Gender Differences in the Impact of North Carolina’s Early Care and Education Initiatives on Student Outcomes in Elementary School

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 377-407 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clara G. Muschkin ◽  
Helen F. Ladd ◽  
Kenneth A. Dodge ◽  
Yu Bai

Based on growing evidence of the long-term benefits of enriched early childhood experiences, we evaluate the potential for addressing gender disparities in elementary school through early care and education programs. Specifically, we explore the community-wide effects of two statewide initiatives in North Carolina on gender differences in academic outcomes in Grades 3 to 5, using administrative student data and information on variation in program availability across counties and over time. We find that although investments in early care and education programs produce significant gains in math and reading skills on average for all children, boys experience larger program-related gains than girls. Moreover, the greatest gains among boys emerge for those from less advantaged families. In contrast, the large and statistically significant reductions in special education placements induced by these early childhood program do not differ consistently by gender.

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (16) ◽  
pp. 2869-2877 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taren Swindle ◽  
Julie M Rutledge ◽  
Belynda Dix ◽  
Leanne Whiteside-Mansell

AbstractObjectiveChildren’s dietary intake impacts weight status and a range of short- and long-term health outcomes. Accurate measurement of factors that influence children’s diet is critical to the development and evaluation of interventions designed to improve children’s diets. The purpose of the current paper is to present the development of the Table Talk observational tool to measure early care and education teachers’ (ECET) verbal feeding communications.DesignAn observational tool to assess ECET verbal communication at mealtimes was deigned based on the extant literature. Trained observers conducted observations using the tool during lunch for both lead and assistant ECET. Descriptive statistics, test–retest for a subgroup, interclass correlations for each item, and comparisons between leads and assistants were conducted.SettingHead Start centres, Southern USA.SubjectsSeventy-five Head Start educators.ResultsOn average, 17·2 total verbal feeding communications (sd8·9) were observed per ECET. For lead ECET, the most prevalent Supportive Comment was Exploring Foods whereas for assistants Making Positive Comments was the most prevalent. Overall, lead ECET enacted more Supportive Comments than assistant ECET (F(2,72)=4·8,P=0·03). The most common Unsupportive Comment was Pressuring to Eat, with a mean of 3·8 (sd4·3) and a maximum of 25. There was no difference in Unsupportive Comments between lead and assistant ECET.ConclusionsTable Talk may be a useful tool to assess verbal feeding communications of ECET, with potential applications such as informing ECET training and assessing intervention efforts.


2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 435-453 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuhiro Ohtani ◽  
Ryo Okada

This study examines the interaction between gender and classroom social goal structures and the impact they have on children's prosocial behaviors and classroom adjustment. Specifically, classroom social goal structures (consisting of prosocial and compliance goal structure) are the degree to which focal social goals are presented in classrooms. Numerous previous studies have tested the gender differences in social outcomes; however, the results of such past studies have been mixed, as some detected gender differences while others did not. This suggests the existence of moderator variables. Consequently, in this research, we focused on classroom-level moderators in the relationship between gender and social outcomes. We analysed a sample of 3,609 Japanese public elementary school children from 114 classrooms, and we detected the presence of cross-level interactions and found that classroom social goal structures can promote or degrade boys' social outcomes.


Author(s):  
Steven J. Holochwost ◽  
Lindsay A. Gomes ◽  
Cathi B. Propper ◽  
Eleanor D. Brown ◽  
Iheoma U. Iruka

High-quality early care and education can mitigate the short- and long-term effects of poverty on young children’s development. Therefore, policies that expand access to high-quality early care and education can be an effective anti-poverty strategy. A number of programs demonstrably foster volitional processes of self-regulation—the capacity to control emotions, thoughts, and behaviors—among young children in poverty. However, relatively little is known about how the activity of the neurophysiological systems that form the interface between brain and body supports these processes of self-regulation in early care and education settings. Maximizing the efficacy of early care and education as an anti-poverty strategy requires adopting policies to advance three interrelated goals: understanding, accommodating, and reconfiguring young children’s neurophysiological function in the early care and education environment.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Owen McGill ◽  
Anna Robinson

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the long-term impacts autistic adults experienced from childhood participation in the applied behavioural analysis (ABA). Design/methodology/approach Possible participants were recruited through advertisements on social media and autism and ABA organisations. Possible participants were given the choice between an online or face-to-face interview or an anonymised online questionnaire. Findings Reflections from 10 participants were indicative of a predominantly detrimental impact of ABA. Reflections gave rise to a core theme “recalling hidden harms of childhood experiences of ABA”. Outcomes are discussed in relation to the impact on autistic identity, current research and progressing understanding of the impacts of early intervention from the autistic perspective. Research limitations/implications The practical implications of ABA are discussed alongside recommendations for future practice and research with the involvement of autistic individuals within interventive processes. Originality/value This is the first paper to take an in-depth, qualitative approach to autistic experiences of ABA. The findings themselves are driven to conceptualise and give voice to the core impacts which carried through participants’ exploration and understanding of self.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 100915
Author(s):  
Jacob Szeszulski ◽  
Elizabeth Lorenzo ◽  
Gabriel Q. Shaibi ◽  
Matthew P. Buman ◽  
Sonia Vega-López ◽  
...  

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