Abstract/Notes: Understanding young children’s spelling abilities may provide unique insight into their overall linguistic development as well as assist in identifying children at risk for reading difficulties in ways that typical reading assessments cannot (Chua, Rickard Liow, & Yeong, 2016; Clemens, Oslund, Simmons, & Simmons, 2014; Hofslundsengen, Hagtvet, & Gustafsson, 2016; McBride-Chang, 1998; Ouellette & Sénéchal, 2017). Yet, spelling assessments are not commonly conducted before Kindergarten (age 5) and no normed instrument exists for 3- to 4-year-olds. When spelling assessments designed for 5-year-olds are administered to younger children, young children get lower scores (Clemens, et al., 2014; Puranik & Apel, 2010). These lower scores may reflect their less developed spelling ability (typical development) but they may also be influenced by aspects of development unrelated to spelling: lack of motor ability to write letters, working memory limitations, poor word choice of items to be spelled, and/or insensitive scoring systems (Apel, Wolter, & Masterson, 2006; Clemens, et al., 2014; Diamond, 2013; Puranik & Apel, 2010). These latter possibilities raise the question of what would happen if we controlled these factors. Would a preschool spelling assessment that did not require handwriting and that minimized working memory demands result in higher spelling scores than a handwritten assessment? Specifically, is a movable alphabet spelling assessment a more reliable, valid, and sensitive way of measuring spelling abilities in children younger than 5 than is a handwritten assessment? The present study employed a within-subjects quasi-experimental design in which the spelling of 3- to 4-year-old children was assessed using a movable alphabet and handwriting. Results indicated that (1) preschoolers scored higher on a movable alphabet spelling assessment than on a handwritten assessment, (2) word choice did influence results, (3) movable alphabet spelling scores were a significantly stronger predictor of phonemic awareness and letter knowledge scores than handwritten spelling scores, (4) children were more willing to attempt to spell words with the movable alphabet than with handwriting, and (5) assessment scores were not closely tied to age or measures of behavior. To date, few if any other studies have specifically evaluated the influence of different tools on capturing the spelling abilities of preschoolers. This study expands current knowledge about the influence of motor and working memory scaffolds on the word-building capacities of 3- to 4-year-olds.

Language: English

Published: Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2017

Language: English

DOI: 10.1177/002248718103200209

ISSN: 0022-4871

Abstract/Notes: To determine the relative effectiveness of different methods of preschool educational intervention for disadvantaged children, comparisons were made of five programs whose levels of structure ranged from the traditional nursery school to a highly structured preschool. Subjects were 79 4-year-olds representing a wide range of ability levels. Intervention effects were evaluated at the end of the preschool year and also, at the end of the kindergarten year. Follow-up data were collected at the end of first grade for three of the programs. Preliminary results were differential and encouraging for the more structured programs. The ameliorative preschool provided a framework for the subsequent investigation of related variables: effects of initiating the program with 3-year-old, low IQ children, and the feasibility of using paraprofessional staff as teachers. Included in this report are studies undertaken to provide instructional programs for children under 3 years and to find techniques to train mothers in home intervention. (MS)

Language: English

Published: Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, May 1969

Abstract/Notes: A Head Start Program operating in Kansas City since 1965 was viewed as inadequate because enrollment was limited to about 600 children per year. The Model Cities Agency determined to provide a program for the remainder of the children in the Model Cities neighborhoods. The programs developed were differentiated administratively for the purposes of this evaluation and the program considered a single entity and referred to as Early Childhood Education. These questions were developed as evaluation goals: What specific educational approaches were provided?; To what degree do the children grow to the stated objectives?; Do these programs meet the emotional, social, physical, and intellectual needs of the program's four-year-old children?; Do these children grow differentially?; Are specified goals reached as anticipated by staff?; What program differences account for student growth differences?; Do parents in the parent education component change relevant to their children's development?; Are these programs complementary with kindergarten programs of urban schools?; What are the effects of staff development activities?; Is program administration effective?; Are children with special problems provided assistance in achievement of program objectives?; And what program changes should be made? Each question is treated in succession and is detailed. Summaries giving the main thrust are provided after each section. (RC)

