Kirsten Kainz

Adult Outcomes as a Function of an Early Childhood Educational Program: An Abecedarian Project Follow-Up

Adult (age 30) educational, economic, and social-emotional adjustment outcomes were investigated for participants in the Abecedarian Project, a randomized controlled trial of early childhood education for children from low-income families. Of the original 111 infants enrolled (98% African American), 101 took part in the age 30 follow-up. Primary indicators of educational level, economic status, and social adjustment were examined as a function of early childhood treatment. Treated individuals attained significantly more years of education, but income-to-needs ratios and criminal involvement did not vary significantly as a function of early treatment. A number of other indicators were described for each domain. Overall, the findings provide strong evidence for educational benefits, mixed evidence for economic benefits, and little evidence for treatment-related social adjustment outcomes. Implications for public policy are discussed.

Early Educational Intervention, Early Cumulative Risk, and the Early Home Environment as Predictors of Young Adult Outcomes Within a High‐Risk Sample

The extent to which early educational intervention, early cumulative risk, and the early home environment were associated with young adult outcomes was investigated in a sample of 139 young adults (age 21) from high-risk families enrolled in randomized trials of early intervention. Positive effects of treatment were found for education attainment, attending college, and skilled employment; negative effects of risk were found for education attainment, graduating high school, being employed, and avoiding teen parenthood. The home mediated the effects of risk for graduating high school, but not being employed for teen parenthood. Evidence for moderated mediation was found for educational attainment; the home mediated the association between risk and educational attainment for the control group, but not the treated group.

The Ecology of Early Reading Development for Children in Poverty

In this study we investigated reading development from kindergarten to third grade for 1,913 economically disadvantaged children from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Kindergarten Cohort. Characteristics of the child, the family, classroom instruction, and school composition were used to model influences from multiple levels of children’s ecologies. The analytic model proposed that child and family characteristics (e.g., age at kindergarten entry, family literacy practices) would influence reading skills at kindergarten entry and rate of reading growth, whereas characteristics of classrooms and schools (e.g., comprehensive literacy instruction, racial and economic segregation) would constrain or enhance reading performance at specific times. Significant model parameters and effect sizes indicated that child and family characteristics were more predictive of initial reading skills than of reading development over time. Minority segregation in elementary schools was associated with lower student reading performance after accounting for child and family background, classroom instruction, and school‐level poverty.

Targeted Reading Intervention: A Coaching Model to Help Classroom Teachers with Struggling Readers.

This study examined the effectiveness of a classroom teacher intervention, the Targeted Reading Intervention (TRI), in helping struggling readers in kindergarten and first grade. This intervention used biweekly literacy coaching in the general education classroom to help classroom teachers use diagnostic strategies with struggling readers in one-on-one 15-min sessions. Five schools in low-income rural counties were randomly assigned to the experimental or control group. Five struggling and five nonstruggling readers were randomly selected to participate in each experimental and control classroom. There were 34 classrooms and 276 children. Experimental children achieved better gains in letter-word identification than did control children. Significant interactions were found with word attack skills. Children in the experimental group with poor rapid naming and better phonological awareness skills progressed the most compared with the control group. The TRI appeared to be a promising classroom teacher intervention to help young struggling readers.

A culturally and linguistically responsive vocabulary approach for young Latino dual language learners

PURPOSE This study examined the role of the language of vocabulary instruction in promoting English vocabulary in preschool Latino dual language learners (DLLs). The authors compared the effectiveness of delivering a single evidence-informed vocabulary approach using English as the language of vocabulary instruction (English culturally responsive [ECR]) versus using a bilingual modality that strategically combined Spanish and English (culturally and linguistically responsive [CLR]). METHOD Forty-two DLL Spanish-speaking preschoolers were randomly assigned to the ECR group (n=22) or CLR group (n=20). Thirty English words were presented during small-group shared readings in their preschools 3 times a week for 5 weeks. Multilevel models were used to examine group differences in postinstruction scores on 2 Spanish and 2 English vocabulary assessments at instruction end and follow-up. RESULTS Children receiving instruction in the CLR bilingual modality had significantly higher posttest scores (than those receiving the ECR English-only instruction) on Spanish and English vocabulary assessments at instruction end and on the Spanish vocabulary assessment at follow-up, even after controlling for preinstruction scores. CONCLUSIONS The results provide additional evidence of the benefits of strategically combining the first and second language to promote English and Spanish vocabulary development in this population. Future directions for research and clinical applications are discussed.

Implementing Educational Innovations at Scale: Transforming Researchers Into Continuous Improvement Scientists

There is growing concern among researchers and governmental officials that knowing what works in education is important, but not enough for school improvement. Sound evidence alone is not sufficient for large-scale, sustainable change, both because practitioners may consider it irrelevant to their own problems of practice or run into challenges when they try to implement. Failed attempts at replicating positive outcomes in new (or simply expanded) settings underscore the need for a different relationship between research and practice, one that takes a systemic perspective on improvement and transforms the role for research. In this article, we describe the new science of improvement and where it sits in the evolution of research on education policy implementation. We discuss the roots of the approach as well as its key features. We explain how the work differs from that of traditional research and end with illustrations of this difference from our experiences with the National Center on Scaling Up Effective Schools.

