Kindergarten Year Research Articles

THE DEVELOPMENT OF FUNDAMENTAL MOVEMENT-BASED LEARNING USING WATER GAMES FOR CHILDREN 5 – 6 YEARS

The purpose of this research are; (1) develop fundamental movement based learning using water games for children 5-6 years and (2) obtain empirical data on the effectiveness of the results of model development fundamental movement based learning using water games for children aged 5-6 years. Subjects in this study were children aged 5-6 years in kindergarten. Place of research conducted in the city of Palembang. This study is the development of the Research and Development of Borg and Gall. Product results of the research is a fundamental movement guidebook using water games. Research shows that: (1) the development of fundamental movement based learning using water games for children aged 5-6 years have been declared invalid by a motor learning, physical activity experts and practitioners of early childhood education, (2) fundamental movement based learning using water games proved 85% can improve fundamental skills and helps to build a sense of confidence and courage.Keywords: fundamental movement, water games, children aged 5-6 years.

DEVELOPMENT MODEL APPROACH THROUGH EXERCISE KINESTHETIC GAME CIRCUIT FOR CHILDREN AGES 4-6 YEARS

AbstractThis study aims to develop a basic kinesthetic based motion activity model for children aged 4-6 years. The design of this study refers to the Borg and Gall development model consisting of ten steps. These steps are 1) preliminary study aims to know the needs analysis in developing physical activity. It was concluded that a basic kinesthetic based motion activity model is required for children aged 4-6 years, 2) planning by formulating forms of participation in research); 3) design development, done by drafting and validated to 4 (four) experts and 1 (one) practitioner with 52 basic motion based kinesthetic activities, 4) conducting limited field test using 20 subjects, 5) revision of field test result limited clarity of implementation procedure and handbook, 6) broader field test using 50 subjects, 7) the revision of the field test results is broader, nothing needs to be revised because all aspects already meet the standards, 8) the main test through the model effectiveness test done 40 subjects, 9) the final product, 10) dissemination. Subjects in this study were children aged 4-6 years in Kindergarten. Place of research conducted in Tangerang City. Data were collected through documentation, observation, questionnaires and kinesthetic tests. Data analysis is done descriptively from qualitative and quantitative data. The results of the study are the basic kinesthetic based motion activity activity for children aged 4-6 years. The results prove that the development of a kinesthetic based motion activity model for children aged 4-6 years has been declared valid by motor learning experts, physical activity experts and early childhood education practitioners.Keywords: basic motion activity, kinesthetic, children aged 4-6 years.

Emergent Literacy in Thai Preschoolers: A Preliminary Study.

To investigate emergent literacy skills, including phonological awareness when presented with an initial phoneme-matching task and letter knowledge when presented with a letter-naming task in Thai preschoolers, and to identify key factors associated with those skills. Four hundred twelve typically developing children in their final kindergarten year were enrolled in this study. Their emergent reading skills were measured by initial phoneme-matching and letter-naming tasks. Determinant variables, such as parents' education and teachers' perception, were collected by self-report questionnaires. The mean score of the initial phoneme-matching task was 4.5 (45% of a total of 10 scores). The mean score of the letter-naming task without a picture representing the target letter name was 30.2 (68.6% of a total of 44 scores), which increased to 38.8 (88.2% of a total of 44 scores) in the letter-naming task when a picture representing the target letter name was provided. Both initial phoneme-matching and letter-naming abilities were associated with the mother's education and household income. Letter-naming ability was also influenced by home reading activities and gender. This was a preliminary study into emergent literacy skills of Thai preschoolers. The findings supported the importance of focusing on phonological awareness and phonics, especially in the socioeconomic disadvantaged group.

Longitudinal Associations Among Reading-Related Skills and Reading Comprehension: A Twin Study.

This study investigated the etiology of longitudinal relations among kindergarten prereading skills, first-grade word level reading skills, and seventh-grade reading comprehension in 265 monozygotic and 459 dizygotic twin pairs (Mage =6.29years in kindergarten) from the Florida Twin Project on Reading. Using a quadvariate Cholesky decomposition, results showed genetic, shared, and nonshared environmental overlap among prereading skills, word level reading skills, and reading comprehension. In addition, genetic and shared environmental overlap was indicated among word level reading skills and reading comprehension, outside the influence of prereading skills. After accounting for overlapping, there remained moderate genetic and nonshared environmental influence specific to reading comprehension. Implications for reading education are discussed.

