Page 1. NHSA DIALOG, 12(3), 276291 Copyright C o 2009, National Head Start Association ISSN: 152... more Page 1. NHSA DIALOG, 12(3), 276291 Copyright C o 2009, National Head Start Association ISSN: 1524-0754 print / 1930-9325 online DOI: 10.1080/15240750903080560 DISCUSSION Enhancing Language and Early Literacy Development ...
Kidcope, a check list developed to assess the prevalence of coping strategies among children and ... more Kidcope, a check list developed to assess the prevalence of coping strategies among children and adolescents, was used to assess the prevalence of 10 coping strategies and their relative efficacy in a sample of 77 inner-city African American eighth graders (54 % female). Compared to the white adolescents who comprised the original Kidcope sample of A. Spirito and others (1988), African American adolescents were found to use more coping strategies. Although few sex differences were found in coping strategies, these also differ for inner-city adolescents. In addition, the choice of coping strategies was associated with adolescents ' perceptions of control over the problems they described. This study's findings extend the generalizability of the "goodness of fit " coping model (B. E. Compas et al., 1988) and indicate the value of studying adolescents in varying cultural contexts. (Contains one table and nine references.) (Author/SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS a...
The Erikson Psychosocial Inventory (EPSI) (Rosenthal, Gurney, and Moore, 1981) was introduced int... more The Erikson Psychosocial Inventory (EPSI) (Rosenthal, Gurney, and Moore, 1981) was introduced into a longitudinal study of 234 previously studied inner-city children as they were scheduled to make the transition from elementary to junior high school. Compared to the EPSI original Australian sample, inner-city African American 12and 13-year-olds rated themselves significantly higher in initiative and identity but lower in intimacy. Although no overall sex differences were found, poverty had an especially negative impact on psychosocial development of males. No significant differences were found between grade levels or type of school students attended. While retention had a negative effect on psychosocial development, placement in special education had minimal impact. However, it is difficult to determine whether generally lower psychosocial development among those who have been retained prior to early adolescence is a cause or consequence of retention. There were early indicators of ...
AUTHOR Marcon, Rebecca A. TITLE Differential Effects of Preschool Models on Inner-City Children: ... more AUTHOR Marcon, Rebecca A. TITLE Differential Effects of Preschool Models on Inner-City Children: The 'Class of 2000' Transitions from Third to Fourth Grade. PUB DATE Apr 95 NOTE 16p.; Paper presented at the Biennial Meeting uf the Society for Research in Child Development (61st, Indianapolis, IN, March 30-April 2, 1995). For related research, see ED 357 882. PUB TYPE Speeches/Conference Papers (150) Reports ,Research/Technical (143)
AUTHOR Clark, Deborah; Marcon, Rebecca A. TITLE Coping Strategies of Inner-City Adolescents: Resp... more AUTHOR Clark, Deborah; Marcon, Rebecca A. TITLE Coping Strategies of Inner-City Adolescents: Response to Recent Personal Conflicts. PUB DATE Apr 97 NOTE 10p.; Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association (Atlanta, GA, April 3-6, 1997). PUB TYPE Reports Research (143) -Speeches/Meeting Papers (150) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Adolescents; *Black Students; Check Lists; *Conflict; Context Effect; *Coping; *Environmental Influences; Goodness of Fit; Grade 8; Incidence; Inner City; Junior High School Students; Junior High Schools; Sex Differences; *Stress Management IDENTIFIERS African Americans; *KIDCOPE
This study examined demographic, behavioral, and academic contributors to inner-city children'... more This study examined demographic, behavioral, and academic contributors to inner-city children's grade retention prior to third grade and at the end of the fifth year of school. Subjects were 138 children who were enrolled in 63 public schools in Washington D.C. Prior to entering first grade, all children, 96 percent of whom were African American, had attended both prekindergarten and kindergarten. Measures included assessments of children's academic progress, children's behavioral and social development, parental involvement during children's first 3 years in school, the nature of children's prekindergarten and kindergarten experiences, and demographic information. Results, based on 66% of the original sample, indicated that relationships existed between children's reading and language skills in first grade and their grade retention prior to third grade; between their parents' involvement in their education during kindergarten and their grade retention pr...
