ECD 549 Early School Years Growth and Development Table
Domain:
Physical
Cognitive
Social/
Emotional
Oral/
Language
Overview/Explanation of
the domain in relation to
the age/stage of the
young learner
Noteworthy
milestones
reached in
typical
development
at this stage
Teaching/Learning:
How can you
remediate/enrich
learners at this level?
Environmental
Considerations:
How can the
learning
environment best
support overall
growth and
development?
Cultural/Contextual
Factors: How can
culture and context
(i.e. socioeconomic
status, demographics,
culture) impact or
influence growth and
development?
Close early learning gaps with Rigorous DAP
Author(s): Christopher P. Brown and Brian Mowry
Source: The Phi Delta Kappan, Vol. 96, No. 7 (April 2015), pp. 53-57
Published by: Phi Delta Kappa International
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Close early
learning gaps with
Rigorous DAP
—% —
m v*.
es
«
Very young children learn differently even from
children in primary grades. Following a set of
practices and principles can yield important
gains for these children.
By Christopher P. Brown
and Brian Mowry
"
National,
National,
state,
state,
and and
local policy
local policy
makers once
makers
again once
have pushed
again to
have pushed to
the
theforefront
forefront
of education
of education
reformreform
the issue the
of boosting
issue of
investment
boosting
in investment in
FIGURE 1.
early
earlychildhood
childhood
education.
education.
Children
Children
who enterwho
kindergarten
enter kindergarten
lagging
lagging
The practices
their
theirpeers
peers
in cognitive
in cognitive
and social
andmeasures
social measures
are less likely
aretoless
be suc
likely to be suc
cessful
cessful
in in
grade
grade
school
school
and more
andlikely
more
to likely
drop out
toofdrop
high school
out ofand
high school and
Ä
ÄJ1
of Rigorous DAP
earn
lessless
as adults.
InvestingInvesting
in high-quality
childhood educa
earn
as adults.
in early
high-quality
early childhood Reducap. all
gaching
all children
eaching
children
tion
tioncan
can
increase
increase
school
school
readiness
readiness
so that children
so thatnot
children
only succeed
not only succeed
I ntegrating
content areas
in
inelementary
elementary
school but
school
also in but
other also
life experiences
in other
(Duncan
lifeetexperiences (Duncan
et ntegrating
Content areas
al.,
Gutman,
Sameroff,
& Cole, 2003; Reynolds
al., 2011).
al.,2007;
2007;
Gutman,
Sameroff,
& Cole,et2003;
Reynolds et al.,G 2011).
(Jasrowing
as a community
rowing
a community
This solution seems logical and almost benign, but it is quite con
This solution seems logical and almost benign, but it isO quite
con- d choices
ffering
choices
tentious.
tentious.
Beyond
Beyond
the political
the issues
political
over whether
issuesand
over
how whether
the gov
and how the gov- °
ernment
should
spendspend
moneymoney
to educate
is the children is the R
ernment
should
topreschool
educatechildren
preschool
R evisiting
evisiting new
new content
content
practical tension over the types of learning experiences that early
practical tension over the types of learning experiences that earlyOqffering
fferjng challenges
challenges
education
educationprograms
programs
should
should
offer.
offer.
Young
Young
children
children
learn differently
learn differently
learner
from
fromtheir
their
elementary
elementary
school counterparts.
school counterparts.
They have shorter
Theyathave shorter at-UUnderstanding
nderstanding each learner
tention
spans,
and they're
just beginning
develop the skills
of an
tention
spans,
and they're
just tobeginning
to develop
the skills of an
« ; ggjpg
whole
child
S eeing
thethe
whole
child
intentional
intentionallearner
learner
(Bowman,
(Bowman,
Donovan,
Donovan,
& Burns,
& Burns,
2000). As
2000).
such,As such,
the
the academic
academic
practices
practices
andand
expectations
expectations
of elementary
of elementary
school can't
school can't
simply
be be
shoved
downdown
into preschool
(Hatch, 2002).
There is
no
simply
shoved
into preschool
(Hatch,
2002).
There is no QDifferentiating
ifferentiating instruction
instruction
clear
consensus
among policy
makers,
educational
administrators,
clear
consensus
among
policy
makers,
educational administrators, » ■ t t>
A ssessing constantly
and
and elementary
elementary
school
school
personnel
personnel
aboutabout
the practices
the practices
that early
that
eduearly edu
P ushing
every
child
forward
cators
cators
should
should
employ
employ
in their in
interactions
their interactions
with preschoolers
with
(Howes
preschoolers (Howes
P ushing
every
child
forward
et al., 2008).
Our solution is what we call Rigorous DAP — which is both a
construct and an acronym that offers 11 principles of instruction in
which early educators should engage with their students daily (see
Figure 1).
CHRISTOPHER P. BROWN (cpbrown@utexas.edu) is an associate professor
in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction and a fellow in the Elizabeth
Glenadine Gibb Teaching Fellowship in Education at the University of Texas at Austin.
BRIAN MOWRY is an early childhood specialist in the Austin (Texas) Independent
School District.
V96
V96N7
N7
kappanmagazine.org
kappanmagazine.org
53
53
Photo:
Photo:
Thinkstock/iStock
Thinkstock/iStock
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Defining
Rigorous
DAP
Defining
Rigorous
DAP isms through a variety
isms through
of modalities
a variety of modalities
that piqued
that piqued
the
the
children's
interests
and
increased
their
participation
Rigorous
Rigorous DAP
DAP —
— developmental^
developmentally
appropriate
appropriate
children's interests and increased their participation
int^ie
the academic
academic content.
content. For
For example,
example, she
practices
practices —
— combines
combinesthe
theconstructs
constructsofof
academic
academic
m
she created
created aa
rigor
rigor and
and developmentally
developmentallyappropriate
appropriatepractice
practice——a awilderness
wildernesshabitat
habitatthat
thatincluded
includedsuch
suchthings
thingsasascamp
camp
inging
equipment
mainstay
mainstay in
in how
howthe
theearly
earlychildhood
childhoodeducation
education
field
field
equipmentininthe
thedramatic
dramaticplay
play center,
center, aa tree
tree
built
from
cardboard
boxes
for
housing
families
of
conceptualizes best practices with young children. built from cardboard boxes for housing families of
robins (each
(each
Academically
Academically rigorous
rigorouslearning
learningenvironments
environmentscre
ere-stuffed
stuffedbears,
bears,raccoons,
raccoons, squirrels,
squirrels, and
and robins
introduced
to
the
tree
on
separate
days),
and
a
ate the
the conditions
conditionsfor
forchildren
childrentotolearn
learn
at at
high
high
levels.
levels. introduced to the tree on separate days), and a bat
bat
to
Academic rigor is the process of working with allcave
cavemade
madeof
ofblack
black polypropylene,
polypropylene, which
which came
came to
life
during
on to
to
children
children in
inaamanner
mannerthat
that
addresses
addresses
thethe
whole
whole
child
child
bfe
duringchoice
choicetime
timeas
as aa fan
fan was
was turned
turned on
through
through hands-on
hands-on learning
learning experiences
experiencesthat
that"chal"chalpump
PumP air
air through
throughit.
it.On
Onthe
theday
daythe
theclass
classbegan
beganitsits
study
ofof
raccoons,
lenge
lenge the
the mind"
mind"and
and"connect
"connectlearning
learning
toto
real
real
world
world
study
raccoons,Ms.
Ms.Hughes
Hughesplaced
placed the
the raccoon
raccoon
arrived. Across
Across
context[s]
context[s]"" (Washor
(Washor &
& Mojkowski,
Mojkowski,2006,
2006,p.p.87).
87).DAP
DAPfamily
familyin
in the
the tree
tree before
before students
students arrived.
characteristics
fosters instruction that focuses on the growth and dedethat
thatday,
day,students
studentslearned
learned about
about the
the characteristics
books about
about them,
them,
velopment of individual children across all domainsofofraccoons
raccoonsby
by reading
reading several
several books
about aa raccoon
raccoonnamed
namedRickey,
Rickey,and
and
in
in aa manner
mannerthat
thataddresses
addresses
"the
"the
social
social
andand
cultural
cultural singing
singing aa song about
similarities
and
differ
contexts" in which they live (Copple & Bredekamp,having
havingdiscussions
discussionsabout
aboutthe
the
similarities
and
differ
ences
between
raccoons,
squirrels,
and
robins,
which
2009,
2009, p.
p. 10).
10). While
Whileacademic
academicrigor
rigorfocuses
focusesonon
one
one
ences between raccoons, squirrels, and robins, which
hadalready
already arrived
arrived in
in the
the class
class tree. Ms. Hughes
dimension
dimension of
of education
education —
—academic—DAP
academic—DAPconsid
consid- bad
Hughes de
de
signed
ers the whole
whole landscape
landscape of
of learning
learning —
— motivational,
motivational,
signedeach
eachage-appropriate
age-appropriateactivity
activitytotogive
givestudents
students
multiple
opportunities
to
be
drawn
into
the
academic
cultural,
cultural,socioemotional
socioemotional
as as
well
well
as cognitive.
as cognitive.
