Nathalie Bigras

The role of executive functions in the pragmatic skills of children age 4-5

Several studies suggest that pragmatic skills (PS) (i.e., social communication) deficits may be linked to executive dysfunction (i.e., cognitive processes required for the regulation of new and complex behaviors) in patients with frontal brain injuries. If impairment of executive functions (EF) causes PS deficits in otherwise healthy adults, could this mean that EF are necessary for the normal functioning of PS, even more so than cognitive maturation? If so, children with highly developed EF should exhibit higher levels of PS. This study aimed to examine the link between EF and PS among normally developing children. A secondary goal was to compare this relationship to that between intellectual quotient (IQ) and PS in order to determine which predictor explained the most variance. Participants were 70 French-speaking preschool children (3;10–5;7 years old). The PS coding system, an observational tool developed for this study, was used to codify the childrens PS during a semi-structured conversation with a research assistant. Five types of EF processes were evaluated: self-control, inhibition, flexibility, working memory and planning. IQ was estimated by tallying the scores on a receptive vocabulary test and a visuoconstructive abilities test. The results of the test of differences between correlation coefficients suggest that EF contributed significantly more than IQ to the PS exhibited by preschoolers during conversation. More specifically, higher inhibition skills were correlated with a decrease in talkativeness and assertiveness. EF also appeared to foster quality of speech by promoting the ability to produce fluid utterances, free of unnecessary repetition or hesitation. Moreover, children with a high working memory capacity were more likely to formulate contingent answers and produce utterances that could be clearly understood by the interlocutor. Overall, these findings help us better understand how EF may assist children in everyday social interactions.

Quebec’s Child Care Services: What Are the Mechanisms Influencing Children’s Behaviors Across Quantity, Type, and Quality of Care Experienced?

The objective of this study was to examine how quantity, type, and quality of care interact in predicting externalizing and internalizing behaviors of 36-month-old children attending Quebec’s educational child care from their first years of life. To do so, the authors examined two hypothesized models: (1) a mediation model where quantity, type, and structural quality of care influences children’s behaviors through process quality and (2) a moderation model where process quality interacts with quantity, type, and structural quality of care in influencing children’s behaviors. The results of this study were consistent with the moderation model. They suggest conditions under which several features of process quality are associated with a lower occurrence of externalizing and internalizing behaviors during an important period of behavioral development and before school entry.

Perceived, Expressed and Observed Prosociality among Four-Year-Old Girls and Boys in Childcare Centres.

This article examines the prosociality of four-year-old girls and boys in childcare centres. More specifically, it aims to measure gender differences in prosociality among children, based on three sources and methods of evaluation: (1) the early childhood educators (ECE) perception (perceived prosociality), (2) the childrens own responses to hypothetical interpersonal problem-solving situations (expressed prosociality) and (3) observation of the childrens prosocial behaviour during symbolic play with a peer (observed prosociality). In line with many studies in this field, the results show that girls are perceived by their ECEs as being more prosocial than boys. However, analyses of the data on expressed prosociality and observed prosociality did not reveal a significant gender effect. These results are discussed with respect to the influence that differential perceptions based on gender have on the assessment of childrens prosociality. Some possible explanations for this gender gap, particularly in educational contexts, are put forward.

The mediating role of cognitive ability on the relationship between motor proficiency and early academic achievement in children

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between motor proficiency and academic achievement in 7 years-old children. A mediating model in which the relation between motor proficiency and academic achievement is mediated by cognitive ability was tested. Participants included 152 children from the longitudinal study Jeunes enfants et leurs milieux de vie (Young Children and their Environments). Motor proficiency was evaluated with the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOT2), cognitive ability with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) and academic achievement with the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test II (WIAT II). Results showed that motor proficiency, cognitive ability and academic achievement were positively correlated with each other. A structural equation modeling analysis revealed that motor proficiency had a positive effect on academic achievement through an indirect path via cognitive ability. These results highlight the fundamental importance of motor skills in childrens academic achievement in early school years.