Maternal depression and anxiety disorders (MDAD) and child development: A Manitoba population-based study.

ObjectiveTo examine the association between maternal depression and anxiety disorders (MDAD) and child development assessed during the kindergarten year.MethodsAdministrative data from several health and social databases in Manitoba, Canada, were used to study 18,331 mother-child pairs. MDAD over the period from one year prior to the child's birth to the kindergarten year was defined using physician diagnoses and filled prescriptions. Child development was assessed during the kindergarten year using the Early Development Instrument (EDI) which measures vulnerability across five domains of development. Structural equation modeling was used to examine associations between timing, recurrence and severity of MDAD and child outcomes. Health at Birth (preterm, low birth weight, neonatal intensive care stay and long birth hospitalization), Family Context (teen mother, lone parent, socio-economic status (SES)), child age and child sex were covariates.ResultsMDAD had a modest negative association with child EDI scores across all models tested, particularly for social, emotional and physical development. Prenatal MDAD had a stronger negative association with outcomes than other time periods; however, recurrent MDAD had a stronger negative association with outcomes than any specific time period or MDAD severity. The influence of MDAD was mediated by Family Context, which had a strong, negative association with outcomes, particularly language and cognitive development.ConclusionThe number of time periods a child was exposed to MDAD in early childhood was more negatively associated with five areas of child development than timing or severity. Prenatal exposure may be more sensitive to MDAD than other time periods. The familial context (teen mother, lone parenthood and low SES) had a stronger influence on child outcomes than MDAD. Findings can be used to inform interventions which address maternal mental health from the prenatal period onward, and to support disadvantaged families to encourage healthy birth outcomes, early childhood development and school readiness.

Examining the direct and indirect effects of visual–verbal paired associate learning on Chinese word reading

Associative learning, traditionally measured with paired associate learning (PAL) tasks, has been found to predict reading ability in several languages. However, it remains unclear whether it also predicts word reading in Chinese, which is known for its ambiguous print–sound correspondences, and whether its effects are direct or indirect through the effects of other reading-related skills such as phonological awareness and rapid naming. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the direct and indirect effects of visual–verbal PAL on word reading in an unselected sample of Chinese children followed from the second to the third kindergarten year. A sample of 141 second-year kindergarten children (71 girls and 70 boys; mean age=58.99months, SD=3.17) were followed for a year and were assessed at both times on measures of visual–verbal PAL, rapid naming, and phonological awareness. In the third kindergarten year, they were also assessed on word reading. The results of path analysis showed that visual–verbal PAL exerted a significant direct effect on word reading that was independent of the effects of phonological awareness and rapid naming. However, it also exerted significant indirect effects through phonological awareness. Taken together, these findings suggest that variations in cross-modal associative learning (as measured by visual–verbal PAL) place constraints on the development of word recognition skills irrespective of the characteristics of the orthography children are learning to read.

A new R-based statistical software package for fitting multivariate generalized linear mixed models to large and complex datasets

ABSTRACT
 ObjectiveTo demonstrate the efficiency and efficacy of the new freeware MGLMM in the statistical modelling of large and complex datasets.
 ApproachThe new R-based software MGLMM (shortly to become available on the CRAN website https://cran.r-project.org/) can be used to fit a range of different multivariate generalized linear mixed models, thereby permitting a better representation of the multivariate nature of many complex socio-economic processes which may involve a range of different response types. The software MGLMM will also set records for the time taken to fit these complex models to large sets of data. The efficiency and efficacy of this new software will be demonstrated by way of a number of applications.
 One such example will come from the STAR Project in which pupils were followed from kindergarten in 1985 (aged 5) to 1989 (third grade, aged 8). The pupils were assessed on their ability in both mathematics and English on an annual basis between 1985 and 1989. At the end of the kindergarten year, some of the students were reallocated to different class sizes in order ‘to achieve sexual and racial balance and to separate incompatible children’. In the fourth grade, the pupils returned to regular classes and the experiment ended.
 We can regard the two score variables ‘Maths’ and ‘English’ as constituting repeated, correlated, bivariate continuous data. We will use the new package MGLMM to apply a series of bivariate normal mixed models with correlated random effects. These models will allow us to distinguish the role of prior attainment in mathematics and English on current attainment in mathematics and English in an experimental setting, for pupils in small and regular class sizes. The models will permit an examination of the effect of class size on this bivariate response, whilst controlling for a set of individual-level confounding factors such as gender and age.
 ResultsWe will present the results of these analyses, thereby demonstrating the efficacy of MGLMM. We will also compare the performance of the new software with existing packages such as Stata.
 ConclusionsWe will have demonstrated the gain in efficiency through the use of MGLMM, compared to other standard software packages, in the statistical modelling of large and complex datasets.