Com-Com
multiple opportunities to be drawn into the academic
content
selected to
to ex
ex
bined,
bined, Rigorous
RigorousDAP
DAPcalls
callsonon
early
early
childhood
childhood
eduedu
content of
of living
living things
things —
— content
content selected
pose
each
student
to
scientific
facts
and
knowledge
cators to teach the
the knowledge
knowledge and
and skills
skills they
they expect
expect Pose each student to scientific facts and knowledge
thatextend
extendtheir
their
thinking
beyond
their
current
level
all
all children
childrento
toeventually
eventuallyattain
attain
and
and
demonstrate
demonstrate
on tbat
on
thinking
beyond
their
current
level
of
understanding
of
living
things
(Vygotsky,
1978).
a regular basis. They
They do
do this
this by
by using
using practices
practices that
that of understanding of living things (Vygotsky, 1978).
Moreover,
Ms.
Hughes
reflect
reflect an
an understanding
understanding of
of child
childdevelopment
developmentand
and
Moreover,
Ms.
Hughesrecognized
recognizedthat
thather
herrole
roleisis
morethan
thansimply
simplyteaching
teachingacademic
academic content;
content; it
it is
is to
to
each
each student's
student'sindividual
individual
and
and
sociocultural
sociocultural
needs.
needs. more
address
address all
all of
of the
thedevelopment
developmentdomains
domains
ofof
students,
students,
including
including their
theirpassion
passionfor
forlearning.
learning.
Doing
Doing
so so
lets
lets
students know that she cares about each of them
Young
Young children
children learn
learndifferently
differentlyfrom
from
their
their elementary
elementaryschool
schoolcounterparts
counterparts
so academic
academic expectations
expectationscan't
can'tjust
justbebe
shoved
shoved down
down into
intopreschool.
preschool.
Instructional
Instructional practices
practices
as individuals, which is essential for their learning
(Palermo et ah,
al., 2007).
Integrating content areas
The class investigation into raccoons began with
students discussing what they knew about raccoons,
which Ms. Hughes documented for the class on chart
paper. During this literacy activity, Stephen described
how a raccoon ravaged through his family campsite
while they were asleep on one of their recent out
As
1111
essential
components
of Rig
As we
we explain
explainthe
the
essential
components
of Rigings,ings,
which
which
Ms. Hughes
Ms. Hughes
used as
used
a jumping-off
as a jumping-off
point point
to to
introduce
the the
scientific
term term
nocturnal.
This was
orous
orous DAP,
DAP, we
we use
useexcerpts
excerptsfrom
fromMs.
Ms.Hughes'
Hughes'
(all(all
introduce
scientific
nocturnal.
This was
names
classroom
names are
are pseudonyms)
pseudonyms)prekindergarten
prekindergarten
classroom
one one
of numerous
of numerous
ways ways
in which
in which
students
students
were able
were able
as she
engages
students
in
a
daylong
scientific
in inshe engages students in a daylong scientific
to engage
to engage
in activities
in activities
where
where
they they
could could
apply their
apply their
vestigation
learning
activities
vestigation into
intoraccoons.
raccoons.These
These
learning
activities
scientific
scientific
knowledge,
knowledge,
literacy
literacy
skills
skills
(e.g.,(e.g.,
using
using
lan lan
are
scientific
study
of living
are part
part of
oftheir
theirmonthlong
monthlong
scientific
study
of living
guage
guage
to explain
to explain
the difference
the difference
between
between
nocturnal
nocturnal
and and
things,
which
addresses
her
state's
prekindergarten
things, which addresses her state's prekindergarten
diurnal
diurnal
animals),
animals),
and mathematical
and mathematical
knowledge
knowledge
(e.g.,
(e.g.,
science standards. The standards declare that each
science standards. The standards declare that each
comparing
comparing
thethe
sizesize
andand
weight
weight
of raccoons
of raccoons
to squir
to squir
4-year-old child is to
to leave
leave prekindergarten
prekindergarten being
being
rels).
rels).
Such
Such
integrated
integrated
learning
learning
experiences
experiences
reflect
reflect
Ms.
Ms.
able
able to
to identify
identify and
and define
define the
the characteristics
characteristics of
of or
orHughes'
Hughes'
understanding
understanding
of of
thethe
interconnectedness
interconnectedness
in in
ganisms
and
the
differences
between
living
and
ganisms and the differences between living and non
nonhow
how
children
children
learn
learn
academic
academic
content.
content.
Developing
Developing
herher
living
things.
living
things. students' scientific vocabulary
students' scientific
positively
vocabularyaffects
positively their
affects their
Reaching
all children
Reaching
all children
reading comprehension (Moats, 2009).
reading comprehension
(Moats, 2009).
Crowing
as as
a community
Ms. Hughes
Hughes was
was intentional
intentional about
aboutsetting
settingup
upageage
Crowing
a community
appropriate activities
exploring
the
topic
of
organ
activities exploring the topic of organDuring
During
center
center
time,
time,Ms.
Ms.Hughes
Hughestaught
taughta asmall
small
54 Kappan
Kappan April
April 2015
2015
This content downloaded from 129.219.247.33 on Thu, 07 Jun 2018 00:12:56 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
group
group
lesson
lesson
that asked
thatstudents
asked to
students
act out a typical
to act out a typical
day
dayinin
thethe
life of
life
the of
animals
theliving
animals
in theliving
class tree.
inAsthe class tree. As
they
they
diddid
this,this,
she asked
shea range
asked
of aquestions
range based
of questions
not
based not
only
only
onon
their
their
actionsactions
but also on
but
previous
also class
on previous
con
class con
versations
versations
(Why(Why
is Joaquin,
is Joaquin,
the raccoon,the
asleep
raccoon,
while
asleep while
Jasmine,
Jasmine,
the squirrel,
the squirrel,
is out gathering
is outnuts?).
gathering
By hav nuts?). By hav
ing
ingstudents
students
work work
together,
together,
each child's contribution
each child's contribution
enhances
enhances
the group's
the group's
generation
generation
of knowledge.of
De knowledge. De
veloping
veloping
suchsuch
a shared
a shared
understanding
understanding
of how differ of how differ
ent
entorganisms
organisms
coexistcoexist
in their natural
in their
environment
natural environment
compensates
compensates
for the
for
tendency
the tendency
of 4- and 5-year-olds
of 4- and 5-year-olds
to
togogo
offoff
on different
on different
tangents in
tangents
open-endedin
learn
open-ended learn
ing
ingactivities
activities
(Rogoff,
(Rogoff,
2003). Alerting
2003).
theAlerting
children to the children to
Joaquin
Joaquin
sleeping
sleeping
exemplifies
exemplifies
this point. Such
thisactions
point. Such actions
demonstrate
demonstrate
how Ms.
how
Hughes
Ms.has
Hughes
created ahas
socialcreated a social
dynamic
dynamic
in which
in which
the children's
the children's
group participation
group participation
not
notonly
only
keeps
keeps
each child
each
accountable
child accountable
to this learn
to this learn
ing
ingsituation,
situation,
but it but
also offers
it also
them
offers
the chance
them
to the chance to
question,
question,
respond,
respond,
and build
and
off build
each other's
offideas
each other's ideas
and
andsuggestions.
suggestions.
Offering
Offering
choices
choices
Developmental^
appropriate
Across
day,
Ms.Ms.
Hughes
intentionally
designed
Developmental^ appropriate
practices practices
Acrossthe
the
day,
Hughes
intentionally
designed
(DAP)
fosters
instructional
aa classroom
classroom
environment
environment
that gave
that
children
gave choice
children
(DAP) choice
fosters
instructional
practices practices
andvoice
voice
a range
of learning
activities
that
inan Understanding
and
in ain
range
of learning
activities that
in- that
that
reflect
reflect
an understanding
Of child
of child
eluded whole-group,
whole-group,
small-group,
center-based . . . . .
cluded
small-group,
andand
center-based
development
and each student's
instruction,
instruction, child-initiated
child-initiatedactivities,
activities,indoor
indoor
and
and development
and each student s
individual
and
sociocultural
needs.
outdoor
outdoorplay-based
play-based
learning
learning
activities,
activities,
and and
loud loud
and and individual and SOCiOCUltural needs,
quiet
quiet learning
learning experiences.
experiences.Alongside
Alongside
such
such
teacher
teacher
directed
directed activities
activitiesas
ashaving
havinga asmall
small
group
group
ofof
chil
chil
their
sciencetheir
journals
about what
robins
need what
to live).
dren
life
ofof
the
animals
science
journals
about
robins need to live),
dren act
act out
out aa typical
typicalday
dayininthe
the
life
the
animals
Ms.
Hughes
knows
such
instruction
is
necessary
but
living in their
their class
class tree,
tree, Ms.
Ms. Hughes
Hughes gave
gave students
students Ms. Hughes knows such instruction
is necessary bu
should
be
limited
to teaching
discrete
skills,
or
45 minutes
minutes of
of uninterrupted
uninterruptedplay
play
time
time
with
with
the
the
tree
tree
should
be limited
to facts,
teaching
discrete
facts, skills, or
routines
(Bonawitzroutines(Bonawitzetal.,2011).Ms.Hughesalsowa
et al., 2011). Ms. Hughes also was
and the other
other learning
learning centers
centers in
in her
her
classroom:
classroom:
intentional
about
spiraling
herabout
curriculum,
whichher
al curriculum, which a
blocks, construction materials, literacy, science, and intentional
spiraling
lowed
students
to revisit
aspects to
of arevisit
conceptaspects
that
mathematics.
mathematics. The
The time
time and
andcenters
centersgave
gave
students
students
lowed
students
of a concept that
they
may
have
known
well
in
one
context
but
failed
the
the chance
chance to
to intentionally
intentionallydevelop
develop
their
their
social,
social,
lit-lit
they may have known well in one context but faile
master
they
it as
to they
novel situations
(Na
eracy, and mathematical
mathematical skills
skills as
as well
well as
asto
the
the
skill
skillasof
of
to applied
master
applied it
to novel situations (Na
tional
Research
Council,
2000).
