Research Findings: This study aims to extend our knowledge regarding contributions of educator--child interactions to child language outcomes by examining the extent to which specific dimensions of the CLASS observational tool of educator-child interactions are associated with child language abilities, utilizing data from an Australian…

Research Findings: Structural racism places Black families at heightened risk for stress, parenting challenges, and child developmental concerns. These impacts on families persist across the lifespan, though Black families also thrive in spite of the oppression they face. Federally funded programs like Early Head Start (EHS) show promise in…

Research Findings: The present study investigates both the proximal processes and contextual influences on children's oral language development in preschool. We examine whether teacher language practices vary across activity settings and program type, which teacher language practices predict children's oral language skills, and potential…

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…

Narratives have been extensively studied in recent decades, but studies investigating differences and similarities in the narrative features from a cross-cultural or cross-linguistic point of view are limited. This study investigated the narrative language of typically developing monolingual four- and eight-year-old Finnish, Italian and Canadian…

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…

Research Findings: The present study provides an initial descriptive comparison of the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised (ECERS-R) and the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Third Edition (ECERS-3) in a relatively large sample in 1 state that uses the Environment Rating Scales within its Quality Rating and Improvement System…

Research Findings: This study investigated the long-term interrelations among children's language competencies, their home literacy environment (HLE), and 3 aspects of socioemotional development from ages 3 to 8, controlling for characteristics of the child and family. For this sample of 547 typically developing German children, parents and…

Research Findings: This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of linguistic training based on the use of the Drežancic method in educational settings. It is hypothesized that characteristics of this method, based on the typical stages of linguistic and cognitive development, could influence both language competence and executive function (EF). A…

Research Findings: As policymakers expand access to preschool, the sociodemographic composition of preschool classrooms will become increasingly important. These efforts may create programs that increase the concentration of children from low-income families or, alternatively, foster the creation of socioeconomically diverse preschool classrooms.…

Research Findings: Artfulness is rarely considered as an indicator of quality in young children's spoken narratives. Although some studies have examined artfulness in the narratives of children 5 and older, no studies to date have focused on the artfulness of preschoolers' oral narratives. This study examined the artfulness of fictional spoken…

Research Findings: Each year the federal government disburses billions of dollars to support young children, with a particular focus on assisting families facing hardships. Policies for children revolve around several fundamental themes, including the promotion of physical health and high-quality environments, intellectual and language skills,…

Research Findings: In this study, 75 Spanish-speaking preschoolers (M age = 41.43 months, SD = 10.78 months; 30 girls) attending a Migrant Head Start program were randomly assigned to receive the Storytelling for the Home Enrichment of Language and Literacy Skills (SHELLS) in addition to their Head Start services (n = 32) or to continue to receive…

Describes articles in special issue as claiming that in learning language children acquire resources to enact culturally sanctioned ways of being and that language-based interactions provide resources for co-constructing reality. Identifies three themes: sensitivity to how participation in social interaction is organized, use of nontraditional…