Exploring intervention components in association with changes in preschool children’s vegetable intake: the BRA-study

Objective The present study aimed to explore kindergarten staffs’ perceived usefulness of intervention components in association with changes in children’s vegetable intake and vegetables served in the kindergarten. Assessment of the perceived usefulness of intervention components consisted of a paper-based questionnaire for the kindergarten staff assessing usefulness of posters, supplementary material and 1-day inspirational course. Children’s vegetable intake in the kindergarten was assessed by direct observation, while vegetables served was assessed by a 5-day weighted vegetable diary. Results Seventy-three kindergartens in two counties in Norway participated (response rate 15%) and parental consent was obtained for 633 children 3–5 years of age at baseline (response rate 39%). Mixed effect models indicated a tendency that posters were associated with increased child vegetable intake (P = 0.062). Surprisingly, a low degree of perceived usefulness of supplementary material was associated with the largest increase in child vegetable intake (P = 0.020). No significant associations between perceived usefulness of intervention components and vegetables served in the kindergarten were found. This study indicated a tendency that posters were associated with increased child vegetable intake; however, this may also be due to synergies between multiple intervention components. Trial registration International Standard Randomized Controlled Trials ISRCTN51962956 (http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN51962956). Registered 21 June 2016 (retrospectively registered).

Exploring Intervention Components in Association with Changes in Preschool Children’s Vegetable Intake: The BRA-study

Objective: The present study aimed to explore kindergarten staffs’ perceived usefulness of intervention components in association with changes in children’s vegetable intake and vegetables served in the kindergarten. Assessment of the perceived usefulness of intervention components consisted of a paper-based questionnaire for the kindergarten staff assessing usefulness of “posters”, “supplementary material” and “one-day inspirational course”. Children’s vegetable intake in the kindergarten was assessed by direct observation, while vegetables served was assessed by a 5-day weighted vegetable diary. Results: Seventy three kindergartens in two counties in Norway participated (response rate 15 %) and parental consent was obtained for 633 children 3-5 years of age at baseline (response rate 39 %). Mixed effect models indicated a tendency that “posters” were associated with increased child vegetable intake (P = 0.062). Surprisingly, a low degree of perceived usefulness of “supplementary material” was associated with the largest increase in child vegetable intake (P = 0.020). No significant associations between perceived usefulness of intervention components and vegetables served in the kindergarten were found. This study indicated a tendency that “posters” were associated with increased child vegetable intake, however this may also be due to synergies between multiple intervention components.Trial registration: International Standard Randomized Controlled Trials ISRCTN51962956 (http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN51962956). Registered 21 June 2016 (retrospectively registered).

Gifted child in kindergarten – assessment pitfalls

Issues and considerations raised in the article are related to the identification (assessment) of gifted children, often described in literature, in relation to selected theories of ability. It is very likely that a gifted child characterized by the specificity of early childhood, commonly defined as intelligent, with high cognitive abilities, will abandonits innate, unique potential, entangling in various types of “problems”, taking on the features of the syndrome of inadequate school achievements, etc. in the future, as a result of adverse environmental impacts, the coincidence of events. The individual case studies presented in the article are intended to illustrate the significance of individual impacts on a gifted child of preschool age, due to the specific developmental peculiarities of this period.

A Model for Assessment in Play-Based Kindergarten Education

Kindergarten teachers face the challenge of integrating contemporary assessment practices with play-based pedagogy. The current study addresses this challenge by presenting a kindergarten assessment framework rooted in theory and current classroom practices, based on teacher interview and observational data collected in 20 kindergarten classrooms. Ten teachers subsequently participated in extended observations and video elicitation interviews. Results uncovered seven different assessment pathways by which teachers mobilized learning goals through play pedagogies and assessment. Based on these pathways, a comprehensive assessment framework was developed underscoring the cyclical relation between student learning goals, types of play, and assessment contexts and practices. This framework supports teachers’ negotiation and integration of assessment practices with play-based pedagogies to promote both academic and developmental learning goals.

Perspectives on Kindergarten Assessment: Toward a Common Understanding

Context The standards-based movement in U.S. public education has reached as far as kindergarten. Early primary teachers are increasingly required to teach academic standards in core subject areas, while engaging in increased levels of student assessment. In kindergarten, this growing emphasis on academic standards and student assessment is expected to operate alongside longstanding social and personal developmental expectations. However, recent research has identified a significant tension as teachers endeavor to negotiate a balance between traditional developmental programming and new standards-based academic curricula. Purpose The purpose of this scoping review is to synthesize research related to three kindergarten traditions—Reggio Emilia, Waldorf, and Montessori—to develop a common understanding of key tenets for kindergarten assessment that can inform policy and practice in public education contexts. Research Design A scoping review methodology was used to analyze research on assessment practices native to three kindergarten traditions—Reggio Emilia, Waldorf, and Montessori. This methodology followed a five-stage framework: (a) identifying the research question, (b) identifying relevant studies, (c) study selection, (d) charting the data, and (e) summarizing and reporting the results. Guiding the collection of articles was the following research question: “What does the extant literature on practices native to the three focal kindergarten traditions tell us about the assessment of kindergarten (4–6-year-olds) students’ learning?” In total, 80 texts satisfied the inclusion criteria across all traditions and were included in this study. Conclusions Empirical and non-empirical literature pertaining to each tradition were analyzed and considered in relation to their potential contribution to public education. In comparing across traditions, differences were evident based on their (a) assessment discourses and purposes, (b) reference systems, (c) assessment methods, and (d) uses of assessment information. However, the three traditions also maintained key commonalities leading to the identification of core tenets for kindergarten assessment. Specifically, three core priorities for kindergarten assessment were identified: (a) a commitment to child-centered and developmentally appropriate teaching, (b) a continuous embedded formative assessment approach, and (c) the use of multiple methods for gaining assessment information. In addition to core priority areas, results from this study suggest consistent processes that facilitate assessment practices at the kindergarten level. These four iterative processes are: (a) participation in teaching and learning, (b) reconstruction of teaching and learning, (c) engagement in assessment dialogues, and (d) integration of feedback for enhanced teaching and learning.

Validation of a two-factor model of the Best Start Kindergarten Assessment of literacy and numeracy

This study examined the structure of the Best Start Kindergarten Assessment (Best Start) of literacy and numeracy, with the aim of confirming a two-factor measure of attainment at school entry comparable in structure to standardised measures of literacy and numeracy administered in later school years. Administrative data from the 2009 Best Start were obtained from the New South Wales Department of Education for 37,734 children aged ∼5 years (i.e. as they entered their first year of compulsory schooling) as part of the New South Wales Child Development Study. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed on the 11 Best Start scales using a split half methodology, with the findings supporting a two-factor solution underpinning literacy and numeracy attainment. The availability of this two-factor Best Start measure of literacy and numeracy at school entry, which precedes the repeated national assessments conducted later in the primary and high school years, facilitates research to examine pathways of academic performance over time.