Karen E. McFadden

Early home learning environment predicts children’s 5th grade academic skills

ABSTRACT We examined whether the early learning environment predicts children’s 5th grade skills in 2,204 families from ethnically diverse, low-income backgrounds; tested the mediating roles of children’s pre-kindergarten school-related skills and later learning environment; and asked whether lagged associations generalize across White, Black, Hispanic English-speaking, and Hispanic Spanish-speaking samples. Children’s early learning environment comprised measures of literacy activities, the quality of mothers’ engagements with children, and learning materials assessed at 14 months, 2 and 3 years, and at pre-kindergarten; learning environments were again assessed in 5th grade. At pre-kindergarten and in 5th grade, children were assessed on pre-academic and academic skills respectively. Early learning environments predicted children’s 5th grade academic skills, and children’s pre-kindergarten skills and 5th grade learning environment mediated longitudinal associations. The early learning environment supports the emergence of pre-academic skills that are stable into early adolescence, and pathways generalize across ethnic/racial groups.

Predictors of Father Investment of Time and Finances: The Specificity of Resources, Relationships, and Parenting Beliefs:

The present study examined multiple domains of father involvement and their correlates in a sample of 478 ethnically and racially diverse low-income fathers of 24-month-old children. Regression analyses revealed that paternal resources related to most forms of involvement: Education was related to caregiving and cognitive activities, and income was associated with financial provision. Resident fathers spent more time with their children across several activities, and father–mother disagreements were negatively associated with financial provision. Fathers who believed their role as financial provider to be highly important reported more financial provision, whereas fathers who reported investment in their children’s development to be highly important were more involved in caregiving. Fathers who endorsed traditional gender norms participated in less caregiving and cognitive activities. Findings indicate the specificity of correlates of involvement and the need to consider resources, relationships, and parenting beliefs in interventions that support fathers’ physical and financial investment in their children.

Investigating Chinese preschool teachers’ beliefs in mathematics teaching from a cross-cultural perspective

Abstract In China, preschool curriculum has undergone reform and profound changes. Much remains unknown, however, regarding preschool teachers’ teaching beliefs after 30 years of curriculum reform and adaptation. This study aimed to address the issue and investigate teachers’ beliefs concerning teaching mathematics. Twelve preschool teachers in China participated in the study: they watched videos of mathematics lessons conducted in the US and were interviewed with questions regarding the lessons. Qualitative analysis was then applied; themes were searched from the participants’ responses. The study revealed that Chinese preschool teachers acknowledged the features of (a) active learning, (b) involving every child, and (c) connecting lessons with everyday activities. However, they believed that their own teaching would be more purposeful: they would choose a specific content focus, use a series of steps, and make explicit summary at the end. The study also revealed Chinese preschool teachers’ solid specialized content knowledge in mathematics.