Advancing Children’s Learning Through Innovations in the Measurement of Literacy Engagement

2021 ◽  
pp. 027112142110300
Author(s):  
Charles R. Greenwood ◽  
Judith J. Carta ◽  
Dwight W. Irvin ◽  
Alana G. Schnitz
Keyword(s):  
School Readiness ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Measurement Theory ◽  
Theory Of Change ◽  
Observation System ◽  
Instructional Interventions ◽  
Literacy Engagement ◽  
Children’S Learning ◽  
Children's Literacy ◽  
Children's Learning

Children’s engagement is an important construct often reported in Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education. However, its utility depends on its definition, measurement, theory of change, and empirical evidence. Our purpose is to discuss innovations in Children’s Literacy Engagement (CLE) and report empirical evidence demonstrating how these advancements can be used to promote children’s learning and school readiness. We discuss five specific innovations: (1) defining CLE as the behavioral target of intentional instruction, (2) directly assessing CLE using the CIRCLE ecobehavioral observation system, (3) including CLE in a larger framework of instructional decision-making, (4) evaluating new CLE-focused instructional interventions, and (5) supporting children who are not responding to instructional intervention. We describe how these innovations help address the questions of under what conditions and for whom preschool instructional interventions are effective. Implications are discussed.

scholarly journals When a Circle Becomes the Letter O: Young Children’s Conceptualization of Learning and Its Relation With Theory of Mind Development

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhenlin Wang ◽  
Douglas A. Frye
Keyword(s):  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
School Readiness ◽  
Knowledge Change ◽  
Children’S Learning ◽  
Learning Intention ◽  
Learning Stories ◽  
Effect Of Age ◽  
Genuine Knowledge ◽  
Children's Learning

In two independent yet complementary studies, the current research explored the developmental changes of young children’s conceptualization of learning, focusing the role of knowledge change and learning intention, and its association with their developing theory of mind (ToM) ability. In study 1, 75 children between 48 and 86 months of age (M = 65.45, SD = 11.45, 36 girls) judged whether a character with or without a genuine knowledge change had learned. The results showed that younger children randomly attributed learning between genuine knowledge change and accidental coincidence that did not involve knowledge change. Children’s learning judgments in familiar contexts improved with age and correlated with their ToM understanding. However, the correlation was no longer significant once age was held constant. Another sample of 72 children aged between 40 and 90 months (M = 66.87, SD = 11.83, 31 girls) participated in study 2, where children were asked to judge whether the story protagonists intended to learn and whether they eventually learned. The results suggested that children over-attributed learning intention to discovery and implicit learning. Stories with conflict between the learning intention and outcome appeared to be most challenging for children. Children’s intention judgment was correlated with their ToM understanding, and ToM marginally predicted intention judgment when the effect of age was accounted for. The implication of the findings for school readiness was discussed. Training studies and longitudinal designs in the future are warranted to better understand the relation between ToM development and children’s learning understanding.

scholarly journals Promoting children's learning and development in conflict-affected countries: Testing change process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Lawrence Aber ◽  
Carly Tubbs ◽  
Catalina Torrente ◽  
Peter F. Halpin ◽  
Brian Johnston ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Classroom Environment ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Democratic Republic ◽  
Theory Of Change ◽  
Multilevel Structural Equation Modeling ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Learning And Development ◽  
Children’S Learning ◽  
Republic Of The Congo ◽  
Children's Learning

AbstractImproving children's learning and development in conflict-affected countries is critically important for breaking the intergenerational transmission of violence and poverty. Yet there is currently a stunning lack of rigorous evidence as towhetherandhowprograms to improve learning and development in conflict-affected countries actually work to bolster children's academic learning and socioemotional development. This study tests a theory of change derived from the fields of developmental psychopathology and social ecology about how a school-based universal socioemotional learning program, the International Rescue Committee's Learning to Read in a Healing Classroom (LRHC), impacts children's learning and development. The study was implemented in three conflict-affected provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and employed a cluster-randomized waitlist control design to estimate impact. Using multilevel structural equation modeling techniques, we found support for the central pathways in the LRHC theory of change. Specifically, we found that LRHC differentially impacted dimensions of the quality of the school and classroom environment at the end of the first year of the intervention, and that in turn these dimensions of quality were differentially associated with child academic and socioemotional outcomes. Future implications and directions are discussed.

scholarly journals Home Literacy and Numeracy Environments in Asia

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sum Kwing Cheung ◽  
Katrina May Dulay ◽  
Xiujie Yang ◽  
Fateme Mohseni ◽  
Catherine McBride
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environment ◽  
Early Literacy ◽  
Geographical Area ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Home Literacy ◽  
Home Learning Environment ◽  
Children’S Learning ◽  
Home Learning ◽  
Children's Literacy ◽  
Children's Learning

The home learning environment includes what parents do to stimulate children’s literacy and numeracy skills at home and their overall beliefs and attitudes about children’s learning. The home literacy and numeracy environments are two of the most widely discussed aspects of the home learning environment, and past studies have identified how socioeconomic status and parents’ own abilities and interest in these domains also play a part in shaping children’s learning experiences. However, these studies are mostly from the West, and there has been little focus on the situation of homes in Asia, which captures a large geographical area and a wide diversity of social, ethnic, and linguistic groups. Therefore, this paper aims to review extant studies on the home literacy and numeracy environments that have been conducted in different parts of Asia, such as China, the Philippines, India, Iran, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. Specifically, we explore how parents in these places perceive their roles in children’s early literacy and numeracy development, the methods they regard as effective for promoting young children’s literacy and numeracy learning, and the frequency with which they engage their young children in different types of home literacy and numeracy activities. We also examine studies on the relationship of the home literacy and numeracy environment with young children’s developmental outcomes, and the effectiveness of parent training programs to improve the home literacy and numeracy environments in these contexts. By examining potential trends in findings obtained in different geographical areas, we can initially determine whether there are characteristics that are potentially unique to contexts in Asia. We propose future research directions that acknowledge the role of cultural values and social factors in shaping the home learning environment, and, by extension, in facilitating children’s early literacy and numeracy development.

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