Carl Corter

The Role of the Mother in Sibling Interaction.

CORTER, CARL; ABRAMOVITCH, RONA; and PEPLER, DEBRA J. The Role of the Mother in Sibling Interaction. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1983, 54, 1599-1605. In a longitudinal study of sibling interaction, 28 pairs of same-sex siblings and 28 pairs of mixed-sex siblings were observed for 2 1-hour periods in their homes. The younger siblings averaged 38 months of age, and the age interval between siblings was either large (2.5-4 years) or small (1-2 years). The focus of the observations was on the role of the mother in sibling interaction, and mother-child interactions were observed in addition to interactions between siblings. Mothers were free to come and go, and their entrances and exits were noted and timed. There were no consistent effects of the age or sex of the children or of the interval between siblings on mother-child interaction. In addition, mothers were quite consistent in their treatment of their 2 children regardless of their age or sex. However, there was more consistency in the positive treatment of same-sex pairs than in mixed-sex pairs. Mothers presence reduced the overall level of sibling interaction, and sibling interaction tended to be relatively more agonistic when mother was present than when she was absent.

Prediction of behavior problems in 4-year-olds born prematurely

Longitudinal follow-up data for 69 very low birthweight preterm infants were used to assess the influence of four factors (neonatal medical complications, infant temperament, mother-child relationships, and family environment) on mother and teacher reports of behavior problems at 4 years. The proposed model of such influences being tested assumed that (1) the effects of neonatal medical factors would be indirect, and (2) each of the other three factors would show high stability from 1 to 4 years and would have a direct influence on behavior problem outcomes. Neither neonatal medical data nor infant-mother attachment were good predictors of behavior problems at age 4. With these exceptions, teacher report of behavior problems was predicted in a fashion consistent with the preliminary model. However, mother reports of behavior problems was predicted only by prior mother reports of child temperament. Discussion focuses on reasons for discrepancies in these pathways of influence.

Parent and Community Involvement in Schools: Policy Panacea or Pandemic?

A global tide of policy, programs, and rhetoric puts parent and community involvement in the education mainstream. In the nineties, new policies on parent involvement in education were put in place at the national level in the US and UK, and in many state and local jurisdictions in the English speaking world and beyond (Moles, 2001; OECD, 1997). In the literature, reports and testimonials on parent involvement climbed steadily across the 1980s and 90s. Many promising local school community partnerships were reported (Holtzman, 1995; Corter, Harris, & Pelletier, 1998) but were not easily translated into wide scale policies. The role of the parent is popular fodder for the public mind and is good counterpoint to the roles of teachers and schools in accounting for the failures and successes of children. Report cards on parents are tabloid topics in the US, and parents being jailed for their children’s truancy gets similar press in the UK. Although it is harder to think about the roles of “community” and the complex interactions that surround the efforts of teachers and parents, the word has positive connotations not lost on politicians. Popular media reflect the importance of parents in education and large scale surveys suggest that the public, including parents themselves, see the responsibility for children’s school success as being shared between parents and schools (OECD, 1997; Williams, Williams, & Ullman, 2001, Livingstone, Hart, & Davie, 2000). In many ways, it seems that parent and community involvement have already been the ’’next big thing’’ in education

Differential Effects of Literacy Instruction Time and Homogeneous Ability Grouping in Kindergarten Classrooms Who Will Benefit? Who Will Suffer?

This study challenges the belief that homogeneous ability grouping benefits high-ability students in cognitive and social-emotional development at the expense of their low-ability peers. From a developmental point of view, the authors hypothesize that homogeneous grouping may improve the learning behaviors and may benefit the literacy learning of kindergartners at all ability levels through adaptive instruction under adequate instructional time. The benefits are expected to be more evident for medium- and low-ability children than for high-ability children. However, when instructional time is limited, low-ability children may suffer from high-intensity grouping, defined as grouping taking up a large proportion of instructional time. The authors also examine whether low-ability kindergartners develop lower self-esteem as a result of homogeneous grouping. Analyzing Early Childhood Longitudinal Study kindergarten cohort data, the authors find no overall advantage of homogeneous grouping for high-ability students. For medium-ability students’ literacy growth, homogeneous grouping appears to be optimal when teachers spend more than 1 hour per day on literacy instruction; high-intensity grouping shows additional advantage for improving these students’ general learning behaviors. For low-ability kindergartners, homogeneous grouping with ample instruction time seems to improve their general learning behaviors, whereas low-intensity grouping with ample instruction time seems to reduce internalizing problem behaviors. Yet for low-ability students’ literacy growth, a detrimental effect of high-intensity grouping is found when instructional time is limited. These findings contradict results from past research and have important implications for educational theories and practice.

Maternal responsiveness in humans: emotional, cognitive, and biological factors

Publisher Summary This chapter describes some of the psychobiological and psychological factors that influence the feelings and behavior of new mothers. It uses animal models of maternal responsiveness, emphasizing hormonal and sensory mechanisms, to organize findings on human maternal responsiveness; most reviews of human maternal responsiveness have focused on psychological mechanisms involving experience, cognitions, and socioemotional factors. In this chapter these psychological factors have been treated in terms of their interactions with hormonal and sensory mechanisms. In the human research, complex attributes of the infants such as temperament, sex, illness, and prematurity have been shown to influence maternal responsiveness. These attributes involve variations in both infant stimulus qualities and other factors that may affect maternal responsiveness. In the chapter, research on prematurity has been used to illustrate the interaction of infant stimulus qualities with other influences on responsiveness, particularly those involving the mother: hormonal status, experience, and interpretation of the infants condition.

