Dutch Kindergarten Research Articles

Ready for handwriting? A reference data study on handwriting readiness assessments.

Early evaluation of writing readiness is essential to predict and prevent handwriting difficulties and its negative influences on school occupations. An occupation-based measurement for kindergarten children has been previously developed: Writing Readiness Inventory Tool In Context (WRITIC). In addition, to assess fine motor coordination two tests are frequently used in children with handwriting difficulties: the modified Timed Test of In-Hand Manipulation (Timed TIHM) and the Nine-Hole Peg Test (9-HPT). However, no Dutch reference data are available. To provide reference data for (1) WRITIC, (2) Timed-TIHM and (3) 9-HPT for handwriting readiness assessment in kindergarten children. Three hundred and seventy-four children from Dutch kindergartens in the age of 5 to 6.5 years (5.6±0.4 years, 190 boys/184 girls) participated in the study. Children were recruited at Dutch kindergartens. Full classes of the last year were tested, children were excluded if there was a medical diagnosis such as a visual, auditory, motor or intellectual impairment that hinder handwriting performance. Descriptive statistics and percentiles scores were calculated. The score of the WRITIC (possible score 0-48 points) and the performance time on the Timed-TIHM and 9-HPT are classified as percentile scores lower than the 15th percentile to distinguish low performance from adequate performance. The percentile scores can be used to identify children that are possibly at risk developing handwriting difficulties in first grade. WRITIC scores ranged from 23 to 48 (41±4.4), Timed-TIHM ranged from 17.9 to 64.5 seconds (31.4± 7.4 seconds) and 9-HPT ranged from 18.2 to 48.3 seconds (28.4± 5.4). A WRITIC score between 0-36, a performance time of more than 39.6 seconds on the Timed-TIHM and more than 33.8 seconds on the 9-HPT were classified as low performance. The reference data of the WRITIC allow to assess which children are possibly at risk developing handwriting difficulties.

The impact of lexical skills and executive functioning on L1 and L2 phonological awareness in bilingual kindergarten

This study investigated the role of lexical skills and executive functioning on L1 Dutch and L2 English phonological awareness in children enrolled in bilingual Dutch/English kindergarten in The Netherlands (n = 95) and monolingual Dutch kindergarten (n = 83). Participants had an average age of 5 years and 10 months and completed tasks on phonological awareness, lexical skills (vocabulary and lexical specificity), and executive functioning (sustained visual and auditory attention, behavioural self-regulation, and verbal short-term memory) in the L1 Dutch and the L2 English. Dutch phonological awareness was predicted by self-regulation and verbal short-term memory. English phonological awareness was directly predicted by Dutch phonological awareness and visual sustained attention. The results highlight the importance of executive functioning such as sustained attention, behavioural self-regulation and short-term memory in first and second language learning in kindergarten, and support cross-language transfer effects from L1 to L2 phonological awareness among bilingual learners.

From Representation to Participation: Rethinking the Intercultural Educational Approach to Folktales

In multi- or intercultural educational contexts, folktales from around the world are often approached as representative of diverse cultures and used to transmit knowledge and understanding of the literary, social and cultural heritage of those cultures to children. In this article, I present contemporary critical literary, folklore and cultural studies’ perspectives to argue that this approach is conceptually problematic, risks reifying reductive notions of cultural difference, and does not take into account children’s active role in meaning-making processes. As an alternative, I suggest an understanding of the potential intercultural educational benefits of folktales from diverse cultural traditions in terms of children’s intercultural participation. Drawing on qualitative empirical data from a large-scale reading intervention program in Dutch kindergarten and second grade groups, this article illustrates how children from diverse cultural backgrounds use their diversity of knowledge and experience to interpret folktales from diverse cultural traditions. Based on these preliminary findings, I identify several possible intercultural benefits to be gained from valuing children’s culturally diverse contributions in today’s culturally diverse classrooms. While several limitations need to be taken into account, I argue that further research into the potential intercultural benefits of folktales should not only focus on issues of textual representation, but also on children’s active intercultural participation.

