Teaching reading in the early years: exploring home and kindergarten relationships

This study investigated the relationship between home and kindergarten with regard to helping children with reading in Jordan. Interviews with parents of four‐ to five‐year‐old kindergarten students (n = 40) and their teachers (n = 20) were conducted. Results indicated that, although there was cooperation between parents and teachers, the role of teachers in encouraging parental involvement in their children's reading was quite limited. Results also indicated that teachers consider parental involvement as unhelpful since (1) they look at parents as unqualified persons to take a role in teaching reading, and (2) parents usually pressure teachers to employ inappropriate methods to teach children how to read. However, parents expressed their willingness to be involved when teachers give them the opportunity. Most parents think they need to know the appropriate methods to teach children how to read. This study identified the need for educating parents about kindergarten goals and appropriate activities.     

A measure of emerging print knowledge in young children

There is a need for more comprehensive assessments of young children's emerging print knowledge. Traditional letter and numeral identification assessments score children's responses as either correct or incorrect and this approach can underestimate what children know. The present study tested an assessment scale that scored three- and four-year-old children's (N?=?69; M age?=?49.17 months) responses along a continuum from no letter and numeral name knowledge, to using a mix of non-conventional and conventional names, through to full mastery. Compared to traditional scoring, the new scale was more comprehensive because it included more elements of each child's emerging knowledge of letter and numeral identification and was more sensitive to individual differences among children. The emergent print identification scale can be used to inform learning and teaching in the early years classroom and be used in early literacy research.     

Estonian preschool teachers' views on learning in preschool

As in many Western countries, children's learning in the curriculum of Estonian Early Childhood Education is seen as a lifelong process, wherein the teacher is primarily a guide to children's active learning. Thus, a child-centred approach to learning is valued in the national curriculum, but our interest was whether this approach is fixed in the teachers' views. The aim of this survey study was to identify and examine the most important aspects of children's learning according to preschool teachers' perceptions and to determine if there are any differences in teachers' opinions according their background. In the survey (N?=?729), a structured questionnaire was used for data collection. The results show that children's own initiative and active participation in the learning process, as well as in everyday activities, are largely considered to be more important than direct guidance by a teacher, although the latter was considered important, too.     

Phonological awareness and emerging reading skills of two- to five-year-old children

This study, conducted in Finnish private and Montessori child care centres, aimed at investigating the development of the phonological awareness (PA) of two- to five-year-old preschool children within a six-month period in relation to emerging letter knowledge and reading skills. The children (N?=?72) performed five phonological tasks and a vocabulary test, a letter knowledge test and a reading skills test twice; in the beginning, when knowing no letters, and at the end of the study. The results show that the children's performance in the different phonological tasks improved over a six-month period. Detecting word structure or blending phonemes were easier than producing rhymes or twisting. The children who had learned to recognize letters performed better in phonological tasks than the children who had not learned any letters, but children able to read precociously exceeded all. Our results appear to indicate that learning letters does not require previous PA ability but affects PA.     

Relationship between emergent literacy and early social–emotional development in preschool children from low-income backgrounds

Sixty-one preschool children and their parents and teachers participated in a cross-sectional study of the social–emotional correlates of emergent literacy skills. The children's emergent literacy skills were assessed with the standard language and literacy tests: Expressive Vocabulary Test, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (third edition), and Test of Early Reading Ability (third edition). These tests measure oral language (expressive language and receptive language) and print awareness. The children's positive and negative behaviours were measured by the standard behaviour rating scales: the Behavior Assessment System for Children (second edition) and the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment. These behaviours are grouped into four subcategories, namely, externalising behaviour, internalising behaviour, approaches to learning, and interpersonal skills. Results showed a wide range of significant associations between the components of emergent literacy and social–emotional development. Age and sex were found to moderate these significant correlations in different ways. Implications for educational practitioners and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

The mediating role of emotional control in the link between parenting and young children's physical aggression

Aggression in early childhood has been found to predict future psychopathology, academic problems, and delinquency. In a sample of 136 mother–child pairs (M_age?=?4 years, 11 months, SD?=?11 months, 58% boys) associations among mothers’ responding with distress to children's negative emotions, children's emotional control, and children's physically aggressive behaviours were explored. Children's emotional control problems mediated the relation between mothers’ distress responses and children's physical aggression – higher levels of distress responses by mothers to children's negative emotions were associated with increases in emotional control problems in children, which in turn were associated with higher levels of children's physical aggression. Contrary to expectations, children's negative emotionality (i.e. temperament) did not significantly moderate the association between mothers’ responding with distress to children's negative emotions and children's emotional control problems. Results emphasize the importance of focusing on children's emotional control skills and adaptive maternal responses to children's negative emotions.     

