Jennifer Dobbs-Oates

Relationship between emergent literacy and early social–emotional development in preschool children from low-income backgrounds

Sixty-one preschool children and their parents and teachers participated in a cross-sectional study of the social–emotional correlates of emergent literacy skills. The childrens emergent literacy skills were assessed with the standard language and literacy tests: Expressive Vocabulary Test, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (third edition), and Test of Early Reading Ability (third edition). These tests measure oral language (expressive language and receptive language) and print awareness. The childrens positive and negative behaviours were measured by the standard behaviour rating scales: the Behavior Assessment System for Children (second edition) and the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment. These behaviours are grouped into four subcategories, namely, externalising behaviour, internalising behaviour, approaches to learning, and interpersonal skills. Results showed a wide range of significant associations between the components of emergent literacy and social–emotional development. Age and sex were found to moderate these significant correlations in different ways. Implications for educational practitioners and suggestions for future research are discussed.

The case for interprofessional education in teacher education and beyond

Abstract In many PreK-12 school environments, individuals with a variety of professional identities and roles provide services to students. Typically, these individuals are trained with minimal interaction with each other, yet they must work cooperatively with each other in the schools. Interprofessional education (IPE) provides a model whereby students in different disciplines learn to collaborate. This article describes the origins and current status of IPE in the health professions; suggests strategies for applying IPE to educator training; describes a promising example IPE project involving two distinct school-based professionals, pre-service special educators and school counsellors in training, including outcomes documented through student reflections; and offers implications for implementing and sustaining IPE in schools of education.

Teacher-Child Relationships: Contribution of Teacher and Child Characteristics

ABSTRACT This study investigates potential predictors of teacher-child relationships (i.e., closeness and conflict) focusing on child gender, teacher-child ethnicity match, and teacher education. Additionally, the study explores the possible moderation effect of teacher education on the associations between teacher-child relationships and child gender or teacher-child ethnic match. The participants of this study were 159 preschoolers and their 34 teachers in 20 preschools located in a suburban area in Indiana, USA. Due to the nested structure of the data, hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was employed. The results showed that teacher-child closeness was explained by teacher- and child-level variables, whereas teacher-child conflict was explained mostly by child-level variables. Additionally, boys were found to establish less close relationships with their teachers compared to girls. On average, teachers having a bachelor’s degree (BA) showed lower teacher-child closeness compared to teachers without a BA. However, teachers with a BA were more likely to report equitable relationships among children regardless of child gender. Teacher-child ethnic match was not significantly related to either teacher-child closeness or conflict. The article also offers a discussion on the implications of these findings.

Service Learning in a Helping Skills Course

Dobbs-Oates begins discussion with defining service-learning and the positive outcomes of engaging in the practice. The author explores a service-learning project in an upper-division course for students majoring in Human Services at Purdue University entitled Skills for Helping Professionals in Individual, Family, and Group Settings. The project is designed as a multi-step, collaborative service-learning project. The author describes each phase in detail from team creation, developing a full proposal to carrying out the project and team/individual reflection. She follows discussion of the course design with discussion of each embedded high-impact element. She concludes with discussion about the fit of service learning with family sciences and the payoff of engaging in such practices.