Improving kindergarten teachers’ differentiation practices to better anticipate student differences

This article presents the findings from a teacher intervention in Dutch kindergartens aimed at improving teachers’ differentiation practices (DP) to better anticipate student differences. The intervention was designed to improve the match between student levels and curricular activities, in particular for high-ability students and consists of three components. A pretest–posttest cluster randomised design was used with three conditions: control (n = 34), pilot intervention (n = 32) and improved intervention (n = 34). Quantitative results demonstrate that the intervention fidelity was relatively high in the improved intervention. Correlations confirmed that teacher-reported DP were higher in schools where the intervention was more completely implemented. DP were enhanced in both intervention conditions, but showed greater improvement in the improved intervention. Qualitative data revealed process characteristics that reflect problems schools encounter with this intervention. Teachers can be supported in improving DP, but this requires school-wide intensive and long support.

Factors affecting intervention fidelity of differentiated instruction in kindergarten

This paper reports on the findings in the first phase of a design-based research project as part of a large-scale intervention study in Dutch kindergartens. The project aims at enhancing differentiated instruction and evaluating its effects on children’s development, in particular high-ability children. This study investigates relevant intervention fidelity factors based on [Fullan, M. (2007). The New Meaning of Educational Change. New York: Teachers College Press]. A one-year intervention in 18 K-6 schools was conducted to implement the screening of children’s entry characteristics, differentiation of (preparatory) mathematics and language curricula, and a policy for the differentiation and teaching high-ability children. The intervention fidelity and implementation process were scored for each school using data from observations, field notes and log books. Self-report questionnaires measured participants’ perceptions of the intervention (n = 35 teachers, 18 principals). Quantitative results showed that intervention fidelity differed between schools. Qualitative analyses of perceptions and cross-case analyses of three kindergartens showed that a strong need, pressure from parents, an involved principal, and teacher time and motivation contributed to successful implementation. Implementation barriers were the innovation’s complexity, teacher beliefs, an absent principal and low teacher motivation (which was partly due to communication problems). Implications for interventions in general and differentiated instruction for high-ability children in particular are discussed.

The unique role of lexical accessibility in predicting kindergarten emergent literacy.

The goal of this longitudinal study was to examine how lexical quality predicts the emergence of literacy abilities in 169 Dutch kindergarten children before formal reading instruction has started. At the beginning of the school year, a battery of precursor measures associated with lexical quality was related to the emergence of letter knowledge and word decoding. Confirmatory factor analysis evidenced five domains related to lexical quality, i.e., vocabulary, phonological coding, phonological awareness, lexical retrieval and phonological working memory. Structural equation modeling showed that the development of letter knowledge during the year could be predicted from children’s phonological awareness and lexical retrieval, and the emergence of word decoding from their phonological awareness and letter knowledge. It is concluded that it is primarily the accessibility of phonological representations in the mental lexicon that predicts the emergence of literacy in kindergarten.

Shared reading at kindergarten

This paper presents a single case-study of a longitudinal shared reading programme that took place in Dutch kindergartens with first language speakers of 4 to 6 years old. As will be shown, children participate both in a traditional instructional structure and in a participation framework characterised by a more or less free discussion. These structures establish an optimal learning environment both together and in relationship to each other. Our case study demonstrates how the teacher and the pupils participate in these successive frameworks and how this supports the construction of conceptual knowledge. It will be shown that participation during shared reading of picture books at kindergarten is directly linked to interactional learning opportunities.

Development of the Writing Readiness Inventory Tool in Context (WRITIC)

ABSTRACTThis article describes the development of the Writing Readiness Inventory Tool in Context (WRITIC), a measurement evaluating writing readiness in Dutch kindergarten children (5 and 6 years old). Content validity was established through 10 expert evaluations in three rounds. Construct validity was established with 251 children following regular education. To identify scale constructs, factor analysis was performed. Discriminative validity was established by examining contrast groups with good (n = 142) and poor (n = 109) performers in paper-and-pencil tasks. Content validity was high with 94.4% agreement among the experts. Two reliable factors were found in the performance of paper-and-pencil tasks with Cronbach's alphas of 0.82 and 0.69 respectively. The contrast groups differed significantly in two WRITIC subdomains: “Sustained attention” and “Task performance”. Our findings indicated that the WRITIC is feasible for use in the classroom.

