Annemarie H. Hindman

The Effects of a Language and Literacy Intervention on Head Start Children and Teachers

A language and literacy intervention was implemented in 10 Head Start classrooms. Teachers were trained in specific book reading and conversation strategies. The focus of the intervention was to train teachers how to increase opportunities for language and vocabulary development in young children. At the end of the year, children in the intervention classrooms performed significantly better than children in the control classrooms on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test—III and the Expressive One-Word Vocabulary Test (3rd ed.). In addition, teachers in the intervention classrooms used strategies that promoted language development during book reading and other classroom activities. Head Start teachers can be trained to implement strategies that have positive effects on children’s language and literacy development.

Differential Contributions of Three Parenting Dimensions to Preschool Literacy and Social Skills in a Middle-Income Sample.

This study investigated parenting practices among families of preschoolers in a middle-income community, as well as the contributions of these practices to children’s literacy and learning-related social skills. A total of 229 families of preschoolers were recruited. Parents completed a survey describing their parenting practices, while children’s literacy skills were directly assessed by using standardized measures. Parents also reported on children’s social development. Factor analyses supported a three-dimensional structure of parenting including the home learning environment, autonomy support/expectations, and management/discipline. Path models showed that the home learning environment predicted literacy skills; specifically, parents’ teaching about letters and sounds was associated with alphabet knowledge, while shared book reading was marginally linked to vocabulary. Management/discipline was uniquely related to self-regulation, while cooperative/compliant skills were associated with the home learning environment, support/expectations, and management/discipline. Findings suggested that parenting could be conceptualized as three relatively independent dimensions, each of which demonstrated domain-specific contributions to early literacy and social skills.

Family Involvement and Educator Outreach in Head Start: Nature, Extent, and Contributions to Early Literacy Skills

The Head Start program endeavors to provide preschoolers with high-quality learning opportunities, in part through fostering family involvement. This exploratory study addressed the paucity of empirical research regarding the nature of educator outreach and family involvement in Head Start and their contributions to childrens development of the academic and social foundations of literacy. Participants included 3,100 children and families enrolled in the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) study, their classroom teachers (n = 286), and their center directors (n = 222). Findings revealed that families regularly engaged in the learning and schooling of their children and that Head Start educators regularly reached out to families. Family involvement and educator outreach were selectively associated with childrens decoding, vocabulary, and positive approaches to learning. This study clarifies how families and teachers bridge the home-school gap in Head Start preschool programs and thus contribute to childrens early literacy skills.

Understanding the Active Ingredients in an Effective Preschool Vocabulary Intervention: An Exploratory Study of Teacher and Child Talk During Book Reading

Research Findings: In order to identify the active ingredients in an effective professional development intervention focused on enhancing preschool vocabulary instruction, this study examines the frequency with which teachers and children discussed theme-related vocabulary words during shared book reading. Head Start teachers received 1 year of training focused upon early vocabulary development. Childrens vocabulary skills were assessed in the fall and spring of the school year. In spring, teachers read a storybook to their classroom, and teachers’ and childrens remarks about theme-related vocabulary during the reading—including contextualized and decontextualized statements as well as verbatim repetitions of one anothers statements—were coded. Practice or Policy: Results of multilevel models showed that more frequent references to thematic vocabulary by teachers were linked to stronger child vocabulary development. Although childrens vocabulary references were not uniquely predictive of vocabulary learning, teachers’ repetition of childrens remarks contributed to childrens vocabulary gains.

Understanding the Home Language and Literacy Environments of Head Start Families: Testing the Family Literacy Survey and Interpreting Its Findings

The current study investigated the nature of Head Start childrens home literacy environments and the associations between these resources and childrens early-language and literacy skills. At the beginning of the preschool year, families of 302 children completed the Family Literacy Survey. In general, Head Start families reported providing a variety of activities for young children; however, variability was observed across families on several aspects of the home literacy environment. Findings also revealed that the average family reported employing academically focused activities approximately once or twice per week, whereas play-related activities took place significantly more often, close to every day. Implications for measuring the home literacy environments of families in poverty and for helping educators to build upon and strengthen these home environments are discussed.