Residential mobility predicts behavioral problems for children living in non-parental care during the transition to kindergarten

The present study examines the extent to which residential mobility during the transition to kindergarten (cumulative moves during prekindergarten and kindergarten) is related to externalizing and internalizing behavior problems for children from low-income families who are living in non-parental care. A second, exploratory aim of this study was to investigate whether family service receipt moderated these relations. Data were obtained from the Head Start Impact Study. The sample included 300 children (53% male) who were eligible for Head Start. Residential mobility was conceptualized as three dichotomous variables: never moved, moved 1–2 times, and moved 3 or more times during the prekindergarten and kindergarten years. Predictor and outcome data were collected in the spring of prekindergarten and kindergarten. Moving three or more times was significantly related to more externalizing and internalizing behavior problems in kindergarten, controlling for family and child covariates, as well as for children's behavior problems in prekindergarten. Receipt of family services moderated the association between moving three or more times and externalizing problems, but not internalizing problems. This relation was in the opposite direction than expected, however, such that children who moved frequently and received more services demonstrated more externalizing problems than their peers. Implications of study findings for supporting highly mobile children living in non-parental care and directions for future research are discussed.

Mental State Talk Structure in Children’s Narratives: A Cluster Analysis

This study analysed children’s Theory of Mind (ToM) as assessed by mental state talk in oral narratives. We hypothesized that the children’s mental state talk in narratives has an underlying structure, with specific terms organized in clusters. Ninety-eight children attending the last year of kindergarten were asked to tell a story twice, at the beginning and at the end of the school year. Mental state talk was analysed by identifying terms and expressions referring to perceptual, physiological, emotional, willingness, cognitive, moral, and sociorelational states. The cluster analysis showed that children’s mental state talk is organized in two main clusters: perceptual states and affective states. Results from the study confirm the feasibility of narratives as an outlet to inquire mental state talk and offer a more fine-grained analysis of mental state talk structure.

Intervention in the home literacy environment and kindergarten children’s vocabulary and phonological awareness

Children develop linguistic competencies during interactions with more knowledgeable others. Consequently, one way to support this development is by enhancing the home literacy environment (HLE) in which children live. In this study a non-intensive intervention procedure was developed to improve HLE and linguistic competencies of 125 German children (mean age at time 1 [t1; beginning of the study]: 5;5 years) in their last year of kindergarten. Parents were offered to participate in one evening meeting and in an individual dialogic reading session. HLE and children’s linguistic competencies were assessed before and twice after the intervention. Families in the complete intervention group did not differ from other families in any of the study variables at the beginning of the study. However, they significantly improved their HLE, and children in these families showed greater development in phonological awareness when compared with the other families. Results indicate that less intensive interventions can have long-lasting effects on HLE and children’s development.

