Implementation Quality: Lessons Learned in the Context of the Head Start REDI Trial

This study uses data collected in the intervention classrooms (N = 22) of Head Start REDI (Research-based, Developmentally Informed), a randomized clinical trial testing the efficacy of a comprehensive preschool curriculum targeting children's social-emotional competence, language, and emergent literacy skills delivered by teachers who received weekly coaching support. Multiple dimensions of implementation (Dosage, Fidelity, Generalization, and Child Engagement) were assessed across curriculum components. Results indicated that REDI Trainers perceived significant growth in teacher implementation quality over time but that patterns differed by implementation dimension. Dosage and Fidelity of all intervention components were high at the beginning of the year and remained so over time while Generalization was low at baseline but increased significantly across the year. Variation in implementation was associated with variation on several child outcome measures in the social-emotional domain but not in the language and literacy domains.     

Child and Parenting Outcomes After 1 Year of Educare

Educare is a birth to age 5 early education program designed to reduce the achievement gap between children from low‐income families and their more economically advantaged peers through high‐quality center‐based programming and strong school–family partnerships. This study randomly assigned 239 children (< 19 months) from low‐income families to Educare or a business‐as‐usual control group. Assessments tracked children 1 year after randomization. Results revealed significant differences favoring treatment group children on auditory and expressive language skills, parent‐reported problem behaviors, and positive parent–child interactions. Effect sizes were in the modest to medium range. No effects were evident for observer‐rated child behaviors or parent‐rated social competence. The overall results add to the evidence that intervening early can set low‐income children on more positive developmental courses.     

Helping Head Start Parents Promote Their Children's Kindergarten Adjustment: The Research‐Based Developmentally Informed Parent Program

Head Start enhances school readiness during preschool, but effects diminish after children transition into kindergarten. Designed to promote sustained gains, the Research‐based Developmentally Informed (REDI) Parent program (REDI‐P) provided home visits before and after the kindergarten transition, giving parents evidence‐based learning games, interactive stories, and guided pretend play to use with their children. To evaluate impact, two hundred 4‐year‐old children in Head Start REDI classrooms were randomly assigned to REDI‐P or a comparison condition (mail‐home math games). Beyond the effects of the classroom program, REDI‐P promoted significant improvements in child literacy skills, academic performance, self‐directed learning, and social competence, demonstrating the utility of the approach in promoting gains in cognitive and social‐emotional skills evident after the transition into kindergarten.     

Head Start Parents' Beliefs about Their Children's Abilities, Task Values, and Performances on Different Activities

As part of larger intervention study designed to facilitate the transition of Head Start children into kindergarten and the early elementary grades, we assessed parents beliefs about former Head start children's abilities and values in several activity domains—academics, sports, and social skills—during the children's kindergarten ten year. Parents' expectations for their children's future also were examined. One hundred and twenty-four parents and 155 children participated; all children had attended Head Start, and the sample is ethnically and racially diverse. One group of children and parents received the additional services, and a second group did not. Parents, were quit optimistic about their children's prospects for the future. There were ethnic differences in parents were quit optimistic about their children's prospects for the future. There were ethnic differences in parents' beliefs about children's abilities and future prospects in different areas. Parents beliefs related both to children's attitudes toward school and to their performance on mathematical and reading achievement tests.     

Teacher-Rated Family Involvement and Children's Social and Academic Outcomes in Kindergarten

This study examines the relation between teachers' report of family involvement in school and children's social and academic competencies during kindergarten, after accounting for the contribution of socioeconomic status and early maternal sensitivity. Teachers reported on the family involvement for 223 children. Two dimensions of family involvement with school were measured: families' attitudes toward schools and families' activities with schools. Children's social and academic competence was assessed through classroom observations and teachers' reports. Results describe the contribution of socioeconomic status and maternal sensitivity in predicting some aspects of kindergarten competence, and the association of family involvement and child competence after accounting for these covariates. Findings suggest that teachers' reports of family attitudes are a more consistent predictor of outcomes than teachers' reports of family involvement activities. These findings support the position that families and schools can collaborate and provide a social resource to children in kindergarten.     

