Article

Early home learning environment predicts children’s 5th grade academic skills

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Abstract

We examined whether the early learning environment predicts children’s 5th grade skills in 2,204 families from ethnically diverse, low-income backgrounds; tested the mediating roles of children’s pre-kindergarten school-related skills and later learning environment; and asked whether lagged associations generalize across White, Black, Hispanic English-speaking, and Hispanic Spanish-speaking samples. Children’s early learning environment comprised measures of literacy activities, the quality of mothers’ engagements with children, and learning materials assessed at 14 months, 2 and 3 years, and at pre-kindergarten; learning environments were again assessed in 5th grade. At pre-kindergarten and in 5th grade, children were assessed on pre-academic and academic skills respectively. Early learning environments predicted children’s 5th grade academic skills, and children’s pre-kindergarten skills and 5th grade learning environment mediated longitudinal associations. The early learning environment supports the emergence of pre-academic skills that are stable into early adolescence, and pathways generalize across ethnic/racial groups.

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... A. Foster et al., 2005;T. D. Foster et al., 2016;Melhuish et al., 2008;Roisman & Fraley, 2012;Son & Morrison, 2010;Tamis LeMonda et al., 2019). ...
... Accordingly, significant attention has been paid to investigating how the quality of children's early home learning environment is related to children's cognitive development and their academic skills (Connor et al., 2005;M. A. Foster et al., 2005;Melhuish et al., 2008;Roisman & Fraley, 2012;Son & Morrison, 2010;Tamis LeMonda et al., 2019). In this study, children's academic skills include both language and mathematics during their time in kindergarten. ...
... Consistent with previous studies, this study found that an early home learning environment can indeed lead to better kindergarten academic skills (Anders et al., 2012;T. D. Foster et al., 2016;Melhuish et al., 2008;Payne et al., 1994;Raikes et al., 2006;Roisman & Fraley, 2012;Sénéchal et al., 1998;Tamis LeMonda et al., 2019). Children are likely to develop more academic skills in kindergarten with more language stimulation and more learning materials at home before school age. ...
... Despite the diversity of their students' reading skills, teachers are responsible for teaching reading based on curriculum content and therefore play a crucial role in the development of reading skills (Basma & Savage, 2023), especially among students who do not read outside of school. Because reading is not exclusively school based, some children discover literacy long before the start of their compulsory education (Tamis-LeMonda et al., 2019). In this respect, parents are generally the first social agents to introduce their children to reading, even if children' s exposure to family literacy varies according to background (e.g., family socioeconomic status; Duncan et al., 2012). ...
... Concerning the contribution of parents in the reading context, the results of this study suggest that it may continue beyond childhood, despite the increased influence of peers in adolescence (Collins et al., 2000). As well as often being the first to introduce their children to reading (Tamis-LeMonda et al., 2019), parents can monitor their children's progress and interests in reading over the years. As a result, those who manage to adapt their reading support to their children's age and reality can make a significant contribution to their children's motivational resources and engagement in reading (Klauda, 2009). ...
Article
Reading skills are considered an important lever for success in school and active participation in society. They are positively associated with reading motivation, reading self‐concept, reading frequency, and behavioral engagement in reading (e.g., time, effort), variables that tend to decline as students move from elementary to secondary school. Few studies have yet compared the contributions of reading support from teachers, parents, and friends to each of these variables among students of different age groups. In this multicohort correlational study, students ( n = 1246) in grades 4, 6, 8, and 10 completed a questionnaire measuring the reading support they perceived receiving from three social agents (teacher, parents, and friends) as well as variables related to reading in academic and recreational contexts. The data collected were used to evaluate the construct relevance and predictive validity of the questionnaire. The results suggest that: (1) Reading support can be conceptualized in nine dimensions defined according to the source that provides it (e.g., teachers) and the type to which it corresponds (e.g., relatedness support); (2) secondary school students overall consider that they receive less reading support than do elementary school students; (3) reading support from teacher has unique contributions to certain variables measured in the academic context without, however, having as many positive contributions as parents in this context; (4) reading support provided by parents and friends is important in both reading contexts, particularly in the recreational context. Methodological, theoretical, and practical implications are discussed.
... Child health promotion and identification of child health needs can influence children's overall growth and development. The brain remodeling that occurs in early life and can be affected by stressors provides even more reason to incorporate early identification and intervention for children's health and developmental needs (Alden, 2014;Leung et al., 2020;McEwen, 2012;Salum et al., 2010;Tamis-LeMonda et al., 2019). Physical and mental stress in early life can contribute to unfavorable health outcomes. ...
... While there has been a recent surge in efforts to support SR, there is little consistency in their approach, characteristics, or design (for reviews, see [8][9][10]). These reviews highlight a paucity of parent intervention research [8], despite compelling longitudinal evidence pointing to the home learning environment (HLE) as one of the (if not the) most influential factors on a child's development [11][12][13][14][15]. In the current research, we intended to respond to this gap by designing, implementing, and evaluating a program to support parents to foster their pre-school-aged children's self-regulation. ...
Article
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Compelling evidence supports the foundational importance of early self-regulation (SR). It also supports parents in the home environment as having the foremost influence on early development. Yet, prevailing approaches to support early SR growth have tended to leverage early education and clinical settings. Partners in Play (PiP) was developed as a sustainable approach for parents to learn how and when to support children through experiences of self-regulation challenges in the home learning environment. This study reports the first randomised control trial evaluation of the PiP program, with 21 parent–child dyads (consisting of twelve girl–mother dyads, eight boy–mother dyads, and one boy–father dyad; mean child age = 4.12 years, SD = 0.65). Dyads were randomised to a PiP intervention group (n = 10), which entailed four online parent information sessions and four out-of-home guided practice dyadic play sessions across 8 weeks, or an active control group (n = 11). The primary outcome was parent autonomy support, and the secondary outcome was child SR. Results indicated a significant increase in parents’ use of autonomy support and a non-significant but moderate-sized effect on child SR. This innovative proof-of-concept program and evaluation provides a roadmap for effecting change in parental support during children’s play, to the prospective benefit of important abilities such as child SR. Analyses show promise for a parent-based model toward parent behaviour change and child SR improvement.
... Additionally, cognitive stimulation has also been linked to academic achievement and school readiness. Cognitive stimulation in the home early in life is positively associated with children's academic skills in 5th grade (Tamis-LeMonda et al., 2019). Moreover, several studies have documented the importance of cognitive stimulation during adolescence such that teens with more stimulating home environments have greater academic achievement (Eamon, 2005;Simpkins et al., 2009) and greater improvement in academic skills over time, even after adjusting for earlier levels of academic skills (Hardaway et al., 2020). ...
... Specific dimensions of the home environment have been identified as particularly important in enhancing students' mathematical skills (Boonk et al., 2018;Bradley & Corwyn, 2016;Dearing & Tang, 2010;Kim, 2022;Tamis-LeMonda et al., 2019). Parental verbal responses may contribute to fostering the comprehension and expression of mathematical problem-solving by supporting the development of mathematical vocabulary, and positive emotional support from parents may contribute to promoting logical reasoning, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. ...
Article
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Mathematical skills significantly predict students’ educational paths. Mathematical achievement varies depending on the student’s socioeconomic status (SES). However, the extent of the SES gap for specific mathematical skills remains unclear. In this cross-sectional study, we examined age variations by SES in three mathematical skills, applied problem-solving, arithmetic fluency, and written calculations, among students aged 7–12 in a socioeconomically segregated educational context. The contributions of the home environment and schools on SES gaps were also explored. The analytical sample comprised 10,665 students (49.2% girls, Mage = 10.1, SD = 1.3 years, 13.4% from Indigenous ethnic groups) from the Chilean Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey (Encuesta Longitudinal de Primera Infancia). Linear models revealed SES gaps across the three mathematical tasks at the beginning of primary education. The widest gap was observed in written calculations, which was moderated by the home environment. The findings also showed an exponential increase with age in the SES gap for written calculations and arithmetic fluency. However, for applied problem-solving, the initial gap increased and remained constant. Furthermore, schools accounted for 19%–21% of the variance related to the change of the SES gap in all three mathematical skills. The findings shed some light on the role of the home environment and the schools in maintaining, increasing, or decreasing socioeconomic gaps in specific mathematical skills at different ages.