Respecting but not sustaining play: early childhood educators’ and home childcare providers’ practices that support children’s play

Abstract This study examined and compared the extent to which early childhood educators’ (ECEs) and home childcare providers’ (HCPs) practices supported children’s play. The sample included 50 ECEs and 20 HCPs in settings that care for 70 children at 18, 24, and 36 months old. At each time point, the childcare process quality was observed using the Educational Quality Observation Scales. Cross-sectional descriptive analysis revealed unsatisfactory scores on items that comprise the ‘Adult’s practices that support children’s play’ subscale. The item ‘respects children’s play’ was the only exception, with scores in the satisfactory range. In addition, compared to HCPs, ECEs obtained higher scores. This study suggests that although ECEs and HCPs generally respected children’s play, their interventions did not extend further to sustain play. There is a need to improve ECEs’ and HCPs’ practices to sustain young children’s development and learning during play.

Preparing to Start School: Parent and Early Childhood Educator Narratives

This chapter presents a narrative multi-case study that draws on a postocolonial and postmodern narrative theoretical framework and methodology. The narratives recounted by three mothers, four educators, and home-childcare communication documents concerning the childrens upcoming transition to school and educator-parent relationships are presented. For example, Marie-Eve’s narrative is centred around her own sense of comfort at the childcare centre; focuses on the difficulties of transitioning between educators for her son, Mateo; and explains why she believes that he will do well in school. She also identifies home routines to modify once her son starts school. Anne, Mateo’s educator, describes Marie-Eve’s involvement in centre activities, and blames Marie-Eve’s difficulty with Mateo’s transition from group to group on the fact that she is a single mother of an only child. Nicholas has two different educators, Suzanne and Nadia. His mother Audrey is thrilled with her experience at the childcare centre, and relies on additional personnel at the centre, such as the pedagogical advisor, for support and assistance. She claims to not be ready for her son to start school. His two educators have very different understandings of the family, and very different concerns about the child starting school. Finally, Emma’s mom Christine was shocked to find out that her daughter had a language delay when she began childcare at age four, and recounts the routines she instituted at home in order to prepare her two daughters for childcare. Hannah, Emma’s educator, describes the process of building a trusting relationship with Christine. She is worried about Emma starting school, but hopes that she will be fine, because of Christine’s active involvement in the childcare centre. The analysis/interpretation of the narratives focuses on the ways in which mothers and educators draw on and resist metanarratives of deficiency, school readiness, and pedagogicalization of parents when they narrate their transition experiences. For example, three of the educators’ narratives draw on a metanarrative of deficiency to judge divorced or single parent families, implying that these families can be detrimental to children’s well-being, while the other educator was able to craft a counternarrative by focusing on the father’s well-being as a member of the childcare centre community.

Sustaining the support in four-year-olds in childcare services with the goal of promoting their cognitive and language development

ABSTRACT This paper aims to describe the quality of play as offered by early childhood educators working with four-year-olds within an educational childcare service. It also aims to identify the correlation between the quality of play support and a child’s cognitive, language and socio-emotional development. Finally, it focuses on the factors associated with the quality of play support provided by educational childcare centres and the characteristics of the educators involved. The sample included 170 educators working with four-year-olds. Results show that higher quality of play are linked with higher cognitive and language development. Other factors with a positive impact on play include: group of eight children, higher educator-to-child ratios, groups with male educators and groups whose personnel have followed more than 24 hours of in-service training and who express positive feelings towards their work. The discussion addresses the significance of these findings in childcare services.

Transforming Social Regularities in a Multicomponent Community‐Based Intervention: A Case Study of Professionals’ Adaptability to Better Support Parents to Meet Their Children's Needs.

This paper presents an in-depth case study of the dynamic processes of mutual adjustment that occurred between two professional teams participating in a multicomponent community-based intervention (CBI). Drawing on the concept of social regularities, we focus on patterns of social interaction within and across the two microsystems involved in delivering the intervention. Two research strategies, narrative analysis and structural network analysis, were used to reveal the social regularities linking the two microsystems. Results document strategies and actions undertaken by the professionals responsible for the intervention to modify intersetting social regularities to deal with a problem situation that arose during the course of one intervention cycle. The results illustrate how key social regularities were modified in order to resolve the problem situation and allow the intervention to continue to function smoothly. We propose that these changes represent a transition to a new state of the ecological intervention system. This transformation appeared to be the result of certain key intervening mechanisms: changing key role relationships, boundary spanning, and synergy. The transformation also appeared to be linked to positive setting-level and individual-level outcomes: confidence of key team members, joint planning, decision-making and intervention activities, and the achievement of desired intervention objectives.

