Frequency analyses of prephonological spellings as predictors of success in conventional spelling

The present study explored how children's prephonological writing foretells differential learning outcomes in primary school. The authors asked Portuguese-speaking preschool children in Brazil (mean age 4 year 3 months) to spell 12 words. Monte Carlo tests were used to identify the 31 children whose writing was not based on spellings or sounds of the target words. Two and a half years later, the children took a standardized spelling test. The more closely the digram (two-letter sequence) frequencies in the preschool task correlated with those in children's books, the better scores the children had in primary school, and the more preschoolers used letters from their own name, the lower their subsequent scores. Thus, preschoolers whose prephonological writing revealed attentiveness to the statistical properties of text subsequently performed better in conventional spelling. These analytic techniques may help in the early identification of children at risk for spelling difficulties.     

Kindergarten school readiness and fourth‐grade literacy and numeracy outcomes of children with special needs: a population‐based study

In British Columbia, Canada, two population‐based databases have been linked at the level of the individual child: the Early Development Instrument, a Kindergarten school readiness measure; and the Foundation Skills Assessment, a Grade Four academic assessment. Utilising these linked data, we explored the early school readiness, literacy, and numeracy outcomes of a province‐wide study population of children with special needs (N = 3677) followed longitudinally from Kindergarten to Grade Four. In particular, we explored the categories of special needs among our study population. In addition, we investigated the Kindergarten school readiness and Grade Four literacy and numeracy outcomes of children with special needs. We also explored the Grade Four literacy and numeracy outcomes of children with special needs who were ‘not school ready’ at Kindergarten. Finally, we identified the categories of special needs of children who participated in the Kindergarten data collection, but were missing literacy and numeracy scores at Grade Four. Future directions are discussed.     

Preschoolers’ Approaches to Learning and Family-school Connections During COVID-19: An Empirical Study Based on a Wuhan Sample

The concept, approaches to learning (ATL), is an important dimension of children’s school readiness, which reflects children’s enthusiasm and engagement in learning settings. Due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), when preschools were shut down for months and children’s social interactions were greatly limited, preschoolers’ ATL might be negatively affected. However, strengthened family-school connections might have the potential to reduce the adverse effects of the pandemic. Based on a sample of 340 preschoolers from 30 classes of 6 preschools in Wuhan, China, we explored the association between family-preschool connections and preschoolers’ ATL scores. The findings showed that the preschoolers’ ATL were statistically and positively associated with parental attendance at the online parent-teacher meetings initiated by the preschools (standardized coefficient?=?0.15). Policy implications regarding the enhancement of family-preschool connections are discussed.

     

Black-white achievement gap and family wealth.

This article examines the extent to which family wealth affects the Black-White test score gap for young children based on data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (aged 3-12). This study found little evidence that wealth mediated the Black-White test scores gaps, which were eliminated when child and family demographic covariates were held constant. However, family wealth had a stronger association with cognitive achievement of school-aged children than that of preschoolers and a stronger association with school-aged children's math than on their reading scores. Liquid assets, particularly holdings in stocks or mutual funds, were positively associated with school-aged children's test scores. Family wealth was associated with a higher quality home environment, better parenting behavior, and children's private school attendance.     

Black–White Achievement Gap and Family Wealth

This article examines the extent to which family wealth affects the Black–White test score gap for young children based on data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (aged 3–12). This study found little evidence that wealth mediated the Black–White test scores gaps, which were eliminated when child and family demographic covariates were held constant. However, family wealth had a stronger association with cognitive achievement of school-aged children than that of preschoolers and a stronger association with school-aged children's math than on their reading scores. Liquid assets, particularly holdings in stocks or mutual funds, were positively associated with school-aged children's test scores. Family wealth was associated with a higher quality home environment, better parenting behavior, and children's private school attendance.     

Identifying young gifted children and cultivating problem solving abilities and multiple intelligences

