Jenni Salminen

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Postdoctoral researcher at University of Jyväskylä

The article addresses the issue of Home Literacy Environments as a possible area of interdisciplinary research exploration aimed at finding factors determining the language and reading skills of children and adolescents. The text discusses the directions of international research conducted in recent years, concerning, among others, the course of jo...

This study explored early childhood education and care (ECEC) teachers’ visual gaze and related reflections on pedagogical actions during pedagogical activities in groups of children under three years of age in Finland. The data were collected from play and teacher-guided activities using mobile eye-tracking glasses, the retrospective thinking alou...

This study aimed to identify the specific home environment factors that were judged to support or hinder the development of children’s critical reading skills. Using a Delphi method, 32 experts in Finland listed a set of home-related factors that can either hinder or support the development of children’s critical reading skills. The experts then ev...

Background The adult reading history questionnaire (ARHQ) is frequently used in research on adult dyslexia and family risk for dyslexia. However, this measure is lengthy (23 items), reducing its applicability in studies with extensive assessment batteries. Methods We identified the best‐performing ARHQ items in a sample of 396 Finnish adults using...

Research Findings: This study examined whether teacher-child interaction quality varied as a function of type of activity in toddler classrooms in four European countries (Finland, Netherlands, Poland, and Portugal). It also investigated whether specific activity settings, namely levels of adult involvement, use of whole group, and children’s engag...

By investigating children whose parents have dyslexia, family risk (FR) studies are expanding our understanding of the intergenerational transmission of dyslexia. These studies, however, vary in their identification of FR, and how the use of different identification methods influences research findings and conclusions is yet to be systematically in...

This study quantified the possible learning losses in reading and math skills among a sample of Finnish Grade 3 children (n = 198) who spent 8 weeks in distance learning during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020. We compared their reading and math skill development trajectories across Grades 1, 2, and 4 to a pre-COVID sample (N...

High-quality interactions between teachers and children in early childhood education and care (ECEC) are at the heart of supporting children's development, well-being, and learning. The aim of the study was to examine the quality of an experienced ECEC teacher's and an ECEC student teacher's teacher-child interactions using the Classroom Assessment...

The present study investigates the quality and variability of teacher-child interactions in relation to children's social competence in Finnish toddler classrooms. The participants included 242 toddlers (114 girls, 128 boys) and their teachers (N = 42). The quality of teacher-child interactions (i.e., emotional and behavioral support; engaged suppo...

This study examines the direct and indirect effects of home numeracy and literacy environment, and parental factors (parental reading and math difficulties, and parental education) on the development of several early numeracy and literacy skills. The 265 participating Finnish children were assessed four times between ages 2.5 and 6.5. Children’s sk...

This study was conducted in the context of a teacher professional development programme that aimed to improve dialogic teaching in the classroom, and it describes the programme and examines the change in teachers' dialogic teaching practices and pupils' classroom engagement during the programme. Data on pupils' school engagement were collected usin...

The present study investigates how often episodes of dialogic exchange can be identified in educator-toddler interactions during play and emerging academic activities, what kind of scaffolding strategies educators use during the episodes of dialogic exchange and, ultimately, what kind of scaffolding patterns of dialogic exchange can be identified b...

This study examines the association between teacher–child interaction quality and children's self‐regulation in Finnish and Portuguese toddler classrooms. The participants included 230 Finnish (M = 29; SD = 3 months) and 283 Portuguese (M = 30, SD = 4 months) toddlers and their teachers (n = 43 Finland; n = 29 Portugal). The children's behavioural...

The present study extends research on classroom quality profiles by examining the differences between profiles with respect to children’s development in pre-academic skills and motivation across the kindergarten year. Teacher–child interactions were observed in 49 Finnish kindergarten classrooms using the CLASS Pre-K instrument. Based on prior...

The present study examined reciprocal associations between children’s social competence and language and pre-literacy skills across the preschool year. Participants were 441 children (six-year-olds; 212 boys, 229 girls) and their teachers. Teachers rated children’s social competence in the autumn and again in the spring, using the Multisource Asses...

In Finland, Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) includes day care arrangements offered to families (care) along with goal-oriented early childhood education (early education and teaching) provided for children prior to transitioning to primary education. ECEC is therefore seen to build a coherent starting phase within the continuum of lifelon...

This study examined the extent to which the quality of teacher–child interactions assessed in kindergarten (6-year-olds) is associated with children's reading and math development across the elementary school years. The sample consisted of 515 Finnish children (271 boys, 244 girls). Teacher–child interactions were observed in 49 kindergarten classr...

The present study extends research on classroom quality profiles by examining the differences between profiles with respect to children’s development in pre-academic skills and motivation across the kindergarten year. Teacher–child interactions were observed in 49 Finnish kindergarten classrooms using the CLASS Pre-K instrument. Based on prior iden...

This report presents the findings of a multiple case study, conducted in seven European countries to examine common and culturally differing aspects of curriculum, pedagogy, and quality of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) provisions in Europe. This multiple case study involved intensive data collection on structural characteristics, proces...

The main aim of this study was to identify different teaching practices and explore the types of opportunities that they provide for children’s participation in four different Finnish preschool classrooms for 6-year olds during structured learning sessions. Observational data of four preschool teachers were analyzed according to the principles of q...

Research Findings: This study examined the extent to which observed classroom quality and teacher stress are associated with children's social competence in classrooms of 6-year-old children (kindergartners in Finland). Assessments of academic pre-skills were available for a total of 1,268 children, and kindergarten teacher ratings of social compet...

This study aimed to clarify and deepen the knowledge on and understanding of the role that teachers' practices during teacher-led learning sessions play in creating and enhancing social life in Finnish preschool classrooms. Observational data pertaining to 20 preschool teachers were analysed according to the principles of thematic analysis. Four id...

This study examined the diversity of teaching practices to illuminate the qualitative variety of instructional teaching practices among preschool teachers. Further, teachers' self-rated educational goals were explored to complement the multifaceted nature of preschool teachers' instructional teaching practices. The study was carried out as a case s...

Research Findings: The aim of the present study was to examine classroom quality profiles of kindergarten classrooms using a person-centered approach and to analyze these patterns in regard to teacher and classroom characteristics. Observations of the domains of Emotional Support, Classroom Organization, and Instructional Support were conducted in...