Character Recognition as an Alternate Measure of Television Exposure Among Children: Findings From the Alam Simsim Program in Egypt

Evaluation of effects of mass media–based health interventions requires accurate assessments of exposure, which can be difficult to obtain when young children are the primary audience. Alam Simsim, the Egyptian version of Sesame Street, aired nationally in Egypt to teach preschoolers about numeracy, literacy, and gender-equitable attitudes. The purpose of this article was to assess the effect of the program through a first-of-its-kind household-level survey that interviewed caretakers (n = 426) and preschoolers (n = 486). The authors introduced and tested the efficacy of a parsimonious measure of exposure: children's recognition of the primary characters of the program. Overall, the authors' models explained as much as 53% of the variance in children's learning; exposure to the program was significantly associated with learning. Furthermore, the parsimonious measure of exposure was as effective as a more elaborate child-reported measure. Relative to these two measures of exposure, caretakers' report of children's viewing was not as good a predictor of learning.     

Learning environment and type of goals: how it affects preschool children's performance and their perceptions of their performance?

The aim of this research was to study the effect of learning environment and type of goals on: (a) preschool children's performance during a play, (b) preschool children's perception of their performance and (c) preschool children's satisfaction. Fifty-six preschool children (24 boys and 32 girls; M_age?=?5.5 years) took part in this study. The children played a game three times with different goal and under different learning environment each time. Results showed that preschool children had higher performance when the game was conducted under the presence of their classmates independently of the type of goal being set by the researchers. Furthermore, the vast majority of preschool children evaluates their performance as very good and answered that they felt happy in every condition.     

Using dialogic reading to enhance emergent literacy skills of young dual language learners

This study examined the effects of an early reading intervention on preschool-age dual language learners' (DLL) early literacy skills. Instruction in phonological awareness and alphabet knowledge was embedded in interactive reading strategies, also known as dialogic reading. A single subject multiple baseline across subjects design was applied to 15 DLL preschool children. The intervention was delivered in participating children's home language, Spanish (L1). Children's growth in emergent literacy skills in Spanish and in English was monitored during baseline and intervention conditions. Visual analysis of single subject graphs indicated gains across all participants. In addition, paired-samples t-tests showed significant growth between pre- and post-tests in both English and Spanish of participating children. The findings have implications for research, practice, and policy-making.     

Disclosure of parental HIV/AIDS to children in rural China

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the complex issue of disclosure of parental HIV/AIDS to children in rural China. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with children affected by HIV/AIDS aged 8–17 (n?=?16), their caregivers (n?=?16) and key informants in the community (n?=?5). Findings showed that most children were shielded from knowing the HIV/AIDS status of their parents, although many children may have drawn their own conclusions through observation or sources outside the family. Caregivers felt discouraged and hesitated to discuss parental HIV/AIDS with children due to societal stigma and lack of knowledge and skills. Interventions are needed to improve caregivers' skills to communicate about HIV/AIDS with children. Interventions are also needed to reduce the stigma and discrimination towards people living with HIV/AIDS and their families.     

“Books are Fun,Books are Great”

Television has been shown to influence young children's development of attitudes and skills. Evidence also suggests that children's television programs contain both positive and negative messages about various topics, including literacy. Yet little has been done to examine whether and how television messages about literacy affect young children's attitudes about literacy. Guided by three theoretical frameworks (Emergent Literacy perspective, Active Viewing model, and Social Cognitive Theory), this investigation involved two experiments in which 4- and 5-year-olds (N1 = 63; N2 = 52) in the US viewed clips that contained positive or negative messages about literacy. The General Literacy Attitudes Measure (GLAM) and the Specific Literacy Attitudes Measure (SLAM) were employed. Results from both experiments suggest that, although participants understood the varying messages, the messages had little significant effect on their attitudes. Limitations as well as directions for future research are discussed in light of these findings.     

