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Introduction
Publications
Publications (35)
Adolescence is a crucial phase of growth and development in the life course, and healthy nutrition is essential during this period. The objective of this study was to explore the perceptions regarding the implementation of relevant nutrition policies for adolescents in Sri Lanka. The study is qualitative, employing a “phenomenology” approach. The s...
Introduction: Childcare subsidies provide an opportunity for improving access to early learning and literacy among low-income children. It is evident that there are state-to-state differences in subsidy programs in the US. Each state conducts a market rate survey to assess the various areas of childcare subsidy. However, studies on providers’ perce...
Common goals of subsidized child care programs are to support low-income families with economic resources to send children to quality child care. The purpose of this study is to explore the difficulty for families in finding subsidized child care centers. Findings suggests child care subsidy deserts may follow similar patterns to general child care...
Early child care providers serving children receiving subsidies and the parents of these children completed surveys about things they like and do not like about the current subsidy program and things they wish and do not wish to see changed in the subsidy program. Findings indicated several differences between providers and parents, including items...
This study aims to (a) explore the prediction of interest and curiosity in learning among children aged 6-17 years by gender, age category, anxiety, depression, behavioral conduct problems, and developmental delays, (b) identify state-level variations in the associations between these lifelong health conditions and interest and curiosity in learnin...
Background: Caregivers play a crucial part in early childhood development. Responsive feeding is an essential aspect of nutrition promotion in early childhood. It has been proven that responsive feeding fosters a strong attachment with the child and enhances their health and development. According to the literature, this feeding method is not highl...
In this study, we use a large-scale (n = 33,717) ethnically diverse (59% Latinx, 34% Black, and 7% White/other) largely low-income sample to assess the predictive power of a wide range of school readiness skills measured at age four in preschool on authentic academic outcomes through Grade 5. Specifically, we explored the extent to which cognitive,...
Studies collecting behavioral evidence from 8- to 12-year-olds and young adults and neurological evidence from young adults suggest independent, dissociable processes for voluntarily regulating behavior that has been internally versus externally generated. In the present study, the ability to self-regulate socially-learned demands when initiated wi...
A person-centered approach was used to explore how preschool school readiness profiles predict Grade 3 academic performance among a large (N = 43,044) low-income, ethnically-diverse longitudinal sample of children. Study aims: (a) determine the number and type of preschoolers’ school readiness profiles, (b) determine how profile membership relates...
A systematic review of research exploring the impact of homelessness on young children’s school readiness skills in preschool and academic performance in early elementary school is presented. Fourteen studies were identified that included data exploring this association in preschool through Grade 3. Findings indicated that children experiencing hom...
Learning gardens can provide dynamic learning and developmental experiences for young children. This case study of 12 early childhood teachers explores how teachers describe (1) learning across numerous school readiness domains and (2) how to support this learning by promoting opportunities for autonomy, relatedness, and competence. Participants wo...
Most vocabulary growth during the school-age years occurs incidentally. However, little is understood about the influence of language skills on word knowledge growth during reading. Using a pretest–posttest quasi-experimental design, we examined incidental word learning through reading, considering the presence/absence of supportive context and the...
When individuals correct their own speech, it is often assumed they are doing so for the benefit of others’ comprehension. As such, most of the research exploring speech repairs, especially among young children, has been conducted with social speech (between two or more people) and little with private speech (speech directed toward the self). In th...
This study examined the third-grade outcomes of 11,902 low-income Latino children who experienced public school pre-K or child care via subsidies (center-based care) at age 4 in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Regression and propensity score analyses revealed that children who experienced public school pre-K earned higher scores on standardized assessm...
Research Findings: Recent research and teacher reports have highlighted the importance of early behavior skills for children’s school readiness and academic success in elementary school. Significant gaps in school readiness and achievement exist between children in poverty and those more affluent. Low-income children are also more likely to exhibit...
The present study was designed to explore the association between preschool academic skills and Grade 3 achievement among a sample of ethnically diverse children from low-income families. Data were collected from a sample of 1,442 low-income, ethnically diverse children in preschool and associated with Grade 3 achievement in reading and mathematics...
This study explored the relation between childcare quality (staff–child ratio and staff–child interactions) and behavioural development between the beginning and the end of the childcare year among a sample of 44 low-income Latino four-year-olds in 14 childcare programmes. Neither staff–child ratio nor staff–child interactions were related to child...
Although prior research has shown that young children exhibit enhanced self-control when they use verbal strategies provided through adult instructions, little work has examined the role of children's spontaneous verbalizations or motor behavior as strategies for enhancing self-control. The present study examined the usefulness of spontaneous verba...
This study explores the effects of counting objects and reciting numbers in preschool on 1st-grade math performance. Data on 3,125 low-income preschoolers’ (4- to 5-year-olds) counting abilities (orally reciting numerals in chronological order and counting blocks) were collected during a fall session (between September 15 and December 15) and were...
Research Findings: Given the growing literature pertaining to the importance of fine motor skills for later academic achievement (D. W. Grissmer, K. J. Grimm, S. M. Aiyer, W. M. Murrah, & J. S. Steele, 201019.
Grissmer , D. W. ,
Grimm , K. J. ,
Aiyer , S. M. ,
Murrah , W. M. , &
Steele , J. S. ( 2010 ). Fine motor skills and early comprehensio...
The current paper highlights the few studies that examine the role of early care and education on the developmental and early academic outcomes of children who experience maltreatment. First, we argue that children who experience maltreatment are at significant risk for poor developmental outcomes as a result of the chronic exposure to stress that...
Concern about kindergarten retention is on the rise within the current climate of high-stakes testing and escalating kindergarten expectations. Kindergarten retention has been linked in previous research to various risk factors such as poverty, low maternal education, single parent status, minority status, English language learner (ELL) status, and...
This chapter reviews the current research on children's awareness and theory of speech. Theory of speech, a relatively new construct largely introduced here, refers to one's beliefs and hypotheses about how speech can be used and what it can be used for. For example, speech can be used with different volumes (out loud, whisper, silent), for differe...
Although intensive early childhood interventions and high quality preschool programs have been shown to foster children's school readiness, little is known about the school readiness gains made by ethnically and linguistically diverse children in poverty receiving subsidies to attend center-based childcare or those in public school pre-kindergarten...
Preschool and kindergarten teachers must make decisions everyday about how much to allow their children to talk out loud to themselves during various classroom activities. The present study examines the effects of children's private speech use on task performance for a group of behaviorally at-risk children and a group of control children during a...
The goal of this study was to understand maternal reports, beliefs, and attitudes about their young children's use of private speech. Mothers of 48 children between the ages of 3 and 5 participated in a semi-structured interview in which they reported on the frequency and context of their child's use of private speech, maternal responses toward suc...
Children's reported use of single and multiple search strategies during a matching numbers task, along with accompanying verbal (private speech, self-talk) and motoric (finger pointing, place-holding) strategic behaviors were examined with a large, nationally representative cross-sectional sample (n = 1979) of children between the ages of 5 and 17....
The present study explored: (a) preschool children’s awareness of their own talking and private
speech (speech directed to the self ); (b) differences in age, speech use, language ability, and mentalizing
abilities between children with awareness and those without; and (c) children’s beliefs and attitudes
about private speech. Fifty-one children be...
Despite pressure for faculty to infuse technology into their teaching, little data exist on the extent to which technology-enhanced instruction in higher education is actually effective in helping faculty members reach instructional goals. This poster shares the results of a pre- post-course evaluation study conducted to assess the extent to which...
Typescript. Thesis (Ph. D.)--George Mason University, 2006. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 112-127). Vita: leaf 137.