Longitudinal Effects of the Family Support Program Chancenreich on Parental Involvement and the Language Skills of Preschool Children

When they enter primary school children already vary significantly in their language skills, depending at least in part on their family’s social background. In particular, the home learning environment plays a significant role in children’s development. For that reason, early intervention programs have been developed to obviate learning difficulties and to promote health, children’s development, and educational equality. The family support program Chancenreich aims to encourage the interaction and relationship between parents and children through two different course formats. The present study examines the longitudinal effects of attending the Chancenreich program and different course formats on (a) parents attending further educational services for children after completing the program, (b) children’s vocabulary and level of grammar development at the age of 5 and (c) the children’s vocabulary development between the ages of 3 and 5. Furthermore, we examine the relationship between family characteristics and the attendance rates of different course formats of the Chancenreich program at the first and second point of measurement. The study follows a longitudinal design with two points of measurements (T1: Mage = 41 months, T2: Mage = 68 months), and a sample size of 121 parents and their children at T2 in the intervention group and 41 parents and their children in the comparison group. Findings indicate that attendance of the Chancenreich program’s courses is related to child and family characteristics and to later patterns of course participation after completing the program. Further, both children’s level of vocabulary skills (PPVT) at the age of 5 and their development between the ages of 3 and 5 benefit from the parental participation in parenting skills training at the age of 3. Implications and future research on the effectiveness of family support programs are discussed

Measuring interaction quality between parents and professionals and its relation to preschool characteristics

Due to a lack of adequate measures, little is known about the quality of parent-preschool communication. The present study presents a new observational tool for measuring interaction quality between parents and professionals during child drop-off. The sample consists of 912 parent-professional dyads in 107 preschools. Results from confirmatory factor analyses provided evidence of construct validity, and results for reliability were good. Regression analyses indicate that professional-child ratio, the qualification of professionals, and the way pedagogical work is organised in the preschool are related to the interaction quality between parents and professionals. The implications of our findings will be discussed in the light of the theoretical background as well as the conceptual framework of the instrument

Digitalisierung in Familien : Stärkung der häuslichen Anregungsqualität durch Eltern-Apps

Die Familie nimmt in der kindlichen Entwicklung eine zentrale Rolle ein. Die Strukturmerkmale (z. B. Einkommen, Bildungsstand oder Haushaltsgröße) der häuslichen Lernumwelt, in der ein Kind heranwächst, sowie die elterlichen Überzeugungen werden über die Prozesse vermittelt, die zwischen Eltern und ihren Kindern stattfinden. Diesen wird deshalb besondere Bedeutung zugeschrieben, wenn es um die Gelingensbedingungen kindlichen Aufwachsens geht (Kluczniok, Lehrl, Kuger & Rossbach, 2013; Linberg, 2017). Bildungsbenachteiligung lässt sich insbesondere auf eine geringe häusliche Anregungsqualität zurückführen (Melhuish, Sylva, Sammons et al., 2008). In diesem Zusammenhang steigt die Bedeutung früher Interventionen bzw. Familienunterstützungsprogramme, die über die Förderung elterlicher Kompetenzen eine Verbesserung der familialen Anregungsqualität bewirken und damit auch die kindliche Entwicklung positiv beeinflussen können (Kuger, Sechtig & Anders, 2012). Digitale Interventionsangebote können in diesem Zusammenhang als innovativer Ansatz genutzt werden

Pedagogical content knowledge of specialist counselling in parental cooperation

Im Zuge gesellschaftlicher Veränderungen gewinnt auch die Zusammenarbeit zwischen Kindertageseinrichtung und Familien an Bedeutung. Frühpädagogische Fachkräfte stehen vor der Herausforderung, ihre Kompetenzen aktuellen Entwicklungen anzupassen. Vor diesem Hintergrund dient Fachberatung als Qualifizierungsressource für Einrichtungen und ihre pädagogischen Fachkräfte. Die vorliegende Studie untersucht daher an 166 Fachberatungen die professionelle Kompetenzfacette des fachdidaktischen Wissens im Handlungsfeld Zusammenarbeit mit Familien. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Fachberatungen in vier verschiedene Wissenstypen eingeteilt werden können, die sich teilweise auf deren professionelle Voraussetzungen (z.B. Fort- und Weiterbildungsaktivität) zurückführen lassen. Die Befunde werden im Hinblick auf Implikationen für die Praxis und weiteren Forschungsbedarf diskutiert. (DIPF/Orig.)In the course of societal changes, the cooperation between daycare centers and families has also gained importance. Early childhood professionals face the challenge of adapting their competencies to current developments. Against this background, pedagogical quality consultants serve as a qualification resource for daycare institutions and their staff. Drawing on a sample of 166 pedagogical quality consultants, the present study investigates pedagogical content knowledge in the competence area \u27cooperation with families\u27. Results from cluster analysis show that the pedagogical quality consultants can be divided into four different types with regard to their knowledge. Further regression analysis reveal that these types are predicted by the professional qualifications of the pedagogical quality consultants (e.g., professional development activities). The findings are discussed with regard to the implications for practice and further research needs. (DIPF/Orig.