Language samples and nonverbal behavior of 50 children attending bilingual K indergarten programs... more Language samples and nonverbal behavior of 50 children attending bilingual K indergarten programs were recorded from children's conver sations with a puppet on three separate occasions. In order to deter mine the influence of the listener's language on children's code selection, the puppet spoke a d iffe ren t language on each occasion. Of particular interest was the extent to which children would make pragmatic adjust ments in the ir verbal and nonverbal language codes in response to d iffe ren t listener needs. Differences in code selection which could be attr ibu ted to variation in second language proficiency were explored by contrasting the behavior of children classified as monolingual, limited second language speakers, or bilingual. Distinctive behavioral varia tions in both verbal and nonverbal communication were found to be associated with the listener's language and the children's proficiency in a second language. The implications of this research ...
Noting that research on long-term effects of attending preschool has found social as well as cogn... more Noting that research on long-term effects of attending preschool has found social as well as cognitive effects, this study explored the association between preschool participation and adolescent goals and activities in a sample of 80 urban eighth graders who had attended different types of preschool and kindergarten programs. The sample was 55 percent female; 94 percent of the sample were African American. Most students (76 percent) qualified for subsidized school lunch based on low family income, and 70 percent lived in single-parent families. Students were individually interviewed using a modified version of the Youth Follow-Up Interview. Subjects reported that the hardest adjustment in the transition to junior high school was the new school routine, followed by adjusting to a new physical environment, and making new friends. Findings indicated that these inner city students were highly involved in the typical activities of early adolescence. Their educational and career aspiratio...
A study explored gender differences in toy preferences, using 824 children's responses to a s... more A study explored gender differences in toy preferences, using 824 children's responses to a southeastern newspaper's request for letters to Santa Claus. The results suggested that it is in the choice of toys associated with some aspect of the adult social structure where children's preferences show the greatest gender differences. Changes in toy preference that have appeared in the past 15 years were found predominantly for toys associated with children's own enjoyment and learning and nonrepresentative of the adult world, such as musical instruments or bikes. These current findings indicated that girls are now as likely as boys to enjoy riding bicycles and engaging in sports activities. Also, boys are now as likely as girls to enjoy arts and crafts activities. However for toys that orient children away from occupational roles, the concern still exists that play with gender-linked toys may reduce life choices of young girls. Results suggest that children's play r...
How children use language affects the likelihood that a request will be granted. This study explo... more How children use language affects the likelihood that a request will be granted. This study explored children's requests in a natural setting, by analyzing unedits:d letters to Santa from 824 children (207. age 6 and under; 41% age 7 and 8; and 397. age 9 and over) in the newspapers of a southeastern metropolitan area. Letters were examined for differences in politeness and directness that could be attributed to children's age and sex. Analysis found that a surprising number of children in this sample were not polite to Santa, and no developmental progression in politeness was found. Girls did not differentiate pragmatic rules as much as boys. In general, letters written by girls were more polite than those by boys, and older children's requests were more indirect than those of younger children. However, boys appeared to adjust their language to a greater degree than did girls, especially in relationship to cost and quantity of their requests. (WP) **********************...
This study examined the possibility of a "threshold" of parent involvement with their c... more This study examined the possibility of a "threshold" of parent involvement with their children's preschools, that can lead to positive child outcomes in a sample of hard-to-engage families. Three cohorts of preschool children were studied, most from low-income, single-parent families. Teachers were interviewed to determine extent of contact they had with each child's parent(s). A global measure (yes/no) of parent involvement was used; categories of contact included parent-teacher conference, home visit by teacher, extended class visit by parent, and parental help with class activity. Two groups of children were formed based upon low or high parent-teacher contact. Measurement was made of children's development in four domains (communication, daily living skills, socialization, and motor) and of mastery in four basic skill areas (verbal, math/science, social/work habits, and physical) . Because no significant cohort differences in parent involvement were found, ...