Understanding
this
self-regulation
self-regulation (Singer,
(Singer, Golinkoff,
Golinkoff,&&Hirsh-Pasek,
Hirsh-Pasek,tional Research Council, 2000). Understanding thi
allowed Ms.
Hughes
to goMs.
forward
withto
her
2006). Ms.
Ms. Hughes
Hughes was
was engaged
engagedwith
withstudents
students
durdur
allowed
Hughes
goteach
forward with her teach
ing
because
she
knew
they
would
revisit
these
ing this
this time
time so
so she
she could
could support
supporttheir
theirplay
playand
anding because she knew they new
would revisit these new
skills (Leong
and
knowledge
againknowledge
and again through
mul again through mul
step
step in
in to
to provide
provide scaffolding
scaffoldingwhen
whenneeded
needed
(Leong
skills and
again and
tiple
learning opportunities.
&
& Bodrova,
Bodrova,
2012).
2012). tiple learning
opportunities.
challenges
Revisiting
Revisiting
new
new
content
content OfferingOffering
challenges
Ms. Hughes
challenged
children'schallenged
academic learn
Because
Because Ms.
Ms. Hughes
Hughesrecognized
recognizedthat
that
learning
learning
new
new
Ms. Hughes
children's academic le
ing
by
introducing
them
to
some
of
the
core scientific
content was not a seamless process and the children ing by introducing them
to some of the core scient
principles
will
need in later
grades
through
enin later grades throu
would be inconsistent in demonstrating
their they
newnew
principles
they
will
need
gaging
age-appropriate
materials
and
activities
(e.g.,
found
found skills
skills(Bowman
(Bowmanetetal.,
al.,
2000),
2000),
this
this
day
day
was
was
oneone gaging age-appropriate materials and activities
detailing
the difference
between
robins, squir
of many in which the class investigated
raccoons
detailing
the what
difference
between what robins, s
rels,
raccoons,
and
humans
need
to
live).
so
and other
other living
living organisms.
organisms. Some
Some lessons
lessonsemerged
emerged rels, raccoons, andDoing
humans
need to live). Doi
allowed
her
to
map
the
children's
hands-on
experi
from
from and
and built
builtupon
uponchildren's
children's
explorations
explorations
(e.g.,
(e.g.,
thethe allowed her to map the children's hands-on e
ences
with
living
organisms
to a significant
thread
children's
children's investigation
investigationinto
intothe
the
types
types
and
and
number
number
ences
with on
living
organisms
on to a significant thre
of
scientific
inquiry
—
life
sciences
—
that
motivates
of squirrels that lived in their own neighborhoods), of scientific inquiry — life sciences — that motivat
them todirect
intentionally
upon and connect
theirupon and connect the
while others followed the lead ofMs. Hughes's
them reflect
to intentionally
reflect
informal
knowledge
about
animals
to
characteristics
instruction
instruction (e.g.,
(e.g.,having
havingthe
thechildren
children
write/draw
write/draw
in in informal knowledge about animals to characte
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Photo:
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that describe
describe organisms,
organisms,such
suchasascolor,
color,
size,
shape,
that
size,
shape,
sions
sionsand
andquestions,
questions, Ms.
Ms. Hughes
Hughescould
couldeasily
easilyadjust
adjust
herinteractions
interactionswith
withstudents
studentsto
totheir
theirindividual
individual
and needs
her
needs (e.g.,
(e.g., air,
air, water,
water,food,
food,shelter).
shelter).They
Theyalso
also
learned
learned how
how to
to use
use such
such scientific
scientific tools
tools as
as binoculars
binoculars learning
learning and
andcultural
culturalneeds
needs
(e.g.,
(e.g.,
a lack
a lack
of experi
of experi
to locate
locate and
anddocument
documentthe
thesquirrels
squirrels
and
and
robins
robins
that
that
enceence
in such
in such
outdoor
outdoor
environments
environments
as forests,
as forests,
caves, caves,
lived around their
their school
school playground,
playground, which
which taught
taught or
ormountains
mountainsororbeing
beingfrom
from
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a culture
where
where
learn
learn
them
them how
how scientists
scientists used
usedsuch
suchtools
toolstotoobserve
observeand
and ing
ingis is
framed
framed
through
through
collective
collective
rather
rather
thanthan
indi indi
document
in in
their
natural
habitat.
documentanimals
animals
their
natural
habitat. vidualvidual
experiences).
experiences).
Such Such
explorations
explorations
also offered
also offered
her the
the chance
chanceto
todifferentiate
differentiate
the
the
level
level
of of
support
support
the
Ms. Hughes
Hughesknew
knewthat
that
she
must
create
a class
Ms.
she
must
create
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content
she discussed
she discussed
withwith
them,
them,
the the
levellevel
of partici
of partici
room
room environment
environment that
thatmakes
makesconnections
connectionsbetween
between pation
pationshe
shedemanded
demandedfrom
from
each
each
child,
child,
andand
thethe
terter
Understanding each learner
Understanding each learner she provided each
shechild>
provided
the
each
difficulty/breadth
child, the difficulty/breadth
of the of
children's personal,
personal,cultural,
cultural,
and
linguistic
experi
children's
and
linguistic
experiminology
minology
she
she
expected
expectedeach
eachchild
childtotoattain
attain(Smutny
(Smutny
ences for
learned
ences
for each
each student
studenttotobe
besuccessful.
successful.She
She
learned &&von
vonFremd,
Fremd,
2004).
2004).
about
about each
each child
childthrough
throughsuch
suchactivities
activities
as as
home
home
visvis
its,
that
offered
its, sending
sending home
homeweekly
weeklynewsletters
newsletters
that
offered
families the chance to respond to content-specific
families the chance to respond to content-specific Developing
Developing her
herstudents'
students'
scientific
scientific
questions,
questions,
and by
and
making
by herself
making
available
herself
to fami available to fami- „
vocabulary
positively
affects their
lies
liesat at
the the
beginning
beginning
and end ofand
each end
day. Moreover,
of each day.
Moreover,
vocabulary
positively affects
she
she needed
to create ato
context-rich
envi
sheknew
knew
she needed
create a
context-rich
reading comprehension.
envi- reading Comprehension,
ronment
ronment
that
that
offered
offered
learning
learning
experiences
experiences
children
children
might
might
not
not
have
have
had before
had before
entering
entering
prekindergarten
prekindergarten
(e.g.,
(e.g.,creating
creating
a cave
a cave
in thein
classroom
the classroom
that teaches
that teaches
constantly
children
children
about
about
a bat'sa habitat
bat's habitat
and introduces
and them
introduces
to Assessing
them
to Assessing constantly
the
of spelunking).
Cognitive scientists
have scientists
theactivity
activity
of spelunking).
Cognitive
Across each
have
dayAcross
Ms. Hughes
eachdocumented
day Ms. Hughes
chil
docu
shown
such
experiences
are essential
for learnfor
dren's
learning
by recording
and by
dictating
their state
shownthat
that
such
experiences
are essential
learndren's
learning
recording
and dicta tin
ing.
children
fail tofail
grasp
lesson ments about
living
organisms
through
anecdotal
re
ing.When
When
children
toa particular
grasp a particular
lesson
ments
about
living
organisms
throug
or
of study,
it is more
likely
due to
the task
ortopic
topic
of study,
it isthan
more
than
likely
due
cords,
to work
the task
samples,
cords,
digital
work
photographs,
samples,
anddigital
video. photogra
then transferred
these assessment
artifacts
into assessment
or
of background
knowledge
rather than rather
the Shethan
ora alack
lack
of background
knowledge
the She then
transferred
these
concept
itself
(National
ResearchResearch
Council, 2000).
a portfolio
that
Ms.
concept
itself
(National
Council,
2000).
a documented
portfolio their
thatlearning.
documented
their
Hughes
Hughes
used
used
thisthis
documentation
documentation
to help her
to un
help her un
Seeing
the whole
seeing
thechild
whole child derstand
derstand
what
what students
students
did and diddid
not know
and
about
did not k
Across
investigation
into into
raccoons,
Ms. living
Acrossthis
this
investigation
raccoons,
Ms.
things
living
and the
things
life sciences
and the
so she
life
could
sciences
adjust
so she
Hughes
created
a learning
environment
with stu her
Hughes
created
a learning
environment
with
instruction
stu- her
to help
instruction
them learn to
more
help
effectively
them learn mo
dents
dentsthat
that
allowed
allowed
them them
to applytoa range
applyofatheir
range
(Epstein,
of their
2007).(Epstein, 2007).
attributes
to their
ofthings:
living things:
attributes
to their
studystudy
of living
Pushing
Pushing
forward
forward
•• Physical
—- playing
in the classroom
Physical
— playing
in theand
classroomMs.
and
Hughes
Ms.
notes
Hughes
that hernotes
central that
goal as her
a teacher
central goa
outdoors;
outdoors; is to create a learning
is to
environment
create a learning environment
that is "a
thatgreat
is "a great
•• Conceptual
— describing
and evaluating
Conceptual
— describing
andtheir
evaluatingplace
their
to be"
place
for students
to be" for
wherestudents
they "live where
what they
they "live
reenactment
of animals;
reenactment
of animals; are learning"are
solearning"
that "every
so thatchild
"everyischild
successful
is successful
in in
•• Emotional
— regulating
their responses
to Ms.
