Links between behavioral regulation and preschoolers' literacy, vocabulary, and math skills

This study investigated predictive relations between preschoolers' (N=310) behavioral regulation and emergent literacy, vocabulary, and math skills. Behavioral regulation was assessed using a direct measure called the Head-to-Toes Task, which taps inhibitory control, attention, and working memory, and requires children to perform the opposite of what is instructed verbally. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was utilized because children were nested in 54 classrooms at 2 geographical sites. Results revealed that behavioral regulation significantly and positively predicted fall and spring emergent literacy, vocabulary, and math skills on the Woodcock Johnson Tests of Achievement (all ps<.05). Moreover, growth in behavioral regulation predicted growth in emergent literacy, vocabulary, and math skills over the prekindergarten year (all ps<.05), after controlling for site, child gender, and other background variables. Discussion focuses on the role of behavioral regulation in early academic achievement and preparedness for kindergarten.     

Preschool classroom conversations as long-term resources for second language and literacy acquisition

This study investigated relations between preschool talk exposure and immigrant first graders' second language literacy and oral skills outcomes. Participants in the study were 25 children with Turkish as their first language and Norwegian as their second, attending various multilingual and ethnically diverse preschool classrooms in Norway and videotaped during preschool group conversations. Group conversations were coded for vocabulary richness, discourse complexity and emergent phonics talk. Relations between the qualities of the preschool group conversations that the children participated in and their second language vocabulary, listening comprehension and code related skills outcomes 1 year later in first grade were examined. Preschool classroom vocabulary richness and discourse complexity predicted first grade vocabulary (receptive vocabulary and word definition skills), but not listening comprehension. No associations were found between preschool classroom emergent phonics talk and first grade code-related skills. The findings have implications for early interventions addressing reading comprehension.     

Home literacy experiences and literacy acquisition among children in Guangzhou, south China

Sénéchal's research in the West with English- and French-speaking children included positive relations of the development of literacy skills with home literacy experiences. There is a need to extend this research to other countries, especially in China where few studies have been done. This study examined relations of parental reports of formal and informal home literacy variables with Chinese children's vocabulary and written language development. Consistent with previous studies in the West, informal home literacy experiences were associated with Chinese children's vocabulary knowledge, and formal literacy experiences with reading skills. These findings fit previous research which distinguishes formal and informal literacy experiences in relation to children's performance on reading and language skills, and indicates reading to children is less effective for acquisition of print-specific skills.     

学校教育资源对学生数学素养预测效应的跨文化比较

采用国际学生评价项目PISA2006的数据,使用多水平线性模型方法,比较中国香港、日本、芬兰和美国四个国家（地区）的学校教育资源与学生数学素养成绩的关系。结果发现,在控制学生背景变量的情况下,学校教育资源对学生数学素养成绩的影响在四个国家（地区）之间存在一定的文化差异：学校大小、生师比对中国香港学生数学素养成绩有显著的正向预测作用;学校大小、班级大小、学校类型、有硕士研究生学历的教师比例对日本学生数学素养成绩有显著的正向预测作用,用于教学的计算机比例对日本学生数学素养成绩有显著的反向预测作用;学校教育资源对芬兰学生数学素养成绩没有显著的预测作用;学校类型对美国学生数学素养成绩具有显著的反向预测作用。     

The Role of Emotion Regulation and Children's Early Academic Success

This study investigated the role of emotion regulation in children's early academic success using a sample of 325 kindergarteners. A mediational analysis addressed the potential mechanisms through which emotion regulation relates to children's early academic success. Results indicated that emotion regulation was positively associated with teacher reports of children's academic success and productivity in the classroom and standardized early literacy and math achievement scores. Contrary to predictions, child behavior problems and the quality of the student teacher relationship did not mediate these relations. However, emotion regulation and the quality of the student-teacher relationship uniquely predicted academic outcomes even after accounting for IQ. Findings are discussed in terms of how emotion regulation skills facilitate children's development of a positive student-teacher relationship as well as cognitive processing and independent learning behavior, all of which are important for academic motivation and success.     

