Are Associations Between Use of Emergent Literacy-Focused Curricula and Children’s Literacy Gains Moderated by Risk Status, Receipt of Intervention, or Preschool Setting? (Poster 30)

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Wednesday 12:40 p.m.
  In Poster Session: Critical Quantitative Studies of Curriculum

Abstract

We explored the extent to which the use of emergent literacy-focused curricula in preschool is associated with children's literacy gains. We examined how such associations might be moderated by child risk status, receipt of literacy intervention, and program settings. We found that literacy-focused curricula were barely used by teachers but were beneficial to children’s emergent literacy development, particularly for children at risk for later reading difficulties. As such, the limited use of literacy-focused curricula in preschool classrooms is concerning, and more support and attention to this is warranted, as previous evidence indicated that strategically integrating domain-specific curricula, or embedding these into a comprehensive curriculum, can significantly enhance children’s learning in a specific domain.

Authors

• Zhiling Meng Shea, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

• Shayne B. Piasta, The Ohio State University

• Ye Shen, Johns Hopkins University

• Alida K. Hudson, American Institutes for Research

• Cynthia M. Zettler-Greeley, Nemours Children’s Health

• Kandia N. Lewis, Nemours Children’s Health