Although poverty is a primary threat to children's school engagement and performance, a great... more Although poverty is a primary threat to children's school engagement and performance, a great deal of variability in academic achievement exists among low-SES minority children, and withingroup differences that place these children at-increased-risk for poor educational outcomes need to be examined. Using Harter's (1980) Scale of Intrinsic versus Extrinsic Orientation in the Classroom and the Self-Perception Profile for Children (Harter, 1985), this study of 222 urban early adolescents (median age = 149 mos) examined differences in motivation that might effect academic achievement and perceptions of competence. SES was found to be an important factor in academic performance, with poorer performance noted for lower income students. Like earlier research, cross-sectional analysis (controlling for SES) of composite intrinsic/extrinsic scores indicated a decline in the motivational component and an increase in the informational component from sixth to seventh grade. However, com...
This study examined language development as a precursor of maladaptive behavior in inner-city ear... more This study examined language development as a precursor of maladaptive behavior in inner-city early adolescents. Participating were 256 adolescents from the graduation classes of 2000 and 2001 who had previously attended District of Columbia prekindergarten/Head Start and kindergarten. The sample was 98 percent African American and 56 percent female. The subjects' teachers completed the Vineland Maladaptive Behavior Domain subscale. Results indicated that based on normative age expectations, only 48 percent of subjects were classified at the Nonsignificant level of maladaptiveness (NM), while 24 percent showed Intermediate maladaptation (IM), and 28 percent were Significantly Maladapted (SM). Among the SM group, boys outnumbered girls, students from poorer families outnumbered those from more affluent families, students from single-parent families outnumbered those from two-parent families, students previously retained in-grade outnumbered non-retained students, special educatio...
Proponents of early childhood education frequently refer to the importance of parent involvement ... more Proponents of early childhood education frequently refer to the importance of parent involvement for children's school success. However, little is known about characteristics of families that are more likely to become involved in their children's educational experience. This study provided follow-up data on 221 inner-city children (median age = 144 months) previously found to benefit from increased parent involvement during preschool, kindergarten, and the primary grades. Demographic and school-related predictors of involvement were further examined as children made the transition from elementary to junior high school. Findings indicated that parents whose children had attended Head Start were significantly more involved in their children's education at Year 8 or Year 9 than were parents whose children had attended pre-kindergarten in the same public school system. Current involvement was associated with higher grades, while past involvement had a positive impact on achi...
Page 1. NHSA DIALOG, 12(3), 276291 Copyright C o 2009, National Head Start Association ISSN: 152... more Page 1. NHSA DIALOG, 12(3), 276291 Copyright C o 2009, National Head Start Association ISSN: 1524-0754 print / 1930-9325 online DOI: 10.1080/15240750903080560 DISCUSSION Enhancing Language and Early Literacy Development ...
Kidcope, a check list developed to assess the prevalence of coping strategies among children and ... more Kidcope, a check list developed to assess the prevalence of coping strategies among children and adolescents, was used to assess the prevalence of 10 coping strategies and their relative efficacy in a sample of 77 inner-city African American eighth graders (54 % female). Compared to the white adolescents who comprised the original Kidcope sample of A. Spirito and others (1988), African American adolescents were found to use more coping strategies. Although few sex differences were found in coping strategies, these also differ for inner-city adolescents. In addition, the choice of coping strategies was associated with adolescents ' perceptions of control over the problems they described. This study's findings extend the generalizability of the "goodness of fit " coping model (B. E. Compas et al., 1988) and indicate the value of studying adolescents in varying cultural contexts. (Contains one table and nine references.) (Author/SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS a...
The Erikson Psychosocial Inventory (EPSI) (Rosenthal, Gurney, and Moore, 1981) was introduced int... more The Erikson Psychosocial Inventory (EPSI) (Rosenthal, Gurney, and Moore, 1981) was introduced into a longitudinal study of 234 previously studied inner-city children as they were scheduled to make the transition from elementary to junior high school. Compared to the EPSI original Australian sample, inner-city African American 12and 13-year-olds rated themselves significantly higher in initiative and identity but lower in intimacy. Although no overall sex differences were found, poverty had an especially negative impact on psychosocial development of males. No significant differences were found between grade levels or type of school students attended. While retention had a negative effect on psychosocial development, placement in special education had minimal impact. However, it is difficult to determine whether generally lower psychosocial development among those who have been retained prior to early adolescence is a cause or consequence of retention. There were early indicators of ...
