Associations between low-income children\u27s fine motor skills in preschool and academic performance in second grade.

Research Findings: Given the growing literature pertaining to the importance of fine motor skills for later academic achievement (D. W. Grissmer, K. J. Grimm, S. M. Aiyer, W. M. Murrah, & J. S. Steele, 2010), the current study examines whether the fine motor skills of economically disadvantaged preschool students predict later academic performance in 2nd grade. More specifically, we expand on the current literature and evaluate whether 2 types of fine motor skills—fine motor object manipulation and fine motor writing—predict academic achievement above and beyond the effects of demographic characteristics and early language and cognition skills. Results indicate that performance on both fine motor writing and object manipulation tasks had significant effects on 2nd-grade reading and math achievement, as measured by grades and standardized test scores. Stronger effects were yielded for writing tasks compared to object manipulation tasks. Practice or Policy: Implications for researchers and early childhood practitioners are discussed

Analyzing Teacher Narratives in Early Childhood Garden-Based Education

Learning gardens can provide dynamic learning and developmental experiences for young children. This case study of 12 early childhood teachers explores how teachers describe (1) learning across numerous school readiness domains and (2) how to support this learning by promoting opportunities for autonomy, relatedness, and competence. Participants worked at a university-affiliated early education program with a learning garden in the midwestern United States. Data included 19 narrative, photo-elicitation interviews during two growing seasons. Iterative qualitative analyses informed the creation of a Gourd Tee-Pee Model that describes learning across multiple domains and integrates self-determination theory into early childhood garden education. This framework can inform the design and evaluation of early childhood garden education programs

Associations between center-based care accreditation status and the early educational outcomes of children in the child welfare system

Given the corpus of studies demonstrating the positive effects of high quality early care and education (ECE) experiences on the development and early academic outcome of children who attend ECE centers, the current study aims to expand on the literature by exploring the effects of quality, as measured by accreditation status, on the developmental and early academic outcomes of children in the child welfare system. More specifically, the authors focus on children in the child welfare system, receiving childcare subsidies and enrolled in community-based ECE centers. Findings indicate that attending an accredited center results in better outcomes for both children in child welfare and a comparison group of low-income children not in child welfare. Moreover, children in child welfare system are far less likely to attend accredited ECE centers than their non-child welfare counterparts. Finally, children in the child welfare system demonstrate poorer performance at the end of pre-k than children not in the child welfare system. Implications for research, practice, and policy are discussed. ► We assess the effect of accreditation on the outcome of children in child welfare. ► Attending an accredited center results in better outcomes for all. ► Children in child welfare are less likely to attend accredited centers. ► Children in child welfare show poorer outcomes than those not in child welfare