Research Into Practice: Contexts That Promote Children’s Learning

By Harlin, Rebecca P

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. Cognitive Development and Home Environment of Rural Paraguayan Infants and Toddlers Participating in Pastoral del Nino, an Early Child Development Program

-Peairson, Austin, de Aquino, & de Burro

Children born into extreme poverty conditions are likely to be deprived of such basic necessities as health care, nourishing food, and education. Collectively, these inadequacies in the first five years of life result in cognitive, physical, and psychosocial developmental delays. Some researchers estimate that more than 200 million children in developing countries experience capability deprivation. Thus, efforts to devise early child development programs (ECDPs) for children under 5 must address the critical needs of this population and deliver successful programs, despite limited financial resources. The authors conducted a study of child development outcomes within the Pastoral del Nino program, which served Paraguayan children from birth to 24 months, compared to their peers who did not participate in the program. This ECDP, a community-based program promoted by the Roman Catholic Church, focused on early childhood stimulation, healthy home environments, responsive parenting, nutrition, and health. Parish coordinators trained community leaders to work with 10 to 20 families with children under 5 years old, as well as with pregnant women.

The questions guiding this research study investigated differences between Pastoral (P) children and the non-Pastoral (NP) children on: 1) health and nutrition measures of height and weight, and 2) mental development and the quality of the caregiving (home) environment. The levels of community participation of parents of P and NP children also were compared. Finally, the researchers sought to identify the best predictors of mental development and caregiving environments for P and NP participants.

The non-random sample consisted of 106 children from central and southern Paraguay-46 infants and toddlers constituted the NP group, and 60 children were in the P group. The study’s instruments included the Mental Development Index from the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-II (BSIC-II); the Infant-Toddler HOME (ITHOME), a 45-item interview/observation instrument for evaluating the caregiving environment; a 40-question survey to assess demographics, health (children’s vaccinations, rehydration remedies, parasitic prevention by upgrading the family home’s roofing and flooring materials), education (mother’s and father’s highest grade completed, facility speaking and reading Spanish), and caregiving (telling stories, playing or teaching the child games); and anthropometric measures of nutritional status (length of child and circumference of head).

When the data were analyzed quantitatively, no significant differences emerged between the P and the NP children on the health and nutrition measures of height, weight, and head circumference. However, the results yielded significant health differences in favor of the P children for updated vaccinations; parents who understood and were likely to use rehydration remedies; and living in housing with flooring and roofing materials that prevent parasites from flourishing. Overall scores for P children on the Mental Development Index of the BSIC-II and the IT-HOME were significantly higher than for the NP children. For parents, there were significant differences in planned educational activities in the home environment, with more P mothers regularly teaching basic concepts to their children and more P parents participating in community activities. The best predictors of mental development (BSIC-II) for the P group was the total score on the IT-HOME; while for the NP group, the best predictors were weight category and IT-HOME total score. Significant predictors of IT-HOME total scores for the P group was the caregiver’s literacy, while for the NP children, the best predictors included the caregiver’s literacy, languages spoken, and ongoing program for teaching the child at home.

Policymakers and early childhood educators can benefit from this study’s findings in several ways. First, ECDPs, even those with limited financial resources, can successfully promote children’s development and meeting their needs. second, successful ECDPs do not operate in isolation; programs must consider the families they serve and involve the community in order to effectively address their needs. This may mean addressing a wider range of issues, such as culturally appropriate parental involvement and housing conditions, which impact children’s physical health and well-being. Third, this study demonstrates the need for ongoing curriculum review and development to ensure that children’s potential is being developed, and not hindered, by the ECDP program. As part of a body of research, this study underscores the cost benefits of investing in quality early childhood programs, especially when large numbers of children are living in poverty.

