Kindergarten Age Research Articles

Symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and home learning environment (HLE): findings from a longitudinal study

The concept of “Home Learning Environment” (HLE) covers activities in a family providing intellectual stimulation for a child, such as reading to him or her or visiting libraries. Numerous studies have shown an association between HLE and children's cognitive development. In this longitudinal study, we focus on HLE as a predictor for children's behavioral development, namely, for later symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), controlling for relevant aspects like socioeconomic status (SES), or television viewing behavior. We analyzed the development of ADHD symptoms from kindergarten to the end of grade 2 and possible associations with HLE, SES, and television exposure, using a German community sample (N = 924). Results indicated that ADHD symptoms were negatively and significantly correlated to HLE for all five measurement points as well as to SES (except T4) and to television exposure for T1 to T4. Observing later development, only early HLE but not SES or television exposure served as a significant predictor for ADHD symptoms at school, when age, sex, and ADHD symptoms in kindergarten were controlled for. A structural equation model showed that HLE acted as a mediator between SES and later ADHD symptoms. Our results highlight the importance of the concept of home learning environment also for children's behavioral development. As a consequence, parents should be supported in offering their children a more favorable learning environment.

EFFECTS OF AN EVIDENCEBASED DANCE PROGRAM (TANZPRO-BIODANZA®) FOR KINDERGARTEN CHILDREN AGED FOUR TO SIX ON IMMUNEGLOBULINE A, TESTOSTERONE AND HEART RATE

Present study addresses the question of the effects of the evidence based TANZPRO-Biodanza®-Program (Stueck & Villegas, 2009, Stück, 2013) based on BIODANZA by Rolando Toro and Cecilia Luzzi (Toro, 2010). TANZPRO-Biodanza® is the nonverbal part of the School of Empathy concept by Marcus Stueck (Stueck, 2013), which was developed in the project “Healthy Lifestyles in Kindergardens” of the Geman Ministry of Health (2009 until 2011). Biodanza is a contact and motion-based intervention method with auto-regulative claim on immune competence and the autonomic system of children of kindergarten age. The evaluation took ten weeks. A TANZPRO®-Biodanza class with girls aged four to six was carried out from September 2011 until December 2012. The immunological parameters immunoglobuline A and testosterone as well as the autonomic heart rate parameters were collected before and after each TANZPRO®-Biodanza sessions of the course as a process variable. Especially, the reduced testosterone levels after the meetings in the saliva of children show positive effects of the method on the immune system. The decrease of IgA levels after TANZPRO®-Biodanza in the saliva of children towards age norm might be due to an immune regulative effect. The specific effects of TANZPRO®-Biodanza on heart rate towards a mean level show improvement of physical autoregulatory processes. Key words: auto regulative immune competence, empathy, Immuneglobuline A, TANZPRO®-Biodanza, testosterone.

Auditory Event-Related Potentials Measured in Kindergarten Predict Later Reading Problems at School Age

Identifying children at risk for reading problems or dyslexia at kindergarten age could improve support for beginning readers. Brain event-related potentials (ERPs) were measured for temporally complex pseudowords and corresponding non-speech stimuli from 6.5-year-old children who participated in behavioral literacy tests again at 9 years in the second grade. Children who had reading problems at school age had larger N250 responses to speech and non-speech stimuli particularly at the left hemisphere. The brain responses also correlated with reading skills. The results suggest that atypical auditory and speech processing are a neural-level risk factor for future reading problems. [Supplementary material is available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Developmental Neuropsychology for the following free supplemental resources: Sound files used in the experiments. Three speech sounds and corresponding non-speech sounds with short, intermediate, and long gaps]

Big Brothers Don't Take Naps by L. Borden

Borden, Louise. Big Brothers Don't Take Naps. Illus.Emma Dodd. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2011. Print.A sweet, playful look at what older siblings do for their adoring youngers. The book is large-format, and Dodd often draws the children actual-size, which can make for an immersive feel of being in the page. The drawings are fairly simple ink drawings, which emphasize the emotions of the characters well, and they use much colour. The design also plays with fonts and text layout, making space for the adult reader to be a bit more playful in the reading – for example, the rocket ship countdown. As well as naming all the things big brothers can do, the story hints at a family secret: a new baby sister is coming, so Nicholas can himself now be a big brother. The book is a warm, positive story that children up to Kindergarten age will love.Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: Allison SivakAllison Sivak is the Assessment Librarian at the University of Alberta Libraries. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Library and Information Studies and Elementary Education, focusing on how the aesthetics of information design influence young people’s trust in the credibility of information content.