High resolution HLA analysis reveals independent class I haplotypes and amino-acid motifs protective for multiple sclerosis.

We investigated association between HLA class I and class II alleles and haplotypes, and KIR loci and their HLA class I ligands, with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 412 European American MS patients and 419 ethnically matched controls, using next-generation sequencing. The DRB1*15:01~DQB1*06:02 haplotype was highly predisposing (odds ratio (OR) = 3.98; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 3-5.31; p-value (p) = 2.22E-16), as was DRB1*03:01~DQB1*02:01 (OR = 1.63; CI = 1.19-2.24; p = 1.41E-03). Hardy-Weinberg (HW) analysis in MS patients revealed a significant DRB1*03:01~DQB1*02:01 homozyote excess (15 observed; 8.6 expected; p = 0.016). The OR for this genotype (5.27; CI = 1.47-28.52; p = 0.0036) suggests a recessive MS risk model. Controls displayed no HW deviations. The C*03:04~B*40:01 haplotype (OR = 0.27; CI = 0.14-0.51; p = 6.76E-06) was highly protective for MS, especially in haplotypes with A*02:01 (OR = 0.15; CI = 0.04-0.45; p = 6.51E-05). By itself, A*02:01 is moderately protective, (OR = 0.69; CI = 0.54-0.87; p = 1.46E-03), and haplotypes of A*02:01 with the HLA-B Thr80 Bw4 variant (Bw4T) more so (OR = 0.53; CI = 0.35-0.78; p = 7.55E-04). Protective associations with the Bw4 KIR ligand resulted from linkage disequilibrium (LD) with DRB1*15:01, but the Bw4T variant was protective (OR = 0.64; CI = 0.49-0.82; p = 3.37-04) independent of LD with DRB1*15:01. The Bw4I variant was not associated with MS. Overall, we find specific class I HLA polymorphisms to be protective for MS, independent of the strong predisposition conferred by DRB1*15:01

Blinding efficacy and adverse events following repeated transcranial alternating current, direct current, and random noise stimulation.

As transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) protocols advance, assumptions underlying the technique need to be retested to ensure they still hold. Whilst the safety of stimulation has been demonstrated mainly for a small number of sessions, and small sample size, adverse events (AEs) following multiple sessions remain largely untested. Similarly, whilst blinding procedures are typically assumed to be effective, the effect of multiple stimulation sessions on the efficacy of blinding procedures also remains under question. This is especially relevant in multisite projects where small unintentional variations in protocol could lead to inter-site difference. We report AE and blinding data from 1,019 participants who received up to 11 semi-consecutive sessions of active or sham transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), direct current stimulation (tDCS), and random noise stimulation (tRNS), at 4 sites in the UK and US. We found that AEs were often best predicted by factors other than tES, such as testing site or session number. Results from the blinding analysis suggested that blinding was less effective for tDCS and tACS than tRNS. The occurrence of AEs did not appear to be linked to tES despite the use of smaller electrodes or repeated delivery. However, blinding efficacy was impacted in tES conditions with higher cutaneous sensation, highlighting a need for alternative stimulation blinding protocols. This may be increasingly necessary in studies wishing to deliver stimulation with higher intensities

Analysis of Successful Immune Responses in Persons Infected with Hepatitis C Virus

Although hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is very common, identification of patients during acute infection is rare. Consequently, little is known about the immune response during this critical stage of the disease. We analyzed the T lymphocyte response during and after acute resolving HCV infection in three persons, using interferon (IFN)-γ enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) and human histocompatibility leukocyte antigen (HLA) peptide tetramer assays. Acute infection was associated with a broadly directed T helper and cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response, which persisted after resolution of clinical hepatitis and clearance of viremia. At the earliest time point studied, highly activated CTL populations were observed that temporarily failed to secrete IFN-γ, a “stunned” phenotype, from which they recovered as viremia declined. In long-term HCV-seropositive persons, CTL responses were more common in persons who had cleared viremia compared with those with persistent viremia, although the frequencies of HCV-specific CTLs were lower than those found in persons during and after resolution of acute HCV infection. These studies demonstrate a strong and persistent CTL response in resolving acute HCV infection, and provide rationale to explore immune augmentation as a therapeutic intervention in chronic HCV infection