Preschool Participation Research Articles

Observational Learning of Academic and Social Behaviors During Small-Group Direct Instruction

Many studies have shown that small-group direct instruction is effective and efficient for teaching students with and without disabilities, although relatively few studies have been conducted with heterogeneous groups of preschool participants. In addition, previous studies have primarily assessed whether observational learning occurred for academic behaviors directly taught to peers. In this study, we assessed target and observational learning of both academic and sharing behaviors. Results show that children with and without disabilities learned all of their own target academic behaviors and at least some of their peers’ target academic behaviors, that children without disabilities learned to share by observing their typically developing peers do so, and that most participants generalized sharing to contexts similar to classroom activities.

Using Benefit-Cost Analysis to Scale Up Early Childhood Programs through Pay-for-Success Financing.

Increasing access to high-quality preschool programs is a high priority at local, state, and federal levels. Recently, two initiatives to expand preschool programming in Illinois and Utah have used funds from private investors to scale up existing programs. Private-sector social impact investors provide funding to nonprofit or public preschool providers to increase the number of children served. If the measured outcomes from preschool participation meet pre-determined goals, then the estimated government cost savings arising from these preschool interventions are used to repay the investors. Social impact investing with a "Pay for Success" contract can help budget-constrained governments expand proven or promising preventive interventions without the need to increase taxes. Cost-benefit analysis plays a crucial role in helping to identify which social, educational or health interventions are suitable for this type of innovative financing. Cost-benefit analysts are needed to design the structure of the success payments that the government will make to the private investors. This paper describes social impact borrowing as a new method for financing public services, outlines the contribution of cost-benefit analysis, and discusses the innovative use of social impact financing to promote scaling up of the evidence-based Child Parent Centers and other early childhood programs.

The effects of exposure to an enhanced preschool program on the social-emotional functioning of at-risk children

Social and emotional skills facilitate school readiness, yet evaluations of preschool programs typically focus on the cognitive benefits of early education and rarely examine the impact of preschool on “non-cognitive” outcomes. This study used propensity score matching to create two groups of preschool participants to compare how preschool duration was associated with children's emotion knowledge, social competence, and behavioral adjustment at kindergarten. Subjects were drawn from an evaluation study of a comprehensive public preschool program that included an evidence-based social-emotional curriculum. Compared to children who participated in one year of the preschool program, children who attended for two years were rated by teachers as exhibiting greater levels of social competence over time from the first year of preschool to kindergarten. At kindergarten, children who attended the program for two years demonstrated higher levels of emotion knowledge. Implications of the results for preschool interventions are discussed.

Preschool teachers’ views on children's learning: an international perspective

This comparative study investigated the perspectives of preschool teachers in Australia, Denmark, Estonia, German, Greece and Sweden about learning and participation in preschool. A structured survey questionnaire investigated four main questions: What situations can be characterised as learning? What activities are important for learning? What are the best conditions for children's learning? How do preschool teachers understand participation in relation to children's learning in preschool? Results suggest that play, interactions with other children and adults, the provision of different activities and teacher support are important for children's learning. While similarities were noted, results indicate some disparity between countries and a further in-depth interview-style study is recommended to provide a deeper understanding of teachers’ perspectives and practices around children's learning.

Environmental Considerations

This study examined differences in the quantity of child vocalizations (CVs) between preschool and home environments using the Language Environmental Analysis (LENA). The sample included monolingual English-speaking children ( n = 27) and Spanish–English speaking dual language learners ( n = 30). A two-way mixed effects analysis of variance with one between-subjects effect (language) and one within-subjects effect (setting) was conducted to examine whether there was a significant difference in CVs between home and school settings, and whether that contrast differentially affected monolingual and English language learner (ELL) preschool participants. Overall, there was a significant difference in average hourly CVs between home and preschool environments with a higher rate of CV at home than at school for both monolinguals and ELLs. Results support the need to carefully consider the environment in communication sampling, recognizing that child vocalization counts (CVCs) may vary by environment.