Language: English

Published: Kansas City, Missouri, Sep 1971

Abstract/Notes: Four experiments were designed to identify socioeconomic differences in preschool locus of control, develop a measurement technique for differentiating between internal and external locus of control in preschoolers, and study the effect of four kinds of preschool programs on locus of control. During the first experiment, the Stephens-Delys Reinforcement Contingency Interview (SDRCI) was developed to assess internal locus of control development in preschoolers. When used with 24 4-year-olds in a Head Start program, the measure was found to have rater and retest reliability; the race of the interviewer did not significantly affect scores. The second experiment indicated that the performance of 32 preschool boys on a mirror-tracing task was positively related to internal locus of control as measured by the SDRCI. In the third study, investigators tested 55 Head Start preschoolers and 50 middle-class nursery school children with the SDRCI. Lower internal control scores were found for the Head Start children than for the middle-class nursery school group; no differences were found between black and white Head Start groups. A final study of 114 children found a nonsignificant tendency for Montessori preschool experience (and to a lesser extent, parent cooperative nursery school experience) to increase internal control, as measured by the SDRCI, more than Head Start or a more structured compensatory preschool program. (Author/BRT)

Language: English

Published: West Lafayette, Indiana, Aug 1973

Abstract/Notes: This research was aimed at an analysis of classroom activities which make up educational programs for young children. Its broad purpose was to analyze systematically and to make comparisons among six preschool programs in order to describe the patterns of activity settings used; the objectives activity settings were designed to reach from the point of view of their designers, classroom teachers; and the social behaviors of teachers and children which are shaped and molded by the requirements of settings and which have not necessarily been planned for or recognized by teachers. The six preschool settings used for the study include a Montessori nursery school, a Head Start program, two laboratory nursery school classrooms, a franchise day care center, and a community day care center. The first section of the report contains discussion of related research, a theoretical model, the six preschool classrooms, and the research procedures. The presentation of the results comprises the rest of the report. The findings are divided into three parts: a quantified picture of six classrooms in terms of activity characteristics and social interaction; an exploration of the relations between the activity and social interaction values; and an examination of the relationship of the personal characteristics of the children to activity participation and social interaction. (SDH)

Language: English

Published: Washington, D.C., 1973

Abstract/Notes: This report presents three interpretive manuscripts on preschool reading instruction for three audiences: the school administrator, the school teacher, and the parent. "Preschool Reading Instruction: Information for the Administrator" discusses the origins of preschool reading instruction, reviews the research dealing with preschool reading instruction, and presents information necessary for installing a preschool reading program. Similarly, "Preschool Reading Instruction: Information for the Teacher" presents a review of the literature on preschool reading instruction, along with suggestions and materials for teaching preschool reading. "Preschool Reading Instruction: Information for the Parent" provides answers to questions parents ask about preschool reading instruction and suggests guidelines parents might follow in helping the preschool child before he learns to read. (Author)

Language: English

Published: Bloomington, Indiana, Jun 1972

Abstract/Notes: This study represents a continuation of a longitudinal assessment of the effectiveness of a Montessori and Responsive Environment preschool program sponsored by the Arlington Public Schools. The Metropolitan Readiness Test, the Caldwell Cooperative Preschool Inventory, and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test were used to assess the academic achievement and intellectual development of 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children with the Montessori or Responsive Environment experiences and those with no preschool experience at the end of the regular kindergarten program. The SRA Achievement Series, Grade 1, was used to assess the achievement of children, with and without the Montessori experience, at the end of first grade. Results indicated that children in the regular 5-year-old kindergarten program with prior Montessori experience scored significantly higher on the Caldwell measure than did children without this experience upon entrance into the program. When all of the children with either type of preschool experience were categorized as one treatment group, results showed that these children scored higher on the Caldwell measure at the beginning and end of the 5-year-old program than those without the experience. Significant differences in favor of the preschool treatment group were also noted on the pretest of the Caldwell subtests: Personal-Social, Associative, Vocabulary, and Concept Activation-Numerical. It was concluded that early educational preschool experiences can be effective in fostering the academic achievement and maintaining the intellectual development of children. (Author/JMB)

Language: English

Pages: 45

Abstract/Notes: This article discusses the developmental importance of Montessori didactic materials in the mental, physical, intellectual development of preschool children. / Annotatsiya Ushbu maqolada maktabgacha tarbiya yoshidagi bolalarni ruhiy, jismoniy, aqliy rivojlantirishda Mariya Montessori didaktik materiallarining rivojlantiruvchi ahamiyati haqida yoritilgan. / В данной статье описывается развивающая роль дидактических материалов Марии Монтессорив умственном, физическом и интеллектуальном развитии дошкольников.

Language: Uzbek

Language: Swedish

ISSN: 1103-8101