Andrea A. Zevenbergen

Effects of a shared-reading intervention on the inclusion of evaluative devices in narratives of children from low-income families

Abstract The impact of a shared-reading program on the narrative skills of children from low-income families was examined. Participants in the study were 4-year-old children (N=123) enrolled in Head Start. Fifty-eight percent of the sample participated in a 30-week shared-reading intervention conducted in Head Start classrooms and homes. The remainder of the sample experienced the regular Head Start curriculum. The shared-reading intervention was found to have a significant effect on childrens inclusion of evaluative devices in their narratives. Specifically, children who participated in the intervention program were significantly more likely to include references to internal states of characters and dialogue in their narratives at the end of the Head Start year than children who did not participate in the intervention program. This study adds to the growing experimental literature demonstrating that preschool literacy interventions can have a positive impact on the language skills of children from low-income families.

Discipline Behaviors of Chinese American and European American Mothers

In any society, parenting beliefs are a reflection of that societys cultural values and traditions (J. U. Ogbu, 1981). Verbosity, a parenting behavior considered dysfunctional in European American culture, may not be problematic in Chinese culture. The authors recruited 31 Chinese American and 30 European American mothers and used questionnaires to measure parenting behaviors and child behavior problems. The Chinese American mothers also completed a questionnaire assessing their acculturation level. The Chinese American mothers had higher levels of verbosity than did the European American mothers; however, there were no differences between the groups in child behavior problems. The results also revealed higher levels of laxness in the Chinese American mothers compared to the European American mothers. Acculturation level did not predict verbosity or laxness levels. Results suggest that the effectiveness of a parenting style should be defined relative to cultural context.

Autobiographical Memory and Past Time Reference

The purpose of this research was to investigate the relationship between the acquisition of language and the development of autobiographical memory. The investigation was based on the analysis of longitudinal caregiver-child interaction data from 10 children learning English during the period from approximately 2 to 4 years of age. Three forms of past reference were analyzed: (1) regular and irregular simple past tense, (2) past progressive, and (3) subordinate clause constructions with when and past time reference (i.e., past when-sentences). Simple past was acquired relatively early at 2;4 (cf. Brown, 1973), past when-sentences relatively late at 3;6 (cf. Limber, 1973), and past-progressive in the interim at 2;10. The discourse segments surrounding the sentences that contained these forms were analyzed for the following three elements: (1) reference time context established, (2) a supporting event expressed in the segment, and (3) reference made to a self-relevant, real-life event. The likelihood that a discourse segment would include these three elements increased as past reference advanced from simple past to past progressive and then to past when-sentences. As the morpho-syntax of past reference became more complex, a higher proportion of past time references provided evidence for autobiographical memory.

Parent and Child References to Letters During Alphabet Book Reading: Relations to Child Age and Letter Name Knowledge

Research Findings: The purpose of this study was to examine the frequency of extratextual references to letters made by parents and preschoolers during shared reading of an alphabet book. The frequency of letter references was also examined in relation to child age and knowledge of letter names. Participants consisted of 44 preschoolers and their primary caregivers. Videotaped book-reading data were transcribed verbatim and coded for their inclusion of 14 types of letter references (e.g., naming requests, labels, repetitions). Significant findings included the following: Parent labels were significantly correlated with child age; and child knowledge of letter names was significantly correlated with parent naming requests, corrections, and repetitions, and child answers and initiations. Practice or Policy: Findings are discussed in reference to the literature regarding parental sensitivity to child age and knowledge in educational interactions with their child.

Middle-Class Polish and American Mothers’ Beliefs Regarding Parent-Child Narratives

Variability in reasons for sharing narratives with their preschoolers was examined across samples of middle-class American mothers and Polish mothers. Participants responded to an open-ended interview question and completed a 54-item measure, the Parents’ Beliefs About Storytelling Questionnaire. Several significant differences were found across the samples. The American mothers more strongly endorsed the use of narratives to help their child remember important people in their lives and to teach moral or life lessons. They also indicated stronger beliefs that good narratives include contextual information, have chronological order, and tell a truthful story. Polish mothers more strongly indicated that they talk with their child about past events in order to help the child distinguish good from evil. Content analysis of the mothers’ responses to the open-ended question revealed that more Polish than American mothers reported talking with their child about past events to provide explanations to the child, provide emotional support to the child, and connect present events with past events. A greater proportion of American mothers as compared to Polish mothers indicated that they shared narratives with their child to assess the child’s memory. Many of the Polish mothers discussed a specific context in which they shared narratives with their child (i.e., when looking at photographs together).

Gender differences in the relationship between attention problems and expressive language and emerging academic skills in preschool‐aged children

This study examined the relationship between attention problems and expressive language and academic readiness skills in preschool‐aged children from middle‐class families. Forty‐three children (44% female) were assessed individually for expressive language skills and knowledge of basic academic concepts (e.g. colours, letters and numbers). The primary caregiver of each child provided information regarding the child’s attention problems, using the Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 1½–5 (CBCL/1½–5). Correlational analyses revealed that for boys, attention problems were related to less well‐developed expressive language skills. For girls, there was a trend for attention problems to be related to lower performance on the academic skills measure. Screening for attention problems before children enter kindergarten is recommended, to identify those children likely to be in need of additional assistance in the early school grades.

Variability in mothers’ support for preschoolers’ contributions to co-constructed narratives as a function of child age

Children’s narrative abilities in the preschool years have been found to predict their later literacy skills. Mothers’ verbalizations during shared personal narratives with their preschoolers have been shown to facilitate children’s development of narrative skills. The present study sought to extend the literature by investigating mothers’ use of two types of questions (information requests, ‘yes/no’ questions) and two types of confirmation (praise, repetition of child content) when discussing past events with their preschoolers, as a function of child age and gender. Study participants were 32 American mothers and their preschoolers, who were either 3 years of age or 5 years of age. Mother–preschooler dyads were audiotaped discussing three past events which they had shared. Results indicated that mothers provided significantly more information requests and repetition of child content when co-constructing narratives with 3-year-olds than with 5-year-olds. Overall, the results are consistent with the literature regarding parental sensitivity to children’s specific needs for task assistance in the early childhood period.

Parents’ experiences in a home-based dialogic reading programme

ABSTRACT Research conducted over the past 30 years has demonstrated the effectiveness of dialogic reading in facilitating young children’s language development. The present study examined parents’ experiences in a dialogic reading programme with their preschooler aged 2–5 years. The study sample of 52 parent–child dyads was divided into two groups: a low-income/Head Start sample and a middle-income sample. The shared reading programme was associated with significant gains in children’s vocabulary. Main themes identified in parent interviews post-intervention included Positive Impressions of Programme, Liking Programme Structure, Liking When Child Showed Learning or Ability, Enjoying Time with Child, Finding Appropriate Time to Read, and within the low-income/Head Start sample, Challenges with Programme Execution. Parents in the middle-income sample were significantly more likely to indicate Positive Impressions of Programme compared to parents in the low-income/Head Start sample. Recommendations for bolstering interventions using dialogic reading are discussed.