... Specifically, responsive and stimulating parenting at an early age has been shown to predict better developmental outcomes in children's early school years [15]. Moreover, parental involvement in stimulating activities along with access to educational materials before children start school is positively associated with school readiness and academic outcomes in primary school [16,17]. ...
... While any given transactions is context-and domainspecific, as when, for example, parenting's influences on a child's math skill originates from math-related parentchild interactions (Daucourt et al., 2021), successful parenting programs tend to shift "business-as-usual" parental preferences and investments as a whole (e.g., parent-child time allocation, parental beliefs, and caregiving practice; see Bono et al., 2016;Carneiro et al., 2019;Cunha et al., 2013;Fiorini & Keane, 2014). One could then expect early home-visiting parenting programs to generate family-level changes that are durable and general , as evidenced by the breadth and persistence of effects stemming from variations in early parental sensitivity or home environments (e.g., Cooke et al., 2022;Duncan et al., 2023b;García & Heckman, 2023;Madigan et al., 2019;Tamis-LeMonda et al., 2019). ...
Article
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This study evaluates the effects of a weekly home-visiting parenting program designed to enhance parent-child engagement with educationally-enriching activities and its potential interaction with children’s participation in state-funded preschool. Utilizing a comprehensive dataset linked across various administrative sources, we employed a quasi-experimental approach featuring inverse probability weighting regression adjustment and nearest neighbor matching to assess outcomes as measured at or leading up to kindergarten entry. We focused on a cohort of 2,000 diverse children born between 2012 and 2016, aged three and four at the intervention’s onset. Participation in the home-visiting program was associated with significant positive effects on children’s cognitive skills, IDEA Part B service uptake, and the likelihood of reported child maltreatment, which persisted after adjusting for state-funded preschool participation. We found no statistical evidence of interactions between the program and preschool, underscoring the program’s additive contributions to early childhood development and family well-being.
... For instance, highquality child care, albeit with modest impacts, was associated with positive outcomes in cognitive development in terms of literacy and numeracy skills, and social-emotional outcomes such as reduced problem behaviors (Bryant et al., 1994;Votruba-Drzal et al., 2004;Love et al., 2005;Keys et al., 2013). In addition, HLE have been found to play a significant role in mitigating the effects of poverty on children's achievements (Rodriguez & Tamis-LeMonda, 2011;Tamis-LeMonda et al., 2019;Duncan et al., 2023). Nevertheless, the intricate interplay between these two contexts and their influence on children's subsequent cognitive and socialemotional development calls for further investigation. ...
Conference Paper
A large literature has documented the importance of quality child care and home learning environments (HLE) on young children's development, but few studies have examined the influences of their interplay on the development of children from low-income backgrounds. Using data from Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Study (N=431), this study examined the interactive and time-specific effects of child care quality and HLE during children's first five years, assessing cognitive and social-emotional outcomes at both PreK and 5th grade levels. At 24 months, higher levels of child care quality could mitigate the impact of adverse HLE on PreK social-emotional development, indicating an 'additive' effect. At PreK year, high-quality child care is significantly related to the enhanced cognitive skills concurrently only in the presence of highly quality HLE, representing an 'amplifying' effect. The analysis also reveals that PreK year is a crucial time point where the joint influences of child care and HLE are strongly related to child concurrent cognitive outcomes, controlling for child cumulative experience from birth to five. Implications for the findings, including the importance of enhancing HLE, strengthening the home-school partnership, and pinpointing optimal intervention timings to enhance developmental outcomes, are discussed.
... The importance of conducive home learning environment and parental involvement on childrens educational activities on children literacy, numeracy and social-emotional competencies is also emphasized by previous studies (Fry et al., 2018;Lehrl et al., 2020b;S. Li et al., 2023;Lloyd, 2018;Tamis-LeMonda et al., 2019). For instance, a meta-analysis conducted in 21 countries by Fry et al. (2018) show that violence on children have negative impact on educational outcomes. ...
Article
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Teachers’ well-being and a conducive home learning environment play a pivotal role in improving children learning outcomes, but little is known about this in a humanitarian setting. This article assesses the role of teachers’ well-being and home learning environment on children learning outcomes in Afghanistan. A cross section endline survey was conducted among 1407 primary school children, 1407 parents and 315 teachers in seven provinces of Afghanistan. Population-based two stage-cluster sampling was used. Children taught by teacher’s who received professional development support were 3.19 and 4.0 times more likely to attain higher literacy and numeracy levels. Children taught by teachers with adequate teaching and learning materials were 1.60 and 1.83 times more likely to achieve higher literacy and numeracy levels. Children from teachers with ability to voice up and be consulted by school management attained higher social-emotional learning competencies. Children experiencing violent home learning environment had lower odds of achieving higher literacy, numeracy, and social-emotional learning competencies. Children with parents that helped them with learning were 1.85 and 1.94 times more likely to have higher literacy and numeracy levels. There is scope for public sector and development partners to promote a package of interventions aimed at promoting teacher’s professional development, provision of teaching and learning materials, teacher recognition and voice to improve children’s literacy, numeracy, social and emotional learning skills. Parents need to ensure a safe and conducive home learning environment. Parent should be actively involved in children’s learning activities to nurture strong parental-child bond and parental-school partnership.
... The HLE encompasses activities, resources, and attitudes (Bracken & Fischel, 2008;Burgess et al., 2002;Frijters et al., 2000;Weigel et al., 2006a), They include print-focused (e.g., providing names and sounds for letters), book-directed, non-print focused (e.g., shared book reading), and joint attention activities (e.g., caregiver-child conversations; Bracken & Fischel, 2008;Schmitt et al., 2011). HLE measures are predictive of children's later literacy outcomes, even adjusting for demographics (Gottfried et al., 2015;Tamis-LeMonda et al., 2019;Van Steensel, 2006;Weigel et al., 2006b). ...
... Numerous studies have provided empirical evidence that the HLE is an important predictor of differences in children's academic and social development (Rose et al., 2018;Tamis-LeMonda et al., 2019). However, the definition and assessment of HLE varies from study to study (Lehrl et al., 2020). ...
Article
A 7-year longitudinal study was conducted as part of the French national cohort ELFE ( N = 1095). The aim was to identify how and why early language skills at 2 years might predict later literacy skills assessed successively at 5, 7, and 9 years (LitSk5y; 7y; 9y). Using one and the same model, we also examined the relations between literacy skills in the three sessions and the potential impact of three environmental variables: the home learning environment (HLE) and two variables related to socioeconomic status (SES), namely, parental education level (PEL) and household income (HInc). The main findings reveal that expressive vocabulary at 2 years is a significant predictor of LitSk5y. No significant link was found for HLE. The other significant links reveal that PEL is associated with LitSk5y and LitSk7y, and HInc with LitSk5y and LitSk9y. The differential impact of these two SES variables is discussed. Moreover, the restructuring lexical model is proposed to explain how the development of early expressive vocabulary is linked to the development of literacy skills via an implicit stimulation of phonemic awareness during the acquisition of new words.
... The importance of the HLE for a child's development is well recognized (HM Government, 2018;Nampijja et al., 2018). Research indicates that a positive HLE in the early years is one of the most influential factors in children's development until the age of 18 (Melhuish et al., 2008;Sammons et al., 2015;Tamis-LeMonda et al., 2019;Taggart et al., 2015). The HLE is one of the contexts within which children develop important competencies (Niklas et al., 2021) and cognitive development (Melhuish, et al., 2008). ...
Article
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This article brings a novel perspective to the relationship between the physical dimensions of Home Learning Environments (HLE) and young people’s learning motivations during COVID-19 pandemic in UK. The architectural/physical focus of this investigation helps orient the reader to the literature/expertise I draw on. Based on 28 young people (16–18 years-old), the article evidences that comparing the HLE with the School Learning Environment (SLE), participants recognised the value of peer pressure and social learning environment to enhance learning motivations. Most participants found little use in home-schooling and wanted to return to in-person teaching. Students who adjusted the physical dimensions of the HLE were more motivated, especially if they had a private, semi-dedicated, or dedicated HLE. The article ends by exploring how the home-schooling experience during the COVID-19 pandemic offers an opportunity to re-imagine HLE as a complementary learning environment to SLE, motivate young people to learn and support independent learning activities.