Children’s felicitous use of intersubjective particles evidences sensitivity to constellations of perspectives

Discourse particles specify how interlocutors’ understandings converge and differ, and appropriate use requires ability to represent propositions from two perspectives simultaneously. This makes discourse particles a highly useful case for investigating developments in children’s ability to monitor and compare mental states, a controversial issue in child language research. Being neither salient, nor obligatory, the particles further allow us to assess children’s motivation to look for interpersonal meanings without strong linguistic incentives. By means of a corpus analysis of peer group conversations (123 hours, 19 children: 1;9–6;3 years), the present study examines at which ages Danish kindergarteners demonstrate stable mastery of the interpersonal contextual demands of five particles marking shared knowledge, disagreement and differential access to knowledge. As background for evaluating children’s particle use as well as order of occurrence, adult consensus on particle meanings was substantiated with a gap-filling test and relative input frequency estimated in caregiver speech. Children were significantly above chance in producing intersubjective particles in felicitous contexts and differentiated clearly between the particles. While there was a strong increase in token frequency over the kindergarten years, children evidenced sensitivity to context from their first productions, and particle felicity did not improve significantly with higher age or production experience. The results suggest that 3-to-6-year-olds routinely monitor and compare representational states, and that they are highly motivated to coordinate conversations as joint actions by pointing to interlocutor perspectives.This article is part of Special Collection: Perspective Taking

Seeing and Hearing: The Impacts of New York Cityys Universal Prekindergarten Program on the Health of Low-Income Children

Prior research suggests that high quality universal pre-kindergarten (UPK) programs can generate lifetime benefits, but the mechanisms generating these effects are not well-understood. In 2014, New York City made all 4-year-old children eligible for high-quality UPK programs that emphasized developmental screening. We examine the effect of this program on the health and healthcare utilization of children enrolled in Medicaid using a difference-in-regression discontinuity design that exploits both the introduction of UPK and the fixed age cut-off for enrollment. The introduction of UPK increased the probability that a child was diagnosed with asthma or with vision problems, received treatment for hearing or vision problems, or received a screening during the prekindergarten year. UPK accelerated the timing of diagnoses of vision problems. We do not find any increases in injuries, infectious diseases, or overall utilization. These effects are not offset by lower screening rates in the kindergarten year, suggesting that one mechanism through which UPK might generate benefits is that it accelerates the rate at which children are identified with conditions that could potentially delay learning and cause behavioral problems. We do not find significant effects of having a child who was eligible for UPK on mothers’ health, fertility, or healthcare utilization.

English expressive vocabulary growth and its unique role in predicting English word reading: A longitudinal study involving Hong Kong Chinese ESL children

This longitudinal study examined the developmental trajectory of English expressive vocabulary and its relationship to English word reading in a sample of 141 Hong Kong children learning English as a second language (ESL). The children were observed six times at 3-month intervals over 15months, from the spring of their second year of kindergarten (K2) to the end of their third year (K3). The development of English expressive vocabulary was nonlinear during the assessment period. With age, nonverbal IQ, English phonological awareness, letter knowledge and Chinese character reading controlled, the initial level of expressive vocabulary predicted English word reading 15months later. More importantly, the expressive vocabulary growth rate during the 15months also predicted English word reading. Our findings underscore the predictive power of the growth trajectory of expressive vocabulary in Hong Kong ESL children. Practical implications of the study are discussed.

Developmental Relations Among Motor and Cognitive Processes and Mathematics Skills.

This study explored transactional associations among visuomotor integration, attention, fine motor coordination, and mathematics skills in a diverse sample of one hundred thirty-five 5-year-olds (kindergarteners) and one hundred nineteen 6-year-olds (first graders) in the United States who were followed over the course of 2 school years. Associations were dynamic, with more reciprocal transactions occurring in kindergarten than in the later grades. Specifically, visuomotor integration and mathematics exhibited ongoing reciprocity in kindergarten and first grade, attention contributed to mathematics in kindergarten and first grade, mathematics contributed to attention across the kindergarten year only, and fine motor coordination contributed to mathematics indirectly, through visuomotor integration, across kindergarten and first grade. Implications of examining the hierarchical interrelations among processes underlying the development of children's mathematics skills are discussed.

Basic Executive Functions in Early Childhood Education and their Relationship with Social Competence

Abstract Due to the relationship found in several studies between executive functions deficits and different psychopathological and behavioral disorders, research on the development of executive functions in children have increased in the last decade. In addition, the increase and improvement of executive functions have linked to the development of social competence. Also, the increase and improvement of social competence and academic achievement have also linked to the development of these functions. However, the researches that study the relationship between executive functions and social competence have focused mainly in adolescence and adulthood, or in people with some kind of disorder. Being less frequent studies in people without any neurological or psychological pathology or in child population. For this reason, the aim of this research is to understand the relationship between executive functions and social competence in children aged 5 years without associated pathologies. The study involved 119 students (60 boys and 59 girls) from 5 years of age, enrolled in the last year of Kindergarten, in two private but publicly funded schools in Granada. The results indicate that there is a positive relationship between social skills and executive functions. However, intervention programs in social competence rarely include executive functions as a key element to be worked on.