Emotional
— regulating
their responses
to Ms.
all areas."
all areas."
She She
achieved
achieved
this goal
this by
goal
first
by knowing
first knowing
Hughes's
challenges;
and
what knowledge
and skills
statepolicy
policy makers
have have
Hughes's
challenges;
and what knowledge
and skills
state
makers
•• Social
working
in a in
smalland whole-group
Social——
working
a smalland whole-groupdefined
defined
as essential
as essential
for prekindergarten
for prekindergarten
students
students
to
to
learning
situations.
learning
situations.
know. She then
engagedin
students
in a range
of educa
know. She then engaged
students
a range
of educa
tional opportunities
opportunities in
in and
and out
out of
of school
school (e.g.,
(e.g., send
send
Such
Suchactivities
activities
reflect
reflect
Ms. Hughes's
Ms. Hughes's
understanding
understanding
inging
thethe
robins,
robins,
squirrels,
squirrels,
raccoons,
raccoons,
andand
bears
bears
home
home
that
in in
oneone
developmental
domaindomain
dependsdependseach
thatgrowth
growth
developmental
each
weekend
weekend
with
with
a journal
a journal
so so
children
children
could
could
docu
docu
upon
the the
progression
of others
(Bow (Bow- ment their experiences
uponand
andinfluences
influences
progression
of others
experiences with
with their
their weekend
weekend visitors)
visitors)
man,
& Burns,
2000).
man,Donovan,
Donovan,
& Burns,
2000). that allowed
that
children
allowed children
to explore
to explore
livingliving
organisms
organisms
Differentiating instruction
while monitoring and scaffolding their engagement
Differentiating instruction with and understanding
with and understanding
of these
of these
scientific
scientific concepts.
concepts.
The
of the
activities
Ms. Ms. Doing
The built-in
built-invariability
variability
of the
activities
Doing so allowed
allowed Ms.
Ms.Hughes
Hughestotoknow
know
how
how
to to
push
push
Hughes
students,
whichwhich
includedincluded
using large
Hughesoffered
offered
students,
using large
every
every
child's
child's
learning
learning
andand
development
development
forward
forward
so so
and
groups
and and
individualized
instruction,
cre
andsmall
small
groups
individualized
instruction,
erethey
they
would
would
reach
reach
and
and
even
even
go go
beyond
beyond
thethe
academic
academic
ated
opportunity
for her
closely
atedthe
the
opportunity
fortoher
to monitor
closely the
monitor the
andand
social
social
expectations
expectations
of of
prekindergarten
prekindergarten
(Gmi
(Gmi
trova
& Gmitrov,
2003).
children's
scientific
thinking.
Based on
their on
discus
children's
scientific
thinking.
Based
their discustrova
& Gmitrov,
2003).
Dö
56 i\appan
KappanApril
April
zu 2015
i d
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All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
readiness
readinessand
and
later
later
achievement.
achievement.
Developmental
Developmental
Psychology,
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DAP is
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a framework
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of early
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Gutman,
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that policy
public
school admin
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thatmakers,
policy
makers,
growth
public
curve school
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admin1st grade growth
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istrators,
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and families can
usefamilies
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and
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0fchild
multiple
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confident
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byoffering
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children
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intentional
intentional
learnlearn
Clifford,
R., &&Barbarin,
(2008).
Ready
to learn?
Children's
preacademic achievement
prekindergarten
programs.
Early Early
ing
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experiencesthat
thatmotivate
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them
through
through
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multiple
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Childhood
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dren meaningful
meaningful
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opportunities
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Childhood
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Quarterly,
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Early Childhood Educ J (2014) 42:203–210
DOI 10.1007/s10643-013-0593-6
The Transition to Kindergarten for Typically Developing
Children: A Survey of School Psychologists’ Involvement
Laura Lee McIntyre • Tanya L. Eckert •
Lauren A. Arbolino • Florence D. DiGennaro Reed
Barbara H. Fiese
•
Published online: 12 May 2013
Ó Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013
Abstract Research suggests that a large percentage of
kindergarten children do not successfully transition to
school (Rimm-Kaufman et al. 2000). As a result, a number
of school transition initiatives have been developed by
educators and policy makers to address the difficulties
young children may experience upon kindergarten entry.
Despite this attention, our review found no studies examining the involvement of school psychologists in kindergarten transition practices. The present study reports the
outcomes of a national survey of the membership directory
of the National Association of School Psychologists
examining school-based involvement in kindergarten
transition activities; school psychologists’ perceived
involvement with and training in kindergarten transition
activities; and school psychologists’ perceived barriers to
engage in kindergarten transition activities. Results showed
that most schools engaged in at least one kindergarten
transition activity per year, with half of the responding
sample reporting involvement. School psychologists were
L. L. McIntyre (&)
Department of Special Education and Clinical Sciences,
5208 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-5208, USA
e-mail: llmcinty@uoregon.edu
T. L. Eckert
Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA
L. A. Arbolino
Nationwide Children’s Hospital, The Ohio State University,
Westerville, OH, USA
F. D. DiGennaro Reed
University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
B. H. Fiese
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
more likely to be involved in kindergarten transition
activities if they were employed in an urban locale or a
large to moderate-sized school setting. School psychologists most frequently reported involvement with kindergarten screenings and collaborating with kindergarten and
preschool teachers. Implications and recommendations for
practice among early childhood and other educational
professionals are delineated.
Keywords Kindergarten transition Early childhood
education School psychology
Introduction
Young children’s participation in kindergarten has
increased over the past several decades in the United States
(West et al. 2000). It has been estimated that nearly all fiveyear-old children attend kindergarten (U.S. Census Bureau
2008), with 60 % attending full-day programs and 40 %
attending half-day programs (Wirt et al. 2004). As the
number of young children entering kindergarten has grown,
the demographic characteristics and early educational
experiences of these children have become increasingly
more heterogeneous (Hernandez et al. 2007). In addition,
more children enter kindergarten displaying health problems or difficulties in physical activity, attention, and
speech that require supplemental educational or medical
services than a decade ago (U.S. Department of Education
2003). Differences in school readiness characteristics have
also been reported, including dissimilarities in young
children’s general knowledge, approaches to learning,
social competence, and emergent reading and mathematics
skills (West et al. 2000). Based on a national survey of
kindergarten teachers, Rimm-Kaufman et al. (2000)
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204
reported that 52 % of kindergarten students experienced a
successful transition, 32 % experienced a moderately difficult transition, and 16 % experienced a difficult transition. Collectively, these factors may account for the
substantial number of young children who are delayed
entry into kindergarten for one or more years (6 %), or who
are retained in kindergarten for one or more years (5 %)
(U.S. Department of Education 2005).
One of the most effective ways to promote young children’s academic and behavioral development is to provide
positive, early school experiences (Reynolds 2004). However, as many young children transition to kindergarten, a
number of difficulties may emerge. First, routines previously established in childcare, preschool, or home environments may be disrupted during this period (Fowler et al.
1991; Wildenger et al. 2008). Second, differences between
these environments may be conspicuous for many young
children, creating further adjustment difficulties, especially
for children with cumulative risk factors (e.g., federal
poverty status, family type, primary home language)
(Bowman 1999; Rathbun and West 2004). Third, many
caregivers may experience difficulty adapting as their
young children begin formal schooling (Pianta and KraftSayre 2003). As a result, it has been recommended that
elementary school personnel promote positive experiences
for young children during the transition to kindergarten
(Lara-Cinisomo et al. 2011; Vecchiotti 2003; Wildenger
and McIntyre 2012).
Kindergarten Transition Programs
One way to provide young children with positive, early
school experiences is to formally program kindergarten
transition activities (Fowler et al. 1991; Wildenger and
McIntyre 2012). Traditionally, the most common transition
practices identified in the literature for typically developing
children include student-centered activities (e.g., school
visits, teacher contacts), parent- or family- centered activities (e.g., orientation sessions, family field trips), and
school-centered activities (e.g., screenings, teacher contacts) (LoCasale-Crouch et al. 2008; Love et al. 1992).
However, research examining the effectiveness of kindergarten transition programs has been limited in scope
(Wildenger and McIntyre 2012; Vecchiotti 2003). Eckert
et al. (2008) reviewed the research on kindergarten transition programs for typically developing students. These
authors found few empirical studies (n = 7); all of which
were published within the past 5 years. Only one study
explored the effects of kindergarten transition programs
and policies on students’ educational outcomes, with the
remainder examining teachers’ and mothers’ perceptions of
the kindergarten transition process.