The “Enrichment Program for Cultivating Problem Solving Abilities and Multiple Intelligences for Gifted Preschoolers” (PSMIGP program) was the first enrichment program for young gifted children in Taiwan. It was an extra-curricular program that was implemented over a 3-year period. The assessment and curriculum were designed by adapting the main part of the DISCOVER curriculum.The purpose of this paper was to introduce the identification model and to analyze the participants' performance in problem solving activities and in demonstrating their special talents. To offer enrichment services for gifted young children, the researchers developed an identification model to discover more young gifted children and serve their needs in learning, regardless of the nature of their talents, disabilities, or cultural or socio-economical status. All participating young children were screened in a three-stage process that included both objective and subjective assessments, including checklists, interviews, portfolio assessment, group intelligence tests, observation in the play corner, individual intelligence tests, and structured observation activities. It was also necessary to adjust the standardized test procedure to fit the needs of twice exceptional young children.In total there were sixty-one preschoolers participated in this three-year program, including eleven twice exceptional children and one child from a new immigrant home. Among these sixty-one preschoolers, eight of them participated in two years of the program; the others only participated in one year of the program.The results of this enrichment program found significant correlations among the measurement scores; the scores of teacher assessment of problem solving abilities also showed that most students performed well on all five kinds of problem solving types. From children's archives, participating children presented scientific thinking characteristics, such as rich knowledge with fascinating imagination and the ability to seek many approaches to solving problems. They were delighted to challenge others and pleased to be challenged. The twice exceptional children also performed well in the program, especially those children with autism whose progress in social skills and group adaptability were remarkable. In sum, the researchers in this program had a belief that children, whether gifted or not, did not get the satisfaction of making progress until they had opportunities to find and develop their potentials.     

Goodness of Fit Between Children and Classrooms: Effects of Child Temperament and Preschool Classroom Quality on Achievement Trajectories

Research Findings: The purpose of this study was to examine whether child temperament differentially predicted academic school readiness depending on the quality of classroom interactions for 179 Head Start preschoolers. Teachers rated children's temperament as overcontrolled, resilient, or undercontrolled in the fall and reported on children's language/literacy and math skills continuously throughout the year. Observations of classroom emotional and instructional support were conducted in the spring. Results from multilevel models indicated that overcontrolled children (compared to resilient children) made greater math gains in classrooms with higher instructional support, whereas a trend-level effect suggested that undercontrolled children (compared to resilient children) made lower math gains in classrooms with lower emotional support. Results also showed that resilient children's gains in language/literacy were more positively associated with high emotional support than were the scores of overcontrolled children. Practice or Policy: This study adds to prior findings suggesting that overcontrolled and undercontrolled children need special attention in the preschool classroom. Teachers and administrators may want to carefully consider the effect that classroom interactions and instructional techniques have on individual children and attempt to tailor instruction to meet the individual needs of children within classrooms.     

Differential ability scales: Profiles of preschoolers with cognitive delay

This study examined the cluster profiles obtained using the Differential Ability Scale (DAS, Elliott, 1990a) for preschool children diagnosed with cognitive delay and for those without cognitive delay. Cluster analyses resulted in distinctive profiles for each group. Profiles for preschoolers diagnosed with cognitive delay were compared with DAS profile patterns previously reported for school‐aged children diagnosed with learning disabilities (McIntosh & Gridley, 1993). Cluster comparisons indicated profiles of cognitively delayed preschoolers were not the same as those found in school‐age children with learning disabilities. Implications for prediction of school‐age learning disabilities from preschool DAS cognitive cluster profiles are discussed. © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Neighborhood income and physical and social disorder in Canada: associations with young children's competencies

This study examined the association of census level, observational, and parent-reported neighborhood characteristics on the verbal and behavioral competencies of a national sample of Canadian preschoolers (N = 3,350). Children's verbal ability scores were positively associated with residing in neighborhoods with affluent residents and negatively associated with residing in neighborhoods with poor residents and in neighborhoods with low cohesion, even after controlling for family socioeconomic factors. Behavior problem scores were higher when children lived in neighborhoods that had fewer affluent residents, high unemployment rates, and neighborhoods with low cohesion, after controlling for family socioeconomic factors. These findings are discussed in light of neighborhood studies of children in the United States in the mid-1990s.     

Effects of Different Instructional Approaches on Young Children's Achievement and Motivation

Children in child-centered preschools and kindergartens were compared to children in didactic, highly academic programs in terms of their basic skills achievement and a set of motivation variables. The study included 227 poor, minority, and middle-class children between the ages of 4 and 6 years. Children in didactic programs that stressed basic skills had significantly higher scores on a letters/reading achievement test but not on a numbers achievement test. Being enrolled in a didactic early childhood education program was associated with relatively negative outcomes on most of the motivation measures. Compared to children in child-centered programs, children in didactic programs rated their abilities significantly lower, had lower expectations for success on academic tasks, showed more dependency on adults for permission and approval, evidenced less pride in their accomplishments, and claimed to worry more about school. Program effects were the same for economically disadvantaged and middle-class children, and for preschoolers and kindergartners.     

