Rebecca P. Harlin

Research Into Practice: Identifying Variables That Enhance or Interfere With Children's Learning

Educators often trust instincts and beliefs more than research evidence. We make assumptions based on what we think happens or what we think works, with little or no data to support that thinking. However, when we make decisions about educational opportunities for children, we need to be better consumers of research findings and more discerning about quality. We need to know not only what constitutes a quality program, but also how teacher qualifications, beliefs, and practices enhance or interfere with children’s learning. We must be able to recognize that testimonials about specific programs or curricula do not necessarily translate into real results. This issue offers some surprising findings about common beliefs regarding children’s development of literacy and mathematics. You will also find that teachers’ lack of knowledge may interfere with children’s learning and decrease appropriate learning opportunities to play, explore, and talk with peers. As you read each study, ask yourself how you can improve your own teaching and reframe your practices.

Research Into Practice: What Do You Really Know About Learning and Development?

125 Our assumptions about children’s development are challenged by recent research findings that show learning begins at an earlier age and proceeds at a different pace than expected. Sometimes researchers find that they have misunderstood children’s cognitive, social, and physical development due to errors in measurement (faulty tests or tools), limited observations in school settings, and short-range, rather than longitudinal, studies. This issue of the journal reveals new insights about young children’s humor, levels of physical activity at school and home, the importance of play and the arts, literacy, and mathematics learning. Collectively, these studies raise questions about the factors, circumstances, and experiences that contribute to or detract from children’s growth and competence. As educators we must be willing to reconsider what we think we know in light of what is now known about child development. Holding on to old beliefs means that we not only shortchange the children under our care, but also continue viewing the world through a distorted lens. Today’s schools deal with an array of problems, but first and foremost are the teachers. In addition to high turnover, especially in schools serving low-income children, questions about teachers’ qualifications and effectiveness must be raised. What do they know about young children’s development? How effectively can they adapt their instruction? How well do they engage children in meaningful learning? Do they plan experiences and construct environments that support children’s learning? Are the assessments they use to evaluate children fairly, and do they provide useful information or just supply statistics to the district? As you read the summaries of the articles below, you will find some of these questions addressed while others are raised. Be prepared to reconsider your own assumptions in light of these articles.

Research Into Practice: Innovations and International Perspectives

Our 21st century children live in a time of global interaction that impacts their books, movies, toys, and television programming. They view images of children living in third-world or industrialized nations, share books written in more than one language or translated from another culture, and play with toys designed for the world’s children. Since they are aware of how others in the world live, should our schools and educational systems ignore what is happening beyond our state and national borders? Shouldn’t we become more informed about innovations and international perspectives so that we can access the best ideas and question practices that are less than ideal? In addition, we need to anticipate our changing school population’s backgrounds and educational needs. This issue contains a wealth of studies that present innovative practices and question our assumptions about bilingualism, parent programs, and teaching. Usually when we seek solutions for enhancing children’s academic performance, we anticipate that these answers must entail complicated strategies or technology that we currently lack. Perhaps the best solutions are more straightforward than we think they will be. Instead, we decide to adopt whole curricula or approaches without considering the culture or the context for which these were designed. We assume that what works in one country may be equally effective in another and fail to examine the philosophical or theoretical foundations that provided the basis for this particular program. Within this issue, readers will discover thoughtful examinations of bilingualism and acculturation along with the impact of parent and homework programs. You may be surprised by what you learn from each of the nine articles.

Research Into Practice: Contexts That Promote Children's Learning

455 This issue features seven articles that consider children’s learning in different contexts by presenting the attributes that support or interfere with their success. The authors of the first article highlight an early childhood development program’s success in serving high-poverty infants and toddlers by fostering health, cognitive development, and parental participation in their children’s learning and community. The second study investigated the value of peers’ conversations in building knowledge and skills in a new language. The third article, a thought-provoking discussion of the problems shy children experience as they begin kindergarten, offers practical advice for teachers to identify and support these children. How much learning afterschool programs promote is addressed in the fourth article’s comparison of urban in-school and afterschool opportunities across gender, social class, ethnicities, and grades. In the fifth article, the authors present their findings on preservice teachers’ confidence for teaching and integrating music into the elementary curriculum. A new intervention program targeting young at-risk readers is investigated through the comparative study found in the sixth article. The final article proposes an early childhood program that combines constructivism and behaviorism as an effective means of supporting children with special needs and promoting their subsequent independence.