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Early Childhood Educ J (2014) 42:203–210
As concluded by Eckert et al. (2008) in their literature
review as well as others (Entwisle and Alexander 1993;
Wildenger and McIntyre 2012; Zill 1999), very little is
known regarding the effectiveness of kindergarten transition
practices for typically developing children. However, some
general conclusions can be drawn regarding the current state
of kindergarten transition practices for typically developing
children. First, teachers reported that kindergarten transition
practices were predominately generic, such as sending fliers
home and conducting open-houses (Pianta et al. 1999).
Second, teachers reported receiving minimal information,
training, or support regarding kindergarten transition practices (Early et al. 1999). Third, school district practices and
policies appear to negatively impact teachers’ capabilities to
engage in kindergarten transition practices. For example,
teachers reported that school districts do not provide summer
work compensation for kindergarten transition activities
(Pianta et al. 1999). Furthermore, teachers reported that
kindergarten classroom lists are typically generated a few
days prior to the opening of school, making it difficult to
proactively engage in kindergarten transition activities
(Pianta et al. 1999).
Although a number of kindergarten transition initiatives
have been proposed by educators and policy makers, few
U.S. programs have been implemented or evaluated, and a
number of barriers appear to negatively impact current
practices. In addition, recent research examining family
experiences and involvement with kindergarten transition
suggests a need for educational professionals to increase
family-school partnerships during this critical juncture.
McIntyre et al. (2007) examined the perspectives of families
whose typically developing children had recently completed
early education programs and were beginning the transition
to kindergarten. The majority of caregivers expressed
interest in receiving more information about the transition
process, including information about kindergarten expectations, as well as learning how to assist their child during the
kindergarten transition process. Many caregivers reported
concerns regarding the transition process (e.g., learning to
navigate the school environment) and their child’s ability to
meet the academic and behavioral expectations in kindergarten. Furthermore, increased family concerns surrounding
kindergarten transition for children receiving additional
educational supports was reported in a study conducted by
McIntyre et al. (2010). The results of this comparative survey
of families with preschool children that were either typically
developing or receiving special education services indicated
that caregivers of children receiving special education services in preschool settings expressed significantly more
concerns regarding their child’s adaptive behavior, communication skills, emergent academic skills, and overall
readiness for kindergarten than caregivers of typically
developing children.
Early Childhood Educ J (2014) 42:203–210
Due to the increased emphasis on family-school partnerships and the importance of kindergarten transition,
there has been increased attention to promote successful
kindergarten transition for children by school psychologists
(Prout and Cowan 2006). The importance of school psychology practice addressing early childhood factors that
affect school competence was one of the broad themes
identified in the 2002 Multi-site Conference on the Future
of School Psychology. Three of the priority outcome goals
directly (i.e., Outcome 3: Enhanced family-school partnerships and parental involvement in schools) or indirectly
(i.e., Outcome 1: Improved academic competence for all
children; Outcome 2: Improved social-emotional functioning for all children) related to improving early educational
experiences for young children entering school (Dawson
et al. 2003/2004). However, no data have been published
regarding school psychologists’ current involvement with
kindergarten transition activities nor has any data been
published regarding the current barriers to school psychologists’ involvement with kindergarten transition activities.
Purpose of the Present Study
Given the importance of providing children and their families with positive early school experiences, the established
research and policy agendas addressing the early academic
success of typically developing children, and the increased
attention for school psychologists to become involved with
kindergarten transition practices, it is important to examine
school psychologists’ current involvement with kindergarten transition practices. Consequently, the purpose of this
study was to examine school psychologists’ involvement in
kindergarten transition activities and three primary aims
were examined: (a) school-based involvement with kindergarten transition activities; (b) school psychologists’
perceived involvement with and training in kindergarten
transition activities; and (c) school psychologists’ perceived
barriers to engage in kindergarten transition activities. In
addition to obtaining a descriptive account of school psychologists’ involvement in kindergarten transition activities, additional exploratory analyses were conducted to
examine whether demographic factors (i.e., school locale,
school size) were related to school psychologists’ involvement in kindergarten transition activities.
Methods
Participants
A total of 500 participants were selected from the membership directory of the National Association of School
205
Psychologists (NASP). A geographic stratification procedure was employed to randomly sample school psychologists from each of the five regions of the United States
(Northeastern, Southeastern, West Central, North Central,
Western). Of the 500 surveys mailed, 13 were returned as
undeliverable and 37 were unusable (i.e., respondents were
not school psychologists); therefore, response rate was
determined using the remaining 450 surveys. Of these, 294
(65 %) were returned. However, inspection of the surveys
revealed that 43 % (n = 128) had not been actively
involved with school psychological service delivery. These
surveys were subsequently discarded and 166 were retained
for the final analysis. This represents 37 % of the usable
sample of 450.
Instrumentation
To assess school psychologists’ involvement in kindergarten transition activities, a two-page questionnaire consisting of three sections was developed. The first section
required respondents to provide demographic information
including: (a) gender; (b) state of residence, (c) highest
degree obtained; (d) number of years employed as a school
psychologist; and (e) primary grade level(s) of students
served. In addition, respondents were asked to answer a
number of questions pertaining to the demographic characteristics of their school(s) including: (a) type of school,
(b) locale, and (c) student enrollment. In the second section
of the packet, respondents were asked to respond to questions pertaining to their experiences with kindergarten
transition. Areas assessed included: (a) current school
practices and involvement with kindergarten transition
activities; (b) training in kindergarten transition activities;
and (c) perceived barriers to implementing kindergarten
transition activities. In the final section of the survey,
respondents were asked to review 16 activities related to
kindergarten transition, indicate whether these activities
had been implemented in their school district, and specify
their current level of involvement as well as their desired
level of involvement. The selected activities were based on
a review of current kindergarten transition practices disseminated in the literature (Pianta and Kraft-Sayre 2003).
Procedure
Prior to conducting the survey, the research procedures
were reviewed and approved by the governing Institutional
Review Board. The survey and a self-addressed, stamped
return envelope were mailed to each potential participant.
All participants were informed in the consent letter that
participation in the study was strictly voluntary and participants were permitted to withdraw at any time. To assist
with the re-mailing of surveys, each assessment packet was
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Early Childhood Educ J (2014) 42:203–210
coded with a removable identification number that corresponded to the name and address of the participant. Participants were informed that if they did not approve of their
survey being coded, they could remove the attached label.
A re-mailing of the survey was conducted 10 weeks following the initial mailing.
Results
Table 2 School and employment characteristics of respondents
% (n)
Place of employment
Public school
82.6 (95)
Private school
2.6 (3)
Hospital or clinic
2.6 (3)
University or college
3.5 (4)
Other
8.7 (10)
Locale
Demographic Characteristics of the Participating
Sample
Table 1 presents a descriptive breakdown of the major
demographic variables of the respondents. The demographic characteristics of the respondents were similar to
national demographic characteristics of NASP members
(Curtis et al. 2007). Overall, most of the respondents were
female (77.6 %), had earned a masters or educational
specialist degree (64.7 %), were employed as a school
psychologist for 1–5 years (31.6 %), and lived in the
Northeastern region of the US (42.2 %). In addition, most
of the respondents were employed in public school settings
(82.6 %), located in suburban locale (31 %), with a moderate (i.e., 301–999 students) enrollment (58.1 %). All of
the participants reported involvement with activities at the
elementary level, and the majority of participants worked
primarily at the elementary level (67.8 %) (Table 2).
Urban
27.6 (32)
Suburban
31.0 (36)
Rural
19.8 (23)
Mixed
Populations served
21.6 (25)
K-12, primarily preschool
3.5 (4)
K-12, primarily elementary
67.8 (78)
K-12, primarily middle school
K- 12, primarily high school
2.6 (3)
26.1 (30)
Enrollment
\300
15.1 (11.2)
301–999
58.1 (50)
1,000 or more
26.7 (23)
Descriptive Analysis of Kindergarten Transition
Activities
School-Based Implementation
Table 1 Demographic characteristics of respondents
% (n)
Gender
Female
77.6 (90)
Male
22.4 (26)
Degree
Masters or masters plus 30 credits
64.7 (75)
PhD, EdD, PsyD
30.2 (35)
Other
4.3 (5)
Years employed
1–5
31.6 (36)
6–10
22.8 (26)
11–15
10.5 (12)
16–20
13.2 (15)
21 or more
21.9 (25)
Geographic region
Northeastern
42.2 (46)
Southeastern
24.8 (27)
North central
9.2 (10)
West central
Western
123
9.2 (10)
14.7 (16)
The majority of school psychologists (80.9 %) reported
that their schools engaged in at least one kindergarten
transition activity per year. The most frequently reported
school-based implementation activities included providing
caregivers with general information regarding kindergarten
transition (97.8 %), evaluating children’s performance
during kindergarten (95.5 %), and reviewing kindergarten
enrollment figures (92.2 %). The least frequently reported
school-based implementation activities included creating
advertisements regarding kindergarten enrollment (10 %),
conducting home visits (20.2 %), and evaluating family
functioning during kindergarten transition (27 %). Table 3
provides the descriptive results of the school-based
implementation activities.