The Relationship between Executive Functions and Externalizing Behavior Problems in Early Childhood Education

Abstract In recent years the concern for antisocial behavior development during early childhood has increased as it has found to be linked to criminal and violent behavior in later stages of childhood. For this reason, the aim of this research is to understand the relationship between executive functions and externalizing behavior problems in early Childhood Education. The study involved 119 students (60 boys and 59 girls) from 5 years of age, enrolled in the last year of Kindergarten, in two private but publicly funded schools in Granada. The results indicate that low scores on executive functions are associated with high scores on externalizing problems.

Inclusion and the practice of repeating Kindergarten in Australia

International evidence indicates there may be little or no academic benefit for children who are retained, and the possibility of negative long term socio-emotional outcomes for these children. Drawing on data from the nationally representative Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (n = 4464), this paper provides an Australian perspective on the practice of grade retention, specifically investigating repeating the Kindergarten year. Our results indicated that nearly half of grade retention occurring by Year 6 occurs in the Kindergarten year, the main reasons being related to learning and behavioural difficulties. The analyses identified a number of child and family factors associated with grade retention, the strongest predictors being maternal mental health and parental receptive language concern, with school readiness, receptive language skills, and child hyperactivity also relevant factors. The paper considers implications for early intervention to support children’s academic trajectories through school.

Transition from Kindergarten to Elementary School: Shanghai’s Experience and Inspiration

Since early 1980s, research of transition from kindergarten to primary school was conducted in kindergartens at Shanghai, which mainly focused on how kindergarten children prepared for early primary school. The research group of Teachers Training College of Yangpu District in Shanghai (TTCYD) carried on research on transition education from kindergarten to primary school (K-P transition education) since 2008. This study points out that transition education from kindergarten to primary school (K-P transition education) usually covers from senior class in kindergarten to pre-primary school. Transition education from kindergarten to primary school in this paper mainly focuses on the period from last year of kindergarten to the first year of primary school as community, schools and families try to adapt to the development of every student, and help young children to achieve a smooth transition from kindergarten to primary school. The core of the project is to explore the curriculum elements of K-P transition education through theoretical analysis and practice, cultivate high-quality intercommunication teachers, establish the evaluation content of K-P transition education, as well as construct cooperative mechanism between family and school, to improve children’s adaptation between transfer from kindergarten to primary education, and realize smooth, healthy and happy transition from kindergarten to primary school. Finally, this paper depicts K-P transition ecological system of Yangpu District, which has significance in K-P transition education practice and theory.

Oral Health and Occlusion in Tunisian Preschool Children

Many studies reported the importance of the deciduous dentition and its rich pathology. A close relationship was also noted between occlusion in deciduous and in permanent dentitions. The follow-up and the early management of slight malocclusion in children can prevent the appearance of malocclusion in permanent dentition. A literature review reported that the flush terminal plane relationship was accepted as the norm in the complete deciduous dentition, but some authors did not support this view. Aim: The purpose of this study conducted in Tunisian preschoolers was to assess the oral health and the occlusal patterns in primary dentition. Material and Methods: The study consisted in a cross sectional survey covering 392 preschool children; 197 females (50.3%) and 195 males (49.7%) aged from 3 to 5 years in kindergarten of Moknine (Tunisia). Oral examination was carried out in order to assess the oral health status and the occlusion characteristics. Results: Dental caries affected 140 children (35.7%). A mean dmft of 1.12 ± 1.97 was noted with 426 decayed teeth (mean 1.10 ± 1.0), five-missed (mean 0.01 ± 0.8) and 9 filled (mean 0.01 ± 0.05); the Significant Caries Index value (SiC) was about 5.57 ± 2.26 dmft. Among 326 children in deciduous dentition 68.7% presented spaced teeth. Dental eruption was earlier in girls. The prevalence of malocclusion was about 24.7% and flush plane was the most frequent type of terminal molar relationship in deciduous dentition, followed by the mesial step than the distal step with 81%, 15% and 4%, respectively. Conclusion: The present paper gave an outline onto oral health status and occlusal patterns in Tunisian preschool children. The spaced dentition seemed more frequent than closed dentition and flush plane was the most frequent type of terminal molar relationship in deciduous dentition. \In spite its limits, the present paper aimed to assess the oral health and the occlusal patterns in primary dentition among status and occlusal patterns in Tunisian preschool children. The spaced dentition seemed more frequent than closed dentition and flush plane was the most frequent type of terminal molar relationship in deciduous dentition. In deciduous and mixed dentition, early interceptive treatment of some slight malocclusions can reduces significantly the need for orthodontic treatment in the permanent dentition

