Rex E. Culp

Relation of Head Start attendance to children’s cognitive and social outcomes: moderation by family risk

Abstract The current study examined whether cumulative family risk would moderate the relation between regularity of attending Head Start and three child outcomes: receptive vocabulary, teacher ratings of social competence, and teacher ratings of following instructions. Cumulative family risk was the sum of four dichotomous measures: low income, low cognitive stimulation, intrusiveness, and depression. Participants were 94 Head Start children and their caregivers. All but 1 of the 16 classrooms attended were rated as good or better on the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS). Analyses revealed the relation between Head Start attendance and receptive vocabulary was moderated by cumulative risk, with children from higher risk families benefiting more. Regardless of cumulative family risk, attendance predicted teacher ratings of social competence; regardless of attendance, cumulative family risk predicted teacher ratings of following instructions. Results are interpreted as supporting a compensatory model of the impact of Head Start on children’s receptive vocabulary and the use of attendance as a measure of the “value added” by Head Start. Public policy implications are discussed.

Adolescent and Older Mothers' Interaction Patterns with their Six-Month-Old Infants.

Children of adolescent mothers suffer more physical, intellectual, and emotional difficulties than do other children. In order to gain a better understanding of the differences, the interaction patterns of adolescent mothers and non-adolescent mothers interacting with their young infants were compared. One hundred adolescent mothers and 29 married primiparous non-adolescent mothers were observed interacting with their six-month-old infants during a feeding episode and a play episode. All of the mothers had a high school education or less. During feeding, the adolescent mothers demonstrated less expressiveness, less positive attitude, less delight, less positive regard, fewer vocalizations, and a lower quality of vocalizations than non-adolescent mothers. During play, the adolescent mothers demonstrated less inventiveness, less patience, and less positive attitude than the non-adolescent mothers. These results extend and strengthen what is known about adolescent mothers patterns of interaction with their young infants.

Maternal Parenting Characteristics and School Involvement: Predictors of Kindergarten Cognitive Competence Among Head Start Children

Abstract While early childhood theorists emphasize the importance of the parent-child relationship to school performance, research findings on the relationship between parenting characteristics and child cognitive competence vary in their results. Differing results are found in samples of Head Start and non-Head Start families. One hundred fourteen Head Start children and mothers participated in this study. The authors examined the contribution of four separate maternal parenting factors (warmth, punitiveness, intrusiveness, and involvement in school activities). The authors related these factors to child kindergarten competence, as measured by PPVT-R and teacher-rated childs memory of teacher instructions. Correlational analyses indicated that maternal intrusiveness consistently predicted child cognitive competence while children were in Head Start; maternal school involvement predicted cognitive competence while children were in kindergarten. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that when child gender, maternal PPVT-R scores, and child Head Start cognitive competence were controlled, maternal school involvement related positively to kindergarten child memory for instructions; and maternal punitiveness related negatively to kindergarten child PPVT-R scores. Measuring positive and negative emotional involvement separately revealed significant findings on maternal intrusiveness and punitiveness that may have been obscured had these maternal characteristics been measured on the low end of a scale of maternal warmth. Implications for involving Head Start parents in schools are discussed.

Teaching Evolution Concepts to Early Elementary School Students

State and national standards call for teaching evolution concepts as early as kindergarten, which provides motivation to continue developing science instruction and curriculum for young learners. The importance of addressing students’ folk theories regarding science justifies teaching evolution early in K-12 education. In this project, we developed, implemented, and researched standards-based lessons to teach elements of evolution (speciation and adaption) to kindergarteners and second graders. Our lessons attended to the students’ prior knowledge, and utilized inquiry and modeling to teach and assess their ability to recognize patterns of similarity and differences among organisms. Using their products and comments as evidence, it was apparent the students were able to communicate recognition of patterns and effectively apply their knowledge in near transfer activities, indicating they achieved our learning objectives. This provides support for teaching evolution concepts in the early grades and evidence of the ability for young children to effectively engage in supported inquiry and modeling for learning science.

Maltreated Children's Emotional and Behavioral Problems: Do Teachers and Parents See the Same Things?

We examined whether parent/caregivers and teacher/therapists differ in their perceptions of the behavior problems of young maltreated children. The sample consisted of 33 maltreated preschoolers (58% neglected, 24% sexually abused, 18% physically abused, 59% African American, 41% Caucasian) enrolled in a metropolitan-area treatment center providing an educational/intervention program for maltreated children and their families. Most (82%) of the participant families had an annual income of

First-time young mothers living in rural communities use corporal punishment with their toddlers

10,000 or less. Parent/caregivers and teacher/ therapists provided data about the children, employing the Colorado Child Temperament Inventory, Child Behavior Checklist, and Preschool Behavior Questionnaire. The results indicate that the teacher/therapists and the parent/caregivers perceived the same child as behaving differently. Implications concerning how teachers and parents might communicate are discussed, as well as possible reasons for the two different perceptions of the same child. Three potential reasons for the differences are that they are due to the different perspectives of parents and teachers in assessing child behaviors, to situational variation in child behavior (e.g., home versus school), or to some combination of both effects.

Relation of Maternal Cognitive Stimulation, Emotional Support, and Intrusive Behavior during Head Start to Children’s Kindergarten Cognitive Abilities

Forty first-time, young mothers with toddlers, living in rural counties in a southwestern state, participated in this descriptive study investigating their use of corporal punishment. Results showed mothers used corporal punishment in attempts to reduce age-appropriate behaviors, especially at mealtime and in learning situations. Prevention and early intervention programs are needed to not only teach expected child behaviors, but also to model and to provide guided practice of effective alternatives to corporal punishment.