Peer-Learning Spaces: A Staple in English Learners’ Tool Kit for Developing Language and Literacy

-Bicais & Correia

As school populations become more ethnically and culturally diverse, classroom teachers seek ways of supporting, promoting, and extending their students’ literacy development. This study investigates the ways in which classroom practices can enhance children’s opportunities to learn a new language and understand the writing process. Halliday’s research on children’s understandings of the functions of language to accomplish differing goals and meet varying purposes, Dyson’s study of emergent writers’ conversations while creating texts, Heath’s comparisons of home language and school culture, and Vygotsky’s research on language as a mediation tool for learning within a social context provide the theoretical foundation for this study.

Specifically, the authors focused upon the interactional uses of language children employed as they worked with peers on assigned writing tasks. The context for this study was a school of 500 children, of whom 20 percent were non-English speakers at home; most of them were Spanish speakers. Six children from a sample of a larger study were selected for focus in the research presented in this article. These key children were 4th- or 5th-grade Title I students who scored in the bottom 25 percent on the state standardized test and who varied in gender, levels of English proficiency, and home language. The interactions of one student, Juan, and his peer, Ned, during one classroom writing event and during classroom instruction were reported on in this article. Multiple data sources included observational field notes, audio- recordings of classroom conversations and interviews, school documents, and the children’s written artifacts.

The findings show that Juan was very quiet throughout most of the whole-class activities, and that he rarely finished his assignments. Although his teacher regarded him as a good student, in fact, Juan was going through the motions by appearing to be on-task. Within the peer-learning space (away from the teacher’s direction) where he engaged in his partner work with Ned, Juan was highly active and used the interactional language, termed “helping” by the researchers, to ask questions, clarify ideas, make assessments, and try to make sense of the writing assignment. Throughout this observation, Juan’s role was much more collaborative and engaged, which enabled him to give and receive support from his peer. Consequently, Juan was afforded the opportunity to capitalize on the language skills, knowledge, and resources that both he and Ned possessed. It should be noted that Juan did complete this writing assignment. Thus, the peer-learning space provided an essential learning context for Juan that the whole-class activities did not.

Among the implications for educators is the importance of structuring classroom environments in which children who are English language learners have frequent opportunities to collaborate with others on literacy tasks, use the social context to take risks, learn from peers, and build their language skills. Then, the ELLs may capitalize on their cultural and linguistic tool kits acquired from their home environments as they acquire English in oral and written forms. Children’s talk during literacy learning is therefore a necessity for clarifying, extending, supporting, and maintaining facility in a newly acquired language. It is incumbent upon teachers to not only provide these peer-learning spaces, but also schedule sufficient time for children to make sense of written language while interacting with more knowledgeable others. The Stresses of a “Brave New World”: Shyness and School Adjustment in Kindergarten

-Coplan & Arbeau

Early childhood educators’ focus on the “whole child” is meant to incorporate and address young children’s physical, emotional, cognitive, and social development and needs and to prepare school environments that support a range of children. Yet, how well do adults understand and appreciate the challenges that shy children face as they enter school? Coplan and Arbeau provide a review of research on shyness to address young children’s issues and problems at kindergarten entry and to highlight relevant findings for parents and teachers.

The authors begin with a discussion of shyness as it manifests itself in younger and older children. New situations and people cause shy young children to appear nervous or fearful, while older children seem embarrassed or self-conscious. More recent research findings suggest that biological factors and overprotective parenting may contribute to shy children’s responses to stressful situations and that subsequent development of anxiety disorders may be linked to extreme shyness in preschoolers. Kindergarten entry presents a series of challenges for shy children, including an increased adult-to-child ratio compared to preschool, more children in a confined space, and increased demands to perform academically and to speak in front of groups. Each of these factors, separately and collectively, may increase shy children’s fears, self- consciousness, and withdrawal from social situations while decreasing their willingness to talk to peers or the teacher. As a result, teachers may regard the shy child as academically deficient or uninterested in school while peers reject, exclude, or victimize the shy child. Some studies suggest gender differences in the ways that shy boys and girls are perceived, with girls more likely to be rewarded and accepted by adults and peers, while boys are excluded. Finally, shy children’s language ability appears to mediate social interactions and those with better language skills experience fewer negative responses than those whose expressive ability may be limited.