Relationship between screen-time and motor proficiency in children: a longitudinal study

ABSTRACT The objective of this longitudinal study was to examine the relationship between screen time (ST) and children’s motor proficiency. The amount of time 113 children spent watching television, using a computer, and playing video games as reported by parents at ages 4, 5, and 7 was measured and children’s motor skills were evaluated at age 7 with the short version of the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency Second Edition. The results revealed that children who spent more time in front of a screen at age 4 also do so at ages 5 and 7. A negative relationship was observed between ST at ages 4, 5, and 7 and motor proficiency at age 7. Mediation analysis suggested that the negative effect of ST at age 4 on motor competence was mediated by ST at age 7. This result emphasizes the adverse influence of ST stability on motor proficiency.

Quelle est l’association entre les caractéristiques résidentielles et du quartier et le développement de l’enfant à la maternelle?

RésuméObjectifsÉvaluer l’association entre les caractéristiques résidentielles et du quartier de la famille de l’enfant et son développement à partir des données de l’Enquête montréalaise sur l’expérience préscolaire des enfants de maternelle (EMEP).MéthodeUn échantillon de 1101 enfants a été extrait de la base de sondage comprenant les enfants montréalais évalués dans le cadre de l’Enquête québécoise sur le développement des enfants de maternelle (EQDEM 2012). Une collecte de données auprès des parents de ces enfants a permis de documenter certaines caractéristiques résidentielles et du voisinage (variables indépendantes) : la défavorisation matérielle du quartier, la salubrité du logement, le surpeuplement du logement, l’instabilité résidentielle, la sécurité du quartier et l’accessibilité des ressources. Un couplage aux données de l’EQDEM donnait accès à la mesure du développement de l’enfant à la maternelle (variable dépendante). La régression logistique a été utilisée afin de prédire la probabilité d’un enfant de maternelle d’être vulnérable dans au moins un domaine de son développement ou dans deux domaines ou plus.RésultatsLes enfants résidant dans un quartier perçu dangereux sont 1,5 fois plus susceptibles d’être vulnérables dans au moins un domaine de leur développement comparativement à leurs pairs résidant dans un quartier perçu sécuritaire (IC à 95% : 1,02–2,14). Un résultat similaire est observé pour la vulnérabilité dans deux domaines de développement ou plus (RC 1,67, IC95% : 1,07–2,61). Les enfants vivant dans une famille ayant un manque d’accès aux ressources sont également plus susceptibles d’être vulnérables dans deux domaines ou plus de leur développement que leurs pairs dont la famille a facilement accès aux ressources (RC 1,56, IC95% : 1,003–2,44).ConclusionLe sentiment d’insécurité des parents et le manque d’accès aux ressources du quartier peuvent restreindre les occasions de socialisation des enfants et leur exposition à des expériences enrichissantes.AbstractObjectivesEvaluate the association between residential and neighbourhood characteristics of families and children and the latter’s development, using data from the Montréal Survey on the Preschool Experiences of Children in Kindergarten (MSPECK).MethodA sample of 1101 children was extracted from a survey frame that included Montréal children assessed in the 2012 Québec Survey of Child Development in Kindergarten (2012 QSCDK). Data collected from the children’s parents were used to document the following residential and neighbourhood characteristics (independent variables): material deprivation in the neighbourhood, housing health, residential crowding, housing instability, neighbourhood safety, and access to resources. Linking QSCDK data provided a measure of development for children in kindergarten (dependent variable). Logistic regression was used to predict the probability of kindergarten children being vulnerable in at least one domain of development, or in two or more domains.ResultsChildren living in neighbourhoods perceived to be dangerous are 1.5 times more likely to be vulnerable in at least one domain of development, compared with their peers living in neighbourhoods perceived to be safe (95% CI: 1.02–2.14). A similar result is observed for vulnerability in two or more domains of development (OR 1.67; 95% CI: 1.07–2.61). Children living in families who lack access to resources are also more likely to be vulnerable in two or more domains of development than their peers in families who have easy access to resources (OR 1.56; 95% CI: 1.003–2.44).ConclusionParents’ feelings of insecurity and lack of access to local resources can limit children’s opportunities for socialization and their exposure to enriching experiences.