The project is part of the larger Program project seeking to determine the effectiveness of different curricularinterventions on the school readiness of at-risk, low-income children at two ages ( 2 and 4) and at two sites(Texas and Florida). The purpose of this project is to study the language used by the teachers in the differentcurriculum settings to verify that the practice is distinct in the different curricula, and to connect thedifferences to the language outcomes of the children. Given the heterogeneity of the children's own languagebackgrounds, the difference between school and home language will be tested as a moderator of theexpected effects on growth. It is expected that both the curricular interventions will have significant effects onthe children's language growth across vocabulary, syntax, semantics and pragmatics, including narrative.New tests designed to take into consideration the children's home language background, whether AfricanAmerican English, Standard (or Southern) American English, and bilingual Spanish will be used, that alsogive in depth analysis of aspects of language of great significance for early schooling. The secondoutcome variable will be growth in indices of Theory of Mind, an essential social-cognitive achievement ofthe preschool years. The substantial age range, heterogeneity and size of the sample populations will allowthe testing of various theoretical models of how mature Theory of Mind develops. Measures of metarepresentation,executive function (specifically working memory and inhibitory control), early Theory of Mindand False Belief reasoning tasks (standard and non-standard)will be given to the children together with thelanguage tasks in a longitudinal design, and models of their interrelationships will be tested at several timepoints. These empirical data will contribute significantly to the theoretical debates about the precursors ofmature Theory of Mind. Finally, the language and Theory of Mind outcomes will themselves be used topredict later functioning and school readiness in the groups of children.
| Merz, Emily C; Landry, Susan H; Zucker, Tricia A et al. (2016) Parenting Predictors of Delay Inhibition in Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Preschoolers. Infant Child Dev 25:371-390 |
| Lonigan, Christopher J; Phillips, Beth M; Clancy, Jeanine L et al. (2015) Impacts of a Comprehensive School Readiness Curriculum for Preschool Children at Risk for Educational Difficulties. Child Dev 86:1773-93 |
| Merz, Emily C; Zucker, Tricia A; Landry, Susan H et al. (2015) Parenting predictors of cognitive skills and emotion knowledge in socioeconomically disadvantaged preschoolers. J Exp Child Psychol 132:14-31 |
| Merz, Emily C; Landry, Susan H; Williams, Jeffrey M et al. (2014) Associations Among Parental Education, Home Environment Quality, Effortful Control, and Preacademic Knowledge. J Appl Dev Psychol 35:304-315 |
| Eisenberg, Nancy; Duckworth, Angela L; Spinrad, Tracy L et al. (2014) Conscientiousness: origins in childhood? Dev Psychol 50:1331-49 |
| Landry, Susan H; Zucker, Tricia A; Taylor, Heather B et al. (2014) Enhancing early child care quality and learning for toddlers at risk: the responsive early childhood program. Dev Psychol 50:526-41 |
| Silva, Kassondra M; Spinrad, Tracy L; Eisenberg, Nancy et al. (2011) Relations of Children's Effortful Control and Teacher-Child Relationship Quality to School Attitudes in a Low-Income Sample. Early Educ Dev 22:434-460 |
| Eisenberg, Nancy; Eggum, Natalie D; Di Giunta, Laura (2010) Empathy-related Responding: Associations with Prosocial Behavior, Aggression, and Intergroup Relations. Soc Issues Policy Rev 4:143-180 |
| Eisenberg, Nancy; Valiente, Carlos; Eggum, Natalie D (2010) Self-Regulation and School Readiness. Early Educ Dev 21:681-698 |
| Eisenberg, Nancy; Valiente, Carlos; Sulik, Michael J (2009) How the study of regulation can inform the study of coping. New Dir Child Adolesc Dev 2009:75-86 |
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