Engaging mothers with substance use issues and their children in early intervention: Understanding use of service and outcomes

Mothers who use substances need integrated, multi-sectoral intervention services to support substance use discontinuation. We explored mothers’ service use at Breaking the Cycle, an early intervention and prevention program for pregnant and parenting women and their young children in Toronto, Canada. We conducted retrospective analyses of families’ service records and client charts (N = 160). Aims were to 1) describe women’s use of service, 2) examine how early engagement of pregnant women related to postnatal service use, and 3) examine the circumstances in which women ended their service relationship with Breaking the Cycle. Specifically, we examined circumstances at service ending relating to women’s service goals; custody status with children; and global substance-use, parent-child relationship, and child development outcomes. We found that these vulnerable women were actively engaged in many services and for a long duration, early engagement was associated with greater service use, and greater service use was associated with more positive circumstances upon ending service. Results provide support for a relational approach to service that promotes not only the relationship between mother and child, and mother and service provider, but also highlights relationships among staff, between staff and management, and between community partners as integral to effective service delivery. Integrating positive relationships at all levels is critical to support vulnerable families with complex needs.     

Enhancing young children's arithmetic skills through non-intensive,computerised kindergarten interventions: A randomised controlled study

Children in kindergarten were randomly assigned to adaptive computerised counting or comparison interventions, or to a business-as-usual control group. Children in both intervention groups, including children with poor calculation skills at the start of the intervention, performed better than controls in the posttest. However the effects of training held in grade 1, playing serious counting games improving number knowledge and mental arithmetic performances, and playing serious comparison games, only enhanced the number knowledge proficiency in grade 1. The value of these short periods of intensive gaming in kindergarten are discussed as a look-ahead approach to enhance arithmetic proficiency.     

Head start and the intensification of teaching in early childhood education

Head Start is the largest early childhood education program in the US. Echoing patterns emerging in ECE world-wide, Head Start has dramatically changed. Greater emphasis is now placed on kindergarten readiness, child and teacher assessment, professionalization, and increased competition for program funding. Drawing on a mixed methods research design, a case study was conducted that explores the nature and effects of these changes on teachers and the work of teaching within Head Start. Strong evidence of work intensification was found, a topic little explored within the wider ECE literature. In the light of this finding the authors question the model of professionalism that now dominates ECE reform.     

Adverse experiences in infancy and toddlerhood: Relations to adaptive behavior and academic status in middle childhood

Findings from the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study articulated the negative effects of childhood trauma on long-term well-being. The purpose of the current study is to examine the associations between ACEs experienced in infancy and toddlerhood and adaptive behavior and academic status in middle childhood. We used data collected from a sample of low-income families during the impacts study of Early Head Start (EHS). Data were collected by trained interviewers demonstrating at least 85% reliability with protocols. Data come from 1469 socio-demographically diverse mothers and children collected at or near ages 1, 2, 3, and 11. At ages 1, 2, and 3, an EHS-ACEs index was created based on interview and observation items. The EHS-ACEs indices were averaged to represent exposure across infancy and toddlerhood. At age 11, parents were asked about school outcomes and completed the Child Behavior Checklist. Across development, children were exposed to zero (19%), one (31%), two (27%), and three or more ACEs (23%). Logistic regression analyses, controlling for EHS program assignment, and parent, school, and child characteristics, showed ACEs were significantly associated with parental report of the child: having an individualized educational program since starting school and in the current school year, having been retained a grade in school, and problems with externalizing and internalizing behavior, as well as attention. Findings suggest that ACEs influence children’s behavioral and academic outcomes early in development.     

Using video to promote early childhood teachers' thinking and reflection

This article examines findings from a qualitative study employing group stimulated-recall interviews using video-recordings of early childhood teachers to elicit their thinking and reflections about their teaching interactions. It focuses on the value of video to enable teachers to reflect on their practices and the extent to which collectively viewing recorded episodes allows negotiated understandings of their own and other teachers' practices. Whilst these findings suggest that video and collective dialogue are useful professional learning tools for teachers to examine and improve their teaching, structural and relational challenges exist that may impact on how effectively such tools are used.     

美国DAP方案的发展历程及其对我国幼儿园课程改革的启示

本文探讨了美国《0～8岁儿童适宜发展课程》方案的兴起与发展,对该方案前后两个版本的主要观点进行了比较,对其所受到的批评以及回应进行了梳理,以期为我国的幼儿园课程改革提供借鉴。     

Exposure to Media Violence and Young Children with and Without Disabilities: Powerful Opportunities for Family-Professional Partnerships

There is growing concern regarding the amount and type of violence that young children are exposed to on a daily basis. Through media, popular toys and video games violent images are consistently present in children’s lives starting at a very young age. This paper discusses (a) the growing presence of young children’s exposure to media violence, (b) the influence of media violence on early childhood development and well-being, (c) the impact of media violence on young children with disabilities, and (d) recommendations for addressing this national dilemma within the context of family-professional partnerships. A list of related web resources is also included.     

Inquiry-Based Early Childhood Teacher Preparation: The Personal Learning Plan Method

The purpose of this paper is to describe a Personal Learning Plan method used in undergraduate early childhood education courses as a specific case of learner-centered, inquiry-based instruction. A rationale for this approach to instruction, the instructional context in which the specific method was developed and used, the method framework (i.e., preliminary and final plans, activities, products, and reflections), and the evaluation process will be discussed. Finally, a discussion of the perceived benefits and challenges of the method as it has been implemented will be presented.     

When is a Frog a Book or a Book a Frog?

During early childhood, children adopt a design-based conception of books with increasing consistency. It is not clear if or how young children spontaneously indentify the myriad of commercially produced, book-related props, toys, and other materials as support for their early literacy activities. Guidelines for evaluating these supplementary materials are presented and thirteen books are reviewed and recommended.