Assessing the older worker: The career counselor's dilemma

Journal of Career Development -     

“Read My Story!” Using the Early Authors Program to Promote Early Literacy Among Diverse,Urban Preschool Children in Poverty

This article evaluates the utility of the Early Authors Program, a 12-month early literacy intervention emphasizing highly meaningful language interactions that was implemented in childcare facilities in an ethnically and linguistically diverse, urban, low-income community. Children learn to be writers and readers by creating their own self-authored, storybook texts, supported by the sensitive guidance of adults. Children (n = 280) in 32 experimental group centers and children (n = 87) in 9 similar control group centers were individually assessed at pretest and posttest on measures of language and cognition. Teachers completed pretest and posttest surveys and interviews, and interventionists were also interviewed. 3- to 5-year-old children receiving the intervention, as predicted, made significantly greater gains than the control group specifically on the child language measures but not on other measures. The quality of the classroom literacy environment and teachers' literacy-promoting practices improved considerably in centers receiving the intervention. Teachers reported high satisfaction and sustainability for the program.     

THE IMPLICATIONS OF NATIONAL POLICIES IN THE UNITED STATES,BRAZIL, EL SALVADOR,AND PERU ON EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHER EDUCATION

It may seem obvious but the world is filled with believers in the value of good care and attention to children during the earliest months and years. That belief is embedded in virtually all cultural traditions. Indeed, both common wisdom and hard scientific research evidence lead to the forceful conclusion that the earliest years of life are critical in the development of the intelligence, personality, and the social values and behaviors that will characterize later life... But if the value of the early years is so evident... why is there such neglect by families and social institutions? Among the reasons that might be offered are the following: Families living in extreme poverty or victimized by war and famine, may be so busy surviving that they cannot give the

loving attention to their children they would like to give. Families living in luxury may be too busy making money, or spending it, to give the needed time to their children. At the same time, some institutions that could help families to help their children take the position that the child development is best left to families. ‐‐Robert G. Myers, 1991     

Involving families in training early childhood educators: Developing a framework for family centeredness

Abstract

More early childhood programs are including young children with disabilities, thereby creating inclusive environments. In order to adequately prepare personnel for working in these inclusive settings and because of the major focus on family involvement, teacher preparation programs have developed competencies related to family centered practices. One of the most valuable methods for assisting students in developing a family‐centered philosophy is to involve families in the training process. Families of children with disabilities already have much experience in dealing with the many diverse services provided to young children such as, medical staff, social service agencies, specialists (i.e., physical therapists, occupational therapists), early interventionists and teachers and therefore, could provide extensive learning opportunities for students especially from a parents’ perspective. While there are many advantages for involving family members in training activities, there are also some challenges. The purpose of this article is to discuss the importance of involving families in early childhood teacher preparation programs, different strategies for including them, and the benefits and challenges of partnering with them. © 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.     

CULTURALLY SITUATED EXPLORATIONS OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT: A HOME VISIT PROJECT FOR PROSPECTIVE EARL Y CHILDHOOD TEACHERS

As part of a child development course in an undergradute early childhood teacher preparation program, students completed a home visit project with a family of a culture other than their own. This report examines the assignment's effectiveness in helping students become aware of the cultural nature of human development and the role of the family in the child's growth and development. Student responses obtained through focus groups, papers, field notes, and course evaluations included 1) reflections on the nature of the experience; 2) reactions to the role of researcher in the home of relative strangers and 3) evaluation of the learning. Although students seem to have achieved some understanding of the role of family and culture, the further step of recognizing culture as fundamental to development was generally not an outcome of the present intervention.     

Children's literacy funds of knowledge in an urban Mexican elementary school: changing the approach

In this article, we share the vernacular literacy practices of a sixth grade students in Mexico City. From a sociocultural, ethnographic perspective and based on the contributions of the sociolinguistics of mobility and funds of knowledge, we describe the experiences and knowledge that children bring with them from home and the community to school, to write and read texts on their own during class. The findings show how they appropriate literacy practices to provide meaning to their reading and writing through the relationship between school and everyday literacy and the continuum between their oralities and literacies. Children construct literacy according to their day-to-day experiences, in and out of the classroom, and embed their literacy practices within their funds of knowledge developed at home with their families. Based on these findings, we question the significance and quintessential role that has been attributed to the school in the teaching of reading and writing, as well as the prevalence of individualistic and rigid approaches to the teaching of reading and writing.     

“Why do dogs pant?”: Characteristics of parental explanations about science predict children's knowledge

Using a new method for examining parental explanations in a laboratory setting, the prompted explanation task, this study examines how characteristics of parental explanations about biology relate to children's knowledge. Parents (N = 148; M_age = 38; 84% female, 16% male; 67% having completed college) of children ages 7–10 (M_age = 8.92; 47% female, 53% male; 58% White, 9.5% Black, 9.5% Asian) provided answers to eight how and why questions about biology. Parents used a number of different approaches to address the questions, including providing more mechanistic responses to how questions and more teleological responses to why questions. The characteristics of parental explanations—most notably, how frequently parents provided correct responses—predicted children's performance on measures of verbal intelligence and biological knowledge. Additional exploratory analyses and implications for children's learning are discussed.