... In addition, when talking about preschool education, people are very concerned about whether kindergartens can provide satisfactory preschool education for children, families, and society, and satisfactory preschool education needs to rely on the help of high-quality kindergarten learning environment, which not only affects the development of young children but also influences the overall development of preschool education [4][5][6]. Therefore, the kindergarten learning environment has been paid more and more attention and concern in the preschool education world, and creating a good learning environment has become the goal that educators strive for [7][8]. ...
Article
Full-text available
With the arrival of the informationization era, optimizing kindergarten education environment has become an important topic. This study aims to explore the optimal path of kindergarten education environment creation under the background of informationization, and to improve the quality and efficiency of education. A comprehensive evaluation method is used to establish an educational environment evaluation index system, combining the optimal and worst method and the minimal and great regret analysis method to evaluate 1044 kindergartens in City A. The results show that the educational environment of kindergartens in City A has been optimized since 2020. The results show that from 2020 to 2023, the kindergarten education environment has been improved in terms of infrastructure, information resources, informationization application, talent team building, and guarantee system. Especially in educational resources, it increased from 0.5384 in 2020 to 0.8964 in 2023.There is a significant difference between urban and rural kindergartens in creating educational environments, and urban kindergartens are significantly better than rural kindergartens in some indicators. The study’s conclusion shows that the application of informationization and the construction of human resources are the keys to improving the educational environment of kindergartens, and it is recommended to strengthen the supervision of academic quality, improve the evaluation system, and promote the integration of urban and rural education.
... Learning environments are likely to encourage kids to develop the fundamental abilities that trigger developmental cascades. Decades of study have supported the idea that skills build upon one other, which has consequences for the cost-effectiveness of early vs later treatments (Tamis-LeMonda et al., 2017). The learning ecosystem of a child is crucial for developing them into useful members of society. ...
Chapter
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The chapter gives insight into Generation Alpha and how skills and competencies are important in their holistic development. Different generational cohorts have various character traits and adapting capacities. The learning environment of Generation Alpha witnesses a high degree of digitization. Toys are one of the initial sources of learning and skill development in a child. Prior to formal education, these toys are the first sources of skill enhancement in children. The current research employed primary data collection to gauge the relevance of toys and their influence on a child's life. Four hundred Generation Alpha parents were interviewed for the same. Five predominant skills were identified after a thorough literature review. These five skills were selected based on an inclusion-exclusion criteria, and the questions were asked based on it. The identified five skills were academic, social, cognitive, motor, and imagination and creativity. The results of the study give solid clarity on the skills that are preferred by Generation Alpha parents through the use of toys.
... Tamis LeMonda et al. (2019) assessed maternal responsiveness in early childhood in a way consistent with the idea of developmental sensitivity, combining particular types of responsiveness that change to response to children's growing needs (e.g., verbal responses to child vocalizations and object labeling at age 1 and 2; use of clear and complex speech, and acknowledging child speech at age 3; and use of longer words, complex sentence structure, and encouraging children to talk at 4.5 years). These developmentally sensitive interactions were part of a composite measure of the early learning environment that predicted children's academic outcomes to 5th grade; and these longitudinal associations were mediated through children's academic language skills at 4.5 years, including vocabulary and letter-word identi cation; ndings were consistent across racial-ethnic and language groups in the United States. ...
Chapter
Infants engage in conversations with caregivers using facial expressions and body language, gaze, vocalizations, and gestures. These cues quickly become more complex and combine within the first year. Caregivers respond intuitively to infants’ shifting communication cues, and these responses shape infants’ language learning. These interaction processes are affected by caregiving context and culture. Practitioners can support caregivers by acknowledging their intuitive responses, and encouraging intentional use of selective silence, simplifications, and sensitive scaffolding.
... However, even within families of the same SES, there is great variability in children's early language and literacy skills. This finding has brought to the fore the influence of more proximal process indicators that describe the quality of the Home Learning Environment [40,41]. These include parental involvement activities (such as reading to the child; teaching nursery rhymes; verbalizing intentions, emotions, and actions; or playing with phonemes, words, and letters) or the quality of parent-child interactions and storybook exposure [42,43]. ...
Article
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From a sociopedagogical perspective, literacy development in preschool is conceptualized as a social phenomenon. Sociopedagogical models emphasize the connection between family and school processes to foster children’s literacy competences and parental involvement. Although contemporary models regarding parental involvement reflect its multidimensional and multilevel nature, research focusing on early literacy mainly addresses certain parenting practices, especially at home, and their association with a few literacy skills. Based on Bronfenbrenner’s bioecosystemic theory, Epstein’s model of overlapping spheres of influence and the typology of parental involvement as well as Rohde’s Comprehensive Emergent Literacy Model, the present study investigates how different dimensions and components of parental involvement interact to affect young children’s literacy competences. We investigate the complex relationships among all dimensions of parental involvement and their association with children’s literacy outcomes. Additionally, we explore the role of several contextual factors (children’s age, parental education, urbanity, number of children’s books) in these associations. Parents of 214 typically developing children aged 4–6 years filled in four parent-report scales developed and validated for measuring the different dimensions of parental involvement and children’s literacy competences. Results illustrate how multilevel parental practices mediate the effect of literacy-related parental perceptions and family–school relationships on children’s literacy competences. Among the contextual factors, only maternal education was found to have a robust, albeit indirect, effect on literacy outcomes. Implications about the school’s role and strategic planning in promoting literacy-focused parental involvement are discussed.
... Additionally, cognitive stimulation has also been linked to academic achievement and school readiness. Cognitive stimulation in the home early in life is positively associated with children's academic skills in 5 th grade (Tamis-LeMonda et al., 2019). Moreover, several studies have documented the importance of cognitive stimulation during adolescence such that teens with more stimulating home environments have greater academic achievement (Eamon, 2005;Simpkins et al., 2009) and greater improvement in academic skills over time, even after adjusting for earlier levels of previous academic skills (Hardaway et al., 2020). ...
Preprint
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Early environmental experiences profoundly shape children's cognitive and neural development. In particular, cognitive stimulation, defined as environmental inputs that engage the senses and provide learning opportunities for children, fosters acquisition of knowledge across various cognitive domains. In humans, cognitive stimulation varies as a function of socioeconomic status that, on average, creates disparities in children's access to enriching experiences that provide the foundation for learning. Low levels of cognitive stimulation in early life restrict learning opportunities, resulting in lasting consequences for neural development and later academic and occupational achievement. This review delves into the role of cognitive stimulation on neural development and related cognitive performance, available tools for measuring cognitive stimulation in various settings, and offers insights into potential future research directions. We also leverage evidence from intervention studies to illustrate the importance of cognitive stimulation for children's outcomes. Investigating the influence of cognitive stimulation on children's brain and behavior development is crucial for developing effective intervention strategies to foster the healthy development of all children and unlocking their full potential.
... In studies of middle-income families, children who are exposed to higher levels of mothers' engagement in LA during early childhood are more likely to have strong academic skills in later years (e.g., Goldfeld et al., 2021;Lehrl et al., 2020;Tamis-LeMonda et al., 2019), including children's knowledge of vocabulary, reading, writing, grammar, and mathematics during middle childhood (Amodia-Bidakowska et al., 2020;Cabrera et al., 2020;Schön et al., 2008;Shahaeian et al., 2018). For example, Shahaeian et al. (2018) found that shared book reading at ages 2 to 3 significantly predicted reading, writing, grammar, and mathematics ability at ages 8 to 9, although the effect sizes were small (Betas ranged from 0.04 to 0.08). ...
Article
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Using Future of Families and Child Wellbeing data (N = 4488, waves collected between 2001 and 2010), the current study examined mothers’ and fathers’ trajectories of engagement in learning activities (e.g., reading, storytelling, playing with toys) from infancy to age 5, predictors of the trajectories (family poverty, coresidence, child temperament), whether those trajectories predicted children’s academic skills (vocabulary knowledge, reading, and math ability) at age 9, and moderators of the trajectories. Mothers’ and fathers’ learning activities decreased significantly over time as children got older, and rates of decline were greater when families experienced poverty and were nonresident. Children’s academic skills were significantly lower when mothers and fathers reported higher rates of decline in learning activities during early childhood; effect sizes were small.