Developmental Disabilities and the Concept of School Readiness

This paper reviews the concept of school readiness as it applies to children with disabilities. It is argued that children with disabilities are of two primary types: normative and non-normative. The majority of children in special education are in the non-normative category, whose definition is based on failures in children's early encounters with the educational system. Classification of such children as "not-ready for school" is a function of bureaucratic definition, teacher variability, and the child's ethnicity and social class. The authors have taken the position that children in both disability categories should be considered appropriate for regular general education and that the readiness concept which appears to be most appropriate for children with labeled special needs is actually not appropriate for any child.     

THE PLOWDEN REPORT'S RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IDENTIFYING CHILDREN IN NEED OF EXTRA HELP

The inadequacies of an area or school‐based approach to the problem of identifying children who are in need of extra help at school are illustrated with data collected from the infant reception classes of 12 schools. These sample schools were each nominated for one of three categories according to the characteristics of the areas which they served. The two local education authorities involved each nominated an advantaged school, a settled working‐class school, and four deprived schools. The socio‐economic and developmental characteristics of the infant reception class intakes of these categories of school type were examined. The findings were that categories of school type are not as socio‐economically disparate as may often be assumed; and that there appears to be a sizeable relationship between school type and the school entrants’ developmental characteristics, but there are too many exceptions to this general trend to justify the use of school characteristics for identifying ‘children at risk’.     

Educational services for mentally handicapped children in Northern Ireland: A survey of provision

Abstract

Until April 1987 mentally handicapped children were legally excluded from education in Northern Ireland. Provision was made instead in special care schools administered by social services authorities. This contrasts with the position in the rest of the UK where all children have been educated in schools administered by education authorities since the early 1970s. A survey was conducted to investigate aspects of provision in special care schools. Comparative samples of special schools for children with mental handicap in England, and special schools for other categories of children with special needs in Northern Ireland were also surveyed.

Results show that the special care school pupils were disadvantaged often seriously, compared with the other samples. Staffing ratios were inferior in most respects of provision. Other resources were often criticized by head teachers as inadequate. The special care school transport system was also shown to be seriously deficient, causing the length of the school day to be reduced for a very large proportion of pupils. The inadequacies identified impinged particularly on severely and profoundly handicapped pupils, despite earlier Government arguments that the interests of this group could be damaged in a transfer to education.

Nearly one fifth of the special care school population were aged 19 and over, and nearly one third of the profoundly handicapped pupils were 19 or over. In many cases adults and children shared the same facilities.

These results are compared and contrasted with Government documents which claimed parity of provision in special care schools and special schools in England, and which adopted a stated policy of normalization in the development of services for the mentally handicapped.     

Sources of bias in special needs provision in mainstream primary schools: evidence from two British cohort studies

This study examines inequality during late childhood in children's access to special needs help in mainstream primary schools using data from two British cohorts: the National Child Development Study (NCDS) and the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70). It explores the source of any biases in the provision of special help using measures of individual gender, attainment and psychosocial adjustment; family social class; school composition; and education regions. Pervasive gender bias was found both in the identification of children with special needs and in the provision of help to children with special needs. There were more children from manual homes receiving help in school than children from professional homes, but when reading, mathematics and psychosocial adjustment scores were taken into account, the gradient reversed, so that children from professional homes were more likely to be getting help. The influence of the school's composition showed the same reversal. Once test scores were considered, schools with a greater proportion of above average children were more likely to be able to provide help for those with special needs than schools with a greater proportion of children with problems. Regional variation suggests that areas in southeast England are better funded than average, while areas of deprivation are not provided with sufficient resources to meet their children's needs.     

Which homes? A response to Scarr and McCartney (1988)

Scarr and McCartney's (1988) Bermudian study shows the futility of using the Verbal Interaction Project's Mother-Child Home Program (MCHP) to prevent later educational disadvantage in preschoolers who are not at risk for such disadvantage. Recently published research is cited to support a conclusion that poverty alone does not predict school disadvantage so much as poor parents frequently having low motivation and less than high school graduation, unlike the Bermudian sample. Significant positive school effects through eighth grade are noted to have occurred when the MCHP was used with Massachusetts preschoolers who were socioeconomically at risk for educational disadvantage and thus were of lower SES than the advantaged Bermudian children. Methodological issues are also discussed.     