Children’s participation in preschool documentation practices

The Swedish preschool curriculum not only prescribes documentation and quality assessment, it also requires children’s participation in the documentation process, although it offers no directions on how the documenting should be done, which can leave teachers unsure of how to do it. This study differs from research that presents pedagogical documentation as a way of enabling children’s participation in preschool in that it explores children’s participation in producing different forms of documentation in a Swedish preschool – and it finds that such participation is complex. The findings imply that, whether documentation is activity-integrated or retrospective, different forms of participation are possible.

Where did I come from? US parents' and preschool children's participation in sexual socialisation

This paper applies a sociology of childhood approach to the study of the sexual socialisation of young children in the USA. It examines both children's and parents' active participation in this dynamic and collaborative process through conversations between 49 parents and their 54 preschool children that were audio-recorded while they read books about ‘where babies come from’. Parents also participated in a brief survey. The authors found that, while parents do foreclose such conversations as previous research has indicated, they also use a variety of other tactics, including adding information and emotion management. These findings illustrate children's active engagement in their own sexual socialisation through their questions, confusions and distractions, which affected the amount and type of information that was elicited.

Curriculum planning and the concept of participation in the Reggio Emilia pedagogical approach

ABSTRACTThe article analyses two defining assumptions about the Reggio Emilia (RE) approach: the absence of a planned curriculum designed in advance as a basis for educational work and children's participation in preschools. The authors demonstrate that different approaches to planning preschool education have advantages and disadvantages, which we cannot avoid, even if we decide against curriculum planning. They believe it is more reasonable to insist on the convergent use of the strategies of curriculum planning, which helps maintain their advantages, while providing safeguards against their shortcomings. When discussing children's (and parents') participation in preschool, the authors emphasise that such participation has objective limits, which the RE approach fails to address. In preschools it is not only such rules that apply which have been agreed upon and where it has been possible to reach a consensus. We should not overlook the fact that the preschool is an institution which functions according to the rules and norms whose important elements are imposed from the outside – that is, they do not come from the institution's management, its professional workers or parents. Preschool, therefore, cannot function as if its teachers, parents and children had no limits other than those they decide and agree upon themselves.

From Understanding to Utilizing: Theory of Mind and Children’s Distributive Justice

Distributive justice is the core content of children's moral development. Its development describes a child's progressive understanding and application of what constitutes fairness during resource distribution. Previous work has suggested that younger children often allocate rewards in a self-interest centered manner as a result of limited cognitive abilities. However, recent studies have indicated that 3- to 5-year-old children could perform fair distribution, even infants hold the expectation of resource allocation according to one's effort. Incidentally, the dual-process theory emphasized that there are two different underlying processes of children's distributive justice: the automatic emotional process and the controlled cognitive process. Given that children should first attribute others' beliefs and intents, and hereafter take account of each person's contributions through understanding and making use of high-level distributive justice principles, Theory of Mind(ToM) may participate an important role during this procedure. Based on current understandings, in order to get a clear overview of distributive justice development and its underlying mechanisms, this study aims in investigating how children's Theory of Mind affect the two aspects of distributive justice(distributive justice judgment and distributive justice behavior) in the involved and uninvolved contexts. Experiment 1 focused on the relationship between Theory of Mind and children's distributive justice judgment in two different contexts(involved and uninvolved). 61 preschool participants aged from 4- to 5participated in the Giving Game and 40 adult participants completed the Giving Game Context Questionnaire. The results from the uninvolved context indicated that judgments made by children who passed the Theory of Mind tasks were similar to the judgments by the adults', and both Theory of Mind and uninvolved context promoted children's distributive justice judgment. Experiment 2 explored the question of how Theory of Mind affected children's resource distributing behavior using distributive justice principles. This study compared the influence of Theory of Mind of 61 4- to 5-year-old children's distributive justice behavior in the involved context, with the impact under uninvolved context. The results showed that there was an interaction between Theory of Mind and the involvement of distribution context. Under involved context, children who passed Theory of Mind tasks performed much more fairly than the children who didn't pass; whereas in uninvolved context there were no group differences. Together, these two experiments associated a link of how children would understand distributive justice principles, and how they could use in allocating resources. On the basis of the whole structure, Theory of Mind may have stable and context-sensitive impact on children's distributive justice. This brought support to the dual-process theory, where automatic emotional process is dominant under involved context, while controlled cognitive process is guiding the uninvolved context. These results provided enriched evidence for current researches and brought new perspectives for future studies. Meanwhile, we can improve children's development of distributive justice by strengthening their Theory of Mind abilities over training, which is valuable for educational purposes.