... Literacy is part of the culture of the family (Heath, 1983;Street, 2011) and as a result, children bring different literacy experiences and start school from different starting points (McLachlan & Arrow, 2017). This is closely linked to their school career and general development (Heath, 1983;Landry et al., 2008;Sénéchal & LeFevre, 2002;Tamis-LeMonda et al., 2019;Weigel et al., 2006). ...
Article
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This study is part of a wider research conducted in 13 state kindergartens in Pyrgos, in Western Greece, during the school year 2017-2018. The purpose was to investigate parents’ beliefs about the role of kindergarten in literacy development. Data collected through semi-structured interviews with twenty mothers and analysed by the method of content analysis. Data analysis revealed that all mothers recognise the role of kindergarten in the socio-emotional development of children but they do not seem to realise its role in the development of language and literacy. In conclusion, parents need to be informed about the role of kindergarten in literacy development, what is important for children to learn before they enter primary school and how they can enhance literacy in family environment. The findings emphasise the importance of a meaningful cooperation between kindergarten teachers and parents. Implications and limitations are discussed.
... In recent years, pedagogy has received serious attention from academicians, policymakers, scholars, and educational administration. The academic debate has been mainly focusing on different aspects of pedagogy including modern pedagogy (Golden, Aviezer, & Ziv, 2018;Nancy, Parimala, & Livingston, 2020), cultural pedagogy (Bowman, 2013;Harris, 2013;Manning, 2006;Shoaib, Rasool, Anwar, & Ali, 2023), online pedagogy (Bhati, Mercer, Rankin, & Thomas, 2009;Herie, 2005;Kilgour, Reynaud, Northcote, McLoughlin, & Gosselin, 2019), and learning environment (Shoaib & Ullah, 2021a;Tamis-LeMonda, Luo, McFadden, Bandel, & Vallotton, 2019;Thuen, Bru, & Ogden, 2007;Wang, 2009) provided at school, college, and university level. Similarly, several studies have examined the phenomena of pedagogy to highlight the issues and debate being raised through multiple aspects (Blum et al., 2021;Cho, Kim, & Stoltman, 2021;Dow, Pfeifle, Blue, Jensen, & Lamb, 2021;Motala, Sayed, & De-Kock, 2021). ...
Article
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This paper aimed to evaluate pedagogical skills, modern pedagogy, cultural pedagogy, online pedagogy, and learning environment using bibliometric visualization technique from 2001 to 2020. The main objective was to consolidate the existing available published documents on the subject of pedagogical skills in the field of sociology of education, learning, and educational domain in the web of science indexed. We extracted 5327 documents using a research query and presented the data in the form of tables and figures. The study findings asserted the article as major type, 2019 top publication year, Univ. Teknol. Malaysia, Malaysia as a top organization, and the United States as a top country of the published documents. The results also revealed that computers & education as the top source, Ogata H as a top author, education educational research as the main area, and education was reported as a top keyword of the published documents.
... A poor economic situation may limit the child's access to resources they may need for their development [24], resulting in poor outcomes. On the other hand, parents with higher levels of education have been consistently associated with seeking, and affording high-quality childcare programs, thus fostering better developmental outcomes for their children [25,26]. ...
Article
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Although acceptable levels of parental stress are experienced by all parents who raise children, this stress is substantially higher among parents who raise children with developmental disabilities. Sociodemographic determinants further exacerbate parental stress among parents in rural communities, which are disadvantaged in many ways. This study aimed to quantify parental stress among mothers and female caregivers of children with developmental disorders and investigate factors associated with such stress in rural Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa. A cross-sectional quantitative survey was used, in which the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF) and a sociodemographic questionnaire was administered to mothers and caregivers who were raising children aged 1 to 12 years old who were living with developmental disabilities. The PSI-SF scores were used, where a total score of ≤84 percentile was categorised as normal/no parenting stress, 85–89 percentile was categorised as high parental stress, and scores of ≥90 were classified as clinically significant. The sample of 335 participants consisted of 270 (80.6%) mothers and 65 (19.4%) caregivers. Their ages ranged from 19 to 65 years, with a mean of 33.9 (±7.8) years. The children were mostly diagnosed with delayed developmental milestones, communication difficulties, epilepsy, cerebral palsy, autism, ADHD, cognitive impairment, sensory impairments, and learning difficulties. The majority (52.2%) of the participants reported very high-clinically significant stress levels (≥85%ile). The four factors that independently and significantly predicted high parental stress were the advanced age of mothers and caregivers (p = 0.002, OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.34–3.95), caring for a child with multiple diagnoses (p = 0.013, OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.16–3.50), non-school enrolment of the child (p = 0.017, OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.13–3.46), and frequent hospital visits (p = 0.025, OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.09–3.44). At the subscale level, child non-enrolment in a school was found to independently predict parent distress (PD) and parent-child dysfunctional interaction (P-CDI). Frequent hospital visits were statistically and significantly associated with the difficult child (DC) and P-CDI subscales. The study established high parental stress in mothers and caregivers raising children with developmental disabilities. Lack of access to school was an independent factor that consistently increased parental stress. There is a need for support and directed intervention programs aimed at supporting mothers and caregivers of children with developmental disabilities, which will enhance their parenting abilities.
... When applied to educational and cognitive outcomes, empirical studies which track specific contextual factors in relation to episodes of exposure and developmental stages can help with identifying the points where children are particularly vulnerable to contextual effects-insights which are essential for intervention design and implementation to support children to reach their learning potential. Interventions at the childhood stage are an essential component of any attempt to address learning inequities as evidence shows that children who develop earlier knowledge are in a better position to gain knowledge as they grow, with childhood learning being predictive of achievement, occupation, and socioeconomic position in later life (Lloyd & Hertzman, 2009;Tamis-LeMonda et al., 2019). However, a fundamental first step in structuring effective responses to promote learning equity is a comprehensive knowledge base detailing the specific points and lengths of exposure where children are susceptible to contextual effects. ...
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Background Although the relationship between radiation and neurocognition has been extensively studied in the pediatric brain tumor population, it is increasingly recognized that neurocognitive impairment is multifactorial. Therefore, we quantified the effect of socioeconomic status (SES) and chemotherapy on neurocognitive impairment and decline post-treatment. Methods Eligible patients included those diagnosed with a brain tumor at < 22 years of age with ≥1 neurocognitive assessment. Neurocognitive impairment was defined as performance 1.5 standard deviations below the normative mean using age-standardized measures of intellectual function. Neurocognitive decline was defined as a negative slope. Neurocognitive outcomes included Wechsler indices of Full-Scale Intelligence Quotient (IQ). Logistic regression identified variables associated with neurocognitive impairment. Longitudinal data was analyzed using linear mixed models. Results Eligible patients (n = 152, median age at diagnosis = 9.6 years) had a mean neurocognitive follow-up of 50.2 months. After accounting for age and receipt of craniospinal irradiation, patients with public insurance had 8-fold increased odds of impaired IQ compared to private insurance (odds ratio [OR]: 7.59, P < .001). After accounting for age, change in IQ was associated with chemotherapy use (slope: −0.45 points/year with chemotherapy vs. 0.71 points/year without chemotherapy, P = .012). Conclusions Public insurance, an indicator of low SES, was associated with post-treatment impairment in IQ, highlighting the need to incorporate SES measures into prospective studies. Chemotherapy was associated with change in IQ. Further work is needed to determine whether impairment associated with low SES is secondary to baseline differences in IQ prior to brain tumor diagnosis, brain tumor/therapy itself, or some combination thereof.
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The development of key linguistic abilities is essential for young children and their academic success at school, in particular for children with a migration background who are at a greater risk of developing language deficits. Here, family interactions can provide valuable opportunities to support children’s linguistic learning within the Home Literacy Environment (HLE). Although the importance of the HLE for children’s language acquisition has often been investigated, research has not focused on specific facets of the HLE and other influencing factors that may be associated with early linguistic abilities such as television exposure (TE). A sample of 190 preschool children (Mage= 63.58 months, SDage = 4.42) was used to analyse the associations of the facets of the HLE and TE with children’s early linguistic abilities, namely phonological awareness (PA), vocabulary, and letter knowledge. In particular, this study aims to understand the role of the HLE facets and TE as potential mediators between migration background and children’s early linguistic abilities, when controlling for socioeconomical status (SES), children’s sex and age. The findings indicate that the association between migration background and children’s early linguistic abilities was fully mediated by all four facets of the HLE and by TE. Consequently, these mediators may be good targets for intervention and the support of preschool children’s linguistic development.