Mathematical Creativity for the youngest school children: Kindergarten to third grade teachers’ interpretations of what it is and how to promote it

IntroductionDefining Creativity in Mathematics for Adults and ChildrenCreativity is critical to mathematics. Professional mathematicians, for instance, create new theories and hypotheses in doing advanced mathematics, and creative advances in mathematics underlie many breakthroughs and advances in other disciplines, including the natural and social sciences. Mathematical creativity at the adult level can be defined as "(a) the ability to produce original work that significantly extends the body of knowledge, and/or (b) the ability to open avenues of new questions for other mathematicians" (Sriraman, 2005, p.23).However, young children are in the early stages of learning mathematics, and therefore their mathematical creativity must be defined in a different way. Applying the adult definition to young children is inappropriate, but that does not mean they cannot show creativity of other kinds (Adams & Chen, 2012). According to Sriraman (2005), creativity for school learners can be defined as "(a) the process that results in unusual (novel) and/or insightful solution(s) to a given problem or analogous problems, and/or (b) the formulation of new questions and/or possibilities that allow an old problem to be regarded from a new angle requiring imagination" (p.24). This definition applies well even to very young children, aged five to nine years (in kindergarten to grade 3 of public school)-the "emerging mathematicians" who populate the classrooms of the teachers interviewed for this study. Some might assume that there is little room for creativity in early childhood math-after all, children are learning to count, add and subtract, all things that have "right" answers. That assumption is misguided; within the early childhood era, there exists the same potential for flexible and divergent thinking and versatile use of strategies that exists at later grade levels, as opposed to seeking to solve problems in the single most efficient way. Teachers should understand that creativity flourishes when they support children's ability to generate original ideas (Bairaktarova & Evangelou, 2012; Saracho, 2012). Gallenstein (2003) notes that effective teaching models that promote critical thinking in early childhood mathematics and science are less often used in classrooms than in those for older children, but that children aged 3 to 8 are fully capable of creative construction of math and science concepts.Sriraman's definition of creativity does not require children to invent new mathematical theorems or prove advanced hypotheses. Rather, it points to children transcending mechanically following procedures in order to frame their own questions, see the possibilities in mathematical situations, and/or produce unusual, novel, or insightful answers or strategies. Children can draw on their own inner resources to play with mathematical ideas. Indeed, children encounter possible problems and questions with mathematical elements every day, in and out of school. In approaching these problems, children can display mathematical thinking skills and processes emphasized in various national and state standards and principles for mathematical proficiency, including standards and principles from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM, 2000a), mathematical practice standards from the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSS-M, CCSS Initiative, 2010), and five strands for mathematical proficiency from the National Research Council (NRC, Kilpatrick, Swafford, & Swindell, 2001). Creativity is evidently considered essential for effective learning of mathematics, no matter the age of the student.The NCTM (2000b) advocates that students solve problems creatively and resourcefully, but NCTM publications do not give a clear definition of mathematical creativity in school children. In fact, a simple consensus definition is lacking, both for creativity in general (Chen, 2012; Lau, Hui, & Ng, 2004; Sawyer, 2003, 2006) and creativity in the specific area of mathematics (Sriraman, 2005; Sriraman & Freiman, 2007), perhaps because the phenomenon in complex and has multiple facets. …