Intervention research to improve language-learning opportunities and address the inequities of the word gap
Publication date: Available online 8 November 2019Source: Early Childhood Research QuarterlyAuthor(s): Dale Walker, Judith J. CartaAbstractIn this Special Issue we focus on highlighting intervention research addressing inequities in early language-learning experience that may place some children at a disadvantage later in school. Research over the last three decades has documented evidence for the differential amount and quality of children’s early language exposure, referred to as the “word gap.” This gap has been associated with family socioeconomic factors and has important consequences for children’s later voca...
Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly - November 9, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research
Change in language and literacy knowledge for Spanish–English dual language learners at school-entry: Analyses from three studies
Publication date: 2nd Quarter 2020Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly, Volume 51Author(s): Carol Scheffner Hammer, Margaret Burchinal, Sandra Soliday Hong, Doré R. LaForett, Mariela Páez, Virginia Buysse, Linda Espinosa, Dina Castro, Lisa M. LópezAbstractOver 30% of children in the U.S. are dual language learners (DLLs) who are learning two languages. Understanding the development of both languages for young DLL children in early care and education is critical. However, few have simultaneously examined development of skills in both languages for children in preschool. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examin...
Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly - November 5, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research
Examining how rural ecological contexts influence children’s early learning opportunities
Publication date: Available online 31 October 2019Source: Early Childhood Research QuarterlyAuthor(s): Iheoma U. Iruka, Mark DeKraai, Janell Walther, Susan M. Sheridan, Tarik Abdel-MonemAbstractAccording to Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory (Bronfenbrenner & Evans, 2000), children’s early development and learning are influenced by multiple systems, including the microsystem (e.g., family poverty level), mesosystem (e.g., home-school partnership), exosystem (e.g., community type, early education policies), and macrosystem (e.g., rural culture). Given the lack of early education studies focused on rural communities, ...
Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly - October 31, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research
Alignment and misalignment of classroom experiences from Pre-K to kindergarten
Publication date: Available online 11 October 2019Source: Early Childhood Research QuarterlyAuthor(s): Virginia E. Vitiello, Robert C. Pianta, Jessica E. Whittaker, Erik A. RuzekAbstractAreas of misalignment between children's experiences in preschool and kindergarten are increasingly viewed as contributing to the fade-out of preschool effects. The current study examined alignment and misalignment of classroom experiences across the transition from public pre-k into kindergarten. As part of a longitudinal cohort study, we examined structural features, process features, and teacher beliefs and practices in 295 public kinder...
Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly - October 11, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research
Trends in preschool attendance in Australia following major policy reform: Updated evidence six years following a commitment to universal access
Publication date: 2nd Quarter 2020Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly, Volume 51Author(s): Meredith O’Connor, Elodie O’Connor, Sarah Gray, Sharon GoldfeldAbstractMajor policy reforms were instigated in 2008 in Australia to ensure that all children have access to a preschool program in the year before starting school. The Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) provides a means of monitoring the impact of these reforms at the population level, as teachers of all children in their first year of school retrospectively report on children’s preschool experiences every three years. Early indications from AEDC dat...
Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly - October 10, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research
Direct and indirect pathways to early school adjustment: Roles of young children’s mental representations and peer victimization
We examined direct and indirect associations among preschool-age children’s attachment-related mental representations of mothers and peer relationships with their early school adjustment. One hundred and eighteen preschoolers attending Head Start programs were administered a story stem completion task to measure prosocial and antisocial themes in their attachment representations. Approximately two months later, teachers reported on children’s physical and relational peer victimization and prosocial attention from peers. Another three months later, trained observers rated preschoolers’ school adjustment. Children’s ...
Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly - October 10, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research
Understanding policies and practices that support successful transitions to kindergarten
This study uses qualitative interview data to examine the policies, practices, and barriers that shape how school districts support children during the kindergarten transition. Data from interviews with teachers and administrators in eleven school districts reveal a diversity in the number of kindergarten transition practices implemented and a number of structural barriers related to communication and collaboration that prevent more intensive transition efforts. These barriers included a lack of communication about children’s experiences prior to kindergarten and practical challenges related to bringing early childhood e...
Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly - September 27, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research
Screening approaches for determining the language of assessment for dual language learners: Evidence from Head Start and a universal preschool initiative
This study conducted analyses that examined the performance of the Preschool Language Assessment Scale (preLAS) and the Expressive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test (EOWPVT-3: SBE), a conceptually scored vocabulary measure, for determining dual language learner (DLL) children’s language path through a direct assessment battery. We draw on data from two studies of programs serving linguistically-diverse children, the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) and the Universal Preschool Child Outcomes Study (UPCOS), both of which used the preLAS for routing. Several key findings should inform future language ro...
Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly - September 26, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research
Thirty years later: Locating and interviewing participants of the Chicago Longitudinal Study
Publication date: 2nd Quarter 2020Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly, Volume 51Author(s): Suh-Ruu Ou, Christina F. Mondi, Sangok Yoo, Kyungin Park, Brianne Warren, Arthur J. ReynoldsAbstractRetaining study participants over time is essential for longitudinal studies to prevent selection bias and to achieve their long-term goals. The present paper examines the extent to which participants can be retained in a 30-year longitudinal study when a multi-pronged approach is employed. The paper specifically describes the approach that was used to locate and interview participants of the Chicago Longitudinal Study (CLS), th...
Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly - September 26, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research
Teacher fidelity to Conscious Discipline and children’s executive function skills
Publication date: 2nd Quarter 2020Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly, Volume 51Author(s): Kirsten L. Anderson, Madison Weimer, Mary Wagner FuhsAbstractConscious Discipline is a social-emotional learning classroom management program that uses classroom activities and routines to teach children problem-solving skills and to foster a sense of safety in the classroom. According to the publishers of Conscious Discipline, the program is currently practiced in 47 countries and is widely implemented across the United States, including approximately 11,000 Head Start classrooms and 935 school districts (Loving Guidance Inc....
Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly - September 26, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research
Maternal support for infant learning: Findings from a randomized controlled trial of doula home visiting services for young mothers
In this study, 312 young, low income mothers from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds and from four geographic locations were interviewed during pregnancy and then randomized to receive either doula home visiting services or low intensity case management services. At 3 weeks, 3 months, and 13 months postpartum, mothers were again interviewed and were video-recorded while interacting with their infants. Results showed that mothers assigned to the intervention were more likely to read to their infants and engage them in activities that foster cognitive development during early infancy. Additionally, moderation analyses reveale...
Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly - September 26, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research
Computerized social-emotional assessment measures for early childhood settings
Discussion centers on advantages of using these computerized measures, and how teachers could be supported to use them. (Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly)
Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly - September 26, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research
School-entry skills predicting school-age academic and social–emotional trajectories
Publication date: 2nd Quarter 2020Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly, Volume 51Author(s): Margaret Burchinal, Tiffany Jamie Foster, Kylie Garber Bezdek, Mary Bratsch-Hines, Clancy Blair, Lynne Vernon-Feagans, the Family Life Project InvestigatorsAbstractIdentifying skills at entry to school that promote academic success has been a major goal for policy and research. The current study categorized school-entry skills as academic (i.e., math and reading skills), cognitive (i.e., language and executive functioning), and social–emotional (i.e., externalizing and internalizing problems) skills and asked to what extent ...
Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly - September 26, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research
Editorial Board
Publication date: 4th Quarter 2019Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly, Volume 49Author(s): (Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly)
Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly - September 13, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research
Promoting content-enriched alignment across the early grades: A study of policies & practices in the Boston Public Schools
Publication date: Available online 7 September 2019Source: Early Childhood Research QuarterlyAuthor(s): Meghan P. McCormick, Christina Weiland, JoAnn Hsueh, Michelle Maier, Rama Hagos, Catherine Snow, Nicole Leacock, Laura SchickAbstractAs states and districts expand access to publicly funded PreK programs, researchers and policymakers have been grappling with experimental evidence demonstrating that the benefits of PreK on academic skills are not likely to last into early elementary school. A leading hypothesis to explain this phenomenon is that PreK and the elementary grades are not aligned with respect to content and mo...
Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly - September 8, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research
