High quality implementation of 4Rs + MTP increases classroom emotional support and reduces absenteeism

School-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programs are associated with improvements in children’s SEL and academic outcomes, and the quality of classroom interactions. The magnitude of these effects increases at high levels of program implementation quality. This study aimed to (1) identify teachers’ profiles of quality of implementation, (2) explore teachers and classroom characteristics contributing to their propensity to comply with high quality of implementation, and (3) examine the relations between school assignment to an SEL program, quality of classroom interactions, and child SEL and academic outcomes at different levels of teachers’ compliance propensity. This study drew upon data from a cluster-randomized controlled trial evaluating the efficacy of 4Rs + MTP, a literacy-based SEL program, on third and fourth grade teachers (n = 330) and their students (n = 5,081) across 60 New York City public elementary schools. Latent profile analysis indicated that measures of teacher responsiveness and amount of exposure to implementation supports contributed to the differentiation of profiles of high and low quality of implementation. Random forest analysis showed that more experienced teachers with low levels of professional burnout had high propensity to comply with high quality of implementation. Multilevel moderated mediation analysis indicated that 4Rs + MTP teachers with high compliance propensity were associated with higher classroom emotional support and lower children’s school absences than their counterparts in the control group. These findings may inform debates in policy research about the importance of providing the supports teachers need to implement SEL school programs with high quality

Home–school differences in beliefs, support, and control during public pre-kindergarten and their link to children's kindergarten readiness

This study examines the prevalence of home-school match in child-rearing beliefs and socialization practices (control and support) and their relation to ethnicity and readiness skills of children (n=310) making the transition from publicly sponsored pre-k to kindergarten. Home-school match was operationalized both as a continuous absolute measure and as categories of match or mismatch. Overall, home-school match was more prevalent than mismatch. However, the results corroborate previous ethnographic studies showing higher rates of home-school mismatch among African Americans and Latinos than Euro Americans. Controlling for race and socioeconomic status, parents‘ beliefs and practices predicted readiness but teachers‘ did not. Absolute indicators of home-school differences were not related to kindergarten readiness. Directional indicators revealed that children attained greater skills when parents and teachers matched on child-centered beliefs, low control, and high support. Contrary to the cultural match hypothesis, home-school mismatch was associated with better outcomes than match in the case of adult-centered beliefs, control, and low support

Parent characteristics, economic stress and neighborhood context as predictors of parent involvement in preschool children’s education.

Abstract: This study examines factors related to three dimensions of parent involvement in preschool: school-based involvement, home-based involvement, and the parent-teacher relationship. Participants were 154 predominantly African American parents recruited from two Head Start programs. Results of bivariate and canonical correlation analyses support the validity of a multidimensional, ecological conceptualization of parent involvement. Perceived context variables, including economic stress and neighborhood social disorder, related negatively to parent involvement. Parent characteristics, including sense of efficacy regarding education and level of education, related positively to parent involvement. Regression analyses detected different patterns of association between predictors and the three dimensions of parent involvement. Parent characteristics were associated with home involvement, while perceived context variables were predictive of the teacher-parent relationship. Implications of differential predictors for different domains of parent involvement and directions for future research and intervention with low-income families are discussed

Individual toddlers' interactions with teachers, peers, and the classroom environment in Danish and Dutch childcare: First validation of the inCLASS Toddler

Toddlers' interactions with teachers, peers and the classroom environment are critical for their academic and social development. The newly developed measure – Individualized Classroom Assessment Scoring System for Toddlers (inCLASS Toddler) – evaluated the quality of toddlers' interactions in two European countries. This first validation study examined the structural, construct and criterion validity of the inCLASS Toddler. Using observational data of Danish and Dutch toddlers (N = 211) across 58 classrooms, the hypothesized four-domain structure showed an adequate and marginal fit to the Danish and Dutch data, respectively. Construct validity indicated within-country differences for children's age, but not for gender. Criterion validity was evidenced by small to large relations with children's social-emotional, language, and math skills. These results support the applicability of the inCLASS Toddler for observing toddlers' situated skills in interacting with their environment, which can be useful for practitioners and researchers to evaluate toddlers' interactions in an ecologically valid way

COVID-19 symptoms at hospital admission vary with age and sex: results from the ISARIC prospective multinational observational study