Social Relations Among Children: Comparison of Sibling and Peer Interaction

Of all the relationships in which young children are involved, perhaps the least understood is that between siblings. Until recently, the mother and child were the focus of most studies of social development. Over the past decade there has been an increasing interest in the role of peers (e.g., Ross & Goldman, 1976) and a growing awareness that the child’s early social development should be viewed in terms of broader social contexts (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). Although family relations in general are seen as primary in the socialization process, research has been restricted to competencies that develop in the parent-child relationship and their extension to and supplementation by peer relations; very little attention has been paid to the role played by siblings in the development of social skills.

The Early Development Instrument as an evaluation and improvement tool for school-based, integrated services for young children and parents: The Toronto First Duty Project

Research Findings: Integrated services for young children and families are part of the new policy landscape in early childhood, but there is limited evidence of the effectiveness of these programs and how they develop on the ground. This study examined the use of the Early Development Instrument (EDI) as both a summative program evaluation tool and as a formative program improvement tool supporting practitioners in Toronto First Duty, an integrated services demonstration project that combined kindergarten, child care, and parenting supports in public schools. Pre-post comparisons at community demonstration sites and comparisons with matched community sites using the EDI suggested that the demonstration program was associated with modest improvements in emotional and social domains of childrens development. Mixed methods and multiple measures were used to contextualize summative findings in case studies across demonstration sites. The case studies explored how integration was implemented at different sites and how dimensions of enacted integration might contribute to positive outcomes for children and families. A case study of one site showed how an integrated staff team used EDI school-level profiles, along with formative feedback on program quality, to target and improve programming. Over the course of implementation, the integrated program environment quality ratings and EDI scores improved in relevant areas assessing quality of interaction and social–emotional development. Practice or Policy: Findings are discussed in terms of the role of the EDI in program evaluation and in improvement of practice. The potential value of integrated early childhood services and the challenges of evaluating complex community initiatives are also discussed.

Understanding Children's Self-Regulation within Different Classroom Contexts.

In this study, childrens self-regulation was observed, along with other social and academic activities in kindergarten classrooms during whole group, small group, transition and play contexts. We examined how childrens self-regulation and engagement differed among classroom grouping, play and transition contexts. Results showed that students respond to opportunities for self-regulation significantly more often in small group and play contexts. Similarly, children demonstrate the highest engagement in play and small group contexts. Given that adults and other children comprise an important part of the environment for childrens self-regulation, we also examined whether there were differences in the number of interactions children have with other children and educators across academic, social and play activities, and how these interactions broke down by classroom context. Findings have practical implications for educators working in early years settings; classroom grouping, play and transition contexts set the scene for childrens engagement and opportunities to self-regulate.

Schools as Integrated Service Hubs for Young Children and Families: Policy Implications of the Toronto First Duty Project

In many parts of the world early childhood services are disconnected in ways that reduce their effectiveness in supporting family life, healthy child development, and the transition to school. Furthermore, access to these services is often limited, particularly for marginalized families. There is increasing policy interest around the world in building early childhood service systems that are universal and integrated, as a way of strengthening the effectiveness and equity of early childhood services. Although there is a growing push to unify child care and education in a universal system, both in Canada and elsewhere, a fully integrated system would bring together additional services for family support, health and community programs. The Toronto First Duty demonstration project was designed to test the feasibility and effects of a universal model for integrating child care, kindergarten, family support and other services in school-based community hubs. The intent of the project partners — a charitable foundation, municipal government, and school board- was to mobilize knowledge to improve early childhood programs and policy at both the local and provincial levels. A university-based research team has worked over the last decade to evaluate the implementation process and outcomes of the project, and has contributed to the knowledge mobilization for practice and policy change. The research found positive evidence on the feasibility of implementing the model, as well as evidence about the processes that work through program and family pathways to enhance child development and parenting. Findings from the project have helped to move provincial policy in Ontario and elsewhere in Canada. Although fixed models may not apply to new contexts, some of the evidence-informed design principles from this project converge with findings from other jurisdictions and have broad implications for policies promoting universal, integrated service systems for early childhood.

The Mother's Response to Separation as a Function of Her Infant's Sex and Vocal Distress.

CORTER, CARL, and Bow, JANE. The Mothers Response to Separation as a Function of Her Infants Sex and Vocal Distress. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1976, 47, 872-876. The vocal distress of 10-month-old male and female infants was manipulated by placing them alone either with or without toys. Toys delayed the onset of vocal distress, permitting analysis of maternal response to separation as a function of the infants vocal distress and sex. Maternal vigilance during the separation depended on both the infants sex and vocal distress. The mothers ending the separation by retrieving her infant depended on the infants sex, occurring almost exlusively for males. The results demonstrate that separation distress is not an automatic response of infants and that maternal responses to separation depend on the infants sex. The study also demonstrates the feasibility of experimentally testing the effects of infant behavior on maternal behavior.