In their discussion, the authors present practical ideas for kindergarten teachers to help shy children adjust to school. Changing the teacher’s questioning style from high control situations (using direct questioning) to low control, indirect conversations will provide more sustained, encouraging opportunities for shy children to talk. Another idea is to involve shy children in playing games with peers, such as “Go Fish,” that require talking in order to participate. The classroom environment should be structured to promote children’s participation in answering questions and control outspoken children’s interruptions. Informal conversations between teachers and shyer children not only promote a stronger personal relationship, but also build the children’s self- confidence. Moreover, teachers must consistently model appropriate social skills and behaviors in order to promote their use with both shy children and their more confident peers.

It is likely that most kindergarten teachers attend to the disruptive, outspoken, and aggressive children in their classrooms because these individuals are difficult to ignore and demand action. However, kindergarten teachers must devote their attention to the shy children, who may be at far greater risk for academic and social failure. Indeed, shy children’s experiences at school entry shape and determine their future. Thus, kindergarten teachers must recognize, seek out, and prepare to support their shy students and use the research-based findings to guide their interventions.

School vs. Afterschool: A Study of Equity in Supporting Children’s Development

-Fusco

School-age children from elementary through adolescence participate in afterschool programs sponsored by public school systems as well as community agencies. Most afterschool programs not only provide care for children of working parents, but also support children’s academic, social, and physical development. Fusco compared the appropriateness and equality of the support offered by afterschool programs to those available in schools for children across age groups, genders, socioeconomic status, and ethnicities.

The 436 subjects from 20 separate afterschool programs in New York City included approximately an equal number of boys and girls ages 10-16 from elementary (42 percent), middle (36 percent), and high school (22 percent), which represented the city’s public school population in ethnicities-African American (31 percent), Latino/a (31 percent), and white (13 percent), with the remaining 15 percent distributed across biracial, Asian, and Native American populations. Nine programs were school-based, while 11 were community-based, and their activities included recreational, academic, enrichment, preventative, and vocational opportunities. Data were obtained from a researcher-designed, 20-item scale, the After School Youth Survey (ASYS), made up of two subscales, School and Afterschool, which evaluated children’s perceptions of their opportunities in each context. The subject responded to each item using a 5-point Likert scale, with higher scores reflecting greater developmental opportunities. In addition, subjects responded to two open-ended questions about how well the afterschool program supported students’ success in school and how the afterschool program promoted learning new things. An additional data source included observations made by two research assistants, who noted children’s activities, described the social and physical environment, and identified the teaching methods. These observational data were employed in cases of very high or low ASYS mean scores to confirm the results.

Among the statistically significant results of ANOVAs were gender differences in favor of girls for school opportunities, but no differences for afterschool. When the five types of activities (recreational, academic, enrichment, preventative, and vocational) were analyzed separately, there were negative correlations for girls between the number of recreational programs and their perceptions of developmental appropriateness, but none for boys. No statistically different differences among ethnicities were found for either School or Afterschool opportunities; however, there were significant differences by grade for both School and Afterschool perceived opportunities, particularly for the middle school students. Significant differences between socioeconomic groups for the School scale were identified, with the lowest SES group reporting the highest levels of in-school opportunities.

This study’s results underscore the importance of reevaluating the range and developmental appropriateness of afterschool and in- school programs to support children’s well-being, including activities intended for girls, middle school children, and varying socioeconomic levels. Future research may examine the training and qualifications of staff who work in afterschool programs to identify their interpersonal traits that enable them to successfully mentor children from a variety of ages and backgrounds. The issue of equity among programs, to enhance and have long-lasting impact on children’s learning across ethnicities, grade levels, gender, and socioeconomic status, also should be investigated in future research studies. Additional questions to explore include levels of program participation, activities, and implementation. The plans portrayed on paper may not reflect the reality of afterschool programs for youth. Afterschool programs should not miss opportunities to support children’s development, address academic and social needs, and promote physical and mental well-being.