The Influence of Early Intervention Length on the Participation of Low Socioeconomic At-Risk Preschool Boys: A Two-Group Control Study

This study compared the effect of length—1 (shorter) versus 2 (longer) years—of a multi-model, multidisciplinary, school-based early intervention program on improving children's preschool participation, occupational performance, and performance skills both within activities and out of context (graphomotor, motor, and cognitive skills). Using a pre-post, two-group intervention design, low socioeconomic preschool boys, at risk for developmental delays, were assigned to a 2-year (n = 28) or a 1-year (n = 30) intervention program. While both group outcome measures improved following intervention, the outcome measures of the longer-group were significantly better than the shorter-group, except for performance skills out of context. Longer interventions appear to be more beneficial for at-risk preschool children.

A Comparison of Activity-Based Intervention and Embedded Direct Instruction When Teaching Emergent Literacy Skills

This replication study focused on the effectiveness of two different intervention approaches, activity-based intervention and embedded direct instruction, on the acquisition, generalization, and maintenance of phonological awareness, a key area of emergent literacy, by preschool children with language delays. Five male preschool participants with language delay were treated with a modified alternating-treatments design. Embedded direct instruction was more effective and efficient in the acquisition of phonological awareness skills for preschool children with language delays. Embedded direct instruction was also more effective in the generalization of emergent literacy skills to probe generalization sessions, as well as in the percentage of maintained skills. Preschool children who are at risk of acquiring foundational skills necessary for the development of conventional literacy would benefit from an explicit, systematic instructional approach. Embedded direct instruction provided the structure necessary to promote effective and efficient acquisition of skills, as well as generalization and maintenance of learning.

Early education and health outcomes of a 2001 U.S. Birth Cohort

This paper looks at health outcomes, health behaviors, and health screening with respect to participation in Early Childhood Care and Education. With information on health status at multiple periods in time, we are able to look at whether healthier children select into early childhood education (as measured by center-based preschool care and Head Start), as well as whether early childhood education has immediate and near-term effects on a range of health status measures. There is some evidence that child obesity is ameliorated by participation in center-based preschool or Head Start and this finding is supported by clear evidence of improved nutrition and increased levels of health screening. Effects on other health outcomes such as asthma, ear infections, and respiratory problems may be partially masked by unobserved heterogeneity.

Teacher–child relationships, behavior regulation, and language gain among at-risk preschoolers

Many preschoolers from low socioeconomic-status (SES) backgrounds demonstrate lags in their language development, and preschool participation is viewed as an important means for mitigating these lags. In this study, we investigated how teacher–child relationship quality and children's behavior regulation within preschool classrooms were associated with grammar gain for low-SES preschoolers. Direct child measures and indirect teacher reports were used to assess child language gain, teacher–child relationship quality, and behavior regulation for 173 preschool children enrolled in targeted-enrollment preschool classrooms. Hierarchical linear modeling showed a positive link between close teacher–child relationships and preschoolers' grammar gain during the school year. Interestingly, a significant interaction between conflicted teacher–child relationships and children's behavior regulation indicated that multiple factors are associated with children's language development in the area of grammar. Nurturing classroom environments and strong behavior regulation abilities may act as protective mechanisms for preschoolers from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Theory of Mind and Self-Concept

Preschool participants from Korea ( N = 56, mean age = 5 years, 4 months) and the United States ( N = 56, mean age = 5 years, 1 month) responded to tasks assessing self-concept and understanding of false belief. Korean children scored higher on the self-dimension of Traditionalism and lower on the dimension of Social Potency than did American children, a finding in accord with the hypothesis that the Korean culture fosters a relatively interdependent conception of the self. Korean children also outperformed American children on the measure of false belief. In contrast to previous research with Western samples, the nature of the false belief problem (inanimate object, voluntary person movement, involuntary person movement) did not significantly affect performance in either culture. Finally, variations in self-concept showed some but limited relations to false belief performance; in general, relatively interdependent self-responses were predictive of good false belief performance.

