Approaches to Learning of Preschool Children in China: A Comparison between Only Children and Non-Only Children

Preschool children are at the initial stage of individual development and at a critical period in cultivating their approaches to learning. In the context of China's frequently adjusted birth policies, further research is necessary on children's approaches to learning in families of different sizes. A questionnaire survey was administered to 5454 only child and 4632 non-only child parents from the east, middle, and west of China. The study found that children's approaches to learning generally developed well, but non-only children's approaches to learning was significantly lower than those of only children. There are four profiles of approaches to learning for both the only children and the non-only children. This study also found that gender, social skills, family income, and type of preschool exert significant influences on children's approaches to learning. Parents' educational background had a significant influence on only children's approaches to learning but had no significant influence on non-only children's approaches to learning. We provide practical implications for promoting children's approaches to learning in families of different sizes.

Teacher-Child Racial Congruence and Young Children's Preschool Adjustment

The purpose of this study was to explore how adjusted preschoolers were to preschool when their teachers were either racially congruent or racially incongruent and whether gender moderated these associations. In this study, 259 preschoolers (50% boys; Mage = 53.84 months; 63% White, 37% Black) in 44 classrooms at 16 federally- and privately-funded centers/preschools were rated for their adjustment to preschool using teacher (N = 44; 100% women, 52% White, 38% Black, 2% Asian, 5% American Indian/Alaskan Native, 2% Latine) reports and direct child assessments. Multi-level structural equation modeling was used to simultaneously address the non-independence of the data by estimating higher-level variance components (i.e., variance on a total of six preschool adjustment outcomes out due to the classroom and due to the center) as well as correlated outcomes. Accounting for classroom-level variance as well as school-, classroom-, and child-level covariates, these analyses revealed main effects for gender and teacher-child racial congruence, and not for race, but higher-order interactions were significant. White girls with White teachers scored higher than White girls with Black teachers on four outcomes. Black girls with Black teachers scored higher than Black girls with White teachers on three outcomes and lower on two outcomes. White boys with White teachers scored lower than White boys with Black teachers on three outcomes. Black boys with Black teachers scored lower than Black boys with White teachers on five outcomes and higher on one outcome. Magnitudes of associations found ranged from small to large across the analyses. These findings add to the growing literature concerning teacher racial congruence suggesting its association with preschool adjustment may be moderated by race and gender of the child. More research is needed to understand the mechanisms accounting for these associations.

Relationship between Learning and Psychomotor Skills in Early Childhood Education

Psychomotor skills are, among others, an aspect particularly valuable for structuring the teaching-learning process of infant schoolchildren. For this reason, a study was carried out with the aim of describing and comparing the socio-demographic, psychomotor, and learning levels of schoolchildren in the second stage of infant education. Ninety-five pupils from the second cycle of infant education in the capital of Granada took part in this study. A sociodemographic questionnaire, the movement assessment battery for children-2 (MABC-2), and the preschool learning behaviour scale (PLBS) were used to collect data. The main results show that manual dexterity appears as the main motor factor and similar figures in the three dimensions of learning behaviours. On the other hand, balance and learning behaviours were higher in 6-year-old schoolchildren. In terms of gender, girls obtained higher values for the level of the learning behaviour variables. A positive correlation was found between the dimensions of learning and motor activity.

Study protocol: implementation of a computer-assisted intervention for autism in schools: a hybrid type II cluster randomized effectiveness-implementation trial

Background

The number of children diagnosed with autism has rapidly outpaced the capacities of many public school systems to serve them, especially under-resourced, urban school districts. The intensive nature of evidence-based autism interventions, which rely heavily on one-to-one delivery, has caused schools to turn to computer-assisted interventions (CAI). There is little evidence regarding the feasibility, effectiveness, and implementation of CAI in public schools. While CAI has the potential to increase instructional time for students with autism, it may also result in unintended consequences such as reduction in the amount of interpersonal (as opposed to computerized) instruction students receive. The purpose of this study is to test the effectiveness of one such CAI—TeachTown—its implementation, and its effects on teachers’ use of other evidence-based practices.

