Christine A. Marvin

A randomized trial examining the effects of parent engagement on early language and literacy: the Getting Ready intervention.

Language and literacy skills established during early childhood are critical for later school success. Parental engagement with children has been linked to a number of adaptive characteristics in preschoolers including language and literacy development, and family-school collaboration is an important contributor to school readiness. This study reports the results of a randomized trial of a parent engagement intervention designed to facilitate school readiness among disadvantaged preschool children, with a particular focus on language and literacy development. Participants included 217 children, 211 parents, and 29 Head Start teachers in 21 schools. Statistically significant differences in favor of the treatment group were observed between treatment and control participants in the rate of change over 2 academic years on teacher reports of childrens language use (d=1.11), reading (d=1.25), and writing skills (d=0.93). Significant intervention effects on childrens direct measures of expressive language were identified for a subgroup of cases where there were concerns about a childs development upon entry into preschool. Additionally, other child and family moderators revealed specific variables that influenced the treatments effects.

Common Questions about AAC Services in Early Intervention

Children and adults with developmental delays have benefited from the use of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems to develop language skills necessary for more generative and functional communication. Beginning communicators however, have historically been considered too young or too pre-linguistic and therefore have not been introduced to AAC systems until behaviors, thought to be prerequisites, have been noted. Recent research and theories about early communication development have challenged this traditional practice and broadened the scope of what is considered to be AAC. Practitioners and parents unfamiliar with early AAC options may not recognize possible applications of communication strategies used with typically developing children and older persons with developmental disabilities. AAC is applicable at all ages for learning communication roles and behaviors as well as for functional communication for persons who do not yet demonstrate clear referential symbol use. This article addresses nine questions that are frequently asked about early introduction of AAC systems to children under 3 years of age. Rationales and strategies are provided that can assist early interventionists and parents in considering AAC options for children at risk for being unintelligible or non-speaking.

Vocabulary-use patterns in preschool children: Effects of context and time sampling

This investigation examined the effects of context and time sampling on the vocabulary-use patterns of nondisabled, preschool-aged children. Two groups of children participated in the study. Comparisons were sought for the vocabulary used by each group of five children at preschool and at home when samples in the two settings were collected on the same or different days. Communication samples representing 2.5 to 3.5 hours of continuous time were tape recorded with voice-activated tape recorders while the children engaged in routine activities at home and at preschool. Two thousand-word samples from each child were analyzed for lexical diversity, frequently occurring words, and the proportion of structure and content words used in each setting. Analyses suggested that the children in each group had similar vocabulary-use patterns at home and at preschool. For the total composite sample in each setting, however, approximately one third of the different words were produced only at home, one third only at pre...

Multiple Creativities? Investigating Domain-Specificity of Creativity in Young Children

One of the most controversial issues in contemporary research on creativity-whether a persons creativity is domain-specific or domain-general-was investigated with 109 second-grade children. The purposes of this study were to (1) provide empirical support for the domain-specific theory of creativity, (2) show relationships among childrens creative performances as measured by three product-based assessments in three domains (storytelling, collage making, and math word problems), and (3) explore the relationship between childrens creative performances and their general creative thinking skills, as measured by the Wallach-Kogan Creative Thinking Test and the Real-World Divergent Thinking Test. The findings of this study support the position of domain-specificity of creativity. Children exhibited a range of creative abilities across different domains, rather than a uniform creative abilty in diverse domains, indicating there is considerable intra-individual variation in creative ability by domain. Divergent thinking measures in this study did not predict creative performance in at least two of three, if not all, domains assessed in the study. Implications of the study in connection with educational practices for gifted children are discussed.

Home Literacy Experiences of Preschool Children with Single and Multiple Disabilities.

