Katharina Kluczniok

Quality of the home learning environment during preschool age – Domains and contextual conditions

The quality of the home learning environment has been proven to be of major importance for child development, but little is known about the role of domain specificity in promoting early childhood learning at home and its dependence on family background. This article presents a framework of the home learning environment in early childhood that includes three domains of stimulation (i.e. family support, stimulation in literacy and stimulation in numeracy) and their contextual conditions. The study examines the extent to which the structural characteristics and educational beliefs of the family are connected to educational processes taking place in the home learning environment during preschool age. Results show that general educational processes of the home learning environment operate independently of structural characteristics and parental educational beliefs, whereas the domain-specific educational processes of the home learning environment are more strongly related to the structural characteristics and parental educational beliefs. A model of the home learning environment should thus always include different domains of stimulation (general and domain-specific) presented as parallel cases.

Prozessqualität im Kindergarten — Konzept, Umsetzung und Befunde

Vor dem Hintergrund unterschiedlicher Definitionen von Qualitat einer vorschulischen Bildungs- und Betreuungseinrichtungen in einschlagigen Untersuchungen entwickelt der vorliegende Beitrag auf theoretischer Basis ein Konzept der Anregungsqualitat in Kindergarten, das verschiedene Dimensionen (Prozess-, Struktur- und Orientierungsqualitat) spezifiziert und systematisch zwischen globaler und bereichsspezifischer Forderung unterscheidet. Empirisch umgesetzt wird dieses Konzept im Rahmen der DFG-Forschergruppe „Bildungsprozesse, Kompetenzentwicklung und Selektionsentscheidungen im Vor- und Grundschulalter“. Der Beitrag berichtet uber das gefundene Qualitatsniveau in Kindergarten und analysiert Abhangigkeiten der beobachteten Prozessqualitaten von Strukturmerkmalen einer Einrichtung und Orientierungsmerkmalen des Fachpersonals. Auffallig ist vor allem die verringerte Prozessqualitat einer Kindergartengruppe bei einem hoheren Anteil von Kindern mit Migrationshintergrund in einer Gruppe (trotz gunstigerer Rahmenbedingungen) und bei einem niedrigeren Durchschnittsalter in der Gruppe, der durch gezielte padagogische Masnahmen entgegengewirkt werden sollte.

Internal and external influences on vocabulary development in preschool children

Competency in societys lingua franca plays a major role in the emergence of social disparities within education. Therefore, the present longitudinal study investigates vocabulary development and its predictors in preschool years. We focus on whether internal (phonological working memory) and external variables (preschool and home learning environment) have different impacts depending on parental native language. The study considers 547 children from 97 German preschools. Childrens vocabulary was assessed at the ages of 3, 4, and 5 years. Latent growth curve models show that non-native German language children are characterized by reduced vocabulary at first assessment and lower progress compared to monolingual peers. Phonological working memory has a strong impact on all childrens initial vocabulary but also on vocabulary growth in those whose parents speak German as an additional language. The effects of preschool and home learning environment are comparatively smaller.

Auswirkungen eines Kindergartenbesuchs auf den kognitiv-leistungsbezogenen Entwicklungsstand von Kindern

Vor dem Hintergrund der gegenwartigen Diskussion um eine starkere Bildungsforderung im Kindergarten hat der Beitrag zum Ziel, den aktuellen Forschungsstand uber Auswirkungen eines Besuchs institutioneller Betreuungsformen in der fruhen Kindheit zu sichten. Auf der Basis methodisch gut abgesicherter Langsschnittstudien wird zentral analysiert, welche langerfristigen Auswirkungen institutionelle Betreuung und ihre Qualitat im Kindergartenalter auf den kognitiv-leistungsbezogenen Bereich bis in die Grundschule hinein haben. Des Weiteren wird der Frage nachgegangen, ob sich kompensatorische Fordereffekte bei Kindern aus benachteiligten Familien identifizieren lassen und inwieweit die Anregungsqualitat von Kindergarten und Grundschule miteinander in Beziehung stehen. Im Ergebnis lassen sich generell kurz- und langerfristige positive Auswirkungen eines Kindergartenbesuchs festhalten. Benachteiligte Kinder profitieren von einem Kindergartenbesuch insbesondere von einem qualitativ hochwertigen Kindergartensetting. Ein inkonsistentes Bild ergibt sich im Hinblick auf das Zusammenspiel von Kindergarten- und Grundschulqualitat. (DIPF/Orig.). In view of the German discussion regarding a more curriculum guided education in German preschooling, the present paper summarizes the current state of international research and analyses the effects of childcare on early childhood development. The paper analyses the long-term effects institutional care and education during the preschool years - and its quality - have on childrens cognitive development and achievement in primary school based on methodologically sound longitudinal studies. Furthermore it analyses whether family risk factors can be compensated for and to what extent quality in preschool and in primary school are interrelated. We conclude that preschool attendance results in overall positive outcomes in the short-run as well as in the long-run. Especially children coming from at-risk-families seem to profit from high quality childcare. However, results concerning the interrelatedness of quality in preschool and primary school must be seen as inconsistent. (DIPF/Orig.).