Background: The ISARIC prospective multinational observational study is the largest cohort of hospitalized patients with COVID-19. We present relationships of age, sex, and nationality to presenting symptoms. Methods: International, prospective observational study of 60 109 hospitalized symptomatic patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 recruited from 43 countries between 30 January and 3 August 2020. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate relationships of age and sex to published COVID-19 case definitions and the most commonly reported symptoms. Results: ‘Typical’ symptoms of fever (69%), cough (68%) and shortness of breath (66%) were the most commonly reported. 92% of patients experienced at least one of these. Prevalence of typical symptoms was greatest in 30- to 60-year-olds (respectively 80, 79, 69%; at least one 95%). They were reported less frequently in children (≤ 18 years: 69, 48, 23; 85%), older adults (≥ 70 years: 61, 62, 65; 90%), and women (66, 66, 64; 90%; vs. men 71, 70, 67; 93%, each P < 0.001). The most common atypical presentations under 60 years of age were nausea and vomiting and abdominal pain, and over 60 years was confusion. Regression models showed significant differences in symptoms with sex, age and country. Interpretation: This international collaboration has allowed us to report reliable symptom data from the largest cohort of patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Adults over 60 and children admitted to hospital with COVID-19 are less likely to present with typical symptoms. Nausea and vomiting are common atypical presentations under 30 years. Confusion is a frequent atypical presentation of COVID-19 in adults over 60 years. Women are less likely to experience typical symptoms than men

Adapting assessments of child engagement to develop an early childhood consultation model

This study examines the psychometric properties and utility of the Individualized Classroom Assessment Scoring System (inCLASS) and the Adjustment Scales for Preschool Intervention (ASPI) after they were adapted for use by consultants and teachers as part of the development of a new early childhood consultation model called Learning to Objectively Observe Kids (LOOK). Pilot data examined whether the adapted inCLASS and ASPI scales retained aspects of reliability and validity comparable to the research-validated scales. Data provided evidence that consultants used the inCLASS and ASPI scales to guide their consultation. Findings from two consultants, 22 Head Start teachers, and 71 preschool children indicated that the inCLASS and ASPI scales evidenced adequate reliability and validity as compared to the research scales. Findings suggested that LOOK consultants used data to individualize the consultation sequence. Results provide support for the promise of applying research measures of child engagement to practice in teacher consultation models. •We describe the process of adapting research-validated measures for use in practice.•LOOK is a data-driven consultation model focusing on assessing child engagement.•We adapted and used two validated research tools (inCLASS and ASPI) in LOOK.•The adapted inCLASS and ASPI showed adequate reliability and construct validity.•Consultants used the assessment data to guide the LOOK consultation sequence

Using Data-Driven, Video-Based Early Childhood Consultation with Teachers to Reduce Children’s Challenging Behaviors and Improve Engagement in Preschool Classrooms

Consultation to teachers can be an effective intervention for reducing young children’s challenging behaviors within the classroom, yet there is a need for more efficient approaches that provide data-driven, video-based support to enhance and expand teacher and child impacts. This paper focuses on a newly developed early childhood consultation model, called Learning to Objectively Observe Kids (LOOK), which involves the use of data from validated measures about children, and video-based feedback, to guide teachers’ selection and implementation of behavioral strategies. Results from a small randomized controlled trial demonstrate LOOK impacts on teachers’ use of social–emotional teaching strategies and self-efficacy, as well as children’s positive and negative engagement with teachers, peers, and learning activities in preschool classrooms

Teaching through Interactions: Testing a Developmental Framework of Teacher Effectiveness in over 4,000 Classrooms

Validating frameworks for understanding classroom processes that contribute to student learning and development is important to advance the scientific study of teaching. This article presents one such framework, Teaching through Interactions, which posits that teacher-student interactions are a central driver for student learning and organizes teacher-student interactions into three major domains. Results provide evidence that across 4,341 preschool to elementary classrooms (1) teacher-student classroom interactions comprise distinct emotional, organizational, and instructional domains; (2) the three-domain latent structure is a better fit to observational data than alternative one- and two-domain models of teacher-student classroom interactions; and (3) the three-domain structure is the best-fitting model across multiple data sets