AUTHOR Marcon, Rebecca A. TITLE Differential Effects of Preschool Models on Inner-City Children: ... more AUTHOR Marcon, Rebecca A. TITLE Differential Effects of Preschool Models on Inner-City Children: The 'Class of 2000' Transitions from Third to Fourth Grade. PUB DATE Apr 95 NOTE 16p.; Paper presented at the Biennial Meeting uf the Society for Research in Child Development (61st, Indianapolis, IN, March 30-April 2, 1995). For related research, see ED 357 882. PUB TYPE Speeches/Conference Papers (150) Reports ,Research/Technical (143)
AUTHOR Clark, Deborah; Marcon, Rebecca A. TITLE Coping Strategies of Inner-City Adolescents: Resp... more AUTHOR Clark, Deborah; Marcon, Rebecca A. TITLE Coping Strategies of Inner-City Adolescents: Response to Recent Personal Conflicts. PUB DATE Apr 97 NOTE 10p.; Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association (Atlanta, GA, April 3-6, 1997). PUB TYPE Reports Research (143) -Speeches/Meeting Papers (150) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Adolescents; *Black Students; Check Lists; *Conflict; Context Effect; *Coping; *Environmental Influences; Goodness of Fit; Grade 8; Incidence; Inner City; Junior High School Students; Junior High Schools; Sex Differences; *Stress Management IDENTIFIERS African Americans; *KIDCOPE
This study examined demographic, behavioral, and academic contributors to inner-city children'... more This study examined demographic, behavioral, and academic contributors to inner-city children's grade retention prior to third grade and at the end of the fifth year of school. Subjects were 138 children who were enrolled in 63 public schools in Washington D.C. Prior to entering first grade, all children, 96 percent of whom were African American, had attended both prekindergarten and kindergarten. Measures included assessments of children's academic progress, children's behavioral and social development, parental involvement during children's first 3 years in school, the nature of children's prekindergarten and kindergarten experiences, and demographic information. Results, based on 66% of the original sample, indicated that relationships existed between children's reading and language skills in first grade and their grade retention prior to third grade; between their parents' involvement in their education during kindergarten and their grade retention pr...
Language samples and nonverbal behavior of 50 children attending bilingual K indergarten programs... more Language samples and nonverbal behavior of 50 children attending bilingual K indergarten programs were recorded from children's conver sations with a puppet on three separate occasions. In order to deter mine the influence of the listener's language on children's code selection, the puppet spoke a d iffe ren t language on each occasion. Of particular interest was the extent to which children would make pragmatic adjust ments in the ir verbal and nonverbal language codes in response to d iffe ren t listener needs. Differences in code selection which could be attr ibu ted to variation in second language proficiency were explored by contrasting the behavior of children classified as monolingual, limited second language speakers, or bilingual. Distinctive behavioral varia tions in both verbal and nonverbal communication were found to be associated with the listener's language and the children's proficiency in a second language. The implications of this research ...
Noting that research on long-term effects of attending preschool has found social as well as cogn... more Noting that research on long-term effects of attending preschool has found social as well as cognitive effects, this study explored the association between preschool participation and adolescent goals and activities in a sample of 80 urban eighth graders who had attended different types of preschool and kindergarten programs. The sample was 55 percent female; 94 percent of the sample were African American. Most students (76 percent) qualified for subsidized school lunch based on low family income, and 70 percent lived in single-parent families. Students were individually interviewed using a modified version of the Youth Follow-Up Interview. Subjects reported that the hardest adjustment in the transition to junior high school was the new school routine, followed by adjusting to a new physical environment, and making new friends. Findings indicated that these inner city students were highly involved in the typical activities of early adolescence. Their educational and career aspiratio...
A study explored gender differences in toy preferences, using 824 children's responses to a s... more A study explored gender differences in toy preferences, using 824 children's responses to a southeastern newspaper's request for letters to Santa Claus. The results suggested that it is in the choice of toys associated with some aspect of the adult social structure where children's preferences show the greatest gender differences. Changes in toy preference that have appeared in the past 15 years were found predominantly for toys associated with children's own enjoyment and learning and nonrepresentative of the adult world, such as musical instruments or bikes. These current findings indicated that girls are now as likely as boys to enjoy riding bicycles and engaging in sports activities. Also, boys are now as likely as girls to enjoy arts and crafts activities. However for toys that orient children away from occupational roles, the concern still exists that play with gender-linked toys may reduce life choices of young girls. Results suggest that children's play r...
