Teaching practices in kindergarten and first grade: different strokes for different folks

This study assessed the nature of instruction in 314 kindergarten and first-grade classrooms from 155 schools in 48 school districts in three states. The schools served a relatively high proportion of low-income children and children of color. Despite the restricted range in student populations served, qualities of the schools and observed classroom instruction were associated with the demographics of the student body. Schools serving relatively high proportions of low-income children and children of color were rated by teachers to have more negative social climates. Teachers in these schools emphasized basic skills more and engaged in more didactic teaching and less constructivist teaching practices. At the classroom level, teaching approaches were predicted by teachers’ goals, the ethnic composition of their classroom, and the degree to which teachers perceived the families of the children in their classroom to have challenges associated with poverty. Didactic teaching was particularly common in classrooms with a high proportion of African–American students and in which teachers believed poverty-related problems inhibited parent involvement in their children's education; constructivist teaching was high in classrooms with a high proportion of Caucasian children.     

Association between psychosocial stressors with emotional and behavioral problems among children of low-income addicted families living in Brazil

BackgroundChildren exposed to substance use in their families are vulnerable to multiple risk factors in their development and at increased risk for emotional and behavioral problems. The aims of the study were as follows 1) estimate the prevalence of emotional and behavioral problems among children aged 6–11 years old, living with addicted family members in a low-income urban community of São Paulo, Southeastern Brazil; 2) evaluate the children’s exposure to family psychosocial stressors and substance use; and 3) investigate the factors related to the increased risk of emotional and behavioral problems and substance use.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among 101 children aged 6–11 years old (M = 9.16 years, SD = 1.61). The instruments used were a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Psychosocial Stress Factors (PSF).ResultsHigh prevalence of problems was found for this sample: the CBCL showed 26.7% of clinical scores for Internalizing Problems, 40.6% for Externalizing Problems, and 40.6% for Total Problems. Exposure to family psychosocial stressors was also high, including severe disease (33%), physical aggression (28.9%), death (27.8%), psychiatric hospitalization (16.7%), suicide attempts (15.5%), and suicide (9.3%). Exposure to these family stressors was associated with an increase of two to four times in the prevalence of internalizing and externalizing problems.ConclusionsChildren exposed to substance abusers have more mental health problems than general population, even when compared to peers living in similar low-income areas. This is a group that should be target of a selective preventive intervention.     

A study on the effects of education welfare action zone policy in Korea

This study was designed to analyze the effects of the support programs provided in education welfare action zones. Education welfare action zone policy came into effect by government from 2003 to guarantee actual educational opportunity to disadvantaged children in urban areas by providing educational, cultural, and welfare service. Education welfare action zones were selected in low-income group area in the metropolis. In this regard, both quantitative and qualitative analytical methods were used to ascertain the effects of the program. The qualitative analysis included a preliminary examination of conditions prior to the actual commencement of the program, which was then followed by an investigation of specific schools used, as case studies in order to identify the changes that had taken place during the program’s implementation process, and the program’s effect. Meanwhile, a quantitative analysis was employed to verify the actual changes that took place in several different aspects, changes that were revealed by the case studies.     

Predictors and outcomes of low-income fathers’ reading with their toddlers

Most studies of parent–child bookreading have focused on mothers reading to their children. Though the role of fathers in children's lives is widely emphasized, we know almost nothing about father–child bookreading, particularly among low-income families. The present study was designed to examine how often low-income fathers report reading to their children and what the predictors and effects of paternal bookreading are. The fathers in this study were participants in the national evaluation of Early Head Start (EHS) and were recruited via mothers enrolled in the EHS study. Participating fathers were interviewed at home and their children's cognitive and language development were assessed using standardized measures from ages 2 to 5. Results demonstrated a wide variety in frequency of bookreading among fathers. Fathers were more likely to read to their children frequently if they spoke English at home, if they had a high school education, and if their children had better language skills. Fathers’ bookreading predicted children's cognitive outcome. Paternal bookreading did predict children's language outcomes but only for children whose fathers had at least a high school education.     

