Relationships Among Private Speech and Creativity in Head Start and Low—Socioeconomic Status Preschool Children

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore Vygotsky's notion of private speech as a cognitive self-regulatory process and how it related to creativity measures among at-risk children. Thirty-two Head Start and state-funded Pre-K children completed the Torrance creativity test Thinking Creatively in Action and Movement (TCAM). The children's private speech was collected in an open play context and while children completed structured logical— mathematical activities. Results revealed that both originality and fluency creativity were related to self-direction private speech and grand total private speech. Findings support that cognitive self-regulating private speech may be related to creative thinking and that private speech may offer a method for assessing early creative thinking in children from various cultural and economic backgrounds.

Parenting and Preschool Self-Regulation as Predictors of Social Emotional Competence in 1st Grade

“…Describing this shift answers our first research question and supports our hypothesis that features of the caregiving context in the toddler and preschool period would have significant influence on social-emotional competencies in 1st grade. In particular, the characteristics of support provided in the caregiving context, as measured via sensitivity and the HOME, have significant relationships with preschool language (a skill set that serves as a control for self and social regulation; Daugherty & White, 2008; Meissner, 2008; Mercer, 2008; Winsler, Fernyhough, & Montero, 2009) and protect against children’s inattention at 54 months of age. Inattention at 54 months was also significantly predicted by attachment at both earlier time points (15 and 36 months), and indirectly by sensitivity, via oppositional behavior.…”

“…Our results replicate findings that establish a relationship between child-rearing context and language skill and urge advocates, educators, and researchers to attend to language skill as important for more than literacy’s sake; much like Vygotsky’s (1962, 1987) work on the relationship between language and epistemology, our findings demonstrate that language is an organizing tool that aids children in regulating their internal experiences and their relationships adaptively. (For additional discussion of the role of language skills in social emotional development, see Daugherty & White, 2008; Meissner, 2008; Mercer, 2008; Winsler et al, 2009.) Parents and educators can be supported by interventions that encourage the use of language at home as more than an early literacy tool, but to use language at its most basic purpose—as a communication tool to express ourselves and share ideas within social contexts.…”

Social Network Analysis of Academic Studies on Gifted People

“…Yapılan çalışmalar incelendiğinde öncelikle tanılama ile ilgili güçlüklere rastlanmaktadır. Üstün yetenekli çocukların tanılanması oldukça güçtür ve tanılamaya yönelik yöntemlerin çoğu yeterince hassas olmama konusunda eleştirilmektedir (Daugherty ve White, 2008). Bu nedenle, üstün yetenekli çocukların bilişsel yeteneklerinin belirlenmesi için geçerli ve adil bir yöntem bulunmalıdır (Scott ve Delgado, 2005).…”

Grade 1 Students’ Out-of-School Play and Its Relationship to School-Based Academic, Behavior, and Creativity Outcomes

“…In addition, the TCAM was never normed for 6-and 7-year-olds, so this research relied on raw data, and the scale was more conservative and did not allow children to choose a variety of responses, as explained previously. Nevertheless, despite its limitations, this instrument has been reliably used in recent research (e.g., Daugherty & White, 2008;Justo, 2008;Lloyd & Howe, 2003).…”