不同地区儿童语言入学准备的调查研究

幼儿语言入学准备是入学准备的重要方面,但在现有的教育教学中却出现了多数教育者、家长对幼儿语言入学准备的理解偏差。对四川省绵阳、南充、自贡这三个地级市的12所幼儿园,共540名幼儿的语言入学准备现状调查研究的结果表明:总体而言,三个地区的儿童在语言入学准备上和语言学习品质评价上呈显著性差异,且均存在着入学准备不足的情况。不同地区的儿童在语言准备能力上的差异性与测验试题的难度有关,在一定程度上,语言任务的难度越大,不同地区儿童的差异就越大。进一步分析发现,差异性的存在与地区的经济发展水平、师资力量的配置、教育者(教师和家长)的教育教学观念有着显著的相关性。     

Parent Praise to 1‐ to 3‐Year‐Olds Predicts Children's Motivational Frameworks 5 Years Later

In laboratory studies, praising children's effort encourages them to adopt incremental motivational frameworks—they believe ability is malleable, attribute success to hard work, enjoy challenges, and generate strategies for improvement. In contrast, praising children's inherent abilities encourages them to adopt fixed‐ability frameworks. Does the praise parents spontaneously give children at home show the same effects? Although parents' early praise of inherent characteristics was not associated with children's later fixed‐ability frameworks, parents' praise of children's effort at 14–38 months (N = 53) did predict incremental frameworks at 7–8 years, suggesting that causal mechanisms identified in experimental work may be operating in home environments.     

Young Children's Perspectives on Learning and Teacher Practices in Different Classroom Contexts: Implications for Motivation

Primary studentsa' perceptions of teacher practices and learning were investigated in two different classroom contexts: learner-centered (LC) and non-learner-centered (NLC). Sixty-six children in kindergarten, first, and second grades evaluated and explained teacher practices, reported self-perceptions, and expressed views on good teachers and learning in school. Results indicate that primary students value similar characteristics in teachers regardless of differences in classroom contexts or grade levels. In general, students reported that good teachers are caring, helpful (responsive), and stimulating. Furthermore, results showed that young children's interest in schoolwork and learning was lower in NLC classrooms than in LC classrooms, particularly for students who perceived their teachers as not being supportive and stimulating. Children's views of how learning occurs tended to be consistent with the practices in their classrooms (i.e. self-directed and process-oriented versus teacher-directed and basic skills-oriented). However, children who held contemporary views of learning that were inconsistent with practices in their NLC classrooms showed signs of becoming alienated from school. These results are interpreted in terms of self-determination theory, learner-centered psychological principles, and developmentally-appropriate practice. The importance of considering young children's perspectives for continuing motivation to learn is highlighted.     

Multigenerational Effects on Children's Cognitive and Socioemotional Outcomes: A Within‐Child Investigation

Associations between grandparental investment and child outcomes were investigated using three waves of a longitudinal British Millennium Cohort Study that included children between the ages of 9 months and 5 years (n = 24,614 person‐observations from 13,744 children). Grandparental investment was measured by parent–grandparent contact frequency and grandparental financial support. Child cognitive development was measured using the British Ability Scale and socioemotional outcomes using the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire. Grandparental investment was associated with improved cognitive and socioemotional outcomes among children. However, these associations occurred because of between‐person effects and did not exist in within‐person analyses that compared the same children over time. The results are discussed in terms of their contribution to multigenerational relationships research.     

Head Start Teacher Perceptions on Organizational Support of Adult–Child Interactions

Early Childhood Education Journal - Head Start (HS) teachers are central to providing constructive adult–child interactions that prepare preschool-age students for school and future...     

不同美术教学法对中班幼儿创造性思维影响的实验研究

幼儿园美术活动作为幼儿艺术培养的重要途径,在发展幼儿想象力与创造性思维领域发挥着至关重要的作用。但作为幼儿园美术教学中常用的两种教学方法——直观教学法与模式化教学法,究竟哪一种方法在培养幼儿创造性思维方面更胜一筹尚且未知。笔者以38名中班儿童为研究对象,经过研究得出:直观教学法对于幼儿创造性思维中流畅性、独创性、标题抽象性、沉思性四方面的培养效果显著高于模式化教学法。但在精致性培养方面,直观教学法与模式化教学法并无显著差异。     