Home literacy beliefs and practices among low-income Latino families

The aim of this study was to explore within-group patterns of variability in the home literacy environments (HLEs) of low-income Latino families using latent profile analysis. Participants were (N?=?193) families of Latino preschoolers enrolled in a larger study. In the fall of 2012, mothers filled out a family literacy practices inventory, a literacy beliefs inventory, and a socio-demographic questionnaire. Results revealed three psychometrically distinct HLE profiles. Profile 1 (37%), labelled Low Beliefs, Low Practices (LBLP), was characterized by very low incomes, low caregiver education, reading infrequently to children, primarily speaking Spanish and reported lowest literacy beliefs and practices. Profile 2 (16%), labelled Moderate Beliefs, Moderate Practices (MBMP), was also low income, had few books in the home, read in both English and Spanish to their children, and held moderately facilitative literacy beliefs and practices. Profile 3 (47%), labelled High Beliefs, High Practices (HBHP), reported the highest literacy beliefs and practices, highest percentage English-speaking, read more often to children, and had more books in the home. These findings highlight considerable variability in terms of literacy beliefs and practices among Latino families. The profiles have practical relevance in terms of children's readiness at school entry and working with their families.     

Playful and creative ICT pedagogical framing: a nursery school case study

This article reports on the findings of a one-year qualitative study in which a nursery school used information and communication technology (ICT) and a digital media consultant as a catalyst for cultural change leading to teachers’ improved pedagogical framing and children's enhanced learning dispositions. The pedagogic framing included the children making mini-movies and avatars which were uploaded onto the nursery website. It is argued that such innovative and creative ICT pedagogy was strongly motivational and afforded opportunities for co-construction and sustained shared thinking (SST) as it engaged with children's and families’ digital cultural habitus. The research reports on field notes, interviews and observations (n?=?15) of child peer interactions and teacher child interactions.     

A shared reading intervention with parents to enhance young children's early literacy skills

A pragmatic randomised controlled trial was used to investigate the effects of two forms of shared reading on children's language and literacy skills. Parents of 80 children in the preparatory year of school participated in an eight-week home reading intervention. Families were assigned to one of three groups: dialogic reading (DR), dialogic reading with the addition of print referencing (DR + PR), or an attention-matched control group. Analyses of change from pre- to post-intervention showed significant effects for the DR and DP+PR groups compared to the control group on three of the six emergent literacy measures: expressive language, rhyme, and concepts about print. At three-month follow-up assessment, the two intervention groups maintained significantly better performance on the measure of concepts about print only. These findings illustrate the potential of a brief home-based intervention for promoting children's emergent literacy.     

Extra-textual talk in shared book reading: a focus on questioning

In this study we investigated the frequency and types of questions asked when parents read with their four-year-old children, the relationship between the frequency and types of questions parents and children asked, and the relationship between these and the children's early literacy knowledge. Forty dyads shared two narrative texts and two non-narrative texts. Overall, there were relatively few questions asked during the shared book reading. Parents asked four times as many questions as children and for the most part, questions appear to have low cognitive demand. Genre had little effect on the frequency of questions and the types of questions asked, in contrast with other research that has shown differences in interactions in shared reading of informational versus narrative texts. In terms of gender, there was very little difference in both frequency and type of questions. No significant relationships were found between the questions asked in the shared book readings and measures of children's early literacy knowledge (Test of Early Reading Ability 2 and alphabet knowledge). The study is important in that it contributes to an emerging literature that suggests a more tenuous relationship between shared book reading and children's early literacy knowledge than is sometimes assumed by educators.     

Helping Hands for Healthy Living: A Collaborative Service Learning Project with Occupational and Physical Therapy Students

The purpose of this article is to describe the development of a unique interdisciplinary service-learning course and to evaluate the impact of this experience on allied health students' professional development. One hundred and twenty-seven students from occupational and physical therapy programs served medically uninsured individuals (n = 170) at a community health clinic through provision of direct patient care services, depression screens, and a health promotion program. Surveys and personal reflections were used to measure the outcome of the course. The results indicated that student cognitive skills, ability to work with diverse populations, social responsibility, beliefs and opinions about service learning, and appreciation of each other's discipline were enhanced by their participation in the class.     