School Psychologists’ Involvement
Half of the responding sample (52.2 %) reported being
involved with at least one kindergarten transition activity
per year, with less than half of the responding sample
(38.9 %) reported receiving training in kindergarten transition activities. The most frequently reported activities
that school psychologists’ reported involvement included
Early Childhood Educ J (2014) 42:203–210
207
Table 3 School-based implementation of, school psychologists’ involvement, and school psychologists’ desired involvement with kindergarten
transition activities
Activity
School-based
implementation
Yes
% (n)
No
% (n)
School psychologists’
involvement
School psychologists’
desired involvement
Yes
% (n)
Yes
% (n)
No
% (n)
No
% (n)
Creating advertisements
10.0 (67)
90.0 (23)
20.0 (9)
80.0 (81)
75.6 (18)
24.4 (72)
Conducting planning meetings
75.6 (68)
24.4 (22)
37.8 (34)
62.2 (56)
72.7 (64)
27.3 (24)
Reviewing enrollment figures
92.2 (83)
7.8 (7)
15.6 (14)
84.4 (76)
31.3 (28)
68.9 (62)
Assisting in determining class placements
83.3 (75)
16.7 (15)
41.1 (37)
58.9 (53)
73.9 (65)
26.1 (23)
Reviewing child records
83.3 (75)
16.7 (15)
46.1 (41)
53.9 (48)
77.3 (68)
22.7 (20)
Conducting screenings
32.6 (70)
67.4 (19)
72.7 (29)
27.3 (60)
79.8 (64)
20.2 (24)
Collaborating with preschool teachers
79.8 (71)
20.2 (18)
58.4 (52)
41.6 (37)
85.4 (76)
14.6 (13)
Collaborating with kindergarten teachers
87.6 (78)
12.4 (11)
67.4 (60)
32.5 (29)
87.1 (74)
15.9 (14)
Conducting open-houses
82.0 (73)
18.0 (16)
16.9 (15)
83.1 (74)
43.2 (24)
73.0 (65)
Providing caregivers with general information
Providing caregivers with specific information
97.8 (87)
89.9 (80)
2.2 (2)
10.1 (9)
13.5 (12)
16.9 (15)
86.5 (77)
83.1 (74)
23.6 (21)
36.0 (32)
76.4 (68)
64.0 (57)
Providing frequent communication
88.8 (79)
11.2 (10)
21.3 (19)
78.7 (70)
36.4 (32)
63.6 (56)
Evaluating child performance
95.5 (85)
4.5 (4)
46.1 (55)
53.9 (30)
64.7 (55)
35.3 (30)
Evaluating family functioning
27.0 (24)
73.0 (65)
15.7 (14)
84.3 (75)
59.1 (36)
40.9 (52)
Developing family support groups
28.1 (25)
71.9 (64)
12.4 (11)
87.6 (78)
51.1 (43)
48.9 (45)
conducting kindergarten screenings (72.7 %), collaborating
with kindergarten teachers (67.4 %), and collaborating
with preschool teachers (58.4 %). The least frequently
reported activities were developing support groups for
families of children transitioning to kindergarten (12.4 %),
conducting home visits (13.5 %), and providing caregivers
with general information regarding kindergarten transition.
When school psychologists were asked to identify the
activities they were most interested in being involved, the
most frequently endorsed activities included collaborating
with kindergarten teachers (87.1 %), collaborating with
preschool teachers (85.4 %), and conducting kindergarten
screenings (79.8 %). The least frequently endorsed activities included providing caregivers with general information
regarding kindergarten transition (23.6 %), reviewing kindergarten enrollment figures (31.3 %), and providing
caregivers with specific information regarding kindergarten
transition (36.0 %). Table 3 provides the descriptive results
of the school psychologists’ implementation and desired
implementation activities.
Barriers to Involvement
When school psychologists were asked to identify potential
barriers to their involvement with kindergarten transition
activities, the most frequently endorsed barrier (35.6 %)
was that involvement in kindergarten transition activities
was not considered part of their job description. The least
frequently identified barrier (4.4 %) was limited interest in
kindergarten transition activities. Table 4 presents the
Table 4 Barriers to school psychologists’ involvement with kindergarten transition
Barrier
Yes
% (n)
Not considered part of job description
35.6 (32)
Limited interest
4.4 (4)
Limited knowledge
6.7 (6)
Limited training
Other
6.7 (6)
10.3 (12)
descriptive results of the perceived barriers to school psychologists’ involvement with kindergarten transition.
Exploratory Analyses of Factors Related to School
Psychologists’ Involvement with Kindergarten
Transition Activities
In an attempt to explore whether demographic characteristics related to the participants’ school sites were related to
school psychologists’ involvement with kindergarten transition activities, a series of one-way univariate analyses of
variance (ANOVAs) were performed. The dependent measure for these analyses was a school involvement composite
score, which was computed based on the respondents’
endorsement of 16 kindergarten transition activities. The
results indicated statistically significant differences between
school locale and the kindergarten transition composite
score, F (3, 86) = 3.57, p = .01. Using the Scheffé Test,
post hoc multiple comparisons were performed to evaluate
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208
the sources of differences among the school locales. The
results indicated that respondents were more likely to be
involved with kindergarten transition activities if they worked
in an urban school setting (p \ .05; M = 13.18; SD = 2.63)
than suburban (M = 10.32; SD = 4.55), rural (M = 11.83;
SD = 2.92), or mixed (M = 10.00; SD = 3.73) school settings. In addition, the results indicated statistically significant
differences between school size and the kindergarten transition composite score, F (2, 82) = 10.14, p \ .001. Using the
Scheffé Test, post hoc multiple comparisons were performed
to evaluate the sources of differences among the school sizes,
indicating that respondents were more likely to be involved
with kindergarten transition activities if they worked in large
(i.e., more than 1000 students) (p \ .001; M = 12.22;
SD = 3.40) or moderate-sized (i.e., 301–999 students)
(p \ .001; M = 11.84; SD = 3.05) schools than if they were
worked in small (i.e., less than 300 students) (M = 7.08;
SD = 5.14) school settings. Finally, there was no significant
difference between school psychologists’ kindergarten transition composite scores and the primary age group served,
F (2, 87) = 0.42, p = .66. Similar levels of involvement were
reported by school psychologists across preschool (M = 9.00;
SD = 0.00), elementary (M = 11.20; SD = 4.06), and high
school (M = 11.52; SD = 3.47) instructional levels.
Early Childhood Educ J (2014) 42:203–210
Indeed, a third of respondents reported that kindergarten
transition activities were not considered part of their job
description. This may be due, in part, to school building
assignments and responsibilities covering multiple schools
within a geographical catchment area. Further, some school
psychologists may be employed through intermediate agencies that contract with schools to provide special education
assessments, thus limiting school psychologists’ activities to
testing for special services.
Another disparity between school psychologists’ actual
and desired practices was observed with their involvement
in collaborating with teachers and families. A large percentage of respondents indicated that they were interested
in collaborating with preschool teachers (85.4 %) and
kindergarten teachers (87.1 %) regarding kindergarten
transition activities. However, this same level of involvement was not observed when respondents reported their
interest in working with families to provide general
(23.6 %) or specific information (36 %) pertaining to kindergarten transition. This, in part, may be related to current
school-based implementation practices, wherein a high
percentage of school psychologists reported that their
schools provide caregivers with general (97.8 %) and
specific (89.9 %) kindergarten transition information.
General Limitations of the Study
Discussion
Kindergarten transition is viewed as an important developmental and educational milestone for young children,
their families, and teachers; yet to date, this topic has
received little empirical investigation. The purpose of this
study was to examine school psychologists’ involvement in
kindergarten transition activities and perceived barriers to
engage in kindergarten transition activities in a national
sample of practitioners. In addition, the study explored
whether demographic factors (i.e., school locale, school
size) were related to school psychologists’ involvement in
kindergarten transition activities.
Findings from the current study suggest that approximately
half (52 %) of school psychologist respondents were engaged
in kindergarten transition activities for typically developing
students. Although half of respondents (48 %) reported no
involvement in transition programming, the majority of the
sample indicated that they had an interest in participating in
many transition activities (e.g., 72.7 % reported an interest in
conducting planning meetings; 87.1 % reported an interest in
collaborating with kindergarten teachers). In all instances, a
larger proportion of school psychologists expressed an interest
in transition programming than the percentage who reported
actual involvement. This discrepancy between involvement
and desire suggests that there may be barriers, other than
interest, that interfere with school psychologist involvement.
123
The present study has several limitations that should be
noted. First, although potential participants were randomly
sampled from the NASP membership directory, there was no
way to control for their roles and functions as school psychologists. As a result, a considerable number of respondents
had not been involved with service delivery at an elementary
school within the past 2 years and therefore were not
included in the final analyses. Second, because all of the
participants were members of NASP, it is plausible that the
results are more representative of school psychologists who
are NASP members rather than all school psychologists.
Third, although nonparametric analyses suggested that
respondents were relatively homogeneous with respect to
demographic characteristics, a large percentage of respondents resided in either the Northeast or Southeast. As a result,
the present findings may be more representative of school
psychologists employed in these regions.
Recommendations and Implications for Future Practice
Although conclusions based on the current findings should
be made with caution, the results suggest that school psychologists may be a valuable asset to kindergarten transition planning, particularly if they have the resources and
administrative support to do so. This study is unique in that
it is an empirical investigation of a national sample of
Early Childhood Educ J (2014) 42:203–210
practicing school psychologists. The authors are not aware
of other empirical investigations examining the role of
school psychologists in kindergarten transition, and thus,
future studies could build on these preliminary findings.
