Human Development & Quantitative Methodology
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2248
The departments within the College of Education were reorganized and renamed as of July 1, 2011. This department incorporates the former departments of Measurement, Statistics & Evaluation; Human Development; and the Institute for Child Study.
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Item The Protective Role of Home Learning Activities in the Development of Head Start Children's School Readiness Skills: A Longitudinal Analysis of Learning Growth Rates from Preschool Through First Grade(2008-11-17) See, Heather M.; Klein, Elisa L.; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Children's early learning experiences in the home have a significant impact on their readiness for school and future academic success. However, children in poverty often lack a high-quality home learning environment, and consequently, are more likely than their economically advantaged peers to be at risk for failure in school. In this study, data were analyzed from the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey of 1997 (FACES), a national longitudinal study of children and families participating in the federal Head Start program. A latent growth model estimated children's growth trajectories in vocabulary, numeracy, and writing skills from Head Start through first grade, and the influence of engagement in home learning activities on children's skills. On average, children demonstrated skills that scored significantly below national norms. By first grade, children caught up on basic numeracy skills; however, they persisted to demonstrate significantly weaker vocabulary skills and slightly weaker writing skills. Risk factors, such as low income-to-needs, low parent education, a non-English home language, and multiple children age five and under in the home, were associated with weaker skills. Children who entered Head Start with the weakest skills grew at a faster rate than children with stronger skills, thus demonstrating the greatest gains over time. Moreover, families engaged in various home learning activities with their children during Head Start. A factor analysis produced three activity factors: Academic Stimulation, Community Enrichment, and Family Entertainment. Academic Stimulation was associated with stronger vocabulary, numeracy, and writing skills, while Community Enrichment was not associated with child outcomes, and Family Entertainment was negatively associated with numeracy and writing skills. Engagement in activities varied by child and family characteristics. Families with low income-to-needs engaged in significantly fewer activities across all three factors. This study advances our knowledge of the significant influence of family income-to-needs on children's early learning experiences and their development of fundamental cognitive readiness skills. The results further substantiate the need for family intervention programs designed to improve the quality of low-income children's home learning environments. Additionally, the findings illustrate the utility of latent growth modeling in estimating children's school readiness trajectories.Item The Relations Among Childcare Provider Education, Neighborhood Poverty, and the Quality of Childcare Classrooms(2008-08-03) D'Amour, Allison Catherine; Jones Harden, Brenda; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The current study examined contextual influences on the quality of the childcare classroom. Previous research has examined how direct influences, such as childcare provider education, impact childcare quality, but to date, no research has examined how these direct influences interact with distal features, such as neighborhood poverty. Given the large number of children enrolled in childcare and the evidence that high quality childcare benefits children, it is important to identify what contributes to classroom quality. Using hierarchical linear modeling, this study examined (1) if childcare quality varies across neighborhoods, (2) if childcare provider education and (3) neighborhood poverty individually impact classroom quality, and (4) if the impact of childcare provider education on classroom quality varies as a function of the neighborhood. Data collected from the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania's Early to Learn project was used in combination with poverty data derived from the 2000 U.S. Census. Results of the present study were that childcare quality did vary across neighborhoods, but that childcare provider education had no direct impact on classroom quality. However, neighborhood poverty was positively associated with classroom quality. Additionally, there was no differential impact of childcare provider education on quality in the context of the neighborhood. Although these findings may seem to suggest that childcare provider education does not matter, further analyses reveal that higher education was positively related to structural features of the classroom, such as group size and staff: child ratios. Additionally, providers with Associate's degrees and Child Development Associates had the highest quality classrooms, higher than those with a Bachelor's degree and with High School education. More research is needed to fully understand the impact of the childcare provider in the classroom. The findings that classrooms in higher poverty had higher quality classrooms, in addition to the lack of findings regarding childcare provider education, have major implications for future research and policies aimed at improving childcare quality.Item Teacher-child relationships: Examining the relations among children's risk, relationships, and externalizing behaviors in Head Start(2008-04-29) Vick, Jessica Erin; Jones Harden, Brenda; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Early externalizing behaviors can have significant and persistent impacts on young children's developmental trajectories (Campbell, 1994; 1995; Moffitt, 1993). High-quality teacher-child