The Interplay of Child Characteristics and Instructional Support: A Multilevel Analysis of Language Use in Head Start Classrooms

• In Event: Early Childhood Language Practices

Abstract

The benefits of early childhood education are driven by classroom interactions, but evidence suggests there is variability in individual children’s language experiences in the classroom. Using a sample of dual language learner and monolingual English-speaking children (n=117) enrolled in 21 Head Start preschool classrooms, this study investigated whether variation in children’s classroom language use was related to their characteristics (shyness, inhibitory control, English proficiency). Multilevel regression analyses indicated that in classrooms with lower instructional support, shy children talked less to their teachers than their more extroverted peers did; however, in classrooms with more instructional support, there was no effect of shyness on children’s language use. Findings have implications for professional development to support the unique needs of individual children.

Author

• Anne Blackstock-Bernstein, University of California - Los Angeles