Methods

This study protocol describes a type II hybrid cluster randomized effectiveness-implementation trial. We will train and coach 70 teachers in autism support classrooms in one large school district in the use of evidence-based practices for students with autism. Half of the teachers then will be randomly selected to receive training and access to TeachTown: Basics, a CAI for students with autism, for the students in their classrooms. The study examines: (1) the effectiveness of TeachTown for students with autism; (2) the extent to which teachers implement TeachTown the way it was designed (i.e., fidelity); and (3) whether its uptake increases or reduces the use of other evidence-based practices.

Discussion

This study will examine the implementation of new technology for children with ASD in public schools and will be the first to measure the effectiveness of CAI. As importantly, the study will investigate whether adding a new technology on top of existing practices increases or decreases their use. This study presents a unique method to studying both the implementation and exnovation of evidence-based practices for children with autism in school settings.

Trial registration

NCT02695693. Retrospectively registered on July 8, 2016.

Nighttime sleep duration and externalizing behaviors of preschool children

OBJECTIVE

To examine how many hours preschool children in the United States sleep at night and to test the hypothesis that children with shorter nighttime sleep duration are more likely to exhibit externalizing behaviors.

METHODS

The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort is a nationally representative longitudinal cohort study that followed children born in 2001 through kindergarten. This cross-sectional study examines the preschool wave (n = ∼8950). We estimated nighttime sleep duration from parent's reports of their 4-year-old child's typical weekday bed and wake times. Parents rated their child on 6 different externalizing behaviors (overactivity, anger, aggression, impulsivity, tantrums, and annoying behaviors) on a scale from 1 through 5 using the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scale-second edition. Multivariable regression analyses were used to examine the association between sleep duration and behavior scores and to control for possible confounders.

RESULTS

Results are weighted to total United States population, ∼3,895,100 children born in 2001. Mean sleep duration was 10.47 hours. Mean bedtime was 8:39 PM and wake time was 7:13 AM. The adjusted odds ratios for children sleeping <9.44 hours (1 standard deviation below the mean) versus those sleeping ≥9.44 hours for 6 different externalizing behavior outcomes were as follows: overactivity = 1.30 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03-1.65); anger = 1.40 (95% CI, 1.15-1.71); aggression = 1.81 (95% CI, 1.36-2.41); impulsivity = 1.44 (95% CI, 1.12-1.86); tantrums = 1.46 (95% CI, 1.16-1.85); and annoying behaviors = 1.40 (95% CI, 0.97-1.87).

CONCLUSION

Shorter nighttime sleep duration in preschool children is associated with higher likelihood of externalizing behavioral symptoms based on parental report.

The Factor Structure of Preschool Learning Behaviors Scale Scores in Peruvian Children

The factor structure of the Escala de Conductas de Aprendizaje Preescolar (ECAP), a Spanish translation of the Preschool Learning Behaviors Scale (PLBS), was examined in this study. Children aged 2 to 6 years ( N = 328) enrolled in public and private preschools in the Republic of Peru were rated by classroom teachers on the frequency of observable, learning-related behaviors using the ECAP. Exploratory factor analyses identified three underlying dimensions of the scale: competence motivation, effortful strategy/flexibility, and attention. The three factor scores exhibited internal reliability coefficients above .70, and the alpha was .92 for the total score.

An Occupational Perspective on the Assessment of Social Competence in Children

Maintaining relationships and interacting socially are essential aspects of the occupational performance of childhood and adolescence. Social participation occurs during many childhood occupations, such as play and school work. Occupational therapists assess and treat children with difficulties in social participation. Rather than assessing a child's social skills deficits in isolation, the use of occupation-based theoretical models guides clinicians to consider the individual in his or her environments and during occupations. Familiarity with existing models of social competence and available assessment tools provides occupational therapists with the basis for a comprehensive assessment of children.

This paper presents an occupational therapy model (the Model of Human Occupation), models of social competence from cognate fields and a range of assessment tools in order to guide occupational therapists in assessing and treating children with social participation difficulties in a more occupation-centred manner. The paper also presents a rationale for the use of multiple methods for a comprehensive assessment of a child's social competence.