Preschool Children's Learning Research Articles

Partnership of pedagogues and child care providers for encouraging development and learning in preschool children

Preschool childhood is the period of rapid development in which every age exhibits its own specific traits. Successful education and guidance of preschool children primarily demand taking into account these specific traits, as well as characteristics of individual children. Flexibility, dynamism and openness for continuous exchange with the environment incorporated in the programme model enacted in the preschool institution require constant collaboration between pedagogues and care providers. This paper starts from humane assumptions of partnership and team work, and then investigates the link between the confidence child care providers have in their own self-efficacy and attitudes concerning partnership oriented towards effective support for development and learning in preschool children. The main assumption is that multiple links between self-efficacy in social interaction with pedagogues, attitudes relating to team work and neutral variables can provide useful insights for pedagogic theory and preschool teaching practice. The paper provides new insights into partner activities, approaches and methodological procedures, as well as forms of communication which contribute to learning and development in preschool children, in addition to providing material for further investigation.

Effects of multiple exemplar training on the emergence of derived relations in preschool children learning a second language.

We evaluated the facilitative effects of multiple exemplar training (MET) on the establishment of derived tact relations in typically developing children. A multiple-probe design across stimulus sets was implemented to introduce MET. Participants were first taught to conditionally relate dictated names in English to their corresponding objects (listener behavior; A-B relations), followed by tests for derived tacts (B-A relations). If participants failed these tests, MET was implemented whereby tact relations were explicitly taught with novel stimulus sets, followed by test probes with the original training set. MET continued with novel stimuli until participants met criterion for the emergence of derived tact relations or after exposure to three MET sets. Results indicated failed tests for tact relations following direct training in listener relations, and marked improvements in derived tact relations following MET across all participants.

Object movement in preschool children's word learning

Two studies examined whether preschool children preferred to select a moving object over stationary objects when determining the referent of a novel word. In both studies three- and four-year-olds observed three novel objects, one moving object and two stationary objects. In Study 1, children (n=44) were asked to select the object that best matched a novel word. In Study 2, children (n=45) were asked to select the object that best matched a novel fact. Results across the two studies indicated that three- and four-year-olds showed a preference for selecting the moving object and that this preference was similar for both words and facts. These results suggest that preschool children are able to use movement to determine the referent of a novel word, especially when other cues are unavailable or unhelpful, but that movement may not be uniquely helpful for word learning.

Preschool Children's Multimodal Word Learning

Two studies used a new paradigm to examine preschool children's (i.e., 2-, 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds) word learning across multiple sense modalities. In Study 1 (n = 60), children heard a word for an object that they touched but did not see, while word learning was examined using objects that were seen but not touched. In Study 2 (n = 60), children heard a word for an object that they saw but did not touch, while word learning was examined using objects that were touched but not seen. Findings from both studies revealed that children were able to learn words by coordinating information across multiple sense modalities and that word learning improved with age. These findings are discussed in terms of E. J. Gibson's differentiation theory (1969, 1988).

Improving self‐regulated learning of preschool children: Evaluation of training for kindergarten teachers

In the context of lifelong learning, self-regulated learning is an important competence. Children between 4 and 6 years of age are at a crucial step in their life to develop self-regulatory competence. That is why their kindergarten teachers play an important role as instructors as well as role models. This study tested the effects of self-regulation training for kindergarten teachers concerning their own self-regulation and methods to foster self-regulation in children at preschool age whom they were teaching. In this study, 35 German kindergarten teachers and 97 children participated. All adult participants were graduated kindergarten teachers. The kindergarten teachers were tested with a questionnaire 2 weeks before and after the training. At the same time, the preschoolers were interviewed. A waiting control group design was applied. The results obtained by means of analyses of variance show that the self-regulation of the kindergarten teachers as well as the self-regulated learning of preschoolers whose kindergarten teachers took part in the training improved significantly. The results indicate that it is possible to improve self-regulated learning of preschool children by a training programme for kindergarten teachers.

Lack of "one-shot" learning in preschool children (eye-movement data)

Lack of "one-shot" learning in preschool children (eye-movement data)

Preschool Children's Learning Behaviors, Concept Attainment, Social Skills, and Problem Behaviors: Validity Evidence for Preschool Learning Behaviors Scale Scores

This study provides concurrent and predictive validity and test-retest reliability evidence for scores from the preschool teacher-completed Preschool Learning Behaviors Scale (PLBS; McDermott, Green, Francis, & Stott, 2002) using two regional samples of preschool children aged 3 to 5.5 years (Ns of 61 and 70). Teacher ratings of social skills and problem behaviors were collected using the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales (PKBS; Merrell, 1994), and estimates of preschoolers' basic concept attainment were obtained using the individually administered Bracken Basic Concept Scale (BBCS; Bracken, 1984). Results indicated that preschoolers' adaptive learning behaviors were positively correlated with social skills and negatively associated with problem behaviors but were not significantly related to subsequent basic concept attainment. Four-week test-retest coefficients for the PLBS Total score and Competence Motivation, Attention/Persistence, and Attitude Toward Learning subscale scores were adequate. Results support the unique contribution of PLBS scores in understanding children's responses to learning activities in preschool classroom environments.