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The home is an important environment for individualized mathematics instruction, one that must be strongly considered given that children spend more time at home than in schools. As a result, researchers argue that we must understand how exposure to numeracy activities at home can provide a foundation for children’s mathematics education. In this chapter, we outline how digital home numeracy practices (DHNPs) could serve as a primary means of home mathematics learning. We also propose a DHNP model and detail its components. The model addresses how different aspects of family, such as parental factors (e.g., socio-economic situation, mathematics attitude and beliefs), children’s factors (e.g., cognition, motivation, and self-regulation in general, and mathematics attitude in specific) and parent-child relationship may contribute to children’s digital mathematics learning. Further, it differentiates between indirect and direct practices of home numeracy activities using technology. Finally, we discuss the potential avenues for future research on and practical implications for DHNP during the elementary and middle school years.KeywordsMathematics educationHome numeracyDHNP model
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As part of the French national cohort ELFE, a two-year longitudinal study was conducted and children’s literacy skills were assessed twice (N = 2,767), namely at the end of preschool (t1) and at the end of Grade 1 (t2). At t1, letter-name knowledge (LNK), phonological skills (PhoSk) and vocabulary were assessed and at t2, phonemic segmentation, word reading, listening and reading comprehension. Latent profile analyses conducted at t2 resulted in five profiles, ranging from good readers (48.8%), to average readers above the mean (16.2%), readers with very low phonological awareness skill (8.2%), poor readers with low reading comprehension skill (19.4%), and poor readers with general difficulties (7.4%). Two early literacy skills (LNK and PhoSk) and two environmental variables (parents’ educational level and household income) constituted good predictors of membership of a profile. However, home literacy practices also predicted membership of the good reader/poor reader profiles, albeit at a lower level.
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This study aims to assess the perception of families, having children attending nursery school, about learning mediated by information and communication technologies (ICTs) in times of COVID-19. Data is gathered by using an opinion questionnaire on family habits. The sample corresponds to 261 families of children ages 4 to 5 years old who participate on virtual classes at 38 educational institutions in the Province of Concepción (Chile). The results show that families acknowledge learning achievements mediated by ICTs. They also recognize the importance of ICTs’ educational role in a virtual context. However, families state that they lack sufficient time and technological skills to support their children’s learning at home. It is concluded that the families surveyed have a favorable perception of their children's learning through virtual education, but there is evidence that they face challenges to connect to the Internet, which affects achieving a consistent contribution in their children’s educational processes.
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Interventions focused on the home language environment have been shown to improve a number of child language outcomes in the first years of life. However, data on the longer‐term effects of the intervention are still somewhat limited. The current study examines child vocabulary and complex speech outcomes ( N = 59) during the year following completion of a parent‐coaching intervention, which was previously found to increase the quantity of parent‐child conversational turns and to improve child language outcomes through 18 months of age. Measures of parental language input, child speech output, and parent‐child conversational turn‐taking were manually coded from naturalistic home recordings (Language Environment Analysis System, LENA) at regular 4‐month intervals when children were 6‐ to 24‐months old. Child language skills were assessed using the MacArthur–Bates Communicative Development Inventory (CDI) at four time‐points following the final intervention session (at 18, 24, 27, and 30 months). Vocabulary size and growth from 18 to 30 months was greater in the intervention group, even after accounting for differences in child language ability during the intervention period. The intervention group also scored higher on measures of speech length and grammatical complexity, and these effects were mediated by 18‐month vocabulary. Intervention was associated with increased parent‐child conversational turn‐taking in home recordings at 14 months, and mediation analysis suggested that 14‐month conversational turn‐taking accounted for intervention‐related differences in subsequent vocabulary. Together, the results suggest enduring, positive effects of parental language intervention and underscore the importance of interactive, conversational language experience during the first 2 years of life. Research Highlights Parent coaching was provided as part of a home language intervention when children were 6–18 months of age. Naturalistic home language recordings showed increased parent‐child conversational turn‐taking in the intervention group at 14 months of age. Measures of productive vocabulary and complex speech indicated more advanced expressive language skills in the intervention group through 30 months of age, a full year after the final intervention session. Conversational turn‐taking at 14 months predicted subsequent child vocabulary and accounted for differences in vocabulary size across the intervention and control groups.
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Development is complex. It encompasses interacting domains, at multiple levels, across nested time scales. Embracing the complexity of development-while addressing the challenges inherent to studying infants-requires researchers to make tough decisions about what to study, why, how, where, and when. My own view is inspired by a developmental systems approach, and echoed in Esther Thelen's (2005) mountain stream metaphor. Like a river that carves its course, the active infant navigates the social and physical environment and generates rich inputs that propel learning and development. Drawing from my experiences, I offer some recommendations to guide research on infants. I encourage researchers to embrace discovery science; to observe infants in ecologically valid settings; to recognize the active and adaptive nature of infant behavior; to break down silos and consider the nonobvious; and to adopt full transparency in all aspects of research. I draw on cascading influences in infant play, language, and motor domains to illustrate the value of a bottom-up, cross-domain, collaborative approach.
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Purpose: The study investigated challenges and strategies of parental engagement (PE) with respect to students’ academic performance (SAP) in Sheema District, South Western Uganda. Methodology: The study employed qualitative approach using interpretative phenomenological approach of data collection, analysis, and interpretation. Participants of the study included purposively selected head teachers, deputy head teachers, directors of studies, chairpersons and treasurers of both Parents Teachers Associations (PTA) and Boards of Governors (BOG) of ten government grant-aided USE schools (GGAUSES) in the District. Using thematic analysis, various themes and sub-themes of PE issues and methods were derived from qualitative data. Findings: The challenges of parental engagement in learners' academic activities in government grant-aided USE schools in Sheema District generated three themes: Home environment-related challenges (HERC), school environment-related challenges (SERC), and government-related challenges (GRC). Each of these generated several subthemes. The strategies for overcoming the parental engagement challenges included social and economic tactics, leadership and management strategies as well as legislation and regulation. Recommendation: The study recommend a deliberate move on the part of key stakeholders to enhance parental engagement through abating its challenges be emphasised and that will foster learners’ academic performance.
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Introduction The home learning environment is the earliest contact learning environment in early childhood development, which plays an important role in the development of children’s social-emotional competence. However, previous studies have not clarified the precise mechanisms by which the home learning environment influences children’s social-emotional competence. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to explore the relationship between the home learning environment and its intrinsic structure (i.e. structural family characteristics, parental beliefs and interests, and the educational processes) and children’s social-emotional competence, and whether gender plays a moderating role in the relationship. Method The study randomly selected a sample of 443 children from 14 kindergartens in western China. The Home Learning Environment Questionnaire and the Chinese Inventory of Children’s Social-emotional competence scale were used to investigate the home learning environment and social-emotional competence of these children. Results (1) Structural family characteristics and parental beliefs and interests both had a significant positive predictive effect on children’s social-emotional competence. (2) The educational processes fully mediate between structural family characteristics, parental beliefs and interests, and children’s social-emotional competence. (3) Gender moderated the effect of the home learning environment on children’s social-emotional competence. Gender moderates not only the indirect effects between parental beliefs and interests and children’s social-emotional competence, but also the indirect effects between structural family characteristics and children’s social-emotional competence. At the same time, gender also moderated the direct effects between parental beliefs and interests and children’s social-emotional competence. Discussion The results emphasize the crucial role of the home learning environment in the development of children’s early social-emotional competence. Therefore, parents should pay attention to the home learning environment and improve their ability to create a home learning environment that promotes the positive development of children’s social-emotional competence.