儿童执行功能与早期学业能力的关系:学习品质的中介作用

以上海市6所幼儿园245名3~6岁儿童为研究对象,分别采用头–脚–膝盖–肩膀(HTKS)任务、修订后的儿童行为评定量表(CBRS)及亚太学前儿童发展量表中的语言和前阅读分量表以及认知分量表考察执行功能、学习品质及早期语言和数学学业发展状况。结果表明:(1)执行功能对学习品质、早期语言能力和数学能力均有显著正向预测作用;(2)学习品质在执行功能和早期数学能力关系中起部分中介作用,但对执行功能和早期语言能力的关系无中介作用。     

Cultural variations in socialization for school achievement: Contrasts between Japan and the United States

Studies of family effects on children's school-relevant skills usually involve socioeconomic status (SES) or ethnic comparisons within Western cultures. This paper extends these cultural comparisons with results from a longitudinal study of family influences on school achievement in Japan and the United States. The initial project included 58 mothers and their 4-year-old children in Japan and 67 mothers and their children in the United States. Data were gathered by interview, tests of mental ability, and three interaction tasks. A follow-up phase included 48 mothers and their 11-year-old children in Japan and 47 mothers and their 12-year-old children in the United States. Ten maternal variables from the preschool phase were selected to examine the association between maternal behavior and school readiness at ages 5 and 6 and scores on tests of vocabulary and mathematics at follow-up. Maternal behavior was significantly related to both outcomes in both countries even after children's mental ability at age 4 was taken into account. The association of maternal behavior with children's school-relevant performance increased between preschool and follow-up periods in Japan but declined in the United States. Explanations are offered relating these trends to socialization patterns in the two cultures.     

Singaporean kindergartners' phonological awareness and English writing skills

This article describes the phonological awareness and English writing skills among a sample of 297 Singaporean kindergarten children, stratified by ethnicity (Chinese, Malay, and Indian), and examines the relationship between oral language and writing skills in this multilingual population. Overall, Singaporean kindergartners, nearly all of whom were bilingual, scored higher on English writing but lower on English oral language skills than U.S. norms. Despite literacy instruction that emphasized whole-word memorization, phonological awareness statistically significantly predicted English writing scores, controlling for English vocabulary, ethnicity, sex, and an interaction between English vocabulary and sex. The current study's findings highlight the possibility of developing high literacy skills among bilingual learners with low oral language skills. In addition, the study demonstrates children's development of phonological awareness in the absence of phonological awareness or phonics instruction and supports the theory that both alphabetic (phonological) processes and logographic (whole-word) processes contribute to successful English literacy achievement.     

Improving comprehension and communication of risks about health

Many patients have severe difficulties grasping several numerical concepts that are related to their health, such as, for instance, the risk of suffering various diseases. Visual aids have been proposed as a promising method for enhancing risk communication and comprehension. In medical practice, however, not all patients benefit from visual aids. In a study conducted on a probabilistic, representative national sample in the United States, we identified a group of patients for whom visual aids are most useful: Those who have low numeracy but high graphical literacy skills. These patients have high scores in three abilities involved in graph comprehension: (1) the ability to read the data, (2) the ability to read the relations between the data, and (3) the ability to read beyond the data. Our results can have important implications for medical practice and for risk communication about health.     

The role of executive function and social‐emotional skills in the development of literacy and numeracy during preschool: a cross‐lagged longitudinal study

The majority of evidence on the interplay between academic and non‐academic skills comes from high‐income countries. The aim of this study was to examine the bidirectional associations between Ghanaian children's executive function, social‐emotional, literacy, and numeracy skills longitudinally. Children (N = 3,862; M age = 5.2 years at time 1) were assessed using direct assessment at three time points over the course of two school years. Controlling for earlier levels of the same skill, early executive function predicted higher subsequent literacy and numeracy skills, and early literacy and numeracy skills predicted higher subsequent executive function, indicating that the development of executive function and academic skills is inter‐related and complementary over time. Early literacy and numeracy predicted subsequent social‐emotional skills, but early social‐emotional skills did not predict subsequent literacy and numeracy skills. The findings provide longitudinal evidence on children's learning and development in West Africa and contribute to a global understanding of the relations between various developmental skills over time.     

Does class size in first grade relate to children's academic and social performance or observed classroom processes?