Increasing Parental Involvement in the Preschool Curriculum: What an action research case study revealed Accroître la Participation Parentale dans le Programme Préscolaire: Résultats d'une étude de cas d'une recherche-action Aumentar la Participación de los Padres en el Plan de Estudios Preescolar: Lo que reveló un estudio de investigación de medidas

Parental involvement (most commonly mothers' involvement) in preschool children's learning is instrumental in children's educational success. However, parents' work and family commitments prevent most of them from being physically present in preschools and from being involved in their children's learning. An action research approach was used in a case study of Bell Nursery in order to improve the quality of parental involvement among a group of working parents. The High/Scope curriculum was used at Bell Nursery. During periods of 'Plan-do-Review', nursery staff observed that children often planned rich play activities that were connected to their home culture. Three action strategies were implemented to increase and evaluate parental involvement: (1) ask parents and children to plan together at home; (2) observe children's play during 'Plan-do-Review' time; (3) ask parents about their involvement through planning. As a result of parents and children planning together at home, clearer plans of activity wer...

Learning in preschool children with neurological disability.

Infants and children learn through the interaction of their nervous systems with their physical, social, and cultural environments, helped by their peers, parents, and teachers. The failure of such learning to progress normally in preschool children delays their acquisition of developmental skills and may lead to the identification of the child as being “developmentally delayed”. There is increasing understanding of processes underlying learning at different levels of complexity: from changes in synaptic function, through the identification of specific neuronal systems, to the cognitive and perceptual faculties which such systems may support,1 and extending to the logical structures required to represent what is learnt and to guide further learning.2 This has a counterpart in the considerable literature on how a child’s learning may be influenced by social and cultural environments,3 4 by the attitude and responses of parents and carers, and by the child’s ability to interact with them. It is important clinically that we are able to identify impediments to learning in individual children, at such different levels, so that we can assess their effects and develop strategies to optimise subsequent learning for that child. We do not know how to influence damaged brain systems directly, but may be able to reduce the effects of neurological damage on subsequent learning and skill acquisition, which may in turn improve impaired perceptual or memory abilities. How can the child with neurological impairment be enabled to perceive, understand, respond to and explore their environment? Infants and children learn through “active engagement”, doing things together with a parent or carer, who enables and mediates the child’s further exploration and understanding of the environment.3 We wish to provide examples to describe some of the neurological processes which may underlie such “active learning”, and how it might be disrupted when they are …

Symbolic play as a way of development and learning of preschool children in preschool institutions

SUMMARY The paper considers symbolic play in different age groups of children in preschool institutions. Symbolic play was stimulated through two different structured activities and dictation of the preparation and the use of different toys and play materials (i.e. thematic symbolic play and play related to pictorial material). The children's play was videotaped in their home playrooms. The videotapes were analysed by competent observers using Smilansky's scale for assessing dramatic and sociodramatic play. Analysis was aimed at establishing which elements determine the symbolic play of children of different age groups with regard to two different play situations, and how they determine it. At the same time, we wished to set out some critical points which significantly determine the nature and course of symbolic play in different age groups of children in preschool institutions. The research also offers certain applied results, since psychological and educational elements of the analysis of the results can serve as a framework in the search for different options for blending the development and learning of preschool children through symbolic play.

Adults' beliefs about children and mathematics: how important is it and how do children learn about it?

A series of studies was conducted which focused on US adults' beliefs about the relative importance of acquiring mathematical skills for preschool children and about how children acquire these skills. In Study 1, adults rated general information, reading and social skills as all being more important than mathematical skills. They also claimed that parents have the most influence on preschool children's learning regardless of content area. In Study 2, the parents of kindergarten children also rated reading, general information and social skills as all being more important than mathematics in preparing children for the first grade. The more important parents felt mathematics were, the more they reported engaging in a variety of mathematical-related activities with their children. However, the importance they placed on mathematics was not related to their child's actual mathematical performance. In summary, adults seem to value mathematics less than other skills in preparing young children to enter elementary school. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Symbolic play in mixed-age and same-age groups

SUMMARY In Slovenia many mixed-age groups have recently been formed in early childhood institutions. Results of research from various countries show that, in most cases, mixing of children of different ages in early childhood institutions has many advantages. It has an impact on a child's cognitive, social and emotional development, as well as on the social atmosphere of the group. In Slovenia, however, appropriate studies referring to this topic have not been conducted yet. The present research deals with the development of symbolic play, more precisely with the degree of symbolic transformation in same-age and mixed-age groups. In the sample there were four mixed-age and four same-age groups. Several aspects of symbolic play were analysed, especially the content, the degree of complexity and the wholeness of the symbolic transformation. These variables were the basis for the comparison between the children in the mixed-age groups and the children in the same-age groups. The results show some interesting differences in the level of symbolism in the play and also the difference in the degree of complexity between children in both groups. These results have practical implications for preschool teachers. They indicate how and where preschool teachers should stimulate the symbolic play of children as well as some new ways of learning of preschool children.