Stability and patterns of classroom quality in German early childhood education and care

ABSTRACT Many education systems worldwide have dedicated a significant amount of resources to improve quality levels in early childhood education and care. Research can contribute to this goal by providing information about conditions of high-quality education and care and reasons for changes in the quality provided to children. This study therefore analyzes the stability of educational quality and patterns of dependency of process quality on possibly determining context factors over a period of 3 consecutive school years to detect mechanisms of change and patterns of quality. Longitudinal data of a field study with annual assessments in 97 German classrooms were analyzed via growth curve analyses using Bayesian estimation. The analyses revealed an increase in process quality provided in the classrooms. Classroom composition characteristics showed strongest relations to status and change of process quality; allocated resources and characteristics of the professional staff were less strongly related.

Visits to cultural learning places in the early childhood

Studies show the important role of the home learning environment in early childhood for later school success. This article focuses on a particular aspect of the home learning environment: visits to cultural learning places (e.g. museums) as a component of the quality of the home learning environment. Therefore the educational concept of educational quality in family settings and the sociological concept of cultural capital were combined. The question is how often parents visit cultural learning places with their children and what aspects influence this participation. Data are from the German longitudinal study BiKS-3-10 (N = 554 children and their families). Multivariate regression analyses show that parental educational beliefs and high cultural resources in the families are relevant factors for the visits to cultural learning places. Socioeconomic background variables are less important. The results are discussed with respect to practical and political issues.

Influences of an academically oriented preschool curriculum on the development of children – are there negative consequences for the children's socio-emotional competencies?

As a result of public discussions regarding Germanys standing on international rankings of student achievement, increased attention was focused on enhancing cognitive stimulation in preschools. There are some concerns that preschool curricula that focus more on cognitive stimulation rather than on socio-emotional skills might neglect the socio-emotional development of children. These concerns are rooted in the tradition of German preschools focussing more on the stimulation of social than of cognitive skills. This paper examines these claims by drawing on the German preschool programme ‘KiDZ’ in order to analyse the socio-emotional development (well-being, joy of learning, and worry) of children attending a preschool with a more academically oriented curriculum. This study also investigates effects of domain-specific preschool quality and if any effects of participation in KiDZ might be explained by the quality of the preschools. Positive effects of the childrens participation in KiDZ are found and will be discussed.

Emergent literacy activities in the final preschool year in the German federal states of Bavaria and Hesse

Emergent literacy activities are considered to be important for promoting children’s emergent literacy skills. However, little research exists, especially in Germany, regarding how often such activities occur and in what context. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of emergent literacy activities occurring in the final preschool year, and their dependence on structural characteristics. Ninety-six children (mean age = 5.9) from 50 preschools in two German federal states were observed in their final preschool year. Results show that emergent literacy activities relating to print materials play a minor role, whereas activities involving oral language play a major role, compared with other activities in children’s preschool experience. Results also indicate a significant link between child-related, family and distal characteristics (i.e. geographic location and federal state affiliation) and the frequency of emergent literacy activities.

Familiale Anregung während der frühen Kindergartenzeit

Der Ruf nach Masnahmen gegen eine Verarmung von Teilen der Gesellschaft in Deutschland erfahrt durch regelmasige Veroffentlichungen zur aktuellen Lebenssituation der Bevolkerung stetig neue Nahrung (fur einen Uberblick siehe auch Edelstein 2006). Es ist trotz intensiver staatlicher, praktischer und nicht zuletzt auch wissenschaftlicher Bemuhungen in den letzten Jahren nicht gelungen, den Anteil der Bevolkerung, der in intensiver Armut lebt, deutlich zu senken. Besonders die „Infantilisierung der Armut“ (AWO Bundesverband e.V. 2000) ist besorgniserregend, da Armut in dieser Bevolkerungsgruppe nur mit grosem Aufwand entgegengewirkt werden kann, wahrend die Folgen einer dauerhaften Armut schwerwiegend und mannigfaltig sind (Bundesministerium fur Arbeit und Sozialordnung 2008 und Vorlauferberichte).

Relations between socio-economic risk factors, home learning environment and children’s language competencies: Findings from a German study

This paper focuses on the influence of socio-economic risk factors and different aspects of the home learning environment in early childhood on children’s language competencies (vocabulary and grammar skills). The assumption is that children with more risk factors have lower competencies, but the home learning environment (measured by everyday activities at home and cultural activities) acts as a protective factor against risk. The data (n = 2406 children) are a sample of the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), which collects longitudinal data on a sample of four-year-old children starting in preschool. The regression models show higher levels of vocabulary and grammar skills for children with fewer socio-economic risk factors. This influence persists even after adding both indicators of the home learning environment. However, there is an additional small effect of the home learning environment on children’s language competencies. Practical and policy implications of the study are discussed, especially against the background of the reduction of social disparities in Germany.