Approaches to learning among occupational therapy undergraduate students: A cross-cultural study

Background: Students may adopt various approaches to academic learning. Occupational therapy students’ approaches to study and the impact of cultural context have not been formally investigated to date.

Aim: To examine the approaches to study adopted by undergraduate occupational therapy students from four different cultural settings.

Method: 712 undergraduate occupational therapy students (n?=?376 from Australia, n?=?109 from Hong Kong, n?=?160 from Norway and n?=?67 from Singapore) completed the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST). A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to compare the ASSIST subscales for the students from the four countries.

Results: Post-hoc comparisons using the Tukey HSD test indicated that the mean scores for the strategic approach were significantly different between Australia and the other three countries. The mean scores for the surface approach were significantly different between Australia and Hong Kong, and Hong Kong and Norway. There were no significant differences between the deep approach to studying between Australia, Norway, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Conclusion &; implications: Culture and educational context do appear to impact the approaches to study adopted by undergraduate occupational therapy students. Academic and practice educators need to be cognizant of what approaches to studying the students they work with adopt.     

Promoting phonological awareness skills of Egyptian kindergarteners through dialogic reading

The present study examines the effect of dialogic reading (DR) on the promotion of Arabic phonological awareness skills (including syllable awareness, rhyme awareness, and phoneme awareness) of Egyptian kindergarteners. The participants were 67 children enrolled in the second level of kindergarten (ages 5–6), assigned to an experimental group (n?=?35) or a control group (n?=?32). Kindergarten Inventory of Phonological Awareness was developed by the author in the light of relevant previous studies. Pre-tests and post-tests were administered to the participants in the two groups. In between the two tests, the experimental group engaged in DR activities designed to improve their phonological awareness skills, using an alphabet storybook, designed and developed by the author, presented to the whole class via PowerPoint, while the control group participated in regular classroom activities. The findings suggest that children in the experimental group had higher phonological awareness levels in the post-tests than those in the control group. The specific design of the DR activities may be responsible for these changes.     

Parents' perezhivanie supports children's development of emotion regulation: a holistic view

Parents play an influential role in children's emotional development. Numerous quantitative studies have examined the correlations between a single dimension of parents' emotion socialisation practices (e.g. parental emotion expression or attitudes) and children's emotional development. However, little attention has been paid to a holistic view of parents' role in children's emotional development. Drawing upon a cultural-historical theory, this study takes a holistic perspective for examining how parents create the conditions for children's emotional development in everyday family life. Data (n?=?61 hours of video observation and interviewing) collected from four families of preschool children in Australia suggest that parents' perezhivanie supports the development of children's emotion regulation. It is argued that perezhivanie must be conceptualised as a collective unity of affect, intellect, and act that reflects both the subject and the environment in researching children's emotional development. Practical suggestions for supporting the pedagogical practices of families and for framing professional training programmes are also provided.     

Mother–child joint writing in an environmental print setting: relations with emergent literacy

Mother–child dyads (N?=?35) were videoed as they wrote a shopping list in an environmental print-rich grocery shop play setting. The children (M age?=?4.3 years) were assessed on emergent literacy skills (letter name and sound knowledge, print concepts, phonological awareness, and letter and name writing). Mothers' general level of print and grapho-phonemic mediation during the joint-writing task was scored. After controlling for child age, maternal print and grapho-phonemic mediation of children's writing were both positively related to letter sound knowledge. Grapho-phonemic mediation was positively related to print concepts. A particular focus of this study was to investigate mothers' natural use of surrounding environmental print to scaffold writing. Only four mothers used environmental print to scaffold their child's writing. These mothers applied a variety of strategies including pointing out letters, describing letter shapes, and encouraging copying of letters and words from product labels and signs. There were no obvious differences between those who did or did not use environmental print in demographic factors, emergent literacy skills, or maternal mediation during joint writing. Despite there being only a small number of mothers who used environmental print, the range of strategies observed highlights the need for further research into using environmental print to scaffold children's emergent writing.