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Parental input is considered a key predictor of language achievement during the first years of life, yet relatively few studies have assessed its effects on longer-term outcomes. We assess the effects of parental quantity of speech, use of parentese (the acoustically exaggerated, clear, and higher-pitched speech), and turn-taking in infancy, on child language at 5 years. Using a longitudinal dataset of daylong LENA recordings collected with the same group of English-speaking infants (N=44) at 6, 10, 14, 18, 24 months and then again at 5 years, we demonstrate that parents' consistent (defined as stable and high) use of parentese in infancy was a potent predictor of lexical diversity, mean length of utterance, and frequency of conversational turn-taking between children and adults at Kindergarten entry. Together, these findings highlight the potential importance of a high-quality language learning environment in infancy for success at the start of formal schooling.
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Psychologists have long debated the role of early experience in social and cognitive development. However, traditional approaches to studying this issue are not well positioned to address this debate. The authors present simulations that indicate that the associations between early experiences and later outcomes should approach different asymptotic values across time, given alternative assumptions about the developmental significance of early experience. To test the predictions of alternative developmental models, the authors examine data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD) on maternal sensitivity in the first 3 years of life and its association with social competence and academic skills through age 15. Across multimethod, multi-informant outcome data, results suggest that there may be enduring effects of early caregiving experiences in both of these domains.
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Parents’ responsiveness to infants’ exploratory and communicative behaviors predicts infant word learning during early periods of language development. We examine the processes that might explain why this association exists. We suggest that responsiveness supports infants’ growing pragmatic understanding that language is a tool that enables intentions to be socially shared. Additionally, several features of responsiveness—namely, its temporal contiguity, contingency, and multimodal and didactic content—facilitate infants’ mapping of words to their referents and, in turn, growth in vocabulary. We close by examining the generalizability of these processes to infants from diverse cultural communities.
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Families who live in poverty face disadvantages that can hinder their children’s development in many ways, write Greg Duncan, Katherine Magnuson, and Elizabeth Votruba-Drzal. As they struggle to get by economically, and as they cope with substandard housing, unsafe neighborhoods, and inadequate schools, poor families experience more stress in their daily lives than more affluent families do, with a host of psychological and developmental consequences. Poor families also lack the resources to invest in things like high-quality child care and enriched learning experiences that give more affluent children a leg up. Often, poor parents also lack the time that wealthier parents have to invest in their children, because poor parents are more likely to be raising children alone or to work nonstandard hours and have inflexible work schedules. Can increasing poor parents’ incomes, independent of any other sort of assistance, help their children succeed in school and in life? The theoretical case is strong, and Duncan, Magnuson, and Votruba-Drzal find solid evidence that the answer is yes—children from poor families that see a boost in income do better in school and complete more years of schooling, for example. But if boosting poor parents’ incomes can help their children, a crucial question remains: Does it matter when in a child’s life the additional income appears? Developmental neurobiology strongly suggests that increased income should have the greatest effect during children’s early years, when their brains and other systems are developing rapidly, though we need more evidence to prove this conclusively. The authors offer examples of how policy makers could incorporate the findings they present to create more effective programs for families living in poverty. And they conclude with a warning: if a boost in income can help poor children, then a drop in income—for example, through cuts to social safety net programs like food stamps—can surely harm them.
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We examined maternal contingent responsiveness to infant object exploration in 190 mother-infant pairs from diverse cultural communities. Dyads were video-recorded during book-sharing and play when infants were 14 mo. Researchers coded the temporal onsets and offsets of infant and mother object exploration and mothers' referential (e.g., “That's a bead”) and regulatory (e.g., “Stop it”) language. The times when infant or mother were neither exploring objects nor communicating were classified as “off task.” Sequential analysis was used to examine whether certain maternal behaviors were more (or less) likely to follow infant object exploration relative to chance, to one another, and to times when infants were off task. Mothers were more likely to explore objects and use referential language in response to infant object exploration than to use regulatory language or be off task, and maternal behaviors were reduced in the context of infants being off task. Additionally, mothers coordinated their object exploration with referential language specifically; thus, mothers' responses to infants were didactic and multimodal. Infant object exploration elicits reciprocal object exploration and informative verbal input from mothers, illustrating the active role infants play in their social experiences.
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We examined maternal contingent responsiveness to infant object exploration in 190 mother–infant pairs from diverse cultural communities. Dyads were video-recorded during book-sharing and play when infants were 14 months. Researchers coded the temporal onsets and offsets of infant and mother object exploration and mothers’ referential (e.g. ‘That’s a bead’) and regulatory (e.g. ‘Stop it’) language. The times when infant or mother were neither exploring objects nor communicating were classified as “off task”. Sequential analysis was used to examine whether certain maternal behaviors were more (or less) likely to follow infant object exploration relative to chance, to one another, and to times when infants were off task. Mothers were more likely to explore objects and use referential language in response to infant object exploration than to use regulatory language or be off task, and maternal behaviors were reduced in the context of infants being off task. Additionally, mothers coordinated their object exploration with referential language specifically; thus, mothers’ responses to infants were didactic and multi-modal. Infant object exploration elicits reciprocal object exploration and informative verbal input from mothers, illustrating the active role infants play in their social experiences.
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Most poor children achieve less, exhibit more problem behaviors and are less healthy than children reared in more affluent families. We look beyond correlations such as these to a recent set of studies that attempt to assess the causal impact of childhood poverty on adult well-being. We pay particular attention to the potentially harmful effects of poverty early in childhood on adult labor market success (as measured by earnings), but also show results for other outcomes, including out-of-wedlock childbearing, criminal arrests and health status. Evidence suggests that early poverty has substantial detrimental effects on adult earnings and work hours, but on neither general adult health nor such behavioral outcomes as out-of-wedlock childbearing and arrests. We discuss implications for indicators tracking child well-being as well as policies designed to promote the well-being of children.
