Over half of US children are enrolled in preschools, where the quantity and quality of language input from teachers are likely to affect children's language development. Leveraging repeated objective measurements, we examined the rate per minute and phonemic diversity of child and teacher speech-related vocalizations in preschool classrooms and…

Children with hearing loss often attend inclusive preschool classrooms aimed at improving their spoken language skills. Although preschool classrooms are fertile environments for vocal interaction with peers, little is known about the dyadic processes that influence children's speech to one another and foster their language abilities and how these…

This article examines similarities and differences in Chilean teachers' competences, which were organized into profiles, and the associations of these profiles with children's language development. Teacher-child interactions were assessed when the children were 12 (n=99) and 30 months old (n=73), using the Adult Sensitivity Scale, the Evaluation…

This study examined variability of the home literacy environment (HLE) using multiple measures among families of low SES. The relations of the measures to each other and to children's early oral language skills and print knowledge were reported. Considerable variability of the self-reported HLE items and the Children's Title Checklist (CTC) but…

Shy children are less likely to interact with peers and teachers, ask questions, and participate in classroom activities. Children low in attention and inhibitory control also perform worse academically. Although research indicates children's relationships with teachers may be protective for children at risk for academic difficulties, less is…

This article compares regression modeling and propensity score analysis as different types of statistical techniques used in addressing selection bias when estimating the impact of two-year versus one-year Head Start on children's school readiness. The analyses were based on the national Head Start secondary dataset. After controlling for…

Purpose: The authors of this study described developmental trajectories and predicted kindergarten performance of Spanish and English receptive vocabulary acquisition of young Latino/a English language learners (ELLs) from socioeconomically disadvantaged migrant families. In addition, the authors examined the extent to which gender and individual…

This study investigated different forms of pretend and physical play as predictors of preschool children's "affective social competence" (ASC). Data were collected from 122 preschool children (57 boys, 65 girls; 86 European American, 9 African American, 17 Hispanic, and 10 other ethnicity) over a 2-year period. Children participated in…

Narratives require the integration of many different linguistic skills and can be used as an ecologically valid measure of child language development. This study investigated the narrative skills of 18 six- to seven-year-old prelingually deaf children who received simultaneous bilateral cochlear implants (CI) between 5 and 18 months of age. No…

Longitudinal data were obtained from 157 children aged 3 years 3 months to 5 years 6 months at Time 1. At Time 2 these children had aged an average of 12 months. Theory of mind (ToM) and executive functioning (EF) were measured at both time points. Results suggest that Time 1 ToM scores predict Time 2 EF scores. Detailed examination of sibling…

This research investigated the concurrent association between early reading skills and phonological awareness (PA), print knowledge, language, cognitive, and demographic variables in 101 five-Year-Old Children with prelingual hearing losses ranging from mild to profound who communicated primarily via spoken language. All participants were fitted…

Sixty-one preschool children and their parents and teachers participated in a cross-sectional study of the social-emotional correlates of emergent literacy skills. The children's emergent literacy skills were assessed with the standard language and literacy tests: "Expressive Vocabulary Test, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test" (third…

The current study examined the role of basic language skills for individual differences in preschoolers' understanding of causal connections. Assessments of basic language skills, expressive vocabulary, phonological processing, and receptive language comprehension were examined in relation to the production of causal connections in a storytelling…

The present paper was written under the auspices of the interdisciplinary research group "Educational Processes, Competence Development, and Selection Decisions at Preschool and Primary School Age (BiKS)" (FOR 543), funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). The surveys were conceptualised and supervised as part of the developmental…

The purpose of this study was to extend existing research relative to the predictors of early mathematics skills. Using Vygotskian theory as a framework, our primary goal was to determine whether social skills or letter awareness skills served as better mediators between receptive language and early mathematics concepts. The secondary goal was to…