This chapter explores the ecology of human development, those forces in the person's environment that affect and influence development. Urie Bronfenbrenner's model of the human ecosystem guides the discussion, making connections between children in families and in communities and the larger society that surrounds them. The human ecosystem model is much like the study of the natural ecology, focusing on the interactions between subjects at various levels of the environment as they affect each other. The interaction between individual and environment forms the basis of an ecological approach to human development. This view sees the process of development as the expansion of the child's conception of the world and the child's ability to act on that world. Risks to development can come from both direct threats and the absence of opportunities for development. Sociocultural risk refers to the impoverishment in the child's world of essential experiences and relationships.

The Ecology of Human Development

Historically, most demographic data for states and substate areas were collected from the long version of the decennial census questionnaire. A “snapshot” of the characteristics of the population on the April 1 census date was available once every 10 years. The long form of the decennial census has been replaced by the American Community Survey (ACS) that has been conducted on an ongoing basis for the entire country since 2005. Instead of a snapshot in which all of the data are gathered at one time, the ACS aggregates data collected over time, making the results more difficult to interpret. However, the ACS data are updated annually.

A practical guide to the American Community Survey (3-year estimates)

A language and literacy intervention was implemented in 10 Head Start classrooms. Teachers were trained in specific book reading and conversation strategies. The focus of the intervention was to train teachers how to increase opportunities for language and vocabulary development in young children. At the end of the year, children in the intervention classrooms performed significantly better than children in the control classrooms on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-III and the Expressive One-Word Vocabulary Test (3rd ed.). In addition, teachers in the intervention classrooms used strategies that promoted language development during book reading and other classroom activities. Head Start teachers can be trained to implement strategies that have positive effects on children's language and literacy development.

https://psycnet.apa.org/journals/edu/98/1/63.pdf

The Effects of a Language and Literacy Intervention on Head Start Children and Teachers

About half of 2,581 low-income mothers reported reading daily to their children. At 14 months, the odds of reading daily increased by the child being firstborn or female. At 24 and 36 months, these odds increased by maternal verbal ability or education and by the child being firstborn or of Early Head Start status. White mothers read more than did Hispanic or African American mothers. For English-speaking children, concurrent reading was associated with vocabulary and comprehension at 14 months, and with vocabulary and cognitive development at 24 months. A pattern of daily reading over the 3 data points for English-speaking children and daily reading at any 1 data point for Spanish-speaking children predicted children's language and cognition at 36 months. Path analyses suggest reciprocal and snowballing relations between maternal bookreading and children's vocabulary.

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Mother–Child Bookreading in Low‐Income Families: Correlates and Outcomes During the First Three Years of Life

Building on a growing body of ecological research, this study examines access to print in two low-income and two middle-income neighborhood communities in a large industrial city. It documents the availability of print in these communities, focusing on resources considered to be influential in a child's beginning development as a writer and reader. It describes the likelihood that children will find books and other resources, see signs, labels, and logos, public places (spaces) conducive to reading, books in local preschools, school libraries, and public library branches. Results of the year-long analysis indicated striking differences between neighborhoods of differing income in access to print at all levels of analyses, with middle-income children having a large variety of resources to choose from, while low-income children having to rely on public institutions which provide unequal resources across communities. Such differences in access to print resources may have important implications for children's early literacy development. Fundamentado en un creciente numero de investigaciones ecologicas, este estudio examina el acceso a la escritura en dos comunidades vecinales de bajos ingresos y dos de ingresos medios de una gran ciudad industrial. El estudio documenta la accesibilidad a la escritura en estas comunidades, centrandose en los recursos que se consideran influencias importantes en el desarrollo inicial de los ninos como escritores y lectores. Se describe la posibilidad de que los ninos encuentren libros y otros recursos, ver signos, etiquetas y logos, espacios publicos que conducen a la lectura, libros en los jardines de infantes locales, bibliotecas escolares y bibliotecas publicas. Los resultados del analisis llevado a cabo durante un ano indicaron impactantes diferencias entre los vecindarios de diferente nivel de ingresos en cuanto al acceso a la escritura en todos los niveles de analisis. Los ninos de nivel medio disponen de una amplia variedad de recursos para elegir, en tanto que los ninos de bajos ingresos dependen de las instituciones publicas que proporcionan recursos desiguales en las distintas comunidades. Estas diferencias en el acceso a los recursos escritos podria tener importantes implicancias para la alfabetizacion inicial de los ninos. Aufbauend auf einen anwachsenden Grundstock an okologischer Forschung untersucht diese Studie den Zugang zum Gedruckten in zwei Nachbarschaftsgemeinden mit niedrigen Einkommen und zwei mittleren Einkommens in einer grosen Industriestadt. Sie dokumentiert die Verfugbarkeit von Gedrucktem in diesen Gemeinden mit Hinblick auf jene Mittel, die als beeinflussend auf die beginnende Entwicklung eines Kindes hin zum Schreiber und Leser gelten konnen. Sie beschreibt die Wahrscheinlichkeit, das Kinder Bucher und andere Hilfsmittel finden werden, Schilder, Etiketten und Logos wahrnehmen, sowie offentlich vermittelnde Stellen (Ausstellflachen), die dem Lesen dienen, Buchern in ortlichen Vorschulen, Schul buchereien und offentlichen Buchereien. Die Ergebnisse der einjahrigen Untersuchung liesen auf erstaunliche Unterschiede zwischen den Nachbarschaften mit unterschiedlichen Einkommensstrukturen im Zugang zum Gedruckten auf allen Ebenen der Analyse schliesen, wobei Kinder aus mittleren Einkommen uber eine grose Auswahl an Mitteln verfugen konnen, wahrend Kinder aus niedrigen Einkommen sich auf offentliche Einrichtungen verlassen mussen, die nicht vergleichbare Mittel quer durch die Gemeinden anbieten. Solche Differenzen im Zugang zu Druckerzeugnissen konnen bei Kindern wesentliche Einflusse auf die fruhe Schreib- und Leseentwicklung haben. Partant d'un corps croissant de recherches, cette etude examine l'accessiblite de l'ecrit pour deux groupes sociaux a bas et a moyens revenus d'une grande ville industrielle. Elle apporte des donnees sur les ecrits accessibles a ces deux groupes, en mettant l'accent sur des ressources dont on peut penser qu'elles ont une influence sur le debut du developpement de l'enfant en tant que lecteur et scripteur. Elle decrit quelles possibilites ont les enfants de trouver des livres ou d'autres resssources, signes, panneaux, logos, lieux publics (espaces) incitant a la lecture, livres dans les maternelles, bibliotheques d'ecole, et sections de bibliotheques publiques. Les resultats d'une analyse portant sur une annee montrent des differences frappantes d'accessibilite de l'ecrit a tous les niveaux de l'analyse entre les environnements aux revenus differents, les enfants de milieu aux revenus moyens ayant la possibilite de faire des choix parmi des ressources nombreuses et variees, tandis que les enfants des milieux a bas revenus doivent s'en remettre a des services publics qui procurent des ressources inegales d'un groupe a l'autre. Ces differences d'acces aux ressources ecrites peuvent avoir des consequences importantes sur l'entree dans l'ecrit des jeunes enfants.

