programs. Neither program showed significant effects with regard to changing relations between SES and cognitive skills. As for relations between cognitive skills and parental background, we found contrasting correlations between the studies. Results are discussed with respect to methodological as well as theoretical issues.
