Between Aspiration and Reality. Educational Plans in the Early Childhood System and the Question of the Quality of Educational Practice

Bildungspläne im Elementarbereich sind mittlerweile in allen Bundesländern etabliert. Ihr Anspruch ist es, als Steuerungsinstrument zu wirken und dabei die pädagogische Qualität in der Praxis positiv zu beeinflussen. Ausgehend von der konzeptionellen und inhaltlichen Ausrichtung der Bildungspläne diskutiert der Beitrag am Beispiel Berlins, wie sich die fachwissenschaftlich begründbaren normativen Vorgaben des dortigen Bildungsprogramms zur pädagogischen Wirklichkeit, d.h. zur realisierten Praxis verhalten. Dazu werden Daten von externen Evaluationen (N = 287 Gruppen) ausgewertet. Insgesamt lässt sich eine hohe globale Prozessqualität feststellen. Größerer Entwicklungsbedarf zeigt sich dagegen bei bereichsspezifischen Qualitätsaspekten. Abschließend werden Implikationen für die Weiterentwicklung der Bildungspläne abgeleitet.Educational plans have now been established in all federal states in Germany. They propose to act as steering instruments and thus to positively influence the educational quality in practice. Based on the conceptual and content-related orientation of the educational plans, this paper uses the state of Berlin as an example to discuss how the normative guidelines of these educational plans relate to pedagogical reality, i.e., to realized practice. To this end, we analyzed data from external evaluations (N = 287 classes). Overall, we found a high global process quality. In contrast, there is a greater need for the development of domain-specific quality aspects. Finally, we derive implications for the further development of educational plans

Erwartungen von Eltern zu Nutzen und Kosten eines Krippenbesuchs - eine Analyse zu Zusammenhängen mit kindbezogenen und familialen Strukturmerkmalen

"Die Inanspruchnahme von frühkindlicher Fremdbetreuung in den ersten drei Lebensjahren zeigt Zusammenhangsmuster mit Strukturmerkmalen der Familie wie z.B. Migrationshintergrund und sozioökonomischer Status. Bislang ist wenig darüber bekannt, wovon die elterlichen Erwartungen zum Krippenbesuch des Kindes abhängen. An dieser Stelle setzt der Beitrag an und analysiert mit Daten des Nationalen Bildungspanels (NEPS), welche Erwartungen Eltern zu Nutzen und Kosten eines Krippenbesuchs vor dessen Beginn haben, wie diese mit kindbezogenen und familialen Merkmalen zusammenhängen und ob es bestimmte Elterntypen hinsichtlich dieser Erwartungen gibt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Eltern einen hohen Nutzen im Krippenbesuch sehen (z.B. bezüglich der Aussicht auf die eigene Berufstätigkeit). Dass ein Krippenbesuch mit sozialen Kosten (z.B. der Konfrontation mit negativen Einstellungen) in Verbindung steht, trifft nur auf wenige Eltern zu. Des Weiteren erweisen sich familiale Strukturmerkmale als bedeutsam. Hinsichtlich der Erwartungen können drei verschiedene Elterntypen gebildet werden." (Autorenreferat)"The attendance of early child care institutions in the first three years of a child shows relational patterns with family background factors (e.g. migration background or socioeconomic status). Until now less is known about influencing factors regarding parental beliefs concerning crèche attendance. Using data of the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) the paper examines parental expectations regarding benefits and costs of crèche attendance before child's crèche attendance, which family and child factors are linked to those expectations and whether there are specific types of parents concerning their expectations. Results show that parents' expectations that the crèche attendance of their child will be helpful are quite high (e.g. for the prospect of occupation). Only a few parents consider social costs (like confrontation with negative attitudes) as a result of their child attending a crèche. Family background factors are relevant. Regarding the expectations three types of parents were found." (author's abstract

Interaktionsqualität in Kindertageseinrichtungen - eine vergleichende Betrachtung standardisierter gruppen- und zielkindbezogener Erhebungsverfahren