The Impact of Individual Differences on a Bilingual Vocabulary Approach for Latino Preschoolers

Purpose The purpose of this study was twofold: First, we replicated in a new sample our previous findings that a culturally and linguistically responsive (CLR) bilingual approach for English vocabulary instruction for preschool Latino dual language learners was effective. Subsequently, we investigated whether the positive effect of CLR instruction varies as a function of individual child characteristics, including baseline vocabulary levels and gender. Method Using a randomized pretest-posttest follow-up group design, we first replicated our previous study (N = 42) with a new sample by randomly assigning 35 Spanish-speaking Latino preschoolers to a CLR bilingual group or an English-only group. The preschoolers received small-group evidence-informed shared readings targeting 30 English words 3 times a week for 5 weeks in their preschools. Vocabulary outcomes were measured using both standardized and researcher-developed measures. We subsequently conducted further studies with the combined sample size of 77 children to examine the variability in intervention effects related to child gender and baseline vocabulary levels. Results The direct replication study confirmed findings of our earlier work suggesting that the CLR bilingual approach promoted greater gains in L1 and L2 vocabulary than in an English-only approach. The extension studies revealed that the effect of the CLR bilingual vocabulary approach on English and Spanish vocabulary outcomes was not impacted by gender or vocabulary status at baseline. Conclusion This study provides additional evidence of the benefits of strategically combining L1 and L2 for vocabulary instruction over an English-only approach. Our findings also suggest that preschool Latino dual language learners can benefit from a bilingual vocabulary instructional approach regardless of gender or baseline vocabulary levels in L1.

Investigating the Complex Relationship Between Intimate Partner Violence Victimization and Perpetration Among System-Involved Women in Heterosexual Relationships: An Exploratory Analysis:

Research indicates women who perpetrate intimate partner violence (IPV) experience both more frequent and more severe IPV victimization. However, the IPV field needs additional research to understand the complex relationship between various forms of IPV victimization (e.g., psychological, physical, sexual) and IPV perpetration by women. In particular, the field needs a better understanding of the unique interplay of various forms of IPV victimization and perpetration among female system-involved survivors (i.e., female survivors involved with child protective services and/or the court system and mandated to services). Such understanding would aid extant efforts to ensure that mandated services address the experiences and meet the needs of these system-involved women. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted an exploratory, secondary data analysis using cross-sectional baseline data collected as part of a larger evaluation study of a psychoeducational therapeutic IPV and parenting program for system-involved IPV survivors mandated to services ( N = 73). Results from multiple regression analyses revealed that both psychological and physical IPV victimization were uniquely associated with the perpetration of psychological and physical abuse by system-involved female IPV survivors. Furthermore, our examination of the interaction between physical and psychological victimization and its impact on perpetration revealed that higher levels of both physical and psychological IPV victimization were associated with significantly higher levels of psychological perpetration ( p < .01) and increased likelihood of physical perpetration ( p < .05). Results are discussed in the context of service provision within systems, agencies, and programs targeting system-involved women mandated to services for IPV.

A systemic intervention research agenda for reducing inequality in school outcomes

ABSTRACT Persistent education inequality is a complex problem in the United States, and, despite efforts to promote equity, education performance and attainment remain highly related to characteristics of students’ families, schools, and neighborhoods. Systemic interventions are designed to address complex problems through the identification and purposeful incorporation of knowledge from the multiple systems implicated in a problem. Although systemic intervention approaches are not widely reported in education, they have yielded positive effects in health and human services and are worth investigating in the education context. In this paper we review policy and research evidence related to education inequality and provide an agenda for designing and evaluating systemic interventions to reduce education inequality.

Improving Causal Inference: Recommendations for Covariate Selection and Balance in Propensity Score Methods

Objective: This paper is a resource for applied researchers and journal reviewers who wish to learn more about propensity score methods, especially recent published recommendations for selecting and balancing covariates before conducting treatment effect analysis. Method: We reviewed and synthesized methodological studies of propensity score analysis from multiple disciplines in an effort to distill a cogent and defensible set of recommendations for research practice. Results: Selection of covariates for propensity score methods requires good understanding of empirical evidence and theory related to confounders of treatment assignment and the outcome, as well as clarity about the temporal relations among confounders, treatment, and outcome as measured in the data set in use. Some variables are not appropriate for inclusion in a propensity score model, and some data sets do not include sufficient variables for propensity score analysis. Achieving balance in the model covariates after conditioning on the propensity score should be an iterative process where models are respecified until proper balance is obtained. Important steps for propensity score methods include reporting results from iterative modeling and balance checks, and then defending the final sample conditioned on the propensity score before analysis of treatment effects. These steps are often overlooked in published research. Conclusion: Propensity score methods can be useful tools for reducing bias due to observed confounders. To credibly reduce bias, however, researchers must execute recommended practice for selecting and balancing covariates.