relationships have the potential to protect children living in high-risk family environments from developing externalizing behaviors. Using Bronfenbrenner's bioecological framework, the current study explored the impact of family risks and teacher-child relationship quality on children's externalizing behaviors. Specifically, the goals of the study were to: (a) investigate the associations between family risk factors and children's externalizing behaviors, (b) examine the associations between teacher-child relationship quality and children's externalizing behaviors, (c) examine whether teacher-child relationship quality moderates the impact of family risk on children's externalizing behaviors, and (d) investigate the associations among teacher, student, and classroom characteristics and teacher-child relationship quality. Data were gathered from 100 Head Start children, their parents, and their teachers. Controlling for children's age and gender, results revealed that two family risk factors, parent-child dysfunctional interaction and family cohesion, significantly predicted child noncompliance. All of the teacher-child relationship quality variables including conflict, cohesion, dependency, and positive interactions significantly predicted children's externalizing behaviors, with conflict being the strongest and most consistent predictor. Finally, analyses on the interactions between the family risk and teacher-child relationship quality variables revealed that teacher-child conflict moderated the impact of family cohesion on child noncompliance. This finding suggested that low teacher-child conflict protects children from the impact of low family cohesion on child noncompliance, and high teacher-child conflict intensifies the impact of low family cohesion on child noncompliance. Overall, the results from this study suggest that teacher-child relationship quality may serve as both a risk and protective factor in the development of young children's externalizing behaviors. The findings presented have important implications for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers in understanding how to strengthen teacher-child relationships as a means to promote Head Start children's competence in the behavioral domain.Item The impact of parents' demographic and psychological characteristics and parent involvement on young children's reading and math outcomes(2007-11-26) Epstein, Dale Judith; Cabrera, Natasha; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Parents' involvement in children's education as a means to increase children's academic achievement has received national attention due to findings from studies and current educational legislation. The current study explores the impact of parents' demographic and psychological characteristics and their involvement in activities both school and at home on children's reading and math outcomes within the framework of Bronfenbrenner's bioecological theory. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K), a nationally representative sample of children and families, this study addresses the following research questions: what are the effects of parents' characteristics on child outcomes and on parent involvement, what is the effect of parent involvement on child outcomes, and to what extent does parent involvement mediate the association between parent characteristics and child outcomes. Results from the study revealed that parents' level of education and income were associated with both parent involvement and children's reading and math outcomes. In addition, parents' beliefs about their children's academic abilities also were strongly predictive of children's outcomes. Parent involvement in school was positively associated with children's reading and math outcomes, whereas parent involvement at home was negatively associated with children's outcomes. Lastly, parent involvement in school was found to partially mediate the association between parents' education and children's reading and math outcomes. This study highlights the impact parents have on their children's academic outcomes and findings suggest that programs aimed at helping parents build human capital is an important way to increase parent involvement at school and help children to succeed.Item Low-Income African American Fathers' Contributions to Toddlers' Social and Emotional Development(2007-11-26) Mitchell, Stephanie Jolley; Cabrera, Natasha; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Growing interest in low-income, minority fathers' involvement and concern over their children's social and emotional development highlights the need for empirical investigation into the predictors of low-income fathers' involvement and its influence on young children's social and emotional development. Using data from a study of low-income, African American fathers of toddlers enrolled in Early Head Start, the present research examined associations among fathers' family contexts, the quality of father-child interactions, and children's social competence and problem behavior. Guided by the Dynamics Model of paternal influences on children (Cabrera et al., in press a), the present research addressed the following questions: (a) how are fathers' family contexts associated with children's social and emotional development, (b) how are fathers' family contexts associated with the quality of father-child interactions, (c) how is the quality of father-child interactions uniquely associated with children's social and emotional development, and (d) to what extent does the quality of father-child interactions mediate associations between fathers' family contexts and children's social and emotional development? Results of multiple regressions suggest that low-income, African American fathers who parent in the context of more harmonious partner and extended family relationships have children with greater social competence and less problem behavior than fathers who have less amicable partner and extended family relationships. Furthermore, fathers who act