This study evaluated the extent to which first-grade class size predicted child outcomes and observed classroom processes for 651 children (in separate classrooms). Analyses examined observed child-adult ratios and teacher-reported class sizes. Smaller classrooms showed higher quality instructional and emotional support, although children were somewhat less likely to be engaged. Teachers in smaller classes rated typical children in those classes as more socially skilled and as showing less externalizing behavior and reported more closeness toward them. Children in smaller classes performed better on literacy skills. Larger classrooms showed more group activities directed by the teacher, teachers and children interacted more often, and children were more often engaged. Lower class sizes were not of more benefit (or harm) as a function of the child's family income. First-grade class size in the range typical of present-day classrooms in the United States predicts classroom social and instructional processes as well as relative changes in social and literacy outcomes from kindergarten to first grade.     

Guilt,shame, and adjustment in three cultures

While guilt and shame may form a second-order factor of ‘sensitivity of conscience’, they form relatively distinct first-order factors. A study of male and female subjects from the United States (Hawaii), the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and the Republic of China (Taiwan) revealed a high degree of consistency across national groups in whether individual test items describing socially disapproved conduct loaded on guilt vs shame factors and also in the relative seriousness with which each of these lapses in conduct were viewed. In general, guilt was unrelated to neuroticism and negatively related to psychoticism while shame was positively related to neuroticism and negatively related to psychoticism. Cross-cultural similarities are substantial and call to question the belief that Asian and Occidental societies (at least the better educated segments of such groups) differ in the degree to which guilt vs shame are used as mechanisms for social control.     

Verbal Working Memory as a Longitudinal Mechanism of Vocabulary Problems in Preschoolers with ADHD

Elucidation of early potential risk factors of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is important to allow for early identification of ADHD and targeted early intervention for children with ADHD. Delayed language skills, particularly poor vocabulary, is an early-developing potential risk factor that is thought to be involved in developmental pathways to ADHD; however, mechanisms explaining the relationship between poor vocabulary skills and ADHD symptoms are unclear and warrant investigation. The present study examines the relationship between poor vocabulary skills and ADHD symptoms by testing cognitive mechanisms, namely verbal working memory (WM), that might account for this link. Participants were 109 young children between the ages of three and six and their primary caregivers. Diagnostic information on ADHD symptoms was available from parents and teachers/daycare providers via standardized rating forms. Vocabulary skills and WM were measured through child performance on laboratory tasks. Mediation analyses found poor verbal working memory significantly partially explained the vocabulary-ADHD association for both parent and teacher-rated ADHD symptoms. Further, effects of verbal WM on the association between poor vocabulary and increased ADHD symptoms largely held at one-year follow-up. Development of early interventions targeting verbal WM may be a promising new direction for early ADHD intervention work.     

Early vocabulary development: Relationships with prelinguistic skills and early social-emotional/behavioral problems and competencies

The aim of this longitudinal study was to investigate early vocabulary development and its relationships with prelinguistic communication skills and social-emotional/behavioral (SEB¹) problems and competencies. The participants were 58 healthy Finnish-speaking children (30 girls, 28 boys). First, the concurrent relationships were investigated at the age of 18 months. Second, the relationships between prelinguistic communication skills and SEB problems and competencies at 18 months, and subsequent vocabulary scores at 24 and 30 months, were examined. Parental reports on early vocabulary (MacArthur Communicative Developmental Inventories; MCDI), prelinguistic communication skills (The Infant-Toddler Checklist of the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales Developmental Profile; ITC), SEB problems and competencies (Brief Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment; BITSEA) were gathered. Compared to boys, girls scored significantly higher on ITC Speech Composite at 18 months and expressive vocabulary measures at 18, 24, and 30 months. Vocabulary, as well as prelinguistic communication measures, correlated with SEB competencies at 18 months. Furthermore, vocabulary, as well as ITC Symbolic Composite and Total Score, correlated negatively with externalizing problem and SEB Total Problem scores. With regard to subsequent vocabulary development, all of the prelinguistic communication measures at 18 months correlated with vocabulary at 24 and 30 months. However, when accounted for gender and earlier vocabulary, only the associations with ITC Speech Composite and Total Score at 24 months remained significant. SEB Competencies at 18 months correlated positively, while externalizing problems at 18 months correlated negatively with vocabulary at 24 and 30 months, however, these associations did not remain significant, when accounted for gender and earlier vocabulary.     