Relative Contributions of Prekindergarten and Kindergarten to Children's Literacy and Mathematics Skills

Research Findings: A difficulty for developmental researchers is disambiguating childrens general maturation from the influence of schooling. In this study, we use a natural experiment to examine the influence of prekindergarten and kindergarten schooling experiences on the development of literacy and mathematics. Children (n = 60) whose birthdates fell within 2 months of the state-determined cutoff date for prekindergarten and kindergarten entry were administered 4 subtests of the Woodcock–Johnson III Tests of Achievement in the fall and spring of the school year. Using hierarchical linear modeling coupled with propensity score matching, we found that children who were starting kindergarten and who had prior experience in prekindergarten had higher scores on measures of phonological awareness, early reading, and mathematics skills than did children who had not attended prekindergarten previously, even though they were essentially the same age. Fall vocabulary scores did not differ in relation to whether children had prekindergarten experience. In addition, although children who attended kindergarten as well as those who attended prekindergarten exhibited growth on all measures during the school year, children who attended kindergarten demonstrated greater gains in early reading and vocabulary during the school year. Practice or Policy: These findings highlight the potential of early schooling processes to facilitate childrens intellectual growth.

Reducing the Matthew Effect: Lessons from the ExCELL Head Start Intervention

Evidence shows that the Matthew effect is a persistent problem among early education interventions. The current study examined the degree to which the ExCELL (Exceptional Coaching for Early Language and Literacy) language and literacy professional development intervention for Head Start preschool teachers, shown in prior research to improve teacher quality and increase preschoolers’ vocabulary skills, narrowed the vocabulary disparities between children with higher and lower knowledge at preschool entry. Research Findings: Results of a randomized control trial showed that the ExCELL program was more effective than a business-as-usual Head Start model at increasing the skills of children with the most limited vocabulary and reducing the Matthew effect, closing the gap between children with the lowest and highest initial vocabulary skills over the preschool year. Moreover, classroom instructional process quality in ExCELL settings was a key factor in this achievement. Practice or Policy: When teachers are trained to expose young children in poverty to high-quality classroom instruction (especially regarding process quality), preschoolers can learn substantial amounts of new vocabulary, and those with the lowest initial skills can begin to catch up to their more knowledgeable peers.

Exploring Head Start Teachers’ Early Language and Literacy Knowledge: Lessons from the ExCELL Professional Development Intervention

This study unpacks the effective Exceptional Coaching for Early Language and Literacy (ExCELL) professional development intervention to understand how the language and literacy coaching that teachers receive is linked to changes in their knowledge and then how this knowledge is related to classroom practice. In total, 17 lead teachers participated in the intervention and 10 lead teachers participated in the control condition; all were recruited from 3 Head Start centers in a major urban area in the northeast. Results showed that teachers varied in their knowledge about language and literacy—as measured by the ExCELL Teacher Knowledge Measure—at the start of the intervention, and teachers with more years of education had higher average levels of knowledge. The ExCELL intervention was linked to significant increases in teacher knowledge, particularly in the areas of writing and book reading. Finally, higher levels of teacher knowledge were related to stronger classroom instructional quality, albeit marginally.

Conventional and Piecewise Growth Modeling Techniques Applications and Implications for Investigating Head Start Children’s Early Literacy Learning

This article reviews the mechanics of conventional and piecewise growth models to demonstrate the unique affordances of each technique for examining the nature and predictors of children’s early literacy learning during the transition from preschool through first grade. Using the nationally representative Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) data set, 1997 cohort, the authors show how piecewise models revealed discrete contributions of child, family, and classroom experiences to children’s literacy skills within particular years, whereas conventional models, which considered the whole 3-year trajectory of change as a single outcome, revealed fewer of these nuanced contributions.

Measuring Teachers’ Knowledge About Early Language and Literacy: Practical Implications and Considerations

This study examined 1 tool for evaluating Head Start teachers’ knowledge about early language and literacy. Results indicated that teachers varied in their knowledge. Teachers with more knowledge had more education, as did teachers who received language and literacy professional development. Teachers with greater knowledge also demonstrated higher quality practices. Findings imply that teacher knowledge could be an important pathway through which education and training affect teacher practice.