Learning To Toot Your Own Horn: Preservice Teachers Integrating Music Into a Childhood Classroom

-Kim & Choy

As school budgets are trimmed, early childhood and elementary teachers are forced to assume the responsibility for teaching the entire curriculum, including art, music, and physical education.. Thus, Kim and Choy investigated preservice teachers’ developing knowledge, beliefs, and confidence in teaching music at the beginning and end of the semester in which they were enrolled in a multidisciplinary course that provided methodology for integrating music as well as a practical teaching component in elementary classrooms. Specifically, the researchers focused upon the preservice teachers’ evolving knowledge of musical concepts, skills in playing and teaching, and attitudes toward music. Throughout the semester, preservice teachers prepared and presented lesson plans integrating musical concepts in different subject areas, received feedback on these plans from their professor and peers, and then taught the lesson to elementary children the following week. Thus, the course was designed to help the teachers link theory and practice.

There were 160 subjects who completed the pre and post surveys, consisting of sets of items assessing their general attitudes toward music, self-perceptions of their musical knowledge and skills, as well as those of classroom teachers, and perceptions of integrating music throughout the curriculum. Subjects rated each of the 32 items on a 5-point Likert scale. The preservice teachers’ weekly reflective journals and individual interviews at the end of the semester provided additional qualitative data sources. Quantitative analyses of the surveys were computed using T-tests to identify significant differences in pre and post responses. Statistically significant differences were found for the preservice teachers’ knowledge of musical concepts, confidence in teaching all eight musical concepts to children, as well as teaching music to children of varying ages. No significant differences were found for the preservice teachers’ perceptions of classroom teachers’ musical knowledge and skills nor for integrating musical concepts into the curriculum.

An implication for teacher educators is that one methods course may be insufficient for developing preservice teachers’ procedural knowledge. Differences in preservice teachers’ prior experiences and content area coursework, whether in mathematics or music, also may account for any disparities in their perceptions and confidence in teaching the concepts to children. Within one semester, it is possible to enable novices to develop their knowledge of what to teach, but becoming proficient or confident in how to teach may require more coursework, time, and practice. Hence, future studies should focus on comparisons of preservice teachers with differing levels of content knowledge, as well as investigating their longitudinal development of content and procedural knowledge after graduation as they teach in their own classrooms.

Effects of Targeted Intervention on Early Literacy Skills ofAt- Risk Students

-Wang & Algozzine

American educators responsible for teaching children to read continuously seek the most effective programs, strategies, and assessments to identify children at risk for reading failure and offer appropriate remediation. The problems of struggling readers and non-readers are neither recent phenomena nor easily solved with short-term programs and quick fixes. Successful reading intervention programs, such as Reading Recovery, require several dimensions, including a strong theoretical foundation, highly trained professionals, valid assessments, ongoing observations of children, and a range of effective strategies and appropriate texts. This study adds to the body of research on early intervention through its randomized trial of intensive reading interventions for Ist- graders.