Neurotoxicity of sedative and analgesia drugs in young infants with congenital heart disease: 4‐year follow‐up

To determine whether sedation/analgesia drugs used before, during, and after infant cardiac surgery are associated with neurocognitive and functional outcomes. Some animal models suggest neurotoxic effects of anesthetic drugs on the developing brain; however, potential human effects are unknown. Whether these results can be extrapolated to humans is unknown. Prospective follow-up project of all infants ≤6weeks old having surgery for congenital heart disease between 04/03 and 12/06. Demographic, perioperative, and sedation/analgesia variables were collected. Outcomes at kindergarten age were Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-III, Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual Motor Integration (VMI-V), and General Adaptive Composite (GAC) of the Adaptive Behavior Assessment System-II. Multivariable linear regression was used to identify predictor variables. From 135 infants who underwent heart surgery, 19 died, 17 were excluded, 8 were lost to follow-up, leaving 91 children for analysis. Multiple linear regression found days on chloral hydrate [3.5 (3.7) days] was associated with lower performance intelligence quotient (PIQ) (Effect size -1.03; 95% CI -1.96, -0.10; P=0.03), and cumulative dose [54.2 (60.3) mg·kg(-1) ] of benzodiazepines was associated with lower VMI scores (Effect size -0.07; 95% CI -0.12, -0.01; P=0.026). No other associations were found between sedation/analgesia variables and full-scale IQ, PIQ, Verbal IQ, VMI, or GAC. Assessment of this cohort at kindergarten age found a small statistically significant association between days on chloral hydrate and PIQ, and benzodiazepine cumulative dose and lower VMI. No other association between sedation/analgesia drugs and outcomes was found.

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.

Explaining the mathematical creativity of a young boy: an interdisciplinary venture between mathematics education and psychoanalysis

First results of the project “Mathematical Creativity of Children at Risk” (MaKreKi) will be presented. The project is conducted in the interdisciplinary research center “Individual Development and Adaptive Education of Children at Risk” (IDeA [http://www.idea-frankfurt.eu; accessed 7 June 2013]). Combining a socio-constructivist approach of mathematics education with a psychoanalytic theory of attachment, two foci of analysis are examined: the interactional reconstruction of working processes of creative children while they are confronted with mathematical problems in a cooperative learning situation and a psychoanalytically oriented reconstruction of the psychodynamic background of a mathematically creative child in its family. In this article, one case study is presented. Theoretical considerations that combine the psychoanalytic findings with the results of the socio-constructivist analyses are presented. This combination offers an innovative and unique perspective on the mathematical creativity of young children in preschool, kindergarten and primary school age.

Research on mathematics learning at the “Center of Individual Development and Adaptive Education” (IDeA)—an introduction

In 2008, the research center “Individual Development and Adaptive Education” was constituted by the Goethe University, the German Institute for International Educational Research, and the Sigmund Freud Institute, all located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany (http://www.idea-frankfurt.eu). The research of the center focuses on the development of children in preschool, kindergarten, and primary school age by including and combining cognitive, neuro-cognitive and socio-emotional factors. The Special Issue “Early Years” reports about the research activities concerning mathematics learning in the early years.

The ability of second graders to identify solids in different positions and to justify their answer

From a young age children feel the need to identify two-dimensional geometric figures (shapes) and three-dimensional geometric figures (solids). The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics indicates the importance of being able to identify and name various geometric figures by kindergarten age. One of the objectives of this study was to learn the ability of second graders to identify examples and non-examples of three generally known solids: cylinder, cone and pyramid, and to justify their identification based on the attributes (critical and non-critical) of those solids. Another objective was to find out whether changing the position of the solids would result in those children maintaining their decisions regarding the name or changing their identification of the solids, giving arguments accordingly. Findings of this study illustrate that children can identify and characterise solids presented to them in a typical position. However, they find it difficult to correctly identify the same solids in another position. An interesting finding was that most of the arguments given to justify their identification were based on the specific attributes of the solid rather than on the perception of the solids in general. Findings of the present study suggest that it is highly important for learners to be acquainted with a variety of both non-examples and examples of solids. Moreover, it is recommended that solids are presented to learners not only in the typical position, in order to improve their ability to identify them and understand that the name of the figure does not change when its position changes.