Zahlreiche Studien verweisen auf die Bedeutung qualitativ hochwertiger Interaktionsprozesse in Kindertageseinrichtungen für die Entwicklung und den Bildungserfolg von Kindern. In empirischen Studien, die standardisierte Erhebungsinstrumente verwenden, richtet sich der Fokus dabei häufig auf die Qualität von Interaktionen, die von pädagogischen Fachkräften ausgehen und auf eine Kindergruppe gerichtet sind. Dieser Zugang stellt die pädagogische Perspektive des Interaktionsgeschehens in den Vordergrund und ermöglicht Rückschlüsse auf die Qualität des gruppenbezogenen Interaktionsverhaltens pädagogischer Fachkräfte. Wie gut es dagegen einzelnen Kindern gelingt, in Interaktion mit ihrer Umwelt in Kindertageseinrichtungen zu treten und welches Angebot an Interaktionen einzelne Kinder in der Kita konkret erfahren, bleibt häufig unterbelichtet. Der Beitrag informiert über ausgewählte standardisierte Verfahren zur Erhebung der Interaktionsqualität in Kindertageseinrichtungen. Neben gängigen Instrumenten zur Messung der Interaktionsqualität auf Gruppenebene, wie der Kindergarten-Skala (KES-R bzw. KES-RZ) und dem Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) fokussiert der Beitrag auf Instrumente, welche die Interaktionsqualität auf der Ebene einzelner Kinder (Zielkindebene) erfassen. Dabei wird insbesondere das bisher wenig bekannte Instrument Individualized Classroom Assessment Scoring System (in-CLASS) vorgestellt und sein Mehrwert im Vergleich zu den verbreiteten gruppenspezifischen Verfahren KES-R bzw. KES-RZ und CLASS aufgezeigt.Several studies refer to the importance of high-quality interactional processes in preschools for children’s developmental gains and educational success. Applying standardized tools, empirical studies often focus on the quality of interactions, which have been initiated by the preschool teachers and which have been directed to the whole preschool class or to a group of children, respectively. This approach puts emphasize on an educational perspective and enables to draw conclusions on the quality of a class-related interaction quality of the educational staff. However, it remains often vague, to what extent individual children are successful to interact with their preschool environment and which interactional stimulations individual children receive. The paper informs about selected standardized tools to capture interaction quality in preschool. Besides common tools to measure interaction quality on level of the preschool class such as the Kindergarten-Skala (KES-R and KES-RZ, respectively) and the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) the contribution focuses on tools which capture interaction quality on the level of individual children (target-child-level). In particular, the still little known tool Individualized Classroom Assessment Scoring System (inCLASS) will be introduced and its innovative aspects compared to the conventional class-level instruments KES-R, KES-RZ and CLASS will be elucidated

Measurement of Children's Interaction Quality in Daycare Centers. A Critical-Constructive Study of the Individualized Classroom Assessment Scoring System

Mit dem Individualized Classroom Assessment Scoring System (inCLASS) liegt ein Beobachtungsinstrument vor, das zum Ziel hat, Interaktionen in Kitas auf Kindebene erfassen und in ihrer Qualität bestimmen zu können. Der Beitrag geht den Fragen nach, inwieweit das inCLASS diesem Anspruch nach Maßgabe gängiger Gütekriterien gerecht wird und welche Herausforderungen und Limitationen damit verbunden sind. Die Ausführungen stützen sich auf eigene Forschungserfahrungen mit dem Instrument. Über das inCLASS hinaus werden Bezüge zu weiteren Qualitätsmessverfahren (CLASS und KES) hergestellt. Im Ergebnis zeigt das inCLASS einige Stärken und Schwächen. Stärken liegen unter anderem in der forschungsbasierten Ausrichtung auf die Individualebene von Kindern, was es ermöglicht, Verläufe der kindlichen Interaktionsqualität längsschnittlich nachzuzeichnen. Limitationen und Herausforderungen betreffen insbesondere die Faktorenstruktur und die Konfundierung der Erfassung von kindlichen Interaktionen und Kompetenzen.The Individualized Classroom Assessment Scoring System (inCLASS) is an observation tool that aims to measure the quality of interactions in daycare centers at the child level. The paper examines whether the inCLASS meets common scientific criteria to fulfill its aim. In addition, it identifies the challenges and limitations of the inCLASS. The study is based on our own research experience with the instrument. Further, we make reference to other quality measurement tools for daycare centers (CLASS and ECERS). The inCLASS shows some strengths and weaknesses. Strengths include the research-based focus on the individual child level, which allows longitudinal tracking of children's interaction quality. Limitations and challenges relate in particular to the factor structure of the inCLASS and the overlapping measurement of children's interactions and competencies

