Teaching in the Foundation Stage—how current systems support teachers’ knowledge and understanding of children’s speech and language

Mroz, Maria

doi:10.1080/09669760500295896

Cited by 18 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…While we found that the post-accreditation centres appeared to have experienced greater levels of change and impact on their SLC practice, the ET programme was so closely linked to ECaT and other initiatives that unpicking cause and effect, particularly in a qualitative study, was not possible. There were indications that the stage 1 settings were beginning to develop a professional learning community, which supported much deeper reflection on and understanding of SLC and were beginning to offer the ongoing, contextualised CPD necessary to improve practitioners' understanding of SLC (Mroz 2006). However, although many practitioners in stage 2 centres had a more superficial understanding of the pedagogical reasons behind the need to develop SLC practice than those in stage 1 settings, there was some evidence that SLC practice had improved and that they had developed a better understanding of language development and how to access support for children with difficulties than their counterparts in stage 3 centres, who were only beginning to engage with ET.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This suggests that Dockrell et al's (2008) concerns about practitioners' capacity to access support for children with SLC difficulties were beginning to be overcome in some cases, although this very much depended on the mentoring and other support available for staff in and beyond their setting. It also suggests that the growing recognition of the importance of SLC in the early years to children's subsequent development has still not consistently led to the kind of effective SLC training and support called for in earlier research (Mroz and Hall 2003;Mroz 2006;Locke, Ginsborg, and Peers 2002).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These statistics suggest that most early years' practitioners in England will encounter children with some level of SLC delay, disorder or disability. Despite this, Mroz (2006) noted that teachers of 3Á5-year-olds felt that there was a significant gap in their training in relation to identifying both children with SLC needs and strategies to support them.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The challenges of evaluation: assessing Early Talk's impact on speech language and communication practice in children's centres

Jopling

Whitmarsh

Hadfield

2013

International Journal of Early Years Education

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This paper describes the findings of a qualitative evaluation of an early years' intervention, I Can's Early Talk (ET) programme. ET was designed to improve speech, language and communication outcomes for children aged 0Á5 by focusing on enhancing practitioners' knowledge and skills. The research focused on children aged 3Á4 years and was conducted in 14 Sure Start Children's Centres across England, using a combination of observations and interviews with practitioners, centre managers and local authority staff, along with a questionnaire survey of parents. Findings revealed improvements in practitioners' confidence and practice as a result of participating in the programme. The results also suggest that participating practitioners felt their capacity to understand and reflect on how to support children's speech, language and communication improved, particularly in the children's centres which had been accredited for over six months. ET was also found to offer a balance of support and challenge which consolidated and extended good practice and identified areas for development where practice was less effective. In addition, some of the challenges, which characterised and ultimately enhanced the research process, are described.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The challenges of evaluation: assessing Early Talk's impact on speech language and communication practice in children's centres

Jopling

Whitmarsh

Hadfield

2013

International Journal of Early Years Education

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“…This task is commonly given to school teachers, who should be able to evaluate a child's articulation, how he/she expresses him/herself, and his/her ability to comprehend and use the language in a naturalistic setting, for example in a classroom. Although teachers commonly report that they have received little or no formal training in how to identify LPs, they are still shown to be reliable evaluators of children's language abilities (Lindsay & Dockrell, 2000; Mroz, 2006; Newman & McGregor, 2006).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Behaviour–emotional characteristics of primary‐school children rated as having language problems

Lundervold

Heimann

Manger

2008

Brit J of Edu Psychol

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Background. Primary-school teachers are expected to detect problems related to language function, but the teachers evaluations may be heavily influenced by gender and classroom behaviour. Aim. To investigate the relationship between language problems (LPs) and behaviour-emotional problems as rated by primary-school teachers.< Methods. All participants participated in a population-based study, the Bergen Child Study (BCS). Teachers of 9,072 children and parents of 6,234 children completed forms containing questions pertaining to language function and the strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ) to screen for behaviour-emotional problems. LP was defined as a score above the 95th percentile on the sum score of five language items. Children achieving a total SDQ score above the 90th percentile were defined as high scorers, indicating a high risk for behavioural-emotional problems. Results. Based on teacher reports, 540 children were defined as having LP, more boys (N=366) than girls. Children defined as having LP were reported to have significantly higher scores on all SDQ subscales, and a higher total difficulty score than children without language problems (NLP). More LP boys than LP girls were defined as high scorers on the SDQ, with the highest effect size on the hyperactivity-inattention subscore. The agreement between teachers and parents was moderate to low, with the highest consensus of behaviour-emotional problems in children with LP. Conclusions. Primary-school children defined as having LP according to their teachers are frequently characterized by behavioural-emotional problems. Further assessment is warranted for primary-school children defined as having LP by their teachers.Original Publication:A J Lundervold, Mikael Heimann and T Manger , Behaviour-emotional characteristics of primary-school children rated as having language problems, 2008, BRITISH JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY, (78), 567-580.http://dx.doi.org/10.1348/000709908X320480Copyright: British Psychological Societyhttp://www.bps.org.uk

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“…A decade later, John Bercow (Department for Children, Schools and Families: DCSF 2008) noted that approximately 50% of children and young people in some socio-economically populations have speech and language skills that are significantly lower than those of other children of the same age; furthermore, around 7% of children entering school in 2007 have 'significant difficulties with speech and/or language' (DCSF 2008, 13). The statistics suggest that all early years' teachers and practitioners will, at some stage, work with children with specific SLC needs (Mroz 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Out of the mouth of babes: first-time disadvantaged mothers and their perceptions of infant communication

Whitmarsh

2011

International Journal of Early Years Education

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An increasing emphasis is being placed on the importance of speech, language and communication (SLC) development during the first two years of life, since this contributes to cognitive ability and to later educational outcomes. This article explores what disadvantaged, first-time mothers know and understand about three key contributors to positive infant SLC development: child-directed speech, book-sharing and motherÁchild interaction. Fifty mothers completed questionnaires and 20 mothers were interviewed. The findings show that: mothers were unsure of the value of child-directed speech; few mothers offered a rationale for book-sharing; the interviewed teen mothers were not sharing books with their babies and although most mothers agreed that repeating sounds supported language development, mothers were less sure about whether babies could copy speech sounds at 2 months. Although this is a small-scale study, it offers some useful pointers for supporting mothers in child communication and some new areas for further research. This paper explores how disadvantaged, first-time mothers support infant speech, language and communication (SLC). While measures of SLC development at later ages and consequent interventions are of great importance, Melhuish, Belsky, and Leyland (2007, 2) suggest a need to identify developmental influences during the first two years of life:Children growing up in impoverished circumstances are generally exposed to language that differs both qualitatively and quantitatively from the experience of more fortunate children. A social class gradient in language skills is already emerging by the time a child is two years old and the gap widens substantially by the time children reach statutory school age.This key observation, a language gap between disadvantaged and more advantaged children by two years of age, triggered this research into how SLC skills are mediated by mothers during the first months of child life. The expansion of childcare provision catering for children from infancy onwards and an increased government *

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Teaching in the Foundation Stage—how current systems support teachers’ knowledge and understanding of children’s speech and language

Cited by 18 publications

References 8 publications

The challenges of evaluation: assessing Early Talk's impact on speech language and communication practice in children's centres

The challenges of evaluation: assessing Early Talk's impact on speech language and communication practice in children's centres

Behaviour–emotional characteristics of primary‐school children rated as having language problems

Out of the mouth of babes: first-time disadvantaged mothers and their perceptions of infant communication

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