1-185 - Applying Developmental Science in Real World Settings to Address Poverty-related Disparities in School Readiness

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Poverty is strongly related to disparities in early child development and school readiness. Effective prevention of these disparities requires a multifaceted approach beginning prior to school entry, including: 1) development of strategies likely to potentiate key domains of school readiness (language, literacy, self-regulation); 2) identification of contexts (e.g., book-reading, play) for optimal implementation of these strategies; and 3) translation to population-scalable, real-world settings. This multidisciplinary symposium spanning psychology, education, and pediatrics will discuss innovative approaches to translating developmental science through preventive interventions. Four presentations will discuss interventions targeting both parents and teachers across a range of settings with promise for population scalability, including preschool, community, home, and healthcare.
The first presentation reports data supporting teacher use of scripted book-reading to enhance preschool language exposure and thereby increase child vocabulary. The second presentation reports findings that support use of guided play in preschools for enhancing language and literacy, math and spatial skills, and self-regulation. The third presentation reports on a community-based intervention combining group workshops and home visits to support parent-child interaction and increase child language proficiency. The fourth presentation reports impacts on parenting and self-regulation from a randomized controlled trial of a parenting intervention uniquely implemented in a low-cost, universal pediatric health care platform. Innovations and limitations of these approaches, as well as potential synergies among them, will be discussed.
By bringing together perspectives from basic and applied research, this symposium will foster the kind of cross-disciplinary discussion needed to formulate a comprehensive plan for population-level prevention of poverty-related disparities.

Sub Unit

• Family Context & Processes

Chairs

• Alan L Mendelsohn, New York University School of Medicine

• Adriana Weisleder, New York University

Individual Presentations

• The Challenge of Changing Preschool Teachers’ Language Practices - Presenting Author: David K Dickinson, Vanderbilt University; Molly Fuller Collins, Vanderbilt University; Elizabeth Burke Hadley, Vanderbilt Univ, Peabody College; Kimberly Turner Nesbitt, Vanderbilt University; Katherine Newman, Vanderbilt University; Mae Pierce, Vanderbilt Univ, Peabody College; Bretta L. Rivera; Hande Ilgaz, Bilkent University; Brenna Hassinger-Das, Temple University; Tamara Spiewak Toub, Temple University; Ageliki Nicolopoulou, Lehigh University; Roberta M Golinkoff, University of Delaware; Kathryn A Hirsh-Pasek, Temple University

• Guided Play: A New Pedagogical Approach to High Quality Early Learning - Presenting Author: Kathryn A Hirsh-Pasek, Temple University; Jennifer M. Zosh, Penn State University - Brandywine; Roberta M Golinkoff, University of Delaware

• Habla Conmigo: Facilitating Caregiver Talk and Toddler’s Language Processing Through a Parenting Intervention for Latino Families - Presenting Author: Virginia A. Marchman, Stanford University; Nereyda M. Hurtado, Stanford University; Veronica Goei, Grail Family Services; Anne Fernald, Stanford Univ

• Promotion of Parenting and School Readiness Using Pediatric Primary Care as an Innovative Platform - Presenting Author: Carolyn Brockmeyer Cates, New York University School of Medicine; Adriana Weisleder, New York University; Samantha Berkule Johnson, Marymount Manhattan College; Benard Dreyer, New York University School of Medicine; Jennifer Ledesma, New York University School of Medicine; Jenny A Arevalo, New York University School of Medicine; Caitlin Ford Canfield, New York University; Alan L Mendelsohn, New York University School of Medicine