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ABSTRACTS We examined whether storybook exposure and the amount of teaching in reading and writing skills reported by middle class parents were related to the oral‐language skills (receptive vocabulary, listening comprehension, and phoneme awareness) and the written‐language skills (concepts about book reading, alphabet knowledge, reading CVC words, and invented spelling) of children in kindergarten ( n = 110) and Grade 1 ( n = 47). Hierarchical regression analyses that controlled for parents' print exposure and children's age and analytic intelligence showed that storybook exposure explained statistically significant unique variance in children's oral‐language skills but not in their written‐language skills. In contrast, parent teaching explained statistically significant unique variance in children's written‐language skills but not in their oral‐language skills. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that storybook exposure may enhance children's oral‐language skills whereas additional support in the form of teaching may be necessary to enhance written‐language skills. At the end of Grade 1, children's oral and written language performance accounted for 20% of the variance in word reading, but storybook exposure and parent teaching did not account for additional statistically significant unique variance. These findings suggest that the association between early home literacy experiences and later reading skills may be mediated through children's oral‐ and written‐language skills. EXAMINAMOS SI la exposición a libros de cuentos y la cantidad de experiencias de enseñanza de habilidades de lectura y escritura, obtenidas a partir de los informes de padres de clase media, estaban relacionadas con las habilidades de lenguaje oral (vocabulario receptivo, comprensión oral y concienca fonológica) y con las habilidades de lenguaje escrito (conceptos sobre la lectura de libros, conocimiento del alfabeto, lectura de palabras CVC y escrituras inventadas). Participaron del estudio niños de preescolar ( n = 110) y 1er. Grado ( n = 47). Los análisis de regresión jerárquica, controlando la exposisción a la lengua escrita de los padres y, la edad de los niños y la inteligencia analítica, mostraron que la exposición a libros de cuentos explicó una proporción única estadísticamente significativa de la variancia en las habilidades de lenguaje oral pero no en las habilidades de lenguaje escrito. Por el contrario, la enseñanza de los padres explicó una proporción única estadísticamente significativa de la variancia en las habilidades de lenguaje escrito pero no en las habilidades de lenguaje oral. Estos hallazgos son consistentes con la hipótesis de que la exposición a libros de cuentos puede mejorar las habilidades de lenguaje oral de los niños, en tanto que puede ser necesario un apoyo adicional en la forma de enseñar para mejorar las habilidades de lenguaje escrito. A fines de 1er. Grado, el desempeño oral y escrito de los niños dió cuenta del 20% de la variancia en lectura de palabras, pero la exposición a libros de cuentos y la enseñanza de los padres no explicó una proporción adicional estadísticamente significativa de la variancia. Estos hallazgos sugieren que la asociación entre las experiencias de alfabetización tempranas en el hogar y las habilidades de lectura posteriores pueden estar mediadas por las habilidades de lenguaje oral y escrito de los niños. UNTERSUCHTEN, ob der Einfluß von Geschichten und die Unterrichtsanzahl beim Vermitteln von Lese‐ und Schreibfertigkeiten, wie von Eltern der Mittelschicht berichtet, in einer Beziehung mit den mündlichen Sprachfertigkeiten (rezeptiver Wortschatz, Hörverständnis und phonemische Aufnahmefähigkeit) standen, und verglichen sprachliche Schreibfertigkeiten (Konzepte zum Buchlesen, Kenntnis des Alphabets, Lesen von CVC [Consonant‐Vowel‐Consonant bzw. Konsonant‐Vokal‐Konsonant] Worten und ersonnenes Buchstabieren) von Kindern im Kindergarten ( n = 110) und in der 1. Klasse ( n = 47). Hierarchische Regressionsanalysen zur kontrollierten Bemessung des elterlichen Aufwands an Druckmaterial, dem Alter der Kinder und deren analytischer Intelligenz zeigten, daß der Bucheinfluß von Geschichten statistisch eine deutliche, ausgeprägte Abweichung bei der Bemessung der mündlichen Sprachfähigkeiten bei diesen Kindern aufweist, jedoch nicht bei deren Schreibfähigkeiten. Im Widerspruch dazu ergab elterlicher Unterricht statistisch wesentliche Abweichungen bei den Schreibfertigkeiten der Kinder, jedoch nicht bei deren mündlichen Sprachfähigkeiten. Diese Erkenntnisse befinden sich im Einklang mit der Hypothese, daß das Anbieten bzw. Lesen von Geschichten aus Büchern mündliche Sprachfertigkeiten steigern kann, wobei zusätzliche Unterstützung in Form von Unterricht nötig werden könnte, um schriftliche Sprachfähigkeiten zu fördern. Mit Abschluß der 1. Klasse betrug die Veränderung in der mündlichen und schriftlichen Sprachleistung 20% beim Lesen von Worten, jedoch konnte die Heranführung an Geschichten aus Büchern und der elterliche Unterricht statistisch nicht mehr als besonders herausragende Abweichung nachgewiesen werden. Diese Befunde lassen vermuten, daß die Verbindung zwischen frühzeitigen Sprachausbildungserfahrungen zu Hause und späteren Leseleistungen durch erworbene mündliche und schriftliche Sprachfertigkeiten der Kinder vermittelt wird. NOUS AVONS examiné si l'exposition à la lecture de livres de jeunesse et la place faite à l'enseignement de la lecture et de l'écriture, tels que rapportés par des parents de classe moyenne, sont liés aux compétences en langue parlée (vocabulaire passif, compréhension du discours, et conscience phonémique) et écrite (représentation de la lecture de livres, connaissance de l'alphabet, lecture de mots CVC, et écriture inventée) chez des enfants de maternelle ( n =110) et de première année ( n = 47). Des analyses de régression hiérarchique contrôlant l'exposition à l'écrit par les parents, l'âge de l'enfant et l'intelligence analytique ont montré que l'exposition à la lecture de livres de jeunesse rend compte d'une variation statistiquement significative des compétences en langue parlée des enfants, mais pas de leurs compétences en langue écrite. Par contre, l'enseignement effectué par les parents rend compte d'une variation statistiquement significative des compétences en langue écrite des enfants, mais non de leurs compétences en langue parlée. Ces résultats sont en harmonie avec l'hypothèse que l'exposition à la lecture de livres de jeunesse permet d'améliorer les compétences des enfants en langue parlée, tandis qu'un apport supplémentaire sous forme d'enseignement peut s'avérer nécessaire pour améliorer leurs compétences en langue écrite. En fin de première année, la connaissance qu'ont les enfants du langage oral et écrit rend compte de 20% de la variance en lecture de livres, alors que l'exposition à la lecture de livres de jeunesse et l'enseignement effectué par les parents n'apportent pas de contribution supplémentaire à la variance. Ces résultats suggèrent qu'il est possible que l'association entre les expériences initiales de lecture‐écriture à la maison et les compétences ultérieures en lecture‐écriture soient médiatisées par les compétences des enfants en langue orale et écrite.
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The present study examined book-sharing interactions between mothers and their 4-year-old children from African American (n = 62), Dominican (n = 67), Mexican (n = 59) and Chinese (n = 82) low-income U.S. families, and children's independent storytelling skills one year later. Mothers' book-sharing style was analysed in terms of how much storyline information they provided (story components), the extent to which they asked children about the story (dialogic emphasis) and which features of the story they highlighted (story content). African American mothers referred to more story components than did Dominican mothers, and Mexican mothers surpassed Dominican and Chinese mothers. Mothers of all groups were low in dialogic emphasis; they predominantly narrated rather than asked about the story, although Mexican mothers asked relatively more questions than did African American and Dominican mothers. In terms of content, compared with other groups, African American mothers were most likely to emphasize ‘individual goals’, and Chinese mothers were most likely to emphasize ‘negative consequences’. Latino mothers were more likely to emphasize ‘emotions’ than were Chinese mothers. Children's storytelling styles partially mirrored those seen in their mothers. Mothers' dialogic emphasis related to children's contributions to book-sharing, which in turn predicted children's later independent storytelling skills. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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Theorists have speculated about the symbolic underpinnings of theory of mind (ToM), but no study has examined them across the main developmental span of ToM. Here, the onset of symbolic understandings in three domains (pretend play, language, and understanding representations) and ToM was examined. Fifty-eight children were tested on batteries of tasks four times from ages 2.5 to 5 years. Some significant interrelations among variables were seen at each age level. Canonical correlation analysis found that a subset of the symbolic variables was significantly related to ToM at ages 4 and 5, providing the best evidence to date that ToM is undergirded by a symbolic element that also supports language, pretend play, and representational understanding.
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The present study investigated the influence of home numeracy experiences on early numeracy skills in kindergarten after controlling for cognitive and linguistic precursors. Eighty-nine children (mean age = 6.1 years) were tested on cognitive, linguistic, and early numeracy skills, and their parents completed a questionnaire on home numeracy practices and expectations. The results showed a unique contribution of parent–child numeracy activities and parents’ numeracy expectations on early numeracy outcomes next to individual child factors (i.e., early literacy skills and grammatical ability), stressing the importance of home numeracy experiences on early numeracy skills.