The Impact of Preschool on Teaching and Learning in Hawaiian Families

This article discusses what happens to teaching and learning in the homes of low‐income Hawaiian families when children attend preschool. Parents develop two distinct scripts for their preschool children's learning: one for learning skills that are used in the home (chores) and another for skills that parents believe prepare children for success in school. The development of these two scripts in the same setting complicates the management of adult‐child relations within Hawaiian families, as well as inhibits the acquisition of literacy skills at home.

Preschool Children's Learning Strategies

Preschool Children's Learning Strategies

Concept Learning in Preschool Children: Effects of a Short-Term Logo Experience

The ability of kindergarten children to solve rule-learning problems following five weeks of LOGO computer experience was compared with that of children not having such experience. Fifteen children were randomly assigned either to a LOGO experience condition or a wait-list control condition. A single-keystroke LOGO was gradually introduced to the children in the LOGO condition. All children were subsequently tested on affirmative and conjunctive rule-learning tasks. Children receiving LOGO instruction had a significantly higher proportion of correct responses on two problem-solving tasks than children in the control condition ( p < .05). Frequencies of subjects correctly solving each problem revealed no statistically significant differences between conditions ( p's > .10). The kindergarten children adapted easily to the use of the computer and the single-keystroke LOGO. Suggestions for future research are presented.

Interference effects on preschool children's learning sets

Four experiments investigated interference in 5-year-olds' learning sets. Experiment 1 manipulated intertrial and interproblem intervals, showing that increased intertrial intervals retarded performance. Long interproblem intervals interacted with short intertrial intervals to produce performance facilitation. Experiment 2 investigated interpolations within problems with either similar or dissimilar stimulus presentations. Similar stimuli caused greater performance decrements than dissimilar. Experiment 3 hypothesized that the within-subjects design of Experiment 1 masked interproblem interval effects. Testing between-subjects established that increased interproblem delays facilitate performance. In Experiment 4 interproblem delays were further tested in a series of shifts within and between dimensions. Increased delays more greatly benefited shifts within dimensions. It is concluded that intertrial and interproblem intervals affect learning set performance differentially. Intertrial delays result in performance deterioration due in part to interference. Interproblem delays facilitate performance at least in part by providing the opportunity for suppression of proactive interference, and perhaps in part by providing the opportunity for constructive cognitive processing.

Ambiguous-cue learning in preschool children: A test of the dimensional characteristics of task stimuli

Sixteen preschool children were administered a two-choice discrimination problem consisting of three stimulus compounds: the consistently rewarded stimulus, the consistently nonrewarded stimulus, and the ambiguous stimulus which was nonrewarded when paired with the positive, but rewarded when paired with the negative. When both pair of stimuli, positive-ambiguous and negative-ambiguous, were presented together the subject was required either to choose or to avoid the ambiguous stimulus depending upon the stimulus with which it was paired. In Experiment 1, when each of three stimuli (positive, negative, ambiguous) varied along one nonspatial cue dimension (color), performance was better on negative-ambiguous trials than positive-ambiguous trials. In Experiment 2, when the positive and negative stimuli varied along three nonspatial cue dimensions (colors and form) and the ambiguous stimulus varied along one of these dimensions (color), superior positive-ambiguous over negative-ambiguous performance was obtained. These findings complement those reported for other subjects and confirm Berch's ( D. B. Berch, Learning and Motivation, 1974 , 5, 135–148) predictions regarding use of differential numbers of cue dimensions.

Language and Play of Preschool Children Learning English as a Second Language and Native English Speakers

To study the frequency and complexity of language in relation to levels of social play, 5 preschool children learning English as a second language and 5 English-speaking peers were observed during free play in the fall and 6 mo. later in the spring. In the fall native English speakers were observed proportionately more often in group play. In the spring, both groups were observed more in group play and less in solitary play. All children spoke more often and used more complex speech during group play than during solitary or parallel play. Observed social interactions were primarily positive for both groups. The relation between developing language and play is discussed in the context of the total social environment.

Spatial concept learning in preschool children: motoric experiences and verbal repetition as adjuncts to passive listening.

32 preschool children were matched by age, sex, and pretest scores on spatial concept knowledge. Four groups were (a) instruction (see and hear) only, (b) verbal repetition, (c) fine motor treatment (hand manipulation), and (d) gross motor treatment (body movement). The 11 spatial concepts studied were in front of, behind, beside, on top of, under, around, through, right, left, forward, and backward. There was no difference in performance between groups given instruction only and verbal repetition. The motoric groups learned more than the non-motoric groups. Older children knew more concepts initially but did not learn more new concepts than younger children.

Presentation method and first trial outcome effects on preschool children's learning sets.

Presentation method and first trial outcome effects on preschool children's learning sets.