Strategies for exchanging information in preschool

We have interviewed four parents and a teacher at a Swedish preschool to investigate the practices for spreading information in preschool. Our findings suggest that frequent presence in the premises of the preschool is important to get information, and that parents rely heavily on routines to make it work. When either of these points fail, breakdowns occur. Discrepancies in parents’ and teachers’ IT use also complicates the information exchange

Predictors of parent-teacher communication during infant transition to childcare in Portugal

Although literature reports associations between parent-teacher communication and childcare quality, little is known about how such communications are related to family, child and childcare characteristics. This study examines whether child, family and childcare experience characteristics predict the level of parent-teacher communication, and differences between parents’ and teachers’ reports of communication. Participants were mothers of 90 infants and their teachers in childcare in Portugal. Results show that both parents and teachers report higher levels of communication in higher-quality programmes. Teachers reported more frequent communication than parents. Teachers, but not parents, reported more frequent communication when children spent fewer hours in childcare. Discussion highlights the relevance of monitoring the quality of childcare contexts, especially in early ages, and to increase parent-teacher communication when children spend more time in childcare. The importance of promoting high-quality childcare and accounting for variables at the mesosystemic level of development in teacher training are also discussed.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Toward Writing Skill With A Toddler Who Is Blind Using A Braille Writer

The topic of emergent literacy development in children younger than 36 months has not been extensively researched, while the topic of emergent literacy development in children who are blind and younger than 36 months has even less empirically-validated literature. Within the umbrella of emergent literacy lie emergent writing skills, emergent braille writing skills, emergent reading skills, and emergent braille reading skills. The purpose of this study was to understand how the presence and utilization of a braille writer in the home of a young child who is blind fits into the development of the child\u27s emergent literacy repertoire, as part of an in-home early intervention program. The research, completed over a period of four months, used qualitative case study methods with one participant. The research demonstrated the emergent literacy strategies on which the family was coached, as well as the strategies they implemented with their child. At the beginning of the study, the child, aged fourteen months, was delayed in emergent braille writing skills. At the end of the study, the child, aged seventeen months, had established developmentally appropriate emergent braille writing skills. Other essential themes that arose included family and early interventionist empowerment, and accessible emergent literacy experiences for the child

Working with a Child who has Angelman Syndrome / The Role of an Early Childhood Special Education Teacher in Kindergarten

Working with a Child who has Angelman Syndrome addresses the etiology and symptomology of Angelman Syndrome. It explores how Angelman Syndrome impacts a young child\u27s development and how professionals can support this child. The Role of an Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) Teacher in Kindergarten covers three topics: the transition from preschool to kindergarten from the kindergarten perspective; special education during kindergarten; and the transition from the special education category Developmental Delay to another special education category prior to a child\u27s seventh birthday

Speaking my Language: Nurturing Augmentative and Alternative Communication Use Across Settings and Communication Partners in Early Childhood

This paper explores literature on the topic of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) across settings and partners used by children who have Complex Communication Needs (CCN). Children learning speech are often able to develop expressive and receptive language skills due to exposure to many speech models and rich language interactions. Both the quality and quantity of these interactions help typical children develop language skills rapidly (Sennott, Light, and McNaughton, 2016). However, for children who use AAC, modeling is much harder to access. Sennott et al. (2016) found that AAC users see or hear about 24,000 words modeled for them (a high estimate) compared to 125,000 words per week for speaking children. Because AAC communicators often lag behind their peers in terms of acquired expressive and receptive language, it is imperative that conversation partners create as much space as possible for these learners to express themselves, whether during interventions or spontaneous conversations, inside or outside of the classroom. For AAC users, an asymmetry often exists between the modalities of input to output. In other words, it is common that an AAC speaker’s ways of expressing language and ways of receiving language often do not match. Studies included in this paper demonstrate that, with the appropriate models of AAC within naturalistic contexts, used with various interaction techniques, the users made gains in both expressive and receptive language. When provided with the right instruction and adequate models, children with CCN can develop flexible language skills (Sennott et al., 2016)