Hands-On Parent Empowerment (HOPE) Project: Comparing Implementation in Social Service Centres and Preschools

This project examined the effectiveness and implementation of an early intervention program for children from new immigrant families in Hong Kong in two delivery settings, preschools and social services centres. Participants included 141 new immigrant mothers with preschool children, from 13 preschools and two social services centres. The preschool participants were randomized into an intervention group (30-session HOPE program) and a comparison group (six-session program) at the preschool level, while participants from the two social services centres attended the 30-session HOPE program. Results indicated that the HOPE participants in preschools and social services centres reported lower post-intervention child behavior problem scores than the comparison group. Preschool HOPE participants reported higher post-intervention social support than the social services HOPE participants and comparison group participants. Qualitative information from preschool principals and centre supervisors indicated different dynamics within the two settings. Implications and suggestions for service delivery were discussed.

Effectiveness of a Novel Pediatric Obesity Prevention Program on Endurance and Flexibility of Preschool Participants

A not-for-profit community hospital in the Southeast seeks to prevent and treat childhood obesity by observational learning and active participation in the context of a simulated home environment, the Healthy House. A Wellness Fitness, Awareness & Nutrition (FAN) program was developed, emphasizing energy balance, towards this goal. The fitness component utilizes active play to engage preschoolers in expending energy through fun indoor and outdoor activities. PURPOSE: This study was designed to determine the effect of a preschool fitness program on cardiovascular endurance and flexibility. METHODS: Subjects (N=116) were recruited through the local Head Start program whose faculty transported 3-5 yr old children to the Healthy House. Children participated in 45-min FAN sessions (9) in consecutive months over the academic year. The 15-min fitness protocol/session included aerobic and muscular strengthening exercises, sports and balance skills and stretching. Initial and ending BMI, 6-inch step test (no. steps/30 sec) and sit-n-reach test measurements were collected. RESULTS: African American (AA), Hispanic and Caucasian children comprised 95% of subjects. Female (48.3%) and male subjects' mean age was 4 yrs, 3.8 mos. Population mean BMI increased (16.63 to 16.78) significantly (p=.032) over the study period. However, BMI analyses by ethnicity and gender revealed a significant increase only among AA (p=.018) and females (p=.001). Baseline endurance was 14.45 steps on average for preschool subjects. A significant improvement in endurance was observed at academic year end when the mean 6-inch step value was 17.75 (p<.001). Participants showed an overall decrease in flexibility as measured by the sit-n-reach. While this decrease was not significant for males, females, Hispanic or Caucasian subjects, the decrease observed in the AA preschoolers was statistically significant (p=.005). CONCLUSION: The FAN program emphasizes active play over stretching, which correlates with the study findings of improved endurance and flexibility loss. In adults, obesity and co-morbidities are greater for African Americans than for either Hispanics or Caucasians. This research may suggest the pattern for obesity has already been set in motion by preschool age. Supported by Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust Grant.

The beneficial effects of preschool attendance on adult cardiovascular disease risk

To assess the effect of South Australian Kindergarten Union participation on adult cardiovascular behavioural risk factors. Using a retrospective cohort design, this study examined the effect of attendance at a Kindergarten Union preschool from 1940 to 1972 on behavioural risk factors for cardiovascular disease in adults 34-67 years. Dichotomous outcomes were analysed using a generalised linear model (Poisson distribution) with robust variance estimates. Outcomes with more than two categories were analysed with a multinomial logistic model. There was a beneficial effect of preschool on high physical activity relative to sedentary and on ever smoking, but a negative effect on fruit consumption. Preschool attendance was not associated with alcohol risk or vegetable consumption under traditional criteria, however the point estimate for vegetable consumption was in the beneficial direction. The point estimates from the multinomial model suggested a step-wise decreasing risk for preschool attendees to have less risk of experiencing multiple behavioural risk factors (e.g. risk of five risk factors for preschool participants compared with non-participants). Attendance at a Kindergarten Union preschool was associated with a reduced risk of two and an indication of benefit in a third behavioural risk factor in adulthood. This study provides some evidence for the potential health benefit of interventions outside of the health sector to prevent cardiovascular diseases, which are strongly associated with lifelong social disadvantage.

