Ensuring Quality Care for Infants/Toddlers: Early Language Development and Program Characteristics and Opportunities

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

Many infants/toddlers participate in formal childcare. It is well known that young children’s language skills are actively developing from birth to 3 years (Huttenlocher, 2009), and that the quality of their early experiences and environments influence language development (e.g., Rowe, 2012). We present studies exploring the importance of early language development and quality of infant/toddler programming. First, we present findings concerning longitudinal predictive relations of early vocabulary skill, measured when children were 16-30 months, and achievement outcomes in language, math, and science measured at Grade 9. We find that early vocabulary is significantly and uniquely related to Grade 9 achievement outcomes across two languages (English, Danish). Second, we consider the quality of child-care programs serving infants/toddlers, examining environment and process characteristics linked to early vocabulary development, such as teachers’ language-stimulation practices. In a nationally representative study of 62 infant/toddler classrooms, we provide descriptive findings concerning the quality of these settings, highlighting significant variability across classrooms in provision of language-stimulation supports. We find significant relations between teacher workforce characteristics, such as educational qualifications, and measures of quality. Third, we present findings regarding the one-year follow-up of a language- and math-focused intervention implemented in Danish infant-toddler classrooms serving 2,170 children. In this quasi-experimental one-year follow-up, based on a national mandatory language assessment in preschool, we find that intervention effects were sustained for one-year post-intervention (ES 0.12-0.13). Collectively, this symposium (1) clarifies the longitudinal importance of early vocabulary skills, and (2) identifies needs and opportunities for enhancing language supports in infant/toddler settings.

Sub Unit

• School Readiness/Childcare

Chair

• Laura M. Justice, Ohio State University

Individual Presentations

• The continuing significance of early vocabulary development - Presenting Author: Philip S Dale, University of New Mexico

• Environmental Quality, Emotional Support, and Opportunities for Learning in Infant/Toddler Care - Presenting Author: Pauline Slot, Universiteit Utrecht

• Effects of an Infant/Toddler Intervention in Denmark: Sustained Impacts to Preschool Entry - Presenting Author: Dorthe Bleses, Aarhus