There has been a renewed interest in early childhood
programming and school readiness, as evidenced by universal pre-kindergarten programs and state and federal
initiatives. For example, the National Education Goals
Panel (1997) stated that by the year 2000, all children will
begin school ready to learn. Furthermore, schools will be
ready to support a diverse group of learners (National
Education Goals Panel 1998). School psychologists and
other educational professionals may be called upon to
coordinate school screenings, collaborate with early
childhood personnel, and work with families to prepare
children for elementary school (Barnett 1986; McIntyre
et al. 2007). School psychologists and other educational
professionals are in a unique position to contribute to
kindergarten transition planning because of their background in assessment, intervention, consultation, counseling, and problem-solving (Schakel 1988); however, results
from the present study suggest that school psychologists
may be underutilized in this role.
Few published journal articles have evaluated the role of
school psychologists in early childhood education and transition to kindergarten activities, and none have been empirical
investigations. With some exceptions (e.g., Gredler 2000),
many of the articles published on this topic are 20 or more
years old (e.g., Barnett 1986; Lapides 1977; Schakel 1988)
and may not reflect current educational practices and priorities. Indeed, the role of the school psychologist and other
educational professionals has changed with recent special
education (e.g., Individuals with Disabilities Improvement
Act 2004) and general education legislation (NCLB; U.S.
Department of Education 2002). Given the renewed interest in
early childhood education, as well as national priorities
involving pre-referral intervention and problem-solving, it is
anticipated that school psychologists and other educational
professionals will become more active participants in planning for and coordinating kindergarten transition activities.
Additional research is needed to evaluate how best school
psychologists may contribute to these activities.
Acknowledgments Preparation of this article was supported, in
part, by a Science of Learning Center Catalyst Grant from the
National Science Foundation (0350341) awarded to the Tanya L.
Eckert and Barbara H. Fiese.
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Journal of Research in Childhood Education
ISSN: 0256-8543 (Print) 2150-2641 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ujrc20
Effects of Developmentally Appropriate Practices
on Social Skills and Problem Behaviors in 1st
Through 3rd Grades
M. Lee Van Horn , Emilie Karlin & Sharon Ramey
To cite this article: M. Lee Van Horn , Emilie Karlin & Sharon Ramey (2012) Effects of
Developmentally Appropriate Practices on Social Skills and Problem Behaviors in 1st
Through 3rd Grades, Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 26:1, 18-39, DOI:
10.1080/02568543.2012.633843
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/02568543.2012.633843
Published online: 27 Dec 2011.
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Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 26: 18–39, 2012
Copyright © Association for Childhood Education International
ISSN: 0256-8543 print / 2150-2641 online
DOI: 10.1080/02568543.2012.633843
Effects of Developmentally Appropriate Practices
on Social Skills and Problem Behaviors in 1st Through
3rd Grades
M. Lee Van Horn
University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
Emilie Karlin
American Indian Prevention Coalition, Phoenix, Arizona
Sharon Ramey
Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute, Roanoke, Virginia
The guidelines published by the National Association for the Education of Young Children on the use
of developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) have, over the last two decades, had an important
influence on young children’s educational experiences. The efficacy of these guidelines for changing
children’s outcomes has been examined by only a handful of studies and with mixed results. This
study looks at the effects of classroom and school-level use of classroom elements of DAP in 1st,
2nd, and 3rd grades on parent ratings of children’s social skills at the end of the year, controlling for
ratings of the same construct at the end of the previous year, gender, and ethnicity with a sample of
between 1,145 and 2,111 students each year. Differential effects of DAP for males and females and
for children of different ethnic backgrounds also were examined. Despite high power, no consistent
effects of DAP were observed and no interactions found, suggesting that DAP does not affect parents’
ratings of social skills in 1st through 3rd grades. The importance of these results, in light of other
work on the effects of DAP, is discussed.
Keywords: developmentally appropriate practices, social skills, problem behaviors, student outcomes, differential effects, effects of teaching
Early childhood education programs tend to fall along a continuum of teaching styles, with those
emphasizing didactic teaching of academic skills on one end, and those offering a more “childcentered” approach on the other. The child-centered approach has received considerable attention
with the development of the popular developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) guidelines
Submitted September 13, 2009; accepted April 6, 2011.
Preparation of this article was supported by research grant R01 HD043400-01A1, awarded to the first author by the
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Address correspondence to M. Lee Van Horn, Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia,
SC 29208. E-mail: vanhorn@sc.edu
EFFECTS OF DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE PRACTICES
19
by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC; Bredekamp, 1987;
Bredekamp & Copple, 1997; Copple & Bredekamp, 2009). The DAP guidelines portray the child
as an active participant in the learning process, emphasizing play as a means of learning, and
the importance of using teaching methods appropriate to the developmental stage of the class
as a whole and to the individual needs of each child (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009). The DAP
guidelines are widely endorsed by early childhood educators partly because they make intuitive
sense and offer concrete examples of appropriate classroom practices.
Although many academics and educators have embraced the DAP guidelines, others have
been more critical. There are three major criticisms of DAP: (1) its guidelines purport to provide
a set of global best practices yet disregard diversity and cultural differences, (2) limited support
exists for its theoretical base, and (3) there is little empirical evidence of its efficacy in improving
child outcomes. Although the revised version of the DAP guidelines addresses cultural issues
more thoroughly than the initial version, critics argue that the general principles of DAP reflect
middle-class White values rather than those of more collectivistic cultures (Hsue & Aldridge,
1995; Smith, 1996). Academics also have debated the value of having global written guidelines
for best practices (Charlesworth, 1998a, 1998b; Lubeck, 1998a, 1998b). Furthermore, there are
very few empirical studies that specifically evaluate the effects of DAP on children from different
cultures (Van Horn, Karlin, Ramey, Aldridge, & Snyder, 2005).
The NAEYC guidelines cite Piaget and Vygotsky as theoretical influences on DAP, but critics
argue that DAP guidelines focus mostly on the stage-like system of development proposed by
Piaget and place significantly less emphasis on the social and cultural influences on development
suggested by Vygotsky (Smith, 1996; Walsh, 1991). The DAP guidelines state that it is crucial
to incorporate information about children based on their developmental level and on their individual characteristics, but much more time is spent discussing appropriate developmental levels
(Aldridge, 1992). This may be problematic, because research has shown limited support for the
notion of stage-like development (Gelman & Baillargeon, 1983). Indeed, critics of DAP stress
the importance of Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development, in which children are challenged
to learn by engaging in tasks beyond their current capabilities (Smith, 1996; Walsh, 1991).
Proponents of DAP indicate that DAP is expected to create a rich classroom environment that
will support cognitive and social development (Elkind, 1986, 1987). The DAP guidelines list both
academic skills, such as math and reading, and psychosocial skills, such as getting along with
other children and other related classroom behaviors, as important aspects of developmentally
appropriate early childhood education programs (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009). Despite their
widespread acceptance and use, however, surprisingly little empirical research has considered
the impact of DAP on either academic or psychosocial outcomes (Van Horn et al., 2005).
EFFECTS OF DAP ON ACADEMIC OUTCOMES
In a recent review of studies on the effectiveness of DAP, Van Horn and colleagues (2005) found
no consistent impact of DAP on academic outcomes. Several researchers have reported positive
results of DAP that are consistent across a variety of academic subjects, such as math, reading, and science (Huffman & Speer, 2000; Marcon, 1992, 1999). Other studies have reported
more mixed results, in which DAP had a positive impact for some subjects but not others (Burts
et al., 1993; Marcon, 1993). Surprisingly, numerous studies have found that DAP has a negative
impact on academic outcomes, particularly reading (Hyson, Hirsh-Pasek, & Rescorla, 1990;
20
VAN HORN, KARLIN, RAMEY
Jones & Gullo, 1999; Stipek, Feiler, Daniels, & Milburn, 1995; Stipek et al., 1998). Of particular interest, the study with the largest sample size and greatest power failed to find a consistent
impact of DAP on academic outcome variable for students in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd grade (Van Horn &
Ramey, 2003).
EFFECTS OF DAP ON PSYCHOSOCIAL OUTCOMES
Although there is limited evidence that DAP has a positive impact on academic outcomes, positive effects on social skills may justify their continued use. Social skills may include areas of
competence, such as cooperation and peer relationships, and problem behaviors, such as disruptiveness, withdrawal, or hyperactivity (Gresham & Elliott, 1988, 1990). Children who engage in
more prosocial behaviors, such as rule following and friendliness, tend to be rated more positively by their peers; children who engage in more negative behaviors, such as aggression and
disruptiveness, tend to be rated more negatively by their peers (Coie, Dodge, & Kupersmidt,
1990). Children who are rated negatively by their peers are more likely to experience a variety of
later problems—both school-related problems, such as truancy or early dropout (Woodward &
Fergusson, 2000)—and social problems, such as delinquency (Roff, Sells, & Golden, 1972).
These children are also likely to continue to have difficulties with peer relationships as they get
older (Ladd & Troop-Gordon, 2003). Improving children’s social skills at a young age may,
therefore, have important implications for their later development.