Maya the Bee, Scooby Doo and other stories: How the public and private distinction is depicted in children’s bidialectal interactions in kindergarten

The complex notion of the public/private distinction of social spheres has not been systematically investigated in sociolinguistics; particularly in the case of bidialectal kindergarten age children and how they construct their social lives around this distinction in a public environment such as that of school. No simple continuum can clearly illustrate the distinction between public and private since the dividing line between the two is discursively renegotiated and recreated. Hence, the distinction between the two is normally characterised by fluidity rather than stability. This is the case in educational settings where it is firmly institutionalised. In this study, the public/private distinction is analysed as a communicative phenomenon in kindergarten children’s linguistic practices in two varieties. The data illustrate that young children separate their social spheres into ‘public’ and ‘private’ by skilfully employing linguistic variation. That said, the distinction children make between the two spheres is not always predictable, not only due to the instability in the boundaries that separate one sphere from the other but also due to differences in speakers’ linguistic ideologies regarding the use of specific varieties in certain communicative practices.

Maya the Bee, Scooby Doo and other stories: How the public and private distinction is depicted in children’s bidialectal interactions in kindergarten

The complex notion of the public/private distinction of social spheres has not been systematically investigated in sociolinguistics; particularly in the case of bidialectal kindergarten age children and how they construct their social lives around this distinction in a public environment such as that of school. No simple continuum can clearly illustrate the distinction between public and private since the dividing line between the two is discursively renegotiated and recreated. Hence, the distinction between the two is normally characterised by fluidity rather than stability. This is the case in educational settings where it is firmly institutionalised. In this study, the public/private distinction is analysed as a communicative phenomenon in kindergarten children’s linguistic practices in two varieties. The data illustrate that young children separate their social spheres into ‘public’ and ‘private’ by skilfully employing linguistic variation. That said, the distinction children make between the two spheres is not always predictable, not only due to the instability in the boundaries that separate one sphere from the other but also due to differences in speakers’ linguistic ideologies regarding the use of specific varieties in certain communicative practices.

‘Place’ as conceptual centre: a methodological focus on the bodily relations, movements and expressions of children up to three years of age in kindergarten

The purpose of this article is to show how attention on ‘place’ can be productive in methodology concerning the bodily relations, movements and expressions of children up to three years of age who are enrolled in kindergarten. While research that has adopted a hermeneutic and phenomenological approach has contributed to important knowledge concerning young children, we propose re-thinking methodology that takes children’s bodily relations, movements and expressions into concern. Using ‘place’ as a lens, we show how power relations are interrupted and allow for alternative ways for the researcher to relate to data. Inspired by Somerville (2010), elements of place are situated at the centre of the research analysis. The three key elements of place that are put to work are as follows: our relationship to place is constituted in stories and other representations; place learning is local and embodied; and place is a contact zone for cultural contact. The paper is part of a research project which explores how place can be more explicit in educational practices to strengthen kindergarten as a learning arena. We seek to explore how place relations work and what they have the possibility of producing in the analyzing process.

Factors predicting severe childhood obesity in kindergarteners

Severe obesity has increased >300% in US children since 1976, and is associated with multiple cardiovascular risk factors and high adult obesity rates. The objective of this study was to identify predictors of severe obesity in kindergarteners. Multivariable logistic regression and recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) were used to identify prenatal/pregnancy, infant, and early childhood predictors of severe kindergarten obesity (body mass index (BMI) 99th percentile) in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Birth Cohort, a nationally representative longitudinal study that followed children from birth through kindergarten. For the 6800 children, the severe kindergarten obesity prevalence was 5.7%, with higher adjusted odds for crossing the 85th percentile of BMI at 2 years old (odds ratio (OR), 8.0; 95% confidence interval (CI), 4.1-15.7), preschool age (OR, 7.9; 95% CI, 4.9-12.8) and 9 months old (OR, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.2-2.6); maternal severe obesity (OR, 3.4; 95% CI, 1.9-5.8) and gestational diabetes (OR, 2.9; 95% CI, 1.5-5.5); drinking tea or coffee between meals/before bedtime at 2 years old (OR, 3.3; 95% CI, 1.3-8.5); Latino (OR, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.4-3.7) and multiracial (OR, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.1-4.8) race/ethnicity; and drinking sugary beverages at kindergarten age at least weekly (OR, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.4-3.7). Ever-attending center-based daycare (OR, 0.3; 95% CI, 0.1-0.9), eating fruit at least weekly at kindergarten age (OR, 0.3; 95% CI, 0.1-0.7), and maternal history of a prior newborn birth weight 4000 g (OR, 0.1; 95% CI, 0.02-0.6) were associated with reduced odds of severe obesity. RPA identified low severe obesity prevalence (1.9%) for non-85th BMI-percentile preschool crossers and high severe obesity (56-80%) for predictor clusters which included crossing the 85th BMI percentile at earlier ages, low parental education, specific maternal age cutoffs, preschooler bedtime rules, and outside walking/play frequency for 9-month-olds. Certain parental, prenatal/pregnancy, infant, and early childhood factors, both alone and in combination, are potent predictors of severe obesity in kindergarteners.

