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Provides foundational knowledge to ensure a high-quality, appropriate education for young children learning two languages.
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Research Interests: Psychology, Computer Science, Spanish, Focus Groups, Child Development, and 14 moreEnglish, Medicine, Los Angeles, Social behavior, Cultural Differences, Interviews, Social Development, Interview, Evaluation methods, Focus Group, Data Collection, Cognitive processes, Cognitive interview, and Social Behavior
The work reflected in this publication was performed under Contract Number
Childhood obesity is a growing health problem in the United States that has captured the attention of researchers, policymakers, and practitioners. Over the past four decades, rates of obesity doubled among children age 2 to 5 and... more
Childhood obesity is a growing health problem in the United States that has captured the attention of researchers, policymakers, and practitioners. Over the past four decades, rates of obesity doubled among children age 2 to 5 and quadrupled among children ages 6 to 11 (Ogden and Carroll 2010).
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The work reflected in this publication was performed under Contract Number HHSP23320052905YC awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. The content of this publication does not... more
The work reflected in this publication was performed under Contract Number HHSP23320052905YC awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. government. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: The authors would like to express their appreciation to our Project Officer Maria Woolverton and other federal staff at OPRE and the Office of Head Start. We thank the Mathematica team, including Cassandra Meagher, Annalee Kelly, Barbara Carlson,
The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, the Administration for Children and Families, or the U.S. Department of Health and Human... more
The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, the Administration for Children and Families, or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This report and other reports sponsored by the Office of Planning, Research and
Preschool Curriculum Evaluation Research Consortium (2008). Effects of Preschool Curriculum Programs on School Readiness (NCER 2008-2009). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Research, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printin...more
C. DATA COLLECTION SCHEDULE AND PERIODICITY.........................12 ... C. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION GATHERED ON CHILDREN ...............15 ... D. USE OF COMPUTER-ASSISTED TECHNOLOGY...................................16 ... IV... more
C. DATA COLLECTION SCHEDULE AND PERIODICITY.........................12 ... C. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION GATHERED ON CHILDREN ...............15 ... D. USE OF COMPUTER-ASSISTED TECHNOLOGY...................................16 ... IV DISSEMINATION OF FACES 2006 DATA ...
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Early Head Start, a federal program begun in 1995 for low-income pregnant women and families with infants and toddlers, was evaluated through a randomized trial of 3,001 families in 17 programs. Interviews with primary caregivers, child... more
Early Head Start, a federal program begun in 1995 for low-income pregnant women and families with infants and toddlers, was evaluated through a randomized trial of 3,001 families in 17 programs. Interviews with primary caregivers, child assessments, and observations of ...
Research Interests: Cognitive Science, Developmental Psychology, Parenting, Child Development, Personality Assessment, and 15 moreLanguage Development, Acculturation, Medicine, Early Childhood, Aggressive Behavior, Humans, Female, Male, Early Childhood Development, Ethnic Groups, Developmental, Pregnant Women, Educational Status, Low Income, and Child preschool
Los Angeles Universal Preschool (LAUP), an entity funded by First 5 LA, is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide access to high quality preschool education to the children of Los Angeles County. To achieve high quality... more
Los Angeles Universal Preschool (LAUP), an entity funded by First 5 LA, is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide access to high quality preschool education to the children of Los Angeles County. To achieve high quality preschool educational experiences for the children it serves, LAUP provides a number of services to both the center-based and family child care (FCC) programs in its network, including Quality Support Coaching.
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This issue brief presents findings from the Universal Preschool Child Outcomes Study, which examined a diverse group of Los Angeles preschoolers. The study integrated three strategies—card sorts, focus groups, and cognitive... more
This issue brief presents findings from the Universal Preschool Child Outcomes Study, which examined a diverse group of Los Angeles preschoolers. The study integrated three strategies—card sorts, focus groups, and cognitive interviewing—to measure how parents rate their children’s social-emotional behavior. The brief examines the implications of using these measures, which were developed by and for clinicians, with diverse populations.
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This paper describes a new tool that early childhood researchers and practitioners can use to assess how early childhood programs are helping children acquire the skills they need to become members of a multicultural society and the... more
This paper describes a new tool that early childhood researchers and practitioners can use to assess how early childhood programs are helping children acquire the skills they need to become members of a multicultural society and the methodology used to develop that tool.