How children use language affects the likelihood that a request will be granted. This study explo... more How children use language affects the likelihood that a request will be granted. This study explored children's requests in a natural setting, by analyzing unedits:d letters to Santa from 824 children (207. age 6 and under; 41% age 7 and 8; and 397. age 9 and over) in the newspapers of a southeastern metropolitan area. Letters were examined for differences in politeness and directness that could be attributed to children's age and sex. Analysis found that a surprising number of children in this sample were not polite to Santa, and no developmental progression in politeness was found. Girls did not differentiate pragmatic rules as much as boys. In general, letters written by girls were more polite than those by boys, and older children's requests were more indirect than those of younger children. However, boys appeared to adjust their language to a greater degree than did girls, especially in relationship to cost and quantity of their requests. (WP) **********************...
This study examined the possibility of a "threshold" of parent involvement with their c... more This study examined the possibility of a "threshold" of parent involvement with their children's preschools, that can lead to positive child outcomes in a sample of hard-to-engage families. Three cohorts of preschool children were studied, most from low-income, single-parent families. Teachers were interviewed to determine extent of contact they had with each child's parent(s). A global measure (yes/no) of parent involvement was used; categories of contact included parent-teacher conference, home visit by teacher, extended class visit by parent, and parental help with class activity. Two groups of children were formed based upon low or high parent-teacher contact. Measurement was made of children's development in four domains (communication, daily living skills, socialization, and motor) and of mastery in four basic skill areas (verbal, math/science, social/work habits, and physical) . Because no significant cohort differences in parent involvement were found, ...
Although poverty is a primary threat to children's school engagement and performance, a great... more Although poverty is a primary threat to children's school engagement and performance, a great deal of variability in academic achievement exists among low-SES minority children, and withingroup differences that place these children at-increased-risk for poor educational outcomes need to be examined. Using Harter's (1980) Scale of Intrinsic versus Extrinsic Orientation in the Classroom and the Self-Perception Profile for Children (Harter, 1985), this study of 222 urban early adolescents (median age = 149 mos) examined differences in motivation that might effect academic achievement and perceptions of competence. SES was found to be an important factor in academic performance, with poorer performance noted for lower income students. Like earlier research, cross-sectional analysis (controlling for SES) of composite intrinsic/extrinsic scores indicated a decline in the motivational component and an increase in the informational component from sixth to seventh grade. However, com...
This study examined language development as a precursor of maladaptive behavior in inner-city ear... more This study examined language development as a precursor of maladaptive behavior in inner-city early adolescents. Participating were 256 adolescents from the graduation classes of 2000 and 2001 who had previously attended District of Columbia prekindergarten/Head Start and kindergarten. The sample was 98 percent African American and 56 percent female. The subjects' teachers completed the Vineland Maladaptive Behavior Domain subscale. Results indicated that based on normative age expectations, only 48 percent of subjects were classified at the Nonsignificant level of maladaptiveness (NM), while 24 percent showed Intermediate maladaptation (IM), and 28 percent were Significantly Maladapted (SM). Among the SM group, boys outnumbered girls, students from poorer families outnumbered those from more affluent families, students from single-parent families outnumbered those from two-parent families, students previously retained in-grade outnumbered non-retained students, special educatio...
Proponents of early childhood education frequently refer to the importance of parent involvement ... more Proponents of early childhood education frequently refer to the importance of parent involvement for children's school success. However, little is known about characteristics of families that are more likely to become involved in their children's educational experience. This study provided follow-up data on 221 inner-city children (median age = 144 months) previously found to benefit from increased parent involvement during preschool, kindergarten, and the primary grades. Demographic and school-related predictors of involvement were further examined as children made the transition from elementary to junior high school. Findings indicated that parents whose children had attended Head Start were significantly more involved in their children's education at Year 8 or Year 9 than were parents whose children had attended pre-kindergarten in the same public school system. Current involvement was associated with higher grades, while past involvement had a positive impact on achi...
Uploads