The current study assesses the effects of DAP on social skills. The available research on the
effects of DAP on social outcomes is more consistent and positive than the research on academic
outcomes (Van Horn et al., 2005). Much of the research on psychosocial outcomes has focused
on stress and anxiety. Studies have consistently demonstrated that children in DAP classrooms
experience significantly less stress and anxiety about school than children who are not in DAP
classrooms (Burts et al., 1992; Burts, Hart, Charlesworth, & Kirk, 1990; Hart et al., 1998; Stipek
et al., 1995). These results are consistent for kindergarten and preschool students. Children in
DAP classrooms have also scored significantly higher on other measures of positive psychosocial
attributes, such as high expectations for success, greater pride in their accomplishments, greater
creativity, and more positive attitudes about school (Burts et al., 1992; Burts et al., 1990; Hart
et al., 1998; Hirsh-Pasek, Hyson, & Rescorla, 1990; Stipek et al., 1995; Stipek et al., 1998).
Children in classrooms that primarily use didactic teaching strategies demonstrate greater levels
of negative affect, more noncompliance to teacher requests, and greater dependency on others
than students in DAP classrooms (Stipek et al., 1995; Stipek et al., 1998). Only a few studies
have failed to find positive impacts of DAP on psychosocial outcomes. Specifically, one study
of self-competence found that only one of four scales, peer acceptance, was related to levels
of DAP in the classroom (Jambunathan, Burts, & Pierce, 1999). Two studies of adaptive skills,
including such domains as communication, socialization, and activities of daily living, found no
differences between children in DAP classrooms and children in classrooms that were not DAP
(Marcon, 1992, 1993). Taken together, the results from numerous studies suggest that DAP helps
children develop a variety of psychosocial skills.
Although the findings for psychosocial outcomes are more consistent, results of many existing
studies of DAP may be compromised by methodological flaws. Perhaps the most serious of these
flaws is the widespread failure to use analyses appropriate to nested designs—that is, using a
EFFECTS OF DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE PRACTICES
21
design that examines multiple children within a single classroom without the use of appropriate
analytical methods (Van Horn et al., 2005; Van Horn & Ramey, 2004). Commonly used analyses,
such as regression and ANOVA, assume that each observation in a data set is independent of the
others, conditional on the variables in the model. In a nested design, children are linked by
classroom, and typically the outcomes for children within a classroom are more similar to each
other than those of children from other classrooms or schools (Tabachnick & Fidell, 1996). When
analyses fail to account for nesting, standard errors will be underestimated and hypothesis tests
will be overly liberal (Bryk & Raudenbush, 1992; Heck & Thomas, 2000; Hox, 1995, 1998).
The extent to which the violation of this assumption affects results depends on the degree
to which outcomes are more similar within classrooms than between classrooms (measured by
the intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC]) and the number of children assessed per classroom
(Murray, 1998). Many of the studies of DAP include only a small number of classrooms, with
a large number of students in each classroom; and child outcomes are often fairly highly clustered within classrooms and schools (Raudenbush & Bryk, 2002; Van Horn & Ramey, 2003).
Thus, analyses often result in serious violation of the assumption of independence, potentially
invalidating the results. In a recent review of the literature on the effects of DAP, Van Horn
and colleagues (2005) used Monte Carlo simulations to evaluate the amount of bias present in
previous research on the effects of DAP. They found that only five of 23 results reported in the
literature that found significant effects of DAP would have been likely to be significant under realistic levels of ICCs if the appropriate analyses had been conducted. Only three of the five effects
that remained significant when appropriate analyses were conducted found positive effects of
DAP on social skills. The current study will further investigate the effects of DAP on children’s
social skills.
DIFFERENTIAL EFFECTS OF DAP
An additional area of research on the effects of DAP involves investigating the possibility that
effects may vary across individual children. Existing research on differential effects of DAP
across ethnicity and gender is sparse and has found equivocal results. Some evidence suggests
that boys in classrooms lower in DAP experience more stress than boys in high-DAP classrooms,
whereas no such differences exist for girls (Burts et al., 1992; Burts et al., 1990). Another study
found that boys in classes that emphasized socioemotional development performed better on a
measure of adaptive skills than boys in classes that emphasized academic development (Marcon,
1993). For girls, however, this pattern was reversed, with girls in classrooms that emphasized
academic development performing better than girls in classes that emphasized socioemotional
development (Marcon, 1993). Still other researchers, however, have found no gender differences
(Marcon, 1999; Stipek et al., 1995). There is even less information about the differential effects
of DAP across ethnicities. One study reported no differences between African American and
White children in DAP classrooms on measures of stress, but found that African American and
White children in less-DAP classrooms reacted stressfully to different activities, and that they
tended to be involved in different activities as well (Burts et al., 1992). It is important to learn
if different groups of children are affected differentially by exposure to DAP; if so, then some
groups may be placed at a disadvantage by its use.
22
VAN HORN, KARLIN, RAMEY
Although the DAP guidelines propose implementing DAP in classrooms serving children
from birth through age 8 (Bredekamp & Copple, 1997), only two of the studies mentioned
above examined effects of DAP in 1st grade. One study found that children exhibited greater
stress when engaging in computer activities that were less DAP than activities that were more
DAP (Ruckman, Burts, & Pierce, 1999). Another study found that children in DAP classrooms
demonstrated higher social skills than children in less-DAP classrooms (Jones & Gullo, 1999).
No previous research has evaluated the effects of DAP on psychosocial outcomes in 2nd or 3rd
grades, although one study looking at the measurement of DAP did find that though the range of
DAP remained high across grades, there was a significant but small decrease in average levels
of DAP from 1st through 3rd grades (Buchanan, Burts, Bidner, White, & Charlesworth, 1998).
A review of the literature suggests that methodologically sophisticated research evaluating the
effects of DAP in general and the effects of DAP on different groups of students is needed, and
that evaluations of the effects of DAP on students at the upper end of the age range for which the
guidelines are intended are especially important (Van Horn et al., 2005).
AIMS
This study had two major aims: (1) to examine the extent to which DAP implemented in 1stthrough 3rd-grade classrooms is associated with parent ratings of children’s social skills and
problem behaviors and (2) to examine the extent to which the effects of classroom DAP on social
skills and problem behaviors vary across child ethnicity and gender. Analyses use multilevel and
longitudinal methods, which consider the nested data structure and eliminate bias in estimates
of standard errors. Parent (rather than teacher) ratings of social skills are used in these analyses
for theoretical and methodological reasons. Theoretically, the use of parent ratings allows for
an assessment of whether the effects of DAP generalize beyond the classroom. Further, DAP
classrooms are structured differently than non-DAP classrooms, allowing more opportunities for
social interaction. It is possible that students’ social behaviors in the classroom differ because
of structural differences, but that those differences do not reflect differences in underlying levels
of social competence. Using parent ratings, which are largely independent of classrooms, we are
able to examine whether children in DAP classrooms differ in social skills when in environments
that, on average, should not be related to DAP. Second, because the DAP guidelines emphasize
positive assessments of students, using teacher reports of social skills introduces a potential bias
such that teachers conforming more to the DAP guidelines may give higher ratings because of
their use of DAP. In the current study, we used a well-established parent-rated measure of social
skills and problem behaviors as the outcome of interest.
METHOD
Data for this study were collected as part of the National Head Start Public School Early
Childhood Transition Demonstration Project, a 6-year longitudinal intervention trial that followed the progress of former Head Start children and selected classmates from kindergarten
through 3rd grade. Two consecutive cohorts in 30 sites were enrolled. The U.S. Congress legislated and funded this study to test the proposition that providing comprehensive Head Start-like
EFFECTS OF DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE PRACTICES
23
services to children and families from kindergarten through the 3rd grade would improve former
Head Start children’s academic, social, and health outcomes (Ramey et al., 2001).
Schools that agreed to participate in the study were randomly assigned to either a transition
demonstration group or a comparison group (for results from the overall study, see Ramey et al.,
2001). Preliminary analyses for the current study examined the extent to which use of DAP
differed between randomly assigned transition demonstration versus comparison schools, as well
as other schools to which children moved over the course of their first 4 years in public school.
Analyses examined whether classrooms in the transition demonstration schools had higher levels
of DAP than those in the comparison schools (random effects models were used, with classrooms
nested within schools and treatment modeled as a school level variable) for the 1st, 2nd, and
3rd grades. Results indicate higher DAP scores only in the first year of this study and that the
effect size was quite small. This study focused on how naturally occurring variation in DAP
relates to changes in student social skills. The entire sample, including students in transition and
comparison schools, is included in the analyses.
Participants
Participants included children, their classrooms, and their schools. Outcomes were measured at
the child level, and the primary predictors—DAP factor scores—at the classroom and school levels. The schools cover every major geographic area of the United States, include rural and urban
areas, and are ethnically diverse as a whole. After the study began, principal investigators from
the local sites realized the limitations of the tool being used to measure DAP, the Assessment
Profile (Abbott-Shim & Sibley, 1992; Abbott-Shim, Sibley, & Neel, 1998). The Assessment
Profile was designed to measure classroom environments in preschool settings rather than to
assess DAP in elementary grades. Accordingly, a new rating tool, called A Developmentally
Appropriate Practices Template (ADAPT), was developed, for which Margo Gottlieb assumed
primary authorship (Gottlieb, 1995, 1997). ADAPT was administered in three consecutive
years, yielding data from...
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