中国农村低收入群体社会保护的政策安排

社会保护政策安排是专门针对一个国家或社会的低收入群体,其政策目标是为了减少贫困和促进社会公正。改革开放以来,中国针对农村低收入群体的社会保护政策主要归结为区域性和开发性扶贫政策、传统社会救助政策以及农村最低生活保障制度。从社会保护政策的演进与转型中,可以得出：农村最低生活保障制度作为一项旨在保护农最低收入群体基本生存权利的不可或缺的社会救助制度,是对原有的社会保护网的一种修补,是一项适宜的制度选择。     

Understanding and supporting the motivation of students from low-income families

Motivational development in low-income adolescents has been insufficiently studied, due to the difficulties involved in accessing the target population. Nevertheless, previous research suggests that some specific developmental patterns might be particular to this group. On the basis of Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and using latent growth modeling (LGM), we investigated the trajectories of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations in low-income students during adolescence, and we identified the role of parents, teachers, and classmates in determining these trajectories. The participants were 228 adolescents (M_age = 12.8; SD_age = 1.74; 43.4% girls; 17.1% immigrants) officially certified by the Italian government as being below the poverty threshold. Data was collected by means of a four-wave research design over a period of two years.Our findings revealed a significant drop in levels of identified regulation over time, while all other forms of motivation, including intrinsic motivation, remained stable during the period considered. Low-income students therefore appear to experience a specific form of motivational decline during adolescence, so that they perceive studying as being less and less meaningful in relation to their goals, values and identities. This decline is even more pronounced for second-generation and male low-income adolescents.However, parents and teachers were significant predictors of identified regulation at each point in time, suggesting that their support for autonomy fosters identified regulation throughout adolescence. As regards the role of classmates, peer acceptance appears to support identified regulation, while having many friendships seems to have a negative impact on this kind of motivation.     

Ecological Influences on Chinese Migrant Mothers’ Integration with Hong Kong

The present study uses an ecological model to understand how personal, interpersonal, and environmental factors contribute to migrant mothers’ employment readiness and their perceived integration with the host society. In the literature, successful employment, especially for recent arrivals, has proven to be important in the acculturation process. Little work has taken into account how various personal characteristics, relational factors (e.g., social capital), and neighborhood features make their contributions simultaneously. To enrich the work, this study employs survey data on 433 Chinese migrant mothers living in three low-income neighborhoods of Hong Kong. Results are supportive of the ecological model. They are favorable to the strengthening of social capital and workplace accessibility as a way to champion migrant women's integration with the host society.     

Parenting behaviors and preschool children's social and emotional skills: A question of the consequential validity of traditional parenting constructs for low-income African Americans

Few researchers have questioned the validity of traditional parenting dimensions (based largely on Baumrind's [Baumrind, D. (1967). Child care practices anteceding three patterns of preschool behavior. Genetic Psychology Monographs, 75, 43–88; Baumrind, D. (1971). Current patterns of parental authority. Developmental Psychology, 4, 1–103] work) with economically and ethnically diverse groups, despite the fact that evidence for the utility of these dimensions for predicting child and youth outcomes is equivocal. In this paper, we report on the findings from two independent studies by which we examined the relationship of traditional parenting constructs to children's social–emotional competencies among low-income, urban-residing African American preschool families with measures validated specifically for use with this population. In Study 1, 184 children and their families participated, whereas 210 children and their families participated in Study 2. Contrary to our hypotheses, across these two studies, findings failed to indicate significant relationships between constructs of parenting and children's social and emotional skills. Findings call into question the consequential validity of these constructs for this group and highlight inconsistencies among the larger body of parenting work. Implications for future theory-building and parenting research are discussed.     

Examining the contribution of student anxiety and opposition-defiance to the internal dynamics of affective,Cognitive and Behavioural Engagement in Math

Anxiety and opposition-defiance in children are negatively linked to their classroom performance. However, little is known about the additive contribution of these difficulties on student engagement in math, especially in children living in low-income neighbourhoods. Using a sample of 460 students from grades 3 to 5, this study examines whether the link between student anxiety and opposition-defiance at the beginning of the school year and their affective, cognitive, and behavioural engagement in math by the end of the subsequent school year is mediated by shorterterm level of engagement. Results of the path analyses suggest that anxiety and opposition-defiance can predict a hierarchically structured downward spiral in student engagement. Such result is worrisome, given that fostering and honing good social, emotional, and cognitive academic skills in children forecast personal and economic success during the life course. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.     

Low-income minority mothers’ and fathers’ reading and children's interest: Longitudinal contributions to children's receptive vocabulary skills

Using data from a diverse sample of low-income African American and Latino mothers, fathers, and their young children who participated in Early Head Start (n = 61), the current study explored the association between parents’ reading quality (i.e. metalingual talk) while reading with their 2-year-old children and their children's receptive vocabulary skills at pre-kindergarten. It further examined whether children's interest in reading mediated this association. There were three main findings. First, most mothers and fathers in our sample read relatively often to their children (a few times a week) and used some metalingual talk; fathers used more than mothers. Second, controlling for parental education, mothers’ and fathers’ early reading quality significantly predicted children's receptive vocabulary skills at pre-kindergarten. Third, children's interest in reading mediated the association between mothers’ and fathers’ reading quality and children's receptive vocabulary scores. These findings have important implications for programs aimed at fostering low-income children's vocabularies and suggest that both mothers and fathers need to be included in programs.