Profiles of Child Developmental Dimensions in Kindergarten and the Prediction of Achievement in the First and Second Grades of Primary School

A successful transition from kindergarten to 1st grade requires a positive combination of multiple dimensions of child competence. Using latent class analysis, we simultaneously examined the academic skills, work attitude, and social/behavioral competence of a large sample of Dutch kindergarten children to identify profiles of kindergarten competence. We tested the predictive power of the profiles by means of multivariate multilevel analyses with language, arithmetic, and work attitude scores as outcome variables. Research Findings: Five profiles of children with distinctive combinations of skills were identified. The results showed that the profile solution forms a significant basis on which to predict later performance. In particular, children in the 2 profiles with the highest kindergarten competence levels perform significantly better in Grade 1 than children with less advantageous skill sets, an effect that tends to increase in magnitude at the end of Grade 2. Practice or Policy: We suggest a practical validation of these profiles to be used as tools for tailoring learning opportunities in kindergarten according to children's skill sets.

The interactional structure of explanations during shared reading at kindergarten

This study investigates explanatory discourse within the setting of shared reading at kindergarten. It reports on a qualitative study of 36 whole-class shared reading sessions at three Dutch kindergartens with children aged between 4 and 6 years. The videotaped shared reading sessions are transcribed and analysed according to the methodology of conversation analysis. It will be shown that explanatory discourse in whole-class shared reading sessions gets established by orientation to an object of attention from a picture book that might need an explanation. Additionally, it will be illustrated that once a first explanation has been given, this might turn into a longer set of explanatory sequences that can be characterised by either an instructional or a discussion framework. Participating in explanatory discourse during shared reading enables pupils to practice providing explanations for events or behaviour that transcend their own experiences.

Design of educational and ICT conditions to integrate differences in learning: Contextual learning theory and a first transformation step in early education

Educational differentiation and ICT can be designed to better recognize and integrate learning differences across students particularly by assisting instructional management and the self-regulation of students. A conceptual framework for such practice is elaborated here. First, learning as an interactional co-constructive process at various levels is considered. The diagnostic, instructional, management, and system aspects of the learning process can be stimulated and maximized. Second, differentiation of learning procedures and materials, design of integrating ICT support, and improvement of development and learning progress are recommended as contextual conditions to optimize the learning process. The combination of the learning aspects with these contextual conditions provides theoretical guidelines for the transition from a nondifferentiating system of education to a differentiating, ICT-based system of instructional management for all students. Information is given about the realization of two of the differentiation guidelines and all ICT design guidelines. The first products were used in kindergarten, to start the improvement of educational practice. This occurred in co-development with kindergarten teachers of three Dutch kindergartens. Information is given about the process and outcomes of this first transformation step in practice. Finally, next co-development steps are discussed.

Designing a digital instructional management system to optimize early education

The individualization of curriculum features and the matching of those features with learner characteristics (optimization) may help to stimulate learning processes, in particular for children at risk. In a pilot study in two Dutch kindergartens, specific individualization and optimization conditions were codeveloped with teachers and school management. In order to realize the desired changes, a prototype of a digital instructional management system called the Digital Planning Board was developed, implemented and evaluated. Future research aims at the further development of a pedagogical-didactic kernel structure, integrating instructional management software in new instructional practices.

Playing and working in kindergarten: cognitive co-construction in two educational situations

The sociocultural model of learning and development is proposed as a comprehensive framework to study and evaluate practice in early childhood education (ECE). In order to explore the sociocultural concept of cognitive coconstruction, two characteristic educational situations in Dutch kindergartens were compared, namely, free play and work lessons, the first as an instantiation of a child-run and the second as an instantiation of a teacher-run model of ECE. Measures concerned the active participation, intersubjective cooperation, and cognitive distancing of four- to five-year-old children. The study involved 40 target children (mean age 53 months) in seven kindergarten classrooms. Both child-related factors (personality characteristics, cognitive ability, SES of the family) and situation-related factors (peer and teacher behavior, situation characteristics) were found to influence children’s cognitive coconstruction processes. Within the constraints of the Dutch kindergarten curriculum, free play was found to be superior from the sociocultural point of view.

