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. 2022 Nov;93(6):1680-1697.
doi: 10.1111/cdev.13811. Epub 2022 Jun 14.

Emotional quality of early education programs improves language learning: A within-child across context design

Peter Sheldon Rankin  1 , Sally Staton  1 , Azhar Hussain Potia  1 , Sandy Houen  1 , Karen Thorpe  2
Affiliations

Emotional quality of early education programs improves language learning: A within-child across context design

Peter Sheldon Rankin et al. Child Dev. 2022 Nov.

Abstract

Observational studies comparing child outcomes in early care and education classrooms of differing quality are often confounded by between-child differences. A within-child design, tracking children across contexts, can identify the effects of quality with less confounding. An analysis of Australian children (N = 1128, mean age 5 years, 48% female, 2.9% Indigenous, ethnicity data unavailable) tracked across pre-K, K, and year 1 (2010-2012) was conducted to assess how changes in observed quality (Classroom Assessment Scoring System) were associated with changes in cognitive development (Woodcock-Johnson III). Thresholds of quality were also investigated. Increases in Emotional Support were associated with improved language development (β = 0.54, 95% CI [0.1-0.99], approximating 2.6 weeks development). Results highlight that emotional quality is an integral and potent component of early learning.

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Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
(a) Twenty randomly selected child trajectories of emotional support (average in classroom) as measured by Classroom Assessment Scoring System, with dashed line indicating overall average in each year from 100 imputed data sets. (b) Ten randomly selected trajectories of child verbal comprehension scores with predicted values (dotted line connects observation [black] to prediction [grey]) from random intercept and slope growth model. Thick dashed line is the average prediction
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Effect of changes in emotional support on (a) verbal comprehension and (b) understanding directions given the average level of emotional support across the years 2010, 2011, and 2012. Regions of significance, where dependent on average emotional support changes in emotional support have a significant influence on the outcome, are indicated by grey rectangle. Dashed line indicates two standard deviations above and below average change in emotional support. Density plot at top of figure is the distribution of changes in emotional support from 100 imputed data sets
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