This study took place in an urban school system serving a multiethnic population. Six partner elementary schools were selected for the study after each met a set of criteria, which included full implementation of the school district’s early reading intervention program, a literacy instructional block of 120 minutes, more than 40 percent of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, and assessment performance accountability ratings of “at standard” or above. Two schools were randomly selected to serve as the control group and four received the reading intervention. The Dynamic Indicators of Basic Literacy Skills (DIBELS) was administered to Ist- graders in each school to determine which students were at risk for reading failure, as shown by their combined scores on three subtests (Letter Naming, Phonemic Segmentation, and Nonsense Words) that fell within the “emerging” or “some risk” range. The DIBELS scores identified 139 first-graders whose scores were within the specified range; the treatment group consisted of 101 children; the control group had 38 children, with both groups comparable in terms of gender and ethnicity. The DIBELS also was used as a post-test, along with three subtests of the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test-Revised- Word Attack (WA), Word Identification (WI), and Passage Comprehension (PC). Graduate assistants implemented the treatment program, which consisted of a series of 110 scripted lessons targeting five areas: phonemic awareness, alphabetic understanding, decoding, fluency, and sight words. Treatment students received the intervention during the 10-15 minutes of independent work time in their literacy instructional block while the control group had core curriculum activities. The graduate assistants were observed throughout the study to ensure that they were implementing the interventions as designed and a rating scale was used to evaluate each observation.

When the data were analyzed, there were statistically significant differences between the fall and spring average reading skills in favor of the treatment group. Both groups made statistically significant gains on the DIBELS phoneme segmentation fluency subtest; however, the treatment group made significant gains on the Word Identification and Word Attack tests, while the control group did not.

Several implications for intervention programs emerge from these findings. The targeted intervention program shares many elements of Reading Recovery that ensure struggling readers’ success. Both require specific program training prior to implementation for the teachers/staff who will be responsible for teaching. Teachers/staff receive intensive and continuing professional development to hone their skills and teaching repertoires. Regular observations of teaching sessions ensure that program integrity is maintained and that children receive individually appropriate instruction. The interventions take place in individual or small-group settings. Data from both initial and ongoing assessments are used to make decisions about instruction and adjust the lesson content to support the child’s progress. Early intervention at the beginning of the child’s schooling is usually more successful and less time-consuming than remediation in the later grades. However, longitudinal studies of children who received successful early intervention are needed to demonstrate any lasting effects and to convince policymakers that these programs deserve their financial support.

Skinner Meets Piaget on the Reggio Playground: Practical Synthesis of Applied Behavior Analysis and Developmentally Appropriate Practice Orientations

-Warash, Curtis, Hursh, & Tucci

What is a quality preschool environment? How can teachers meet the needs of a range of young children who vary in language, culture, and abilities? The authors present a unique perspective on how early childhood educators may incorporate and infuse more than one educational philosophy into their programs. The commonalities shared by constructivism and behaviorism are presented as a means of addressing and reconsidering developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) and focusing on the child’s potentials, rather than deficits.

The Reggio Emilia preschool system is included as one example of a program recognized for its best practices, as well as for its blend of two philosophical perspectives-Piaget’s focus on the individual child and Malaguzzi’s on social interaction. Further, Reggio teachers are likely to probe and question children to encourage thought as well as prompting their cognitive disequilibrium. According to the authors, Reggio teachers expect children to work to their full capacity without being overly concerned about self-esteem. Reggio environments are acknowledged for addressing the “children with special rights” and assisting them in meeting their potential. Finally, the authors propose that applied behavioral analysis can be merged with Reggio and DAP to design a preschool program.

A behavioral model of intentional teaching, the Competent Learner Model (CLM), was blended with Reggio and DAP to form the theoretical framework for the West Virginia University Nursery School. Special educators will be familiar with the components of CLM-direct instruction, precision teaching, and applied behavioral analysis, which are intended to promote the learner’s repertoires and subsequently enable the learner to function independently. While initially developed for children with autism or profound behavioral difficulties, CLM is appropriate, the authors report, for children experiencing difficulties in regular preschool environments. The authors also discuss the value of direct instruction for promoting initial learning and literacy. A scenario of a teacher working with an immature boy was presented to illustrate how CLM can gradually scaffold and build a child’s social and language skills. It is likely that readers of this article will find themselves reconsidering their philosophical perspectives about DAP.

Rebecca P. Harlin

Florida Atlantic University

Copyright Association for Childhood Education International Summer 2008

(c) 2008 Journal of Research in Childhood Education; JRCE. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.