An fMRI study

Background Maternal sensitive behavior depends on recognizing one’s own child’s affective states. The present study investigated distinct and overlapping neural responses of mothers to sad and happy facial expressions of their own child (in comparison to facial expressions of an unfamiliar child). Methods We used functional MRI to measure dissociable and overlapping activation patterns in 27 healthy mothers in response to happy, neutral and sad facial expressions of their own school-aged child and a gender- and age- matched unfamiliar child. To investigate differential activation to sad compared to happy faces of one’s own child, we used interaction contrasts. During the scan, mothers had to indicate the affect of the presented face. After scanning, they were asked to rate the perceived emotional arousal and valence levels for each face using a 7-point Likert-scale (adapted SAM version). Results While viewing their own child’s sad faces, mothers showed activation in the amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex whereas happy facial expressions of the own child elicited activation in the hippocampus. Conjoint activation in response to one’s own child happy and sad expressions was found in the insula and the superior temporal gyrus. Conclusions Maternal brain activations differed depending on the child’s affective state. Sad faces of the own child activated areas commonly associated with a threat detection network, whereas happy faces activated reward related brain areas. Overlapping activation was found in empathy related networks. These distinct neural activation patterns might facilitate sensitive maternal behavior

The mediating role of attachment and anger: exploring the impact of maternal early-life maltreatment on child abuse potential.

BACKGROUND Maternal early-life maltreatment (ELM) increases the risk of subsequent child maltreatment, but the underlying mechanisms of these intergenerational effects remain largely unknown. Identifying these mechanisms is crucial for developing preventive interventions that can break the cycle of abuse. Notably, previous research has shown that ELM often results in attachment insecurity and altered anger characteristics. Therefore, this study determines whether these characteristics mediate the relationship between maternal history of ELM and child abuse potential. METHODS The study sample included 254 mothers, of whom 149 had experienced ELM to at least a moderate degree. Maternal ELM was assessed using the Childhood Experience of Care and Abuse (CECA) interview. Attachment insecurity, trait anger and anger expression, and maternal abuse potential were assessed using the Vulnerable Attachment Questionnaire (VASQ), State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI), and Child Abuse Potential Inventory (CAPI), respectively. RESULTS The severity of maternal ELM predicted higher child abuse potential, with attachment insecurity and anger suppression mediating this effect. Specifically, higher levels of maternal ELM were associated with greater attachment insecurity and increased anger suppression, resulting in a higher child abuse potential. Although higher levels of trait anger were directly associated with higher child abuse potential, this parameter did not mediate the relationship with ELM. In addition, no significant associations were observed between outwardly expressed anger and ELM or child abuse potential. All analyses were adjusted for maternal mental disorders, years of education, and relationship status. DISCUSSION Attachment insecurity and anger suppression may serve as pathways linking the maternal history of ELM to the risk of child abuse, even when considering maternal psychopathology. Overall, our findings indicate that interventions aimed at strengthening attachment and improving anger suppression may be beneficial for all mothers with ELM history and high child abuse potential, not just those who suffer from mental illness

Relationship between Borderline Personality Disorder, Emotional Availability, and Cortisol Output in Mother-Child Dyads