Age 26 Cost–Benefit Analysis of the Child‐Parent Center Early Education Program

Using data collected up to age 26 in the Chicago Longitudinal Study, this cost-benefit analysis of the Child-Parent Centers (CPC) is the first for a sustained publicly funded early intervention. The program provides services for low-income families beginning at age 3 in 20 school sites. Kindergarten and school-age services are provided up to age 9 (third grade). Findings from a complete cohort of over 1,400 program and comparison group participants indicated that the CPCs had economic benefits in 2007 dollars that exceeded costs. The preschool program provided a total return to society of $10.83 per dollar invested (18% annual return). The primary sources of benefits were increased earnings and tax revenues and averted criminal justice system costs. The school-age program had a societal return of $3.97 per dollar invested (10% annual return). The extended intervention program (4-6 years) had a societal return of $8.24 (18% annual return). Estimates were robust across a wide range of analyses including Monte Carlo simulations. Males, 1-year preschool participants, and children from higher risk families derived greater benefits. Findings provide strong evidence that sustained programs can contribute to well-being for individuals and society.

Does It Bite? The Role of Stimuli Characteristics on Preschoolers’ Interactions with Robots, Insects and a Dog

ABSTRACTWhile there is increasing interest in the impact of animal interactions upon children's wellbeing and attitudes, there has been less attention paid to the specific characteristics of the animals that attract and engage children. We used a within-subjects design to explore how differences in animal features (such as their animacy, size, and texture) impacted upon pre-school children's social and emotional responses. This study examined pre-schoolers' interactions with two animal-like robots (Teksta and Scoozie), two insect types (stick insects and hissing cockroaches) and a dog (Teasel, a West Highland Terrier). Nineteen preschool participants aged 35–57 months were videoed while interacting with the experimenter, a peer, and each stimulus (presented individually). We used both verbal and nonverbal behaviors to evaluate interactions and emotional responses to the stimuli and found that these two measures could be incongruent, highlighting the need for systematic approaches to evaluating children's interactions with animals. We categorized the content of children's dialogues in relation to psychological and biological attributes of each stimulus and their distinctions between living and non-living stimuli; the majority of comments were biological, with psychological terms largely reserved for the dog and mammal-like robot only. Comments relating to living qualities revealed ambiguity towards attributes that denote differences between living and non-living creatures. We used a range of nonverbal measures, including willingness to approach and touch stimuli, rates of self-touching, facial expressions of emotion, and touch to others. Insects (hissing cockroaches and stick insects) received the most negative verbal and nonverbal responses. The mammal-like robot (rounded, fluffy body shape, large eyes, and sympathetic sounds) was viewed much more positively than its metallic counterpart, as was the real dog. We propose that these interactions provide information on how children perceive animals and a platform for the examination of human socio-emotional and cognitive development more generally. The children engaged in social referencing to the adult experimenter rather than familiar peers when uncertain about the stimuli presented, suggesting that caregivers have a primary role in shaping children's responses to animals.

Do Black and Hispanic Children Benefit More From Preschool? Understanding Differences in Preschool Effects Across Racial Groups

Recent studies suggest that the effects of attending preschool vary by race. These findings are difficult to interpret because the likelihood of enrolling a child in preschool also differs across groups. This study used newly released, nationally representative data to examine whether the impact of preschool participation at age 4 varies across racial groups after accounting for selection differences (N = 7,400). Among a subsample of children living below a poverty threshold, no racial differences in preschool impact are detected. However, findings suggest that nonpoor Black children benefit substantially more from preschool than their nonpoor White or Hispanic peers. Implications of these findings are discussed toward understanding the potential of large-scale preschool interventions for narrowing racial achievement gaps.