negatively and are over-controlling toward their toddlers have children who exhibit less social competence than fathers who display fewer negative behaviors. These findings highlight the importance of supporting fathers' relationships with their partners and extended family members and of encouraging fathers to be less negative and over-controlling when interacting with their toddlers in order to promote impoverished children's healthy social and emotional development.Item Korean child care classroom practices and children's stress behaviors(2007-04-25) kim, bodlemam; Klein, Elisa; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between classroom practices of child care and children's stress behaviors in Korea. The classification of the type of classroom is based on the Guidelines for Developmentally Appropriate Practices of the National Association for the Education of Young children (NAEYC, 1997), which defines classroom programs in terms of developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) and developmentally inappropriate practices (DIP), based on the way in which the program accounts for normative development, individual development, and cultural context. Stress behavior was observed for 145 four-year-olds in 5 DAP and 5 DIP classrooms. To control the effect of overall quality of the classroom on stress behaviors, classrooms of high quality were selected, and then were classified into DAP and DIP classroom practices. Temperament and gender of the children and parenting stress of mother were examined to understand their relationship to children's stress behaviors. Child and family variables were also controlled to clarify the independent effect of classroom practices on children's stress behaviors. To examine the relationship between each variable and children's stress behaviors, MANOVA and linear regression analyses were used. Hierarchical linear regression analyses were also used to verify the independent effects of classroom practices on children's stress behaviors after controlling child and family variables. A significant relationship between classroom practices and children's stress behaviors was found, with more stress behaviors for children in DIP than children in DAP classrooms. Gender and temperament, and maternal parenting stress were also related to children's stress behaviors. Gender, parenting stress, and classroom practice were significant predictors of children's stress behaviors, and classroom practice added significantly to the prediction once other variables had been controlled. These results suggest that family variables, in addition to classroom practices, impact children's stress, implying that the effects of classroom practices should be examined in consideration of other variables outside school. Most studies on DAP and children's development have explored the effects of DAP in isolation. The results of this study demonstrate the independent effects of several variables on children's stress behaviors. Future studies should expand on these findings and focus on the effects both of classrooms and of other variables outside school in theoretical framework of ecological theory.Item An Evaluation of Best Families, a Parenting Education Intervention Program for Head Start Families: The Effects on Child-rearing Style, Affirming Communication, and Children's Behavior(2005-12-16) Sang-Blodgett, Janet; Robertson-Tchabo, Elizabeth A.; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: AN EVALUATION OF BEST FAMILIES, A PARENTING EDUCATION INTERVENTION PROGRAM FOR HEAD START FAMILIES: THE EFFECTS ON CHILD-REARING STYLE, AFFIRMING COMMUNICATION, AND CHILDREN'S BEHAVIOR. Janet Sang-Blodgett, Ph.D., 2005 Dissertation Directed By: Chair: E.A. Robertson-Tchabo, Ph.D.EDHD The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of parents' participation in the Best Families program on the parents' child rearing style, parent-child communication, and parents' and teachers' ratings of the children's behavior. The Best Families program was a four-week, parenting education program designed specifically for economically disadvantaged parents of 4 - 5 year old children enrolled in early childhood assistance programs in a mid-Atlantic state. Thirty parent volunteers whose children attended a Head Start summer session at one of three Head Start centers participated in the study. Two of the parent participants were fathers, and 28 were mothers. Nineteen of the parents were African American, eight were Hispanic Americans, and three were Caucasian. Nineteen of the participants were parents of boys, and eleven of the participants were parents of girls. The Best Families program included four components: social problem solving, verbalizing emotions, parent-child communication, and utilization of social support. The program was delivered once a week for four consecutive weeks. Participants were directed to apply the skills that had been addressed during the following week and to discuss with the group the relative success of the strategies. Personal interviews were conducted prior to the intervention program and immediately after participation in the parenting education program. A participant's child-rearing style and social problem solving was measured by the Child Rearing Style Interview (Shure, 1998). All but one of the 30 participants moved up the child rearing style continuum in the direction of a social problem solving style. Parent-child communication was measured by the Problem Solving Communication Index (McCubbin, McCubbin, and Thompson, 1988). There was a statistically significant increase in the frequency of affirming communication. Children's behavior was measured by parent and teacher ratings using the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach & Edelbrock, 1983). There was a statistically significant reduction in the frequency of externalizing behaviors of both boys and girls as rated both by parents' and by teachers' ratings. The children exhibited fewer aggressive and impulsive behaviors and generally were more compliant.