ERIC Number: ED603925
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2019
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0885-2006
EISSN: N/A
Frequency of Instructional Practices in Rural Prekindergarten Classrooms and Associations with Child Language and Literacy Skills
Bratsch-Hines, Mary E.; Burchinal, Margaret; Peisner-Feinberg, Ellen; Franco, Ximena
Grantee Submission, Early Childhood Research Quarterly v47 p74-88 2019
Although publicly-funded prekindergarten (pre-k) programs have been designed to promote children's school readiness, programs have tended to support early literacy skills to a greater degree than early language skills. Given the importance of both language and literacy skills for children's reading acquisition and academic achievement, the present study sought to understand whether different pre-k classroom instructional practices were related to gains in language and/or literacy skills. Teacher-child language exchanges, children's engagement in domain-specific learning activities, and the use of different types of activity settings were examined in 63 pre-k classrooms for 455 children living in six rural counties in the Southeastern United States. Hierarchical linear models showed that gains in expressive language were positively associated with teacher-child language exchanges and negatively associated with large- group activities. Gains in phonemic awareness and initial-sound knowledge were positively related to sound-focused activities and small-group settings. Gains in reading decoding skills were also positively associated with small-group settings. Implications for research, teacher practice, and professional development are discussed.
Descriptors: Preschool Education, Rural Schools, Teaching Methods, Incidence, Child Language, Language Skills, Emergent Literacy, Expressive Language, Phonemic Awareness, Correlation, Small Group Instruction, Learning Activities, Decoding (Reading), Interpersonal Communication, Preschool Teachers, Large Group Instruction, Teacher Student Relationship, Context Effect, Achievement Tests, Elementary School Students, Reading Fluency, Reading Tests, Parent Background, Educational Attainment, Racial Differences, Ethnicity, Gender Differences
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Preschool Education; Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: North Carolina
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Expressive One Word Picture Vocabulary Test; Woodcock Johnson Tests of Achievement; Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS)
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: R305N160022