Application of the world health organization child growth standards for growth evaluation in children from two kindergartens in međimurje county

The World Health Organization new growth standards have been developed using a methodology designed to determine the optimum rate of child growth and development. To achieve this goal, breastfed children living in a favorable socioeconomic environment, whose mothers do not smoke, were used as the baseline population. The resulting standard curves of growth have been issued for preschool children and reference curves established for school children. After their publication in December 2006, these standards have been accepted by many countries, while some other reference values have remained in use in only a few countries. With the aim of introducing the World Health Organization growth standards in our country, a small research was conducted in Međimurje County. Forty-two Romany children and 44 age-matched children of the majority population were included and measured as recommended by the World Health Organization. Romany children were found to significantly lag behind the majority population children both in body weight and height. Our data showed usefulness of the new standard growth curve in growth monitoring of preschool children. Also, study results showed the Romany children of kindergarten age to significantly lag in growth and body mass behind the new standard growth curve. According to the World Health Organization weight-for-age values, the majority population children showed 16% overweight and 15% obesity.

The Association of Kindergarten Entry Age with Early Literacy Outcomes

ABSTRACT The authors investigated whether age at kindergarten entry was associated with early literacy achievement gaps and if these gaps persisted over time. Using the kindergarten age eligibility cutoff date, they created 2 groups of students who represented the oldest and youngest children in a cohort of students in high-poverty, low-performing schools. The authors followed 405 students from the beginning of kindergarten until the end of Grade 2. Results indicated that the youngest students scored lower than their oldest peers at the beginning of kindergarten on various early literacy measures. The early-age achievement gap, however, narrowed over time but did not close completely by the end of Grade 2. Implications for parents and educators are discussed.

Gene-by-preschool interaction on the development of early externalizing problems.

Preschool involves an array of new social experiences that may impact the development of early externalizing behavior problems over the transition to grade school. Using longitudinal data from a nationally representative sample of over 600 pairs of US twins, we tested whether the genetic and environmental influences on externalizing problems differed between children who did versus did not attend preschool. At age 4, the genetic and environmental etiology of externalizing did not differ by preschool attendance. In contrast, by age 5 years (kindergarten age), the genetic and environmental etiology of externalizing significantly differed by preschool attendance. Among children who did not attend preschool, externalizing at age 5 was predominantly due to environmental influences (52% shared environment, 34% non-shared environment) rather than genetic differences (13%), whereas among children who had attended preschool, externalizing at age 5 was primarily due to genes (67%), and shared environmental influences were negligible (0%). These interactions represented the differential longitudinal persistence of genes and environments that contributed to externalizing at age 4. Sensitivity analyses ruled out confounding due to early mental ability, socioeconomic status, minority status, child age, and prior history of childcare. These results indicate that preschool enrollment is associated with increased genetic and decreased shared environmental influences on the development of early externalizing behavior problems.

