Impacts of Teacher-Child Managed Whole-Group Language and Literacy Instruction on the Depth of Preschoolers' Social Interaction

• Published in: Early education and development Vol. 28; no. 4; pp. 457 - 474
• Main Authors: Lin, Tzu-Jung, Justice, Laura M., Emery, Alyssa A., Mashburn, Andrew J., Pentimonti, Jill M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia Routledge 19-05-2017; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Children & youth; Classroom Techniques; Classrooms; Control Groups; Correlation; Curricula; Curriculum; Group Instruction; Hierarchical Linear Modeling; Interpersonal Competence; Interpersonal Relationship; Intervention; Language Skills; Language Tests; Literacy; Literacy Education; Participation; Peer Relationship; Peers; Preschool Children; Preschool Education; Preschool Teachers; Randomized Controlled Trials; Reading Instruction; Rural Areas; Social Development; Social interaction; Social networks; Statistical Analysis; Student Characteristics; Teacher Student Relationship; Teachers; Teaching; Teaching Methods
• ISSN: 1040-9289; 1556-6935
• DOI: 10.1080/10409289.2016.1246287

Research Findings: This study examined the potential impacts of ongoing participation (twice weekly for 30 weeks) in teacher-child managed whole-group language and literacy instruction on prekindergarten children's social interaction with classmates. Teacher-child managed whole-group instruction that provides children with opportunities to engage with all of their classmates regularly may potentially deepen the social depth within a classroom (i.e., the frequency with which children regularly interact with each other). Provision of this type of instruction occurred via teachers' implementation of a whole-class literacy curriculum twice weekly. Participants were 119 preschoolers who received an experimental literacy curriculum in 26 classrooms and 76 children in 17 business-as-usual control classrooms. Condition predicted the strength of children's social interaction, suggesting that children in experimental classrooms had relatively stronger social ties with peers than children in control classrooms. Practice or Policy: The findings suggest that participation in ongoing teacher-child managed whole-group instruction could facilitate stronger social connections among preschool children.