Rebecca A. Marcon

Differential Impact of Preschool Models on Development and Early Learning of Inner-City Children: A Three-Cohort Study.

Three different preschool models operating in an urban school district were identified through cluster analysis of teacher responses to the Pre-K Survey of Beliefs and Practices. The language, self-help, social, motor, and adaptive development, along with mastery of basic skills, of 721 4-year-olds randomly selected from these models were compared. Children in the child-initiated model demonstrated greater mastery of basic skills than did children in programs in which academics were emphasized and skills were taught. Children in the combination model did significantly poorer on all measures except self-help and development of social coping skills compared with children in either the child-initiated or academically directed models. Girls outperformed boys in all areas except gross motor development and play and leisure skills. Implications for educational policymakers are discussed.

Differential Effects of Three Preschool Models on Inner-City 4-Year-Olds.

A cluster analysis identified three different preschool models operating in a large, urban school district. The social, motor, language, and adaptive development of 295 four-year-olds randomly selected from these models was compared along with mastery of basic skills. Results indicated that children in the “in-between” model did significantly worse on all measures except daily living skills than did children in the child-initiated model or those in the teacher-directed academic model. Children in the child-initiated model demonstrated the greatest mastery of basic skills. As a group these children did even better than those in programs where academics were emphasized and skills were taught. Implications for educational policy makers are discussed.

Socioemotional versus academic emphasis: Impact on kindergartners’ development and achievement

Differential effects of academically‐focused versus socioemotional kindergartens were assessed for a range of developmental domains and early skills acquisition in two cohorts of inner‐city kindergartners. The sample of 307 children was 94% African American and 48% female, with 75% qualifying for subsidized lunch programs and 57% living in single‐parent homes Results indicated a detrimental impact of an overly academic kindergarten emphasis on young boys’ development and school achievement. Although girls were found to be developmentally more ready than boys for academic experiences, they actually achieved greater mastery of basic skills when enrolled in kindergartens that valued socioemotional development. The role of evaluative research in fostering policy change was discussed.

Assessment and Treatment of Children's Headaches from a Developmental Perspective

SYNOPSIS

Communication Styles of Bilingual Preschoolers in Preferred and Nonpreferred Languages

Summary Language samples of 31 boys and girls attending a bilingual preschool were transcribed from conversations with a puppet. In one conversation the puppet spoke only in the childs preferred language, while on another occasion, the puppet spoke only in the nonpreferred language of the child. This research was undertaken to determine whether or not bilingual, limited second language speakers and monolingual preschool children speak in the language in which they are spoken to. Of particular interest was the extent to which children would adjust their language to meet the needs of the listener. Differences in the type of responses made by bilingual, limited, and monolingual children under the two experimental situations were compared. Overall results indicated that, when young children were able to speak in the language in which they are spoken to, they usually did. Even the children who lacked a critical skill for communication in another language attempted to adjust their own verbal code to meet the l...

Enhancing Language and Early Literacy Development of Lowest Performing Preschoolers: Yes We Can!

This discussion article takes a closer look at 5 Early Reading First projects in this special issue. It first explores what needed to be in place before these projects could help teachers individualize instructional support for children. The way in which each project sought to provide effective instruction for all children is then discussed, followed by demonstrated project outcomes. The special emphasis that these projects placed on language is highlighted and its importance for literacy is reiterated. Finally, suggestions for next steps in the research process are made.

Variation in Children's Nonverbal Communication as a Function of Listener and Second-Language Development

Abstract Nonverbal behavior of 50 children attending bilingual kindergarten programs was recorded during childrens conversations with a puppet on three separate occasions. To determine the influence of the listeners language on childrens code selection, the puppet spoke a different language on each occasion. Of particular interest was the extent to which children made pragmatic adjustments in their nonverbal code in response to different listener needs. Differences in code selection that could be attributed to variation in second-language proficiency were also explored by the contrasting behavior of children classified as monolingual, limited second-language speakers, or bilingual. Distinctive variations in nonverbal communication were found to be associated with the listeners language and the childrens proficiency in a second language.

Testing for a ‘within-subjects’ association in repeated measures data

‘Within-subjects association’ is a tendency for a subjects personal highs in a variable Y to be associated with personal highs (or lows) in a variable X. We show that the within-subject Spearman correlations, individually of little reliability, can be aggregated across subjects in a repeated measures data set to effectively detect such an association. Observed significance levels can be assigned using an approximate randomization procedure even in small samples with variable numbers of observations per subject and ties in the ranks. We investigate the power of this method under the assumptions that the ranks within subjects follow a distribution proposed by Henze. On the basis of these results, we make recommendations for sample designs.