Showing papers by "Yvonne Anders published in 2013"

Preschool and primary school influences on the development of children's early numeracy skills between the ages of 3 and 7 years in Germany

Abstract: Few studies have investigated how preschool and primary school interact to influence children's cognitive development. The present investigation explores German children's numeracy skills between age 3 (1st year of preschool) and age 7 (1st year of primary school). We first identified the influence of preschool experience on development while controlling for child factors, family background, and the quality of the home learning environment (HLE). We then considered how the instructional quality of primary schools influences numeracy. We finally analysed how preschool and primary school interact. We sampled 547 children who attended 97 German preschools. Latent growth curve analyses identified child and family factors related to age 3 numeracy and development to age 7: gender, migration background, socioeconomic status (SES), mother education, HLE. The effects of preschool on numeracy development persist until age 7 with notable effects from process quality. Strengthened efforts are needed to ensure high q...

Stichwort: Auswirkungen frühkindlicher institutioneller Betreuung und Bildung

Abstract: Im Zentrum dieses Beitrags steht die Frage nach der internationalen empirischen Evidenz zu den Auswirkungen von fruhkindlicher, institutioneller Bildung und Betreuung (FIBB) auf die kognitiv-leistungsbezogene und sozio-emotionale Entwicklung von Kindern sowie auf die Lebensbewaltigung. Auf Basis der Ergebnisse einer systematischen Literaturrecherche wird erortert, welche kurz- und langfristigen Auswirkungen die „Dosis“ und die Qualitat von FIBB haben. Ferner wird auf die Auswirkungen der Teilnahme an spezifischen Modellprogrammen und spezifische (Qualitats-)Effekte fur Kinder aus bildungsfernen Familien eingegangen. Im Hinblick auf die Nutzung institutioneller Betreuung in den ersten drei Lebensjahren berichtet die Mehrzahl der Studien Nulleffekte fur die sozio-emotionale Entwicklung und positive Effekte fur die kognitiv-sprachliche Entwicklung. Hinsichtlich der Teilnahme an FIBB ab drei Jahren zeichnen sich mogliche positive Effekte deutlicher ab. Qualitativ hochwertige Programme konnen positive Auswirkungen auf alle drei Wirkungsbereiche bis ins Jugend- und Erwachsenenalter haben. Ein fruher Eintritt in die institutionelle Betreuung scheint vor allem fur Kinder aus bildungsbenachteiligten Familien forderlich zu sein. Die Hypothese, dass Kinder aus bildungsbenachteiligten Familien in besonderer Weise von einer hohen Qualitat profitieren, kann hingegen nicht als belegt gelten. Es wird ein groser Forschungsbedarf fur Deutschland identifiziert. Der Beitrag unterstreicht die Notwendigkeit von Masnahmen der Qualitatsentwicklung und -sicherung fur die fruhpadagogische Praxis in Deutschland, was in der gegenwartigen Situation des Ausbaus eine grose Herausforderung darstellt.

Internal and external influences on vocabulary development in preschool children

Abstract: Competency in society's lingua franca plays a major role in the emergence of social disparities within education. Therefore, the present longitudinal study investigates vocabulary development and its predictors in preschool years. We focus on whether internal (phonological working memory) and external variables (preschool and home learning environment) have different impacts depending on parental native language. The study considers 547 children from 97 German preschools. Children's vocabulary was assessed at the ages of 3, 4, and 5 years. Latent growth curve models show that non-native German language children are characterized by reduced vocabulary at first assessment and lower progress compared to monolingual peers. Phonological working memory has a strong impact on all children's initial vocabulary but also on vocabulary growth in those whose parents speak German as an additional language. The effects of preschool and home learning environment are comparatively smaller.

Learning at University

Abstract: Teachers’ professional knowledge, consisting of content knowledge (CK), pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), and pedagogical/psychological knowledge (PPK), is considered to be a core component of their competence. CK and PCK have already been shown to impact instructional practice and student outcomes. However, the question of how different teacher education programs impact the development of professional knowledge has not yet been satisfactorily investigated. Two cross-sectional studies with German preservice mathematics teachers were conducted to address this question. First, two groups of preservice teachers who had completed their university-based training, but in teacher education programs offering differing amounts of learning opportunities to build CK and PPK, were compared. Second, preservice teachers who did not attend the university-based phase of teacher education (late-entry teachers) were compared with preservice teachers who had taken the traditional route. The results support the hypothesis that structural differences in teacher education in terms of the amount of learning opportunities available for candidates to develop CK, PCK, and PPK are reflected in their scores on the respective COACTIV tests.

The Diagnostic Skills of Mathematics Teachers

Abstract: Teachers apply their diagnostic skills when grading students’ work as well as when preparing lessons and monitoring students’ understanding during the learning process. Previous research on teachers’ diagnostic skills has focused on teachers at elementary level. Drawing on a large German sample of mathematics teachers at secondary level, this chapter empirically addresses three key questions on teachers’ diagnostic skills (depending on the research question, the number of teachers with valid data varied between n=155 and n=331). The results showed that (a) the accuracy of teachers’ judgments of their classes’ achievement level, distribution of achievement, and motivation is relatively low, (b) diagnostic skills do not represent a one-dimensional but a multidimensional construct, and (c) teachers’ diagnostic skills (in terms of tasks-related judgment error and diagnostic sensitivity) have a positive influence on their students’ achievement gains in mathematics. Training and fostering teachers’ diagnostic skills seems thus to be highly relevant for the valid assignment of grades and for student progress.

Frühkindliche Bildungsforschung in Deutschland

Abstract: Noch vor wenigen Jahren war die fruhkindliche Bildungsforschung in Deutschland im Vergleich zur schulischen Bildungsforschung stark unterreprasentiert. Die Resultate der international vergleichenden Schulleistungsstudien, insbesondere PISA 2000 (Baumert et al., 2001), haben allerdings auch in Deutschland zu einem groseren Interesse fur die Potenziale der institutionellen Erziehung, Bildung und Betreuung von Kindern ab der Geburt bis zum Beginn der Pflichtschule gefuhrt. Vorschulische Einrichtungen sollen hierbei nicht nur einen Beitrag zur besseren Vereinbarkeit von Familie und Beruf leisten. In den letzten Jahren sind vor allem auch die Erwartungen in Bezug auf die Forderung schulischer Vorlauferkompetenzen (z.B. in den Bereichen Sprache, Mathematik, Naturwissenschaften) gestiegen, sowohl fur alle Kinder als auch in besonderem Mase in Bezug auf den Ausgleich der Benachteiligungen von Kindern aus sozial schwachen oder bildungsfernen Familien.

Educational effectiveness approaches in early childhood research across Europe

Abstract: Despite the last 10–15 years seeing a surge in the volume of early childhood research that has been funded, conducted, and reported on, much of this has been generated by American researchers and b...