Classroom Quality and Academic School Readiness Outcomes in Head Start: The Indirect Effect of Approaches to Learning

This study used the FACES 2009 dataset to examine the possibility of an indirect effect of classroom quality on academic school readiness through teacher-rated approaches to learning in a large nationally representative sample of children served by Head Start. Research indings: Classroom quality did not directly predict gains in academic school readiness across the Head Start school year (β = -0.009, p = .844). However, classroom quality did predict gains in teacher-rated approaches to learning (β = 0.151, p = .040), which in turn predicted gains in academic school readiness (β = 0.105, p < .001), and there was a significant indirect effect of classroom quality on academic school readiness through approaches to learning (β = 0.016, p = .049). Although associations were generally small, this pattern of results suggests that approaches to learning may facilitate the relationships between classroom quality and academic school readiness. Practice or Policy: Educators should make targeted efforts to boost children’s approaches to learning as it may represent an important lever for academic success. In a society increasingly focused on high-stakes testing, we must not lose sight of the importance of domain-general skills that can help children achieve school and life success.     

对幼儿园物质环境创设中儿童参与的思考

近年来,随着我国社会对于儿童成长与教育的格外重视,幼儿园逐渐成了儿童健康成长中极为重要的一环。由于年龄的限制和生活经验较少,幼儿缺少对自己生存的物质环境的判断力和改造力,所以在一般的幼儿园物质环境创设中,老师总是大包大揽,忽略了幼儿作为幼儿园教育的主体地位。通过从儿童参与幼儿园物质环境创设的现状入手,分析儿童参与对其自身成长的积极意义,以提出关于儿童参与幼儿园物质环境创设的有效策略。     

从儿童画的稚拙谈幼儿园美术教育的回归

稚拙是儿童画的典型特点,但当下幼儿园美术教育存在不良倾向.幼儿园美术教育应以幼儿为本,回归幼儿的自然天性.教师应尊重幼儿的发展特点,从儿童画的特点出发改善教学,让幼儿成为教学活动的主人.     

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.     

幼儿园对儿童创造力发展的教育支持质量初探

为调查幼儿园日常教育活动及其环境对幼儿创造力发展的支持状况,对两所幼儿园两个大班的环境创设、集体教学活动及课程设置等方面进行为期两周的观察,研究发现:在环境创设上,幼儿园各区域投放的高结构材料更多,低结构材料不到一半。阅读区不同类型的图书投放比例不均衡,班级图书随时间变化的更换率不高。教师提问以封闭式问题为主,开放性问题偏低。教师简单重复、回避、否定、打断或不理会等无效回应较多。幼儿园的课程结构平均得分处于最低标准与中等水平之间。     

Read Alouds and Beyond: The Effects of Read Aloud Extension Activities on Vocabulary in Head Start Classrooms

A study was conducted in 26 Head Start classrooms with 264 children to compare the effect of a read aloud plus extension activities intervention over a control group to the effect of a read aloud only intervention over a control group on preschool children's vocabulary. Children were assessed before and after the intervention on target vocabulary and general vocabulary measures. Research Findings: The results suggest that the effects of the read aloud plus intervention were stronger than the effects of the read aloud only intervention on target word learning. In addition, the effects of the read aloud plus intervention on target word learning were stronger for children with higher versus lower general vocabulary knowledge. Neither intervention had an effect on general word knowledge. Practice or Policy: Observation and fidelity data are used to contextualize the findings, and the results are discussed in light of the extant literature on preschool vocabulary interventions.     

Ethnic Variation in the Association Between Family Structures and Practices on Child Outcomes at 36 Months: Results From Early Head Start

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.     

幼儿园体育课运动量的调查分析

为了较为准确地了解幼儿园体育课运动量是否符合幼儿身心发展特点,能否有效促进幼儿体质和健康,本研究采用分层随机抽样的方法在重庆市5所城市幼儿园共15个样本班中选取了90名幼儿,通过测查法对样本班体育课的时间和样本幼儿的运动密度、运动强度进行了调查分析.结果表明:幼儿园各年龄班体育课的总时间安排和运动密度基本合理;体育课各部分的时间分配不尽合理,基本部分时间太少;体育课的强度不够.