Item type comparisons of language comprehension tests

Several test procedures are available to measure language comprehension. In this article two tests with different item types are compared. The tests are the Dutch Reynell test - in which the subject has to carry out verbal instructions - and the BELL test - in which the subject has to select which of four pictures best represents a given statement. We studied the contribution of the type of item, and the linguistic features of the item to the prediction of item difficulty. Both tests were administered to 64 Dutch kindergarten children with an average age of 70.3 months. The simple correlation between type of item and item difficulty is relatively high (.40). However, regression analyses indicate that type of item does not contribute significantly to the prediction of item difficulty. The linguistic features of the item, in contrast, do. The two tests cover successive age ranges. The results therefore indicate that the BELL test can be used as a follow up test of the Reynell test for language comprehension.

Screening Children's Entry Characteristics in Kindergarten

Screening children's entry characteristics in kindergarten may help parents and teachers to support the development of every child. To concretize this potential assistance, a pilot screening questionnaire was developed for parents as well as kindergarten teachers. To evaluate the reliability and predictive validity of this questionnaire for four‐year‐old children, longitudinal research was carried out. For the pilot instrument as well as for criterion instruments and biographical variables, data on 778 children in 63 classes of 24 Dutch kindergartens were collected. Factor analysis, alpha scale analysis, and multilevel analysis were used to reveal psychometric qualities. Reliability and predictive validity of the screening questionnaire turn out to be acceptable. While checking on co‐variables at pupil level and non‐specified variance at class level, parents can accurately screen at entry the language proficiency level, the pre‐arithmetic level, and the degree of extraversion of their child. Also, teachers are able, at the end of the first month in kindergarten, to predict a child's level of language proficiency, degree of extraversion, and work attitude. Early screening can therefore contribute to the child‐oriented cooperation between parents and teachers from a child's entry in kindergarten onwards.

Taalleren in de Kring. Een Vergelijking Tussen Vrije en Onderwerpgebonden Kringgesprekken in Kleutergroepen

Sharing-time' is a common, purely verbal, group activity between teacher and pupils in Dutch kindergarten. The choice of a conversation is usually free. The children and the teacher are in a circle and the main purpose is to improve the social skills of the students. It would be beneficial if this time could also be used to stimulate language skills. The question, however, is whether a conversation with a free-choice topic is capable of stimulating language proficiency effectively. Our paper reports on a comparison between three free-choice conversations and three so-called subject-centered conversations, in which the subject of discussion is predetermined and made tangible by means of a concrete object. These two types of conversation were compared on the feedback strategies, minimal responses, types of questioning, turn giving, and recognizing pupil input. The most important findings show that in the subject-centered conversations the teachers gave more feedback and different types of questioning were used. The results, and the fact that the pupils were clearly more motivated, lead us to the tentative conclusion that subject-centered conversations are better for the language development of young children than free-choice conversations. Further development of this didactic tool therefore deserves serious attention.

War Toy Play and Aggression in Dutch Kindergarten Children

AbstractThe play behavior of 54 four to seven‐year‐old Dutch children in the presence of a standard set of war toys and neutral toys was related to five groups of variables, i.e., parental attitude, possession of war toys at home, the habitual aggressiveness of the child in daily life, the characteristics of the toys themselves, and the play situation. Real object‐ or person‐oriented aggression was rare and was not related to play with the war toys. Suppression of aggression by the experimental situation seemed unlikely. During play, the levels of involvement and fantasy were generally high. Regularly, playful fighting was observed, differentiated as Make‐Believe‐Aggression and Rough‐and‐Tumble. These two Play ‘Aggression’ factors, and Real Aggression, could be predicted from other variables, principally from gender, the influence of session partners, play involvement, type of war toy used and parental attitude.

War Toy Play and Aggression in Dutch Kindergarten Children

War Toy Play and Aggression in Dutch Kindergarten Children

Positive discrimination in Dutch kindergarten teaching

Positive discrimination in Dutch kindergarten teaching