Can a teacher-reported indicator be used for population monitoring of oral language skills at school entry?

PURPOSE: Monitoring oral language skills at the population level would provide valuable data to inform policy decisions to better support children's oral language skills in schools. The Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) is a teacher-rated population measure of early child development that includes a rating of children's oral communication in the classroom (OCC). METHOD: This study evaluates the validity of the OCC indicator for population monitoring of children's oral language skills, capitalising on data from two datasets: the 2012 AEDC cohort (n = 289 973) and a subsample of children from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children for whom AEDC data were also collected (n = 720). RESULT: Construct validity was demonstrated by showing significant differences in OCC ratings between subpopulations of children who would be expected to differ in terms of oral language skills at school entry (e.g. children with a diagnosed speech-language impairment compared to those with no impairment). OCC ratings were associated with externally validated measures of language, suggesting convergent validity. No relationship was found between OCC ratings and physical health scores, indicating divergent validity. CONCLUSION: The findings support the use and interpretation of the OCC indicator as a tool for population-level monitoring of oral language in Australian school entrants.

Academic outcomes of multilingual children in Australia.

PURPOSE: The Australian educational system is increasingly challenged to meet the needs of multilingual students, who comprise a fifth of the student population. Within the context of a monolingual English curriculum, multilingual children who enter school not yet English proficient may be at risk of experiencing inequitable educational outcomes. METHOD: We examined the relationship between the timing of multilingual children's acquisition of receptive English vocabulary skills and subsequent reading and numeracy outcomes, as well as factors associated with earlier versus later timing of acquisition. Data were drawn from the Kindergarten-cohort (n = 4983) of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children - a nationally representative, community sample of Australian children. RESULT: Linear regression analyses revealed that multilingual children who begin school with proficient receptive English vocabulary skills, or who acquire proficiency early in schooling, are indistinguishable from their monolingual peers in literacy and numeracy outcomes by 10-11 years. However, later acquisition of receptive English vocabulary skills (i.e. after 6-7 years) was associated with poorer literacy outcomes. In turn, socioeconomic disadvantage and broader language or learning problems predicted this later acquisition of receptive English vocabulary skills. CONCLUSION: All children need to be supported during the early years of school to reach their full educational potential.

Transfer of Problem Solving Skills from Touchscreen to 3D Model by 3- to 6-Year-Olds.

Although much published research purports that young children struggle to solve problems from screen-based media and to transfer learning from a virtual to a physical modality, Huber et al. (2016)'s recent study on children solving the Tower of Hanoi (ToH) problem on a touchscreen app offers a clear counter example. Huber et al. (2016) reported that children transferred learning from media to the physical world. As this finding arguably differs from that of prior research in this area, the current study tests whether the Huber et al. (2016) results could be replicated. Additionally, we extended the scope of the Huber et al. (2016) work by testing a broader age range, including children as young as 3 years, and using a culturally distinct participant pool. The results of the current study verified Huber et al.'s (2016) conclusion that 4- to 6-year-old children are capable of transferring the ToH learning from touchscreen devices to the physical version of the puzzle. Children under 4 years of age, in contrast, showed little ability to improve at the ToH problem regardless of the practice modality-suggesting that a different problem-solving task is required to probe very young children's ability to learn from touchscreen apps.

The English proficiency and academic language skills of Australian bilingual children during the primary school years.

PURPOSE: Evidence suggests that early proficiency in the language of school instruction is an important predictor of academic success for bilingual children. This study investigated whether English-proficiency at 4-5 years of age predicts academic language and literacy skills among Australian bilingual children at 10-11 years of age, as part of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children ( LSAC, 2012 ). METHOD: The LSAC comprises a nationally representative clustered cross-sequential sample of Australian children. Data were analysed from a sub-sample of 129 bilingual children from the LSAC Kindergarten cohort (n = 4983), for whom teachers completed the Australian Early Development Index (AEDI) checklist (a population measure of early childhood development) and the Academic Rating Scale (ARS) language and literacy subscale. RESULT: Linear regression analyses revealed that bilingual children who commenced school with stronger English proficiency had higher academic language and literacy scores at the end of primary school (ß = 0.45). English proficiency remained a significant predictor, even when accounting for gender and socio-economic disadvantage (ß = 0.38). CONCLUSION: The findings indicate that bilingual children who begin school without English proficiency are at risk of difficulties with academic language and literacy, even after 6 years of schooling. Risk factors need to be identified so early support can be targeted towards the most vulnerable children.

Learning trajectories of children with special health care needs across the severity spectrum.

OBJECTIVE: A significant proportion of school-aged children experience special health care needs (SCHN) and seek care from pediatricians with a wide range of condition types and severity levels. This study examines the learning pathways of children with established (already diagnosed at school entry) and emerging (teacher identified) SHCN from school entry through the elementary school years. METHODS: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) is a nationally representative clustered cross-sequential sample of 2 cohorts of Australian children which commenced in May 2004. Data were analyzed from the LSAC kindergarten cohort (n = 4,983), as well as a subsample of 720 children for whom teachers also completed the Australian Early Development Index checklist, a measure of early childhood development at school entry that includes SHCN. RESULTS: Latent class analysis was utilized to establish 3 academic trajectories from 4-5 to 10-11 years: high (24.3%), average (49.8%), and low (23.6%). Descriptive statistics revealed a trend for both children with established and emerging SHCN to fall into weaker performing learning pathways. Multinomial logistic regression focusing on those children with emerging SHCN confirmed this pattern of results, even after adjustment for covariates (relative risk 3.06, 95% confidence interval 1.03-9.10). Children who additionally had low socioeconomic standing were particularly at risk. CONCLUSIONS: Even children with less complex SCHN are at risk for academic failure. Early identification, together with integrated health and educational support, may promote stronger pathways of educational attainment for these children. Achieving these better outcomes will require the involvement of both educational and health practitioners.

Seeing is Believing but is Hearing? Comparing Audio and Video Communication for Young Children.

Video communication has been shown to create a sense of proximity between young children and parents. To determine if video affords a stronger sense of proximity and engagement than a traditional telephone, the current experiment employed a Separation and Reunion Paradigm with either a video-link or an audio-link available to the separated dyad. Results revealed that during the separation with a video-link, more children remained content to be physically alone than during the audio-link, children played more and displayed more positive affect. This is the first empirical demonstration that video provides a stronger sense of proximity and enjoyment for young children than audio, suggesting that video is a more appropriate medium to meaningfully connect children to relatives during geographical separation.

Almost being there: video communication with young children.

BACKGROUND: Video communication is increasingly used to connect people around the world. This includes connecting young children with their parents and other relatives during times of separation. An important issue is the extent to which video communication with children can approximate a physical presence such that familial relationships can be truly maintained by this means. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The current study employed an adaptation of the Separation and Reunion Paradigm with children (17 months to 5 years) to investigate the potential for video communication with a parent to afford a sense of proximity and security to children. The protocol involved a free-play session with the parent, followed by two separation-reunion episodes. During one of the separation episodes the parent was 'virtually available' to the child via a video link. Our results revealed three important differences. First, children left alone played longer in a strange room when their parent was virtually available to them compared to when the children were left alone with neither physical nor video contact with their parent. Second, younger participants sought physical contact with their parent less at the end of the video separation episode compared to when they were left entirely alone. Finally, the comparison between free play with video and free play with parent, revealed that the children exhibit a similar level of interactivity with their parent by video as they did in person. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: For young children a video connection can have many of the same effects as a physical presence. This is a significant finding as it is the first such empirical demonstration and indicates considerable promise in video communication as a tool to maintain family relationships when physical presence is not possible.