Predicting improvement after first-grade reading difficulties: the effects of oral language, emergent literacy, and behavior skills

This study investigated the role of early literacy and behavioral skills in predicting the improvement of children who have experienced reading difficulties in 1st grade. The progress of 146 low-income children whose reading scores in 1st grade were below the 30th percentile was examined to determine (a) how the poorest readers in 1st grade progressed in reading achievement through 4th grade and (b) which emergent literacy and behavioral skills measured in kindergarten predicted differential 4th grade outcomes. Results indicated that the divergence between children who improved and those who did not was established by the end of 2nd grade. Further, individual linguistic skills and behavioral attributes measured in kindergarten contributed substantively to this difference. Implications for intervention timing and educational policy are discussed.     

A global portrait of counselling psychologists’ characteristics,perspectives, and professional behaviors

Counseling psychologists in eight countries (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States) responded to survey questions that focused on their demographics as well as their professional identities, roles, settings, and activities. As well, they were asked about satisfaction with the specialty and the extent to which they endorsed 10 core counseling psychology values. This article reports those results, focusing both on areas in which there were between-country similarities as well as on those for which there were differences. These data provide a snapshot of counseling psychology globally and establish a foundation for the other articles in this special issue of the journal.     

Teacher qualifications, classroom practices, family characteristics, and preschool experience: Complex effects on first graders' vocabulary and early reading outcomes

Using an ecological model, this study explored the effects of distal and proximal sources of influence on students' learning. We first examined three markers of teacher qualification — elementary education credential, years of education, and years of experience — on observed classroom practices across three dimensions — warmth/responsivity, control/discipline, and time spent on academic activities — as they related to children's vocabulary and early reading skills. We then examined the impact of this core system embedded in a larger system that included children's vocabulary and word recognition skills prior to school entry, their home and preschool learning environments, and family SES. Results, using structural equation modeling, revealed that students whose teachers were more warm and responsive and who spent more time in academic activities demonstrated stronger vocabulary and decoding skills at the end of first grade. Teachers with more years of education interacted with students more responsively but, surprisingly, their students had weaker early reading skills. Overall, students' language and letter-word recognition scores when they were 54 months of age, their home learning environment and family SES accounted for most of the variability in vocabulary and early reading scores at the end of first grade. Implications of the multiple and concurrent sources of influence on students' language and literacy development are discussed.     

Classroom quality as a predictor of first graders' time in non-instructional activities and literacy achievement

This study investigated how quality of the classroom learning environment influenced first grade students' (n = 533) time spent in two non-instructional classroom activities (off-task and in transition) and their subsequent literacy outcomes. Hierarchical linear modeling revealed that higher classroom quality was related to higher student performance in reading comprehension and expressive vocabulary. Further, classroom quality predicted the amount of time students spent off-task and in transitions in the classroom, with slopes of change across the year particularly impacted. Mediation effects were detected in the case of expressive vocabulary such that the influence of classroom quality on students' achievement operated through students' time spent in these non-instructional activities. Results highlight the importance of overall classroom quality to how students navigate the classroom environment during learning opportunities, with subsequent literacy achievement impacted. Implications for policy and educational practices are discussed.     

Showing and telling about emotions: Interrelations between facets of emotional competence and associations with classroom adjustment in Head Start preschoolers

In this study of low income preschoolers (N?=? 60), we examined relations between three facets of emotional competence: emotion knowledge, level of negative emotion expression, and emotion regulation; and their associations with indicators of classroom adjustment. Emotion knowledge was positively related to positive emotion regulation but was not related to negative emotion expression or negative dysregulation. Negative emotion expression related to emotion regulation variables in expected directions. Negative emotion expression was associated with aggression and social skills after covarying verbal ability, age, and emotion knowledge. Negative dysregulation was related in expected directions to aggression, anxiety, and social skills after covarying verbal ability, age, emotion knowledge, and negative emotion expression. Positive emotion regulation was related negatively to anxiety and positively to social skills after covarying all other variables in the model. Results are discussed with regard to using the emotional competence domain to understand how emotion processing relates to early childhood adjustment.