Previous research indicates that, prior to entering kindergarten, most children are exposed to some type of formal or direct mathematics instruction. However, the type of mathematical language and the frequency of its use vary greatly in terms of its emphasis on academic content. This study investigated the types and frequency of mathematical language used in six classrooms for children ranging in age from birth to five years. The study site was a quality early childhood setting at a state university in Southwest. Results indicated that utterances pertaining to spatial relations exceeded any other type of mathematical concepts by approximately twice the frequency. In addition, there was a paucity of higher level mathematical concepts observed. These data suggest a need for enhanced attention to higher level mathematical concepts explored in early childhood settings.

In an effort to determine the most efficacious manner to deliver professional development training to early childhood educators, this study investigated the effect of a 2-h workshop followed by side-by-side classroom coaching. Twelve early childhood educators with 4-year degrees teaching in a university child development center participated in the study. The twice weekly classroom observations were analyzed for the use of math mediated language. Results indicate a 56% increase of math mediated language following the professional development; however, the greatest increase (39% increase over professional development condition) occurred during the side-by-side coaching phase of the treatment. These results corroborate previous findings that implementation of teaching strategies presented in professional development trainings can be enhanced by coaching teachers on the use of the strategies.

This study carries forward the exploration of joint attention engagement in children from 18 to 24 months of age enrolled in 'low-quality' childcare centers. Childcare providers and children were videotaped to capture social interactions in the classroom including duration and bids for joint attention. One-half of 48 childcare providers were randomly assigned to receive professional development training (PDT) (the Focus-Follow-Talk ® technique) designed to increase the frequency of joint attention. Three months after the PDT and three coaching visits for each subject in the treatment group, 30 minutes of videotape was recorded and coded for each childcare provider in the treatment and control groups. Significant findings were reported for the trained childcare providers on joint attention engagement duration and total bids for joint attention engagement. There was also evidence supportive of joint attention subtypes.

This study examined effects of professional development for child-care staff on language acquisition of children ages 14-36 months. Child-care staff from 44 child-care centres agreed to participate in the study. Child-care staff from one-half of the child-care centres were randomly assigned to a onetime, four-hour workshop followed by three classroom visits over the subsequent three months. This treatment was designed to increase frequency and quality of joint attention episodes between the child-care staff and the toddlers. Child-care staff from the remaining 22 centres were assigned to a wait-list control group. Toddlers (N = 121) in both the groups (n treatment = 64; n control = 57) were assessed with a measure of language acquisition after six months. While there were no significant differences on total language acquisition between groups, treatment group toddlers whose child-care providers engaged in more frequent and longer bouts of joint attention acquired more language. The results of this study support that when child-care staff engage in longer and higher quality bouts of joint attention with toddlers they can affect language acquisition.

Previous studies on the influence of mixed groupings within preschool classrooms have indicated positive effects on children's development. This study extended earlier findings to determine the effects of socioeconomic diversity within the classroom on the language, cognitive and socialemotional development of preschool children of low-income backgrounds. Twenty-seven preschool children were enrolled in two classrooms in a private university's child development center. Twenty of the 27 enrolled were from low-income backgrounds. The children were tested to determine a baseline measure of their language, cognitive and social-emotional skills. Classroom observations of the children's language behavior were coded. Post-testing was done at the conclusion of the school year to determine growth in language, cognitive and social-emotional skills. Differences in language usage and social-emotional development were observed. These results suggest that mixed income grouping as well as teacher interactions influence language and social-emotional development of children from low-income backgrounds.