Relations between the everyday activities of preschoolers and their teachers’ perceptions of their competence in the first years of school

This paper contributes to a growing literature that suggests that in order to understand the transition to school, one should employ an ecological approach. Such an approach involves simultaneous consideration of individual and contextual factors, studied over time. Much of the current literature on the transition focuses on the transition from the perspective of school, but we were interested in relations between what occurs prior to school and performance in school. We used Bronfenbrenner’s Process-Person-Context-Time (PPCT) ecological model to focus primarily on the relations between school-relevant activities of preschool-aged children and teachers’ subsequent perception of the children’s competence once they had entered school. At Time 1 we observed 20 3-year-olds’ engagement in everyday activities (Process) and their initiation of those activities (Person) over a 20-hour period covering the equivalent of an entire waking day. Children were drawn from two social classes (Context). The preschool observations were followed by 2 consecutive years of teacher reports of academic competence following entry into elementary school (Times 2 and 3). Middle-class preschoolers engaged in more school-relevant activities than did working-class children, and preschoolers who initiated and engaged in more conversations were subsequently perceived by their teachers as being more competent.     

Special Educational Placement Decisions for Handicapped Children: An Initial New Zealand Study

An examination was made of the case records and special educational placement decisions for a sample of 40 children, all of whom had been tested and/or reviewed by school psychologists during the year preceding the study and classified within one of the traditional special educational categories: intellectually handicapped, mentally backward, physically handicapped, hearing handicapped, visually handicapped, and emotionally maladjusted. It was found that very few children receiving special education were being returned to regular classes, and that factors other than the child's ability and/or learning/behavioural characteristics were strongly implicated in special educational decisions for mentally backward (mildly retarded) children, but to a lesser extent in decisions reached for children in other special educational categories. The study highlighted a difficulty likely to arise in a wide range of situations involving parents and children, where research access to case information must be balanced against parents’ rights to privacy and confidentiality of information disclosed in casework. Implications for the present results are considered, together with the need for alternative research strategies in this and related areas of enquiry.     

Drawing insight from pictures: the development of concepts of false drawing and false belief in children with deafness,normal hearing,and autism

Theory-of-mind concepts in children with deafness, autism, and normal development (N = 154) were examined in three experiments using a set of standard inferential false-belief tasks and matched sets of tasks involving false drawings. Results of all three experiments replicated previously published findings by showing that primary school children with deafness or autism, aged 6 to 13 years, scored significantly lower than normal-developing 4-year-old preschoolers on standard misleading-container and unseen-change tests of false-belief understanding. Furthermore, deaf and autistic children generally scored higher on drawing-based tests than on corresponding standard tests and, on the most challenging of the false-drawing tests in Experiment 2, they significantly outperformed the normal-developing preschoolers by clearly understanding their own false intentions and another person's false beliefs about an actively misleading drawing. In Experiment 3, preschoolers outperformed older deaf and autistic children on standard tasks, but did less well on a task that required the drawing of a false belief. Methodological factors could not fully explain the findings, but early social and conversational experiences in the family were deemed likely contributors.     

Early Responsiveness to Intensive Behavioural Intervention Predicts Outcomes Among Preschool Children with Autism

Archival data from a private day‐school offering early intensive behavioural intervention based on the principles of applied behaviour analysis to preschoolers with autism (N = 29) were analysed longitudinally. Teacher reports on the Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills (ABLLS) were available up to 4 times and on the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales—Classroom Edition (VABS‐CE), at 2 time points. Parent reports on the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC) were available at 2 time points. All assessments occurred approximately at 6‐month intervals. Children showed statistically significant progress across all skill domains on the ABLLS and on selected subscales and the composite scales of the VABS‐CE and ATEC. Gains were substantial for some children and minor for others. When divided into performance‐based groups, both higher‐performing and lower‐performing groups showed improvement over time, with greater improvement for the higher‐performing group. Nine of 16 children who had been discharged from the programme entered inclusive kindergarten or first‐grade classrooms with an aide. Seven discharged children entered special education classrooms. No child progressed to the point that special education services were not needed. Findings are discussed relevant to the extant literature on early intensive behavioural intervention outcomes among young children with autism.     

Early intervention for handicapped children: Efficacy issues and data for school psychologists

Providing early intervention services for handicapped children is a relatively new endeavor for school psychologists. Because of the recency of this activity, most school psychologists have not received formal training—yet are providing evaluation and intervention services to preschool children. It is necessary that school psychologists fully understand the efficacy issues and data pertinent to this service to benefit preschoolers and provide accountability data for this service. This article presents the major efficacy issues and the subsequent research data on early intervention for young handicapped children.