Language intervention research in early childhood care and education: A systematic survey of the literature
We report the findings from a systematic survey of research on non-parental interventions, with the goal of identifying strengths and weaknesses in current literature which can inform current practice and also guide the design of future research. Studies were identified using a systematic search protocol of the communication and language intervention literature for children from birth through 5 years of age. One hundred and ninety studies published between 1975 and 2015 met the specified inclusion criteria, which included the experimental manipulation of at least one relevant intervention variable and applying and testing ...
Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly - April 17, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research
Individual Growth and Development Indicators-Español: Innovation in the development of Spanish oral language general outcome measures
Publication date: 3rd Quarter 2019Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly, Volume 48Author(s): Lillian K. Durán, Alisha K. Wackerle-Hollman, Theresa L. Kohlmeier, Stephanie K. Brunner, Jose Palma, Chase H. CallardAbstractThe population of Spanish-speaking preschoolers in the United States continues to increase and there is a significant need to develop psychometrically sound early language and literacy screening measures to accurately capture children’s ability in Spanish. In this paper, we describe the innovative design and calibration process of the new Individual Growth and Development Indicators-Español (IGDIs-E...
Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly - April 16, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research
A historical look at theories of change in early childhood education research
Publication date: 3rd Quarter 2019Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly, Volume 48Author(s): Holly S. Schindler, Dana Charles McCoy, Philip A. Fisher, Jack P. ShonkoffAbstract•After decades of program implementation and evaluation, the early childhood education (ECE) field needs to move towards more effective and efficient strategies. One tool that has been developed to support this shift is theory of change (TOC). Though TOCs have been widely recognized for their potential utility, the extent to which they have been employed consistently in ECE research is unclear. In this paper, we draw upon a comprehensive, syste...
Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly - April 11, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research
School starting age and child development in a state-wide, population-level cohort of children in their first year of school in New South Wales, Australia
Publication date: Available online 9 April 2019Source: Early Childhood Research QuarterlyAuthor(s): Mark Hanly, Ben Edwards, Sharon Goldfeld, Rhonda G. Craven, Janet Mooney, Louisa Jorm, Kathleen FalsterAbstractIn Australia’s most populous state, New South Wales (NSW), children born between January and July have the choice to start school in the year they turn five, or delay entry until the year they turn six. We used linked administrative data for children who started school in NSW in 2009 or 2012 (N = 162,878) to identify child, family and area characteristics associated with delayed entry, and to explore the relat...
Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly - April 9, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research
The overall and differential effects of a targeted prekindergarten program: Evidence from Connecticut
Publication date: 3rd Quarter 2019Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly, Volume 48Author(s): Bianca Montrosse-Moorhead, Shaun M. Dougherty, Tamika P. La Salle, Jennie M. Weiner, Hannah M. DostalAbstractWith a large volume of literature pointing to the beneficial impact of pre-kindergarten, researchers, educators, and policymakers are now raising questions about what works for whom, under what conditions, as well as conducting cost-benefit analyses of such endeavors. However, few studies exist on the differential and contextual effects of these programs, creating opportunities for new research in this area. This paper ...
Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly - April 7, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research
How can we determine students’ motivation for reading before formal instruction? Results from a self-beliefs and interest scale validation
Publication date: 3rd Quarter 2019Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly, Volume 48Author(s): Erin M. McTigue, Oddny J. Solheim, Bente Walgermo, Jan Frijters, Njäl FoldnesAbstractLiteracy success is co-determined by skill and motivation, with early school success predicting long term achievement. Despite numerous assessments for early literacy skills, few validated and efficient measures are available for early literacy motivation. To assess the viability of measuring students’ literacy motivation before any formal instruction, we developed and validated the Survey of Early Literacy Motivation (SELM). 1171 Norwegian...
Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly - April 7, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research
Teacher reports of social-emotional development: Moving from measure to construct
This study evaluates how teacher report measures align with different conceptualizations of children’s social-emotional development. Leveraging seven teacher report measures of social competence and behavioral regulation in a predominantly low-income, population-based rural sample of four-year-old children (n = 828), model fit and validity were evaluated in a series of confirmatory factor models, including bifactor models. A bifactor model with behavioral regulation as a general factor and an orthogonal social competence factor emerged as the preferred model. Results indicate that teacher reports of behavioral regula...
Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly - April 5, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research
The little kids down the hall: Associations between school climate, pre-K classroom quality, and pre-K children’s gains in receptive vocabulary and executive function
Publication date: 3rd Quarter 2019Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly, Volume 48Author(s): Shana E. Rochester, Christina Weiland, Rebecca Unterman, Meghan McCormick, Lillie MoffettAbstractIn recent years, policymakers’ and practitioners’ interest in school climate as a contributor to K-12 student learning and classroom processes has increased, both in the US and internationally. However, researchers have not yet examined the influence of school climate on the youngest learners in these contexts — prekindergartners. Using data from the Boston Public Schools, where the public prekindergarten program is housed in...
Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly - April 4, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research
Raising the bar: Teaching kindergartners with emotional and behavioral disabilities and teachers’ readiness expectations
This study examined whether kindergarten teachers’ school readiness expectations differed in classrooms with and without children with emotional and behavioral disabilities (EBD). Using teacher observations from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Kindergarten Class of 2010–11, where observations were selected based on a three stage sampling design to ensure national representation, we relied on a school fixed effects methodology given the large sample of teachers teaching classrooms with (N = 390) and without (N = 3480) students with EBDs. Using readiness expectations scales derived from teacher-reporte...
Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly - March 30, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research
Predictors of mandatory 3rd grade retention from high-stakes test performance for low-income, ethnically diverse children
We examined enforcement practices of this policy. We examined a large (N = 27,980), ethnically diverse, urban sample. Of those who took the FCAT reading test in 3rd grade, 15% failed, and of those who failed, only 53% actually repeated 3rd grade. Black and Latino students, those receiving free/reduced lunch, those who were not yet English proficient, and those in special education were more likely to fail the test. The same variables predicted which students were retained after having failed the FCAT, with the exception of ethnicity. Children who had a lower GPA in 3rd grade had greater odds of being held back after fa...
Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly - March 28, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research
An enhanced eBook facilitates parent–child talk during shared reading by families of low socioeconomic status
Publication date: Available online 25 March 2019Source: Early Childhood Research QuarterlyAuthor(s): Georgene L. Troseth, Gabrielle A. Strouse, Israel Flores, Zachary D. Stuckelman, Colleen Russo JohnsonAbstractLanguage input plays a key role in children’s language development, but children from families of low socioeconomic status often get much less input compared to more advantaged peers. In “dialogic reading” (Whitehurst et al., 1988), parents are trained to ask children open-ended questions while reading, which effectively builds expressive vocabulary in at-risk children. In the research reported here, a dialogi...
Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly - March 26, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research
Examining linguistic interactions of dual language learners using the Language Interaction Snapshot (LISn)
This study detailed the ways in which LISn data describes the linguistic interactions of Spanish–English DLLs with their teachers and peers. Participants were 104 teachers and assistant teachers from 52 classrooms in preschool programs in California, Florida and North Carolina and 341 DLLs. During the fall and spring classrooms were observed with the LISn and children were assessed in English and Spanish using receptive and expressive vocabulary measures. The association between linguistic interactions, as measured by the LISn, and DLLs’ language outcomes was examined in about half the sample (in 26 classrooms). Result...
Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly - March 26, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research
Language interventions taught to caregivers in homes and classrooms: A review of intervention and implementation fidelity
Publication date: Available online 13 March 2019Source: Early Childhood Research QuarterlyAuthor(s): Christa Haring Biel, Jay Buzhardt, Jennifer A. Brown, Mollie K. Romano, Ciera M. Lorio, Kelly S. Windsor, Louise A. Kaczmarek, Rachel Gwin, Susan S. Sandall, Howard GoldsteinAbstractThe Bridging the Word Gap Research Network conducted a review of literature to identify effective interventions to facilitate the communication development of young children in hopes of identifying ways to reduce the well-documented word gap among children associated with socio-economic class. As part of this effort, we focused on the ways in wh...
Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly - March 14, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research
Preschoolers’ problem behavior, prosocial behavior, and language ability in a Latin-American context: The roles of child executive functions and socialization environments
This study examined the role of socioeconomic status (SES), ethnicity, executive functions (EFs), quality of the home environment, quantity of maternal care, and quality and quantity of professional childcare as predictors of five-year-old preschoolers' problem behavior, prosocial behavior, and language ability in 77 low-SES families with a Chilean majority or Mapuche minority background in Chile. Executive functions and the quality of the home environment were positively associated with language ability, whereas quantity of childcare was inversely related to children's language ability. All other associations were non-sig...
Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly - March 11, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research
New benefits of public school pre-kindergarten programs: Early school stability, grade promotion, and exit from ELL services
This study explores the short-run effects of state-funded, public school-based pre-kindergarten (pre-K) programs on the early educational outcomes of students in Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Using data on all kindergarten students enrolled in the public schools in years 2006 and 2007, we examine differences in outcomes from pre-K to the early grades – promotion to first grade, school mobility, and exit from English language learner (ELL) status – for students who were enrolled in public school pre-K in the previous year as compared to students who entered the public school system at kindergarten. We find that chil...
Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly - March 10, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research
