Showing papers by "Yvonne Anders published in 2016"

Triggering parental involvement for parents of different language backgrounds : the role of types of partnership activities and preschool characteristics

Abstract: Home and educational institutions are children's most important external influences and a positive partnership between the two can positively affect children's cognitive and non-cognitive development. Quality of family–preschool partnership (FPP) can depend on preschool and family characteristics. For Germany, studies show that immigrant parents perceive a lack of positive FPP. The present study addresses the following research questions: (1) How do parents and teachers in Germany rate FPP? (2) Do ratings of FPP differ between parents who do or do not speak German at home? (3) Is there a relation between the structural quality of the centre and ratings of FPP for teachers and parents? Results reflect positive ratings of FPP (1). Mean comparisons confirmed differences between parent groups (2). Multilevel regression analyses indicate that percentage of children who do not speak German at home is positively associated with parents’ ratings of FPP, but negatively with teachers’ satisfaction about FPP (3).

Influences of an academically oriented preschool curriculum on the development of children – are there negative consequences for the children's socio-emotional competencies?

Abstract: As a result of public discussions regarding Germany's standing on international rankings of student achievement, increased attention was focused on enhancing cognitive stimulation in preschools. There are some concerns that preschool curricula that focus more on cognitive stimulation rather than on socio-emotional skills might neglect the socio-emotional development of children. These concerns are rooted in the tradition of German preschools focussing more on the stimulation of social than of cognitive skills. This paper examines these claims by drawing on the German preschool programme ‘KiDZ’ in order to analyse the socio-emotional development (well-being, joy of learning, and worry) of children attending a preschool with a more academically oriented curriculum. This study also investigates effects of domain-specific preschool quality and if any effects of participation in KiDZ might be explained by the quality of the preschools. Positive effects of the children's participation in KiDZ are found and will...

Methodological challenges of evaluating the effects of an early language education programme in Germany

Abstract: Many early language support programmes have been implemented in ECEC settings over the last years in Germany. Most of them are targeted programmes which have not shown to have longer term beneficial effects. The concept of early language education embedded into daily preschool routines is a child-oriented approach for all children and all age groups. The national programme “core daycare centres language & integration” aimed at promoting early language education embedded into daily routines at 4000 participating centres. In this paper, the longitudinal evaluation study of the programme is described, and the specific methodological challenges and potentials of the evaluation are discussed. The lack of instruments in ECEC research, the nature of pedagogy in ECEC, the autonomy given to the settings and professionals, the lack of control and the interpretation of effect sizes are highlighted as the main challenges. At the same time, the urgent need of such evaluations and the benefits for policy-makers, research, practitioners and the public are explored.

Early Childhood Learning Experiences

Abstract: Early childhood education and care (ECEC) services are receiving increased attention in many countries, and research has provided evidence that ECEC experiences influence children’s later development in school. It seems valuable therefore to collect information on ECEC experiences also in international school achievement studies. In this chapter a broad outline of the theoretical grounding for such an assessment framework as well as the reasoning for the choice of ECEC indicators in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015 field trial is provided. Definitions of key concepts in ECEC are introduced: quantitative indicators of ECEC experience, curriculum, pedagogy, pedagogical approaches and concepts of quality. The practical relevance of these concepts and their relations to other aspects of school effectiveness and educational policy research and practice are highlighted. Finally, those constructs are described that seem to be the most relevant for international school achievement studies. At the same time, mainly due to the retrospective nature, there are strong limitations to the assessing of ECEC experiences in the context of school achievement studies. These limitations are discussed to help the reader understand the measurement framework.