Background: Mothers with borderline personality disorder (BPD) often show altered emotional availability toward their own child and heightened stress vulnerability. The aims of the present study were (1) to examine total cortisol output in saliva during mother-child interaction in mothers with BPD and their children and (2) to test whether maternal nonhostility as a subscale of emotional availability mediates the relationship between maternal BPD and child total cortisol output. Methods: We investigated 16 mothers with BPD and 30 healthy control mothers (HC) and 29 children of mothers with BPD and 33 children of HC mothers. Children were between 5 and 12 years old. Salivary cortisol was collected prior to and twice after an episode of a 21-min standardized play situation between mother and child. Nonhostility was rated using the emotional availability scales. Analyses of covariance were computed to test for group differences in total cortisol output (measured with area under the curve with respect to ground). Pearson's correlation was calculated to test the association between maternal and child total cortisol output. To test the second question, a mediation analysis according to Preacher and Hayes was conducted. Results: Mothers with BPD and their children had lower total cortisol output. Maternal and child total cortisol output was significantly correlated. Contrary to our hypothesis, maternal nonhostility did not mediate the relationship between BPD and child total cortisol output. Conclusion: Results imply that the hormonal stress activity of mothers with BPD and their children is altered, which may reflect modified stress regulation and stress vulnerability in mother and child and may impact on mother-child interaction. The finding of a positive association between mother's and child total cortisol output could indicate an intergenerational transmission of these alterations

Effects of maternal history of depression and early life maltreatment on children's health-related quality of life

BACKGROUND There is a well-established link between maternal depression and child mental health. Similar effects have been found for maternal history of early life maltreatment (ELM). However, studies investigating the relationship of children's quality of life and maternal depression are scarce and none have been conducted for the association with maternal ELM. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of maternal history of ELM and depression on children's health-related quality of life and to identify mediating factors accounting for these effects. METHODS Our study involved 194 mothers with and without history of depression and/or ELM and their children between five and 12 years. Children's health-related quality of life was assessed by maternal proxy- and child self-ratings using the KIDSCREEN. We considered maternal sensitivity and maternal parenting stress as potential mediators. RESULTS We found an effect of maternal history of depression but not of maternal history of ELM on health-related quality of life. Maternal stress and sensitivity mediated the effects of maternal depression on child global health-related quality of life, as well as on the dimensions Autonomy & Parent Relation, School Environment (maternal and child rating), and Physical Wellbeing (child rating). LIMITATION Due to the cross-sectional design of the study, causal interpretations must be made with caution. Some scales yielded low internal consistency. CONCLUSIONS Maternal impairments in areas of parenting which possibly developed during acute depression persist even after remission of acute affective symptoms. Interventions should target parenting stress and sensitivity in parents with prior depression

Policy Brief zum vierten Zwischenbericht zur wissenschaftlichen Evaluation des Bundesprogramms „Sprach-Kitas: Weil Sprache der Schlüssel zur Welt ist“ : Ergebnisse zur nachhaltigen Wirkung des Bundesprogramms

Kurzzusammenfassung des Policy-Briefs zum vierten Zwschenbericht des Bundesprogramms "Sprach-Kitas: weil Sprache der Schlüssel zur Welt ist" mit den Ergebnissen zur nachhaltigen Wirkung des Bundesprogramms

Intergenerational transmission of literacy skills among Filipino families

We examined the joint role of parental word reading skills and conventional home literacy environment measures among 320 Filipino low- to- middle-income families in Cebu City, Philippines with children aged 5 to 8 years old. A ranking of parent-reported ratings of their frequency of engaging in home literacy activities and adult literacy practices revealed that book-related behaviors were less frequently practiced in this sample, and mean ratings on the home literacy resources scale suggested a relatively print-poor environment. Nevertheless, scale items about book reading and direct literacy instruction at home correlated with child’s literacy skills. Structural equation modeling showed that parent’s education and frequency of engaging in home literacy activities uniquely accounted for variance in child’s oral and print skills. In a second model, parent’s word reading skills were significantly related to child’s skills, but did not eliminate or attenuate influences from parent’s education and home literacy activities. Results are important in relation to theories on the intergenerational transmission of literacy skills and the generalizability of findings from developed countries to developing country contexts