Project AIM: Autism Intervention Meta-Analysis for Studies of Young Children

Article is forthcoming as of December 2019. Citation for published version will be added once released by the American Psychological Association.In this comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis of group design studies of nonpharmacological early interventions designed for young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), we report summary effects across seven early intervention types (behavioral, developmental, naturalistic developmental behavioral intervention [NDBI], TEACCH, sensory-based, animal-assisted, and technology-based), and 15 outcome categories indexing core and related ASD symptoms. A total of 1,615 effect sizes were gathered from 130 independent participant samples. A total of 6,240 participants, who ranged in age from 0-8 years, are represented across the studies. We synthesized effects within intervention and outcome type using a robust variance estimation approach to account for the nesting of effect sizes within studies. We also tracked study quality indicators, and report an additional set of summary effect sizes that restrict included studies to those meeting pre-specified quality indicators. Finally, we conducted moderator analyses to evaluate whether summary effects across intervention types were larger for proximal as compared to distal effects, and for context-bound as compared to generalized effects. We found that when study quality indicators were not taken into account, significant positive effects were found for behavioral, developmental, and NDBI intervention types. When effect size estimation was limited to studies with randomized controlled trial (RCT) designs, evidence of positive summary effects existed only for developmental and NDBI intervention types. This was also the case when outcomes measured by parent report were excluded. Finally, when effect estimation was limited to RCT designs and to outcomes for which there was no risk of detection bias, no intervention types showed significant effects on any outcome.Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) of the National Institutes of Health (U54HD083211; PI: Neul)Special Educatio

The Dilemma of Limited Participation in Quality Early Childhood Programs in the Steeltown Community

The purpose of this multi-perspectival qualitative study was to examine the reasons parents/primary caregivers residing in and around the Steeltown community choose to have their preschool age children participate or not participate in quality early childhood education programs. The goal of the researcher was to examine the early childhood experiences of some of the children from the Steeltown community who reside in either of the two subsidized housing projects and/or their neighborhoods. The following research questions were formulated to examine the reasons parents/primary caregivers choose to have their preschool age children participate or not participate in quality early childhood programs, given the presence of these programs in the Steeltown community.1)What are the early childhood programs available in the area?2)What do these programs provide: academics, socialization, childcare, other?3)What types of early childhood care (primarily) do parents/primary caregivers enroll their children: home (none), babysitter, daycare, nursery school?4)On what basis is this type of early childhood care chosen by parents/primary caregivers?5)How important is a child's prekindergarten (approximately from ages 0-5 years) experiences on kindergarten school readiness?6)What comments or questions regarding the context of early childhood education programs in the community do the research participants have of the researcher?Data was collected from interviews and focus groups of parents/primary caregivers and the school district parent involvement coordinator along with a review of school district documents regarding early childhood programs in the Steeltown area and local demographics. The findings indicate that the communication system between parents/primary caregivers and early childhood education providers has had a major impact on participation or lack of participation in quality early childhood programs. The goals of Goals 2000 legislation, ensuring all children come to school ready to learn, and the goals of the No Child Left Behind legislation have influenced the focus on the provision of high quality early education programs for all children. The results of this study revealed that without an effective communication system, parents/primary caregivers have limited knowledge of school readiness, what quality early childhood programs offer, and that these programs are accessible

Exploring the relationship between teacher education experience and the child-focused practices implemented in quality early childhood inclusive environments

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between teacher education experience and child-focused practices implemented in quality early childhood inclusive environments, the following research questions focused the study: what child-focused effective practices were implemented in quality early childhood inclusive environments and, how did early childhood teachers learn about these practices? To answer these questions, a qualitative descriptive multiple case study approach was used to examine effective child-focused practices used in two Head Start classrooms, two public Pre-K classrooms and two childcare centers with children with special educational needs. The teachers were videotape recorded implementing practices in the context of the classroom, then interviewed regarding the practices used. The teachers were also asked questions about education and experienced that informed their implementation of the practices. Using a modified phenomenological three step analytic process, themes emerged. The themes were analyzed and reduced a cross settings to determine specific practices implemented and the connection to their educational experiences. Results revealed teachers implemented primarily explicit child focused practices. These practices included guidance and redirection with clear limits, using rote, recall and response during routines and activities and embedding IEP goals into the routines and practices. These practices seemed directly connected to the number of children with disabilities in the classroom and the severity of the disability. This study suggested that specific college coursework influenced implementation of practice. Coursework with field experience and internship provided opportunities to rehearse practices. Also relationships developed within the home and at work influenced practice. Additional results suggest implicit practices were used primarily with typical children in inclusive settings. Further research should explore the type and extent of the disability and the ratio between typical and atypical children in an inclusive setting. Also, the role of relationships within work and family should be examined. Limitations include number of participants and researcher bias as an experienced early childhood professional