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Los Angeles Universal Preschool (LAUP), funded by First 5 LA, sought to make voluntary, high-quality preschool available to every 4-year-old in Los Angeles County. To achieve high-quality preschools, LAUP provided a number of services,... more
Los Angeles Universal Preschool (LAUP), funded by First 5 LA, sought to make voluntary, high-quality preschool available to every 4-year-old in Los Angeles County. To achieve high-quality preschools, LAUP provided a number of services, including coaching, to both the center-based and family child care (FCC) programs in its network.
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Parent ratings of young children’s behavior are often used to assess social-emotional development. However, parents from different cultural and language backgrounds may vary in their (1) perceptions of the importance of different... more
Parent ratings of young children’s behavior are often used to assess social-emotional development. However, parents from different cultural and language backgrounds may vary in their (1) perceptions of the importance of different social-emotional indicators, (2) willingness to discuss particular behaviors, and (3) ability to understand certain words and phrases. This brief presents findings from the Universal Preschool Child Outcomes Study, which examined a diverse group of Los Angeles preschoolers. The study integrated three strategies—card sorts, focus groups, and cognitive interviewing—to look at how children’s social-emotional behavior could be reliably and validly assessed through parent reports. Rather than identify one piloting strategy as more valid, we stress the importance of examining measures developed by and for clinicians and the implications of using these measures with diverse populations.
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Childhood obesity is a growing health problem in the United States that has captured the attention of researchers, policymakers, and practitioners. The prevalence of overweight and obesity at all ages differs by race/ethnicity.
Implementing Large-Scale Studies of Children Using Clinical Assessments Elizabeth T. Spier, Susan Sprachman, and Cassandra Rowand Research on children comes in many guises. A researcher can gain some understanding of how child development... more
Implementing Large-Scale Studies of Children Using Clinical Assessments Elizabeth T. Spier, Susan Sprachman, and Cassandra Rowand Research on children comes in many guises. A researcher can gain some understanding of how child development is influenced by the environment—such as parental depression or experiences in day care—by collecting data from caregivers. Substantially more information may be gained by administering developmental assessments directly to the child. However, adding an assessment to a research project can be difficult and costly when the child is an infant, toddler, or preschooler. Only a small number of tools are available for the direct assessment of cognitive and motor development in infants and toddlers. As a result, researchers often limit their choices of outcome measures or restrict themselves to studies using small samples because they are concerned that they will not be able to reliably administer complex assessments to large numbers of children. While th...
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The Language Interaction Snapshot (LISn): A New Observational Measure for Assessing Language Interactions in Linguistically Diverse Early Childhood Programs. In Dual Language Learners in the Early Childhood Classroom, edited by C. Howes, J. T. Downer, and R. C. Pianta. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Broo...more
A prevailing assumption in survey research is that the higher the response rate, the more representative the sample. However, given real-world budget constraints, it is necessary to consider whether the benefits of marginal in-creases in... more
A prevailing assumption in survey research is that the higher the response rate, the more representative the sample. However, given real-world budget constraints, it is necessary to consider whether the benefits of marginal in-creases in response rates outweigh the costs. It is possible ...
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Preschool Curriculum Evaluation Research Consortium (2008). Effects of Preschool Curriculum Programs on School Readiness (NCER 2008-2009). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Research, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printin...more
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A Mathematica team led by Emily Dwoyer, Kathy Sonnenfeld, and Susan Sprachman provided the data collection services for this study of the Experience Corps (EC) initiative, a program that brings older adults ages 55 and up into public... more
A Mathematica team led by Emily Dwoyer, Kathy Sonnenfeld, and Susan Sprachman provided the data collection services for this study of the Experience Corps (EC) initiative, a program that brings older adults ages 55 and up into public elementary schools to tutor and mentor children who are at risk of academic failure. EC members also help teachers in the classroom
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The Language Interaction Snapshot (LISn): A New Observational Measure for Assessing Language Interactions in Linguistically Diverse Early Childhood Programs. In Dual Language Learners in the Early Childhood Classroom, edited by C. Howes, J. T. Downer, and R. C. Pianta. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Broo...more