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Access to Print in Low‐Income and Middle‐Income Communities: An Ecological Study of Four Neighborhoods

This study addresses the challenge of creating a collaborative approach to parent involvement. As part of a family literacy program, participants in the study were 19 African-American adolescent parents from low-income backgrounds whose children attended an early intervention program. Parents’ beliefs about learning and literacy were sought through a series of peer group discussions. The data revealed a continuum of perspectives ranging from behavioral to constructivist beliefs, suggesting important intragroup variability within this particular sociocultural group. The discussions also revealed shared goals that may be used to forge collaborative relationships between parents and professionals in the interest of improving African-American children’s early education. Illustrations from a family literacy program are used to show how parent beliefs may be incorporated into programmatic changes, building constructive relationships that work toward supporting children’s success in schools.

Toward a Collaborative Approach to Parent Involvement in Early Education: A Study of Teenage Mothers in an African-American Community

As an urban teacher currently living in Philadelphia, I was drawn to Giving Our Children a Fighting Chance, a book by Susan B. Neuman and Donna C. Celano. Set in two drastically different communities within the same city limits of Philadelphia, this ten-year research study works to answer a commonplace urban education question: Why is there an achievement gap based on race and class and what can we do about it? Many studies of this nature focus on urban versus suburban communities and look within schools themselves. This unique study analyzes two Philadelphia communities: Chestnut Hill, a community many consider a suburb within a city, where 93% of residents have graduated from high school and 63% have a bachelor’s degree; and the North Philadelphia “Badlands,” a community with a controversial name where fewer than half of the residents have their high school diploma and only 3% have a bachelor’s degree. The central thesis of the study is that geographical segregation by class leads to a differential access to print for children of these communities. This, in turn, leads to an unequal development of literacy skills, either limiting or increasing the development of information capital, ultimately solidifying the Matthew Effect where the rich become richer and the poor become poorer.

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Giving Our Children a Fighting Chance: Poverty, Literacy, and the Development of Information Capital

Access for All: Closing the Book Gap for Children in Early Education.

Mention the best way for educators to prepare children for the future, and the conversation will nearly always come around to technology. As blogs light up with lively conversations about iPads, netbooks, and smart phones, it's easy to forget one major roadblock to preparing all children for the future: the digital divide. Most middle-class children have home computers and can access the Internet. Not so for many children from low-income neighborhoods. This unequal access has serious implications for the growing chasm between lowand middleincome students. As a Pew Foundation report found, many children are using out-ofschool time to refine their technology skills (Levin, Arafeh, Rainie, & Lenhard, 2002). This is fine for children from middle-class homes with a home computer, but what about the millions of children who are not from such homes? Data from the 2000 U.S. Census reveal that half of children coming from homes with annual family incomes of $75,000 or above owned home computers, but just 15 percent of those with incomes between $20,000 and $25,000 did (National Center for Education Statistics, 2005). Internet connectivity is also an issue. Overall, 65 percent of all Americans have broadband connections in their homes. Among those Americans who make less than $25,000, 65 percent lack broadband access (Dailey, Bryne, Powell, Karaganis, & Chung, 2010). If low-income children want to use a computer for a research assignment or merely to wander around on the Internet, they often must rely on the public library, after-school programs, or community organizations. This safety net, however, is full of holes. Economically disadvantaged children face tremendous challenges in accessing technology, and these challenges could affect school readiness and achievement as one group of children comes to school each day with superior technology skills and an ever-growing knowledge base, while the other group lags behind.

Donna Celano

Papers

Access to Print in Low‐Income and Middle‐Income Communities: An Ecological Study of Four Neighborhoods

Toward a Collaborative Approach to Parent Involvement in Early Education: A Study of Teenage Mothers in an African-American Community

Giving Our Children a Fighting Chance: Poverty, Literacy, and the Development of Information Capital

Access for All: Closing the Book Gap for Children in Early Education.

Roadblocks on the Information Highway.