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ABSTRACTS This descriptive study documented the range and frequency of literacy practices in 20 low‐socioeconomic‐status homes over an aggregated week of observation and measured the emergent literacy knowledges held by 24 children, ages 4 to 6, in these homes. The analysis focused on the social domains mediated by print as well as the linguistic unit and complexity of discourse text read and/or written by the participants in the homes. The analysis also examined relationships between the types and frequencies of literacy events and the emergent literacy knowledges held by the focal children. Results revealed a description of literacy practice and literacy learning which included great variability in type and frequency of literacy events across the 20 homes. The results also suggested the following patterns of relationships between home literacy practices and emergent literacy knowledge: (a) children's understanding of the intentionality of print is related to both the frequency of literacy events in the home and to their personal focus and involvement in the literacy events, (b) children knew more about the alphabetic principle and the specific forms of written language more in homes where literate members read and wrote at more complex levels of discourse for their own entertainment and leisure, and (c) parents' intentional involvement in their children's literacy learning was higher when their children began formal literacy instruction in school. Reflections on literacy as cultural practice and the ways in which school and home learning can build upon each other are discussed. ESTE ESTUDIO descriptivo documentó el rango y la frecuencia de las prácticas de alfabetización en 20 hogares de nivel socioeconómico bajo a lo largo de una semana de observación y midió los conocimientos emergentes sobre la lectoescritura de 24 niños de 4 a 6 años provenientes de estos hogares. El análisis puso el acento en los dominios sociales mediatizados por la escritura, así como en el tipo de unidad lingüística y la complejidad discursiva de los textos leídos y/o escritos por los participantes en los hogares. El análisis también examinó las relaciones entre los tipos y frecuencia de los eventos de alfabetización y los conocimientos emergentes sobre la lectoescritura de los niños del estudio. Los resultados revelaron una descripción de las prácticas de alfabetización y el aprendizaje de la lectoescritura que incluía una gran variación en el tipo y la frecuencia de los eventos en los 20 hogares. Los resultados también sugirieron los siguientes patrones de relaciones entre las prácticas de alfabetización en el hogar y los conocimientos emergentes sobre la lectoescritura: (a) la comprensión por parte de los niños de la intencionalidad de la escritura está relacionada con la frecuencia de los eventos de alfabetización en el hogar y con sus intereses personales y compromiso con dichos eventos, (b) los niños que sabían más acerca del principio alfabético y las formas específicas del lenguaje escrito pertenecían a hogares en los que los miembros alfabetizados leían y escribían en niveles complejos del discurso y con propósitos de entretenimento y placer y (c) el compromiso intencional de los padres con los aprendizajes de sus hijos era más alto cuando los niños comenzaban el aprendizaje formal en la escuela. Se discuten reflexiones sobre la alfabetización como práctica cultural y las formas en que el aprendizaje en la escuela y el hogar pueden enriquecerse mutuamente. DIESE BESCHREIBENDE Studie dokumentiert Umfang und Häufigkeit von Lese‐ und Schreibpraktiken in 20 Familien mit niedrigem sozialökonomischen Status im Zeitraum einer ganzen Woche, wobei die daraus hervorgehenden Kenntnisse im Lesen und Schreiben an 24 Kindern im Alter von vier bis sechs Jahren gemessen wurden. Die Analyse konzentrierte sich auf die sozialen Interaktionen, die eingeleitet wurden durch gedruckte wie gesprochene Einheiten, und auf den Umfang von Gesprächen über einen von den Teilnehmern gelesenen und/oder geschriebenen Text. Die Analyse untersuchte auch die Zusammenhänge zwischen den Textsorten und der Häufigkeit von literarisierenden Erlebnissen und den daraus sich ergebenden Fähigkeiten, die sich die Zielgruppe aneignete. Die Ergebnisse erbrachten einen Zusammenhang zwischen den Tätigkeiten der Lese‐ und Schreibpraxis und dem Lesenlernen, wobei eine große Bandbreite an Formen und in der Häufigkeit von Lese‐ wie Schreibanlässen in den 20 Familien sichtbar wurde. Die Ergebnisse legen die folgenden Beziehungsmuster in der vorschulischen Literarisierung und den sich daraus ergebenden Fähigkeiten nahe: a) Das Verständnis der Kinder für die Botschaft von etwas Gedrucktem hängt zusammen mit der Häufigkeit von Textangeboten in der Familie, mit dem persönlichen Interesse wie mit dem persönlichen Beteiligungsgrad an dem literarisierenden Ereignis. b) Kinder wußten eher Bescheid über alphabetische Prinzipien und die spezifischen Formen der geschriebenen Sprache in solchen Familien, deren alphabetisierte Mitglieder sich einer höheren, komplexeren Sprachebene beim Lesen und Schreiben zu ihrer Unterhaltung und zur Entspannung bedienten. c) Das Interesse der Eltern an der Literarisierung ihrer Kinder war größer zu dem Zeitpunkt, als ihre Kinder in der Schule offiziell lesen und schreiben lernten. Besprochen werden Überlegungen hinsichtlich der Literarisierung als einer Kulturtechnik und hinsichtlich der Möglichkeiten, inwiefern familiäre und schulische Lese‐ und Schreiblernprozesse aufeinander aufbauen können.
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Studies of the processes by which parents encourage early numerical development in the context of parent–child interactions during routine, culturally relevant activities at home are scarce. The present study was designed to investigate spontaneous exchanges related to numeracy during parent–child interactions in reading and play activities at home. Thirty‐seven families with a four‐year‐old child (13 low‐income) were observed. Two types of numeracy interactions were of interest: socio‐cultural numeracy exchanges, explaining the use and value of money or numbers in routine activities such as shopping or cooking, and mathematical exchanges, including counting, quantity or size comparisons. Results indicated that high‐income parents engaged in more mathematical exchanges during both reading and play than did low‐income parents, though there were no differences in the initiation of socio‐cultural numeracy exchanges. The focus of parental guidance related to numeracy was conceptual and embedded in the activity context, with few dyads focusing on counting or numbers per se. The findings suggest the importance of parent education efforts that incorporate numeracy‐related discourse in the context of daily routines to augment young children’s numeracy development.
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This article reports the findings relating the predictor variables identified through the analyses discussed in the previous articles to the outcome measures of early literacy from the test battery administered to the children in the Home-School Study of Language and Literacy Development at age five. The test battery, called the SHELL-K (School Home Early Language and Literacy), uses a variety of assessment procedures to develop a componential view of each child's language and literacy development. The results demonstrate that both home and school measures contribute to children's literacy achievement at age five. Finally, profiles of the three selected children are presented demonstrating the variability in the experiences and outcomes for these children.
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Reports an error in the original article by D. C. van den Boom and J. B. Hoeksma (Developmental Psychology, 1994[Jul], Vol 30[4], 581-590). A paragraph was taken from an article by M. L. Riese (see record 1987-18448-001) without proper citation or quotation. (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in PA, Vol 81:37174.) To further understanding of temperament–interaction relationships, patterns of interactive behavior were observed longitudinally (at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 mo) in 30 lower-class dyads (15 irritable, 15 nonirritable). Frequency data were analyzed by using multilevel analysis to assess the changing nature of the behaviors. Findings revealed that irritable infants differ from nonirritable infants both in amount and growth trajectory of positive and negative emotionality and in amount of environmental interest. Mothers of irritable infants differ from those of nonirritable infants in both amount and growth trajectory of visual contact, effective stimulation, physical contact, soothing, noninvolvement, and responsiveness to positive signals. Maternal behavior was systematically more positive in nonirritable compared with irritable infants.… (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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This article is concerned with measures of fit of a model. Two types of error involved in fitting a model are considered. The first is error of approximation which involves the fit of the model, with optimally chosen but unknown parameter values, to the population covariance matrix. The second is overall error which involves the fit of the model, with parameter values estimated from the sample, to the population covariance matrix. Measures of the two types of error are proposed and point and interval estimates of the measures are suggested. These measures take the number of parameters in the model into account in order to avoid penalizing parsimonious models. Practical difficulties associated with the usual tests of exact fit or a model are discussed and a test of “close fit” of a model is suggested.
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Sensitive and responsive caregiving is associated with better cognitive and language outcomes. Using the longitudinal data set from the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, this study asks how changes in the sensitivity of both mothers and caregivers from 6 months to 6 years relates to language and academic outcomes at the start of formal schooling. Three questions are posed: (1) How variable is the quality of caregiving that children experience from mothers and child care providers during early childhood? (2) Do children benefit from both sensitive parents and sensitive caregivers? (3) Are changes in sensitivity over time related to cognitive and language outcomes at the end of preschool and the beginning of formal education? Person-centered and variable-centered analyses revealed that children experience changing patterns of sensitivity across time, that children benefit from sensitive interactions with all adults, and that changes in the sensitivity children experience across time are associated with both language and cognitive outcomes.
Article
Research Findings: This study analyzed data from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Study (EHSRES) to examine whether the association between family structural characteristics (maternal education, number of parents, employment status, and number of children), parenting practices (sensitive and negative parenting, cognitively stimulating home environment, authoritarian parenting), and children's outcomes (receptive language, cognitive development, and problem behaviors) differ across ethnicity. A sample of 2,777 low-income families included 39% European Americans/Whites, 36% African Americans, and 25% Hispanics. Results indicated ethnic differences in some family structural characteristics, parenting practices, and child outcomes. With the exception of employment status, there was limited evidence that ethnic differences in family structural characteristics were related to differences in child outcomes. Though there were also ethnic differences in parenting practices, there was no evidence that ethnicity moderated the relation between parenting practices and children's language, cognitive, and behavioral outcomes at 36 months. Practice or Policy: The implication of this study is the need to foster and focus on positive parenting practices, rather than negatives ones, because of their importance to children's language, cognitive development, and behavior management. Ethnic differences may matter, but they may not in the face of other stressors such as economic fears, job instability, health concerns, and neighborhood safety.