The purpose of the present study was to compare the home-based literacy experiences of children with single disabilities with those of children who have multiple disabilities. Written surveys were completed by the parent or primary guardian of 168 preschool children enrolled in early childhood special education programs. The completed surveys were sorted into two groups: one representing children with a single disability and one representing children with two or more disabilities. Respondents also provided information about the materials, activities, and interactions in the home that engaged their children with print, reading, writing, or drawing. Overall, less than half of the children in either group were read to daily or engaged in writing or drawing activities on a weekly basis. Fewer respondents for children with multiple disabilities reported sitting beside their child while reading, encouraging their child during attempts to write or draw, or exposing their child to a full range of printed materials in the home. In addition, the relative priorities given to learning to read and write and the expectations for potential reading and writing abilities were lower for the children with multiple disabilities. Implications for early childhood special education personnel are discussed relative to the promotion of literacy skills in children with multiple disabilities.

Teacher factors associated with preschool teacher-child relationships: Teaching efficacy and parent-teacher relationships

Abstract The present study investigated specific teacher factors that potentially influence teacher‐child relationships with preschool‐age children. One demographic questionnaire and three rating scales were used to survey 152 head teachers of 3–6‐year‐old children in community‐based childcare and preschool centers in one mid‐western state. There were 46 teachers who reported on their relationship with a child with a disability or concerning developmental delay. Positive correlations were found between teacher‐child relationships and the teachers’ educational backgrounds, self‐reported teaching efficacy and parent‐teacher relationships. The parent‐teacher relationship appeared to be the strongest teacher‐related factor predicting the quality of teacher‐child relationships. Compared to other teachers, the teachers of children with delays or disabilities reported comparable parent‐teacher relationships and more positive teacher‐child relationships, especially when more than one child with concerns was reportedly enrolled in the classroom. Teachers with children who had developmental delays reported lower teaching efficacy scores. The role of parent‐teacher relationships is highlighted as a possible moderator when teachers feel less than capable or positive about individual children in their program.

What Are You Talking About?: Semantic Analysis of Preschool Children's Conversational Topics in Home and Preschool Settings

This study explored the semantic content of the conversational topics used by 10 nondisabled preschool children at home and at preschool. The spontaneous speech of the children was tape recorded using voice-activated tape players. The children wore the recorder as they engaged in routine activities with teachers, peers, and family. The speech samples represented 2 to 2.5 hours of preschool and home activity for each child. Overall, the 10 children referred predominantly to the “here and now” and to themselves. The children appeared to reference past and future less frequently and fantasy more frequently at school than at home. Parents and siblings were referenced infrequently at school, while teachers were referenced infrequently at home. The most common and frequent semantic referents at home and at school were similar and referred to objects (toys and food), events (actions, play, projects), and ideas about peoples traits or conditions. Implications for the development of augmentative and alternative (...

Cartalk! Conversational Topics of Preschool Children En Route Home from Preschool.

The conversations of 9 preschool-age children (chronological age [CA] 4:0 to 5:2, years:months) were tape-recorded as they traveled home from school with their parent in the family car. The speech ...

Generic talk use by preschool children

The frequency and type of generic talk produced by typically developing preschool children was studied to support intervention decisions for children who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems. Generic talk requires little knowledge about communication partners (person or topic) to prompt interactions. Ten children ranging from 4:0 to 5:2 years participated in the study. They were intelligible speakers with normal language development. Communication samples were collected at preschool and home. No statistical differences were observed in generic talk use at home and school. Nearly half of all utterances produced across the two settings were classified as generic talk. The unique utterances to preschool children were categorized as confirmation/negation, comments, environmental control, and continuers. On the basis of these results, AAC specialists are encouraged to consider the inclusion of generic talk in AAC devices for young children.

A Home Literacy Inventory Assessing Young Children's Contexts for Emergent Literacy

interest and skill in writing or drawing activities. Although some educators and parents would argue that first grade is soon enough for learning reading and writing skills, others would emphasize the importance of ample emergent literacy experiences before first ~))j!j)~ grade. These experiences ~~~j could include handling and ° ~M talking about picture ~~ books, reciting nursery rhymes, scribbling or early writing, listening to stories