Młodociani w świetle prawa i badań kryminologicznych

The article discusses the problem of young adult offenders in the light of provisions of current Polish criminal law and of criminological studies on this category of convicts over the years. Polish criminal code of 1997 in the article 115 paragraph 10 defines a young adult offender as a person 21 years old who commits a crime or a person under 24 years who is tried in a court of first instance. Two basic issues are involved in the notion of a young adult offender. First the age limits of the subject, second the character of penal measures to be used towards this particular category of offenders. Both issues are discussed at length in the article, particularly with respect to the fact that criminal law makes use of scientific findings from sociology, psychology and medicine to create normative regulations concerning conditions of liability of young adult offenders for their unlawful acts. As an example, one may discuss particular normative directives of the sentence provided for a young adult offenders as the court is obliged to, most of all, educate and resocialise. Educational and resocialisation aspect of the punishment does not mean that young adult offender are treated leniently, sometimes it may indicate a longer time of resocialisation and, at the same time, a longer imprisonment sentence to execute this objective . While sentencing a young adult offender, the court should decide in such a manner so that the liability of the accused is directed more into educational model than repressive one, yet this does not denote resignation from administering the penalty of unconditional imprisonment. Still, it needs to be admitted that in the Polish legal system there are few concrete provisions of law which define in detail how a young offenders should be treated which, according to the author, is somehow concerning. There are significant differences in criminal execution law. First, as a rule, young adult offenders should be imprisoned separately from adult ones. This is understandable because of susceptibility of young people to influence and pressure from adults. Moreover, young adult offenders are subject to system of programmed educational and resocialisation measures during imprisonment, which on one hand seems right, on the other evokes a series of questions and reservations. Discussion of normative situation of young adult offender are illustrated with selected criminological studies carried out so far concerning this category of offenders. Reported results of research show that young adult offenders have typical features characteristic for the whole group. Information on dysfunctional families and alcohol problems are always present. It is accompanied by low education level of their parents and their unemployment. Problems in the behavior of such offenders appear already in kindergarten age and increase during school education while the education process itself leaves a lot to be desired.

Psychological Stresses and Abuse of Kindergarten Children among Working and Non- Working Mothers

The study goal was to investigate the stress among working and non-working mothers and the abuse of their kindergarten age children. Two instruments were developed to measure the stress with two versions for working and non-working mothers, and a child abuse tool. Face validity and retest reliability were conducted. The stress tool contained 25 Items. The tools were administered to a sample of 400, working (200) and nonworking (200) mothers in Amman. A t-test for independent samples was used to test the difference between means of stress and child abuse for working and non-working mothers. Also, two-way analysis of variance was conducted to find the mean differences of the three abuse dimensions: physical, psychological and neglects for working and non-working mothers. Results showed statistical difference (p < 0.05) between means of stress in favor of working mothers, but the difference between means of abuse was in favor of nonworking mothers. The results also showed statistical significant differences (p < 0.05) in the three domains of physical, psychological and neglect abuse, in favor of the non-working mothers. Implications and recommendations for future studies were suggested.

Psychological Stresses and Abuse of Kindergarten Children among Working and Non- Working Mothers

The study goal was to investigate the stress among working and non-working mothers and the abuse of their kindergarten age children. Two instruments were developed to measure the stress with two versions for working and non-working mothers, and a child abuse tool. Face validity and retest reliability were conducted. The stress tool contained 25 Items. The tools were administered to a sample of 400, working (200) and nonworking (200) mothers in Amman. A t-test for independent samples was used to test the difference between means of stress and child abuse for working and non-working mothers. Also, two-way analysis of variance was conducted to find the mean differences of the three abuse dimensions: physical, psychological and neglects for working and non-working mothers. Results showed statistical difference (p < 0.05) between means of stress in favor of working mothers, but the difference between means of abuse was in favor of nonworking mothers. The results also showed statistical significant differences (p < 0.05) in the three domains of physical, psychological and neglect abuse, in favor of the non-working mothers. Implications and recommendations for future studies were suggested.

Children's Play: a tool for Public Health interventions

All children need to spend some time playing outdoors. In Northern European countries, schools are equipped with outdoor facilities where children can play during breaks between lessons. The Italian school system, oriented to a mnemonic learning approach, has attached a poor importance to the role of playing for kindergarten age children, and Italian kindergartens are not so well equipped for children's active play. Furthermore, Italian teachers and parents worried that while playing outdoors, children might catch a cold or hurt themselves, and discourage active play outside. The equipment of kindergartens' open spaces with wooden games, where children can play in the morning or after school, resulted in children's increased time of playing outdoors. These playgrounds are also used during vacation day time by children to play and in the evenings, for theatrical and animation events. Finally, watching over their children when playing, "forced" parents to talk to each other creating a social network.