Exploring Features Within Organizational and Cognitive Factors That Predict Variability in Estimates of Classwide Active Engagement

Abstract

Adopting an “act-in-context” approach is helpful to researchers investigating situational variability in children’s active engagement in preschool classrooms. Aligned with this approach, we propose an empirical pathway and a conceptual model to support examinations of contextual factors hypothesized to impact active engagement as well as the means by which adults promote it. We defined two overarching factors—cognitive and organizational—and explored the predictive nature of seven features within them. With video recordings from 31 classrooms (inclusive and self-contained) of three instructional routines on three different occasions, we derived averages for classwide active engagement during each observation. A series of linear mixed effects models revealed that instructional routines significantly predicted variability in classwide active engagement as did interactions of other contextual features with instructional routines. These findings provide a foundation for continued, systematic examinations of situational factors and conceptualizations of engagement within carefully specified pathways for improving active engagement.

Keywords

engagement preschool classroom context learning opportunities instructional routines

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Ajzen

(1985). From intentions to actions: A theory of planned behavior. In Kuhl

Beckmann

(Eds.), Action control: SSSP Springer series in social psychology (pp. 11–39). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-69746-3_2

Ansari

Pianta

R. C.

(2018). Teacher–child interaction quality as a function of classroom age diversity and teachers’ beliefs and qualifications. Applied Developmental Science, 23(3), 294–304. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2018.1439749

Appleton

J. J.

Christenson

S. L.

Furlong

M. J.

(2008). Student engagement with school: Critical conceptual and methodological issues of the construct. Psychology in the Schools, 45(5), 369–386. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.20303

Arndt

Urban

Murray

Smith

Swadener

Ellegaard

(2018). Contesting early childhood professional identities: A cross-national discussion. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 19(2), 97–116. https://doi.org/10.1177/1463949118768356

Bailey

D. B.

Wolery

(1992). Teaching infants and preschoolers with disabilities (2nd ed.). Macmillan.

Bandura

(1986). Social foundation of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Prentice-Hall.

Baum

W. M.

(2002). From molecular to molar: A paradigm shift in behavior analysis. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 78, 95–116. https://doi.org/10.1901/jeab.2002.78-95

Booren

L. M.

Downer

J. T.

Vitiello

V. E.

(2012). Observations of children’s interactions with teachers, peers, and tasks across preschool classroom activity settings. Early Education & Development, 23, 517–538. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2010.548767

Burchinal

(2018). Measuring early care and education quality. Child Development Perspectives, 12(1), 3–9. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12260

10.

Carta

J. J.

Atwater

J. B.

Schwartz

I. S.

Miller

P. A.

(1990). Applications of ecobehavioral analysis to the study of transitions across early education settings. Education and Treatment of Children, 13(4), 298–315.

11.

Coelho

Cadima

Ana Isabel Pinto

(2019). Child engagement in inclusive preschools: Contributions of classroom quality and activity setting. Early Education and Development, 30, 800–816. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2019.1591046

12.

Damschroder

L. J.

(2020). Clarity out of chaos: Use of theory in implementation research. Psychiatry Research, 283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2019.06.036

13.

Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center & Center for IDEA Early Childhood Data Systems. (2020). IDEA child outcomes highlights for FFY2018. https://ectacenter.org/eco/pages/childoutcomeshighlights.asp

14.

Fredricks

J. A.

Blumenfeld

P. C.

Paris

A. H.

(2004). School engagement: Potential of the concept, state of the evidence. Review of Educational Research, 74(1), 59–109. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543074001059

15.

Fuchs

L. S.

Fuch

Malone

A. S.

(2017). The taxonomy of intervention intensity. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 50, 35–43.

16.

Hayes

S. C.

Barnes-Holmes

Wilson

K. G.

(2012). Contextual behavioral science: Creating a science more adequate to the challenge of the human condition. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 1(1–2), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2012.09.004

17.

Horn

Banerjee

(2009). Understanding curriculum modifications and embedded learning opportunities in the context of supporting all children’s success. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 40(4), 406–415. https://doi.org/10.1044/0161-1461(2009/08-0026)

18.

Ivrendi

(2020). Early childhood teachers’ roles in free play. Early Years, 40(3), 273–286. https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2017.1403416

19.

Kane

M. T.

(2013). Validating the interpretations and uses of test scores. Journal of Educational Measurement, 50(1), 1–73. https://doi.org/10.1111/jedm.12000

20.

Kemp

Kishida

Carter

Sweller

(2013). The effect of activity type on the engagement and interaction of young children with disabilities in inclusive childcare settings. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 28(1), 134–143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2012.03.003

21.

Koo

T. K.

M. Y.

(2016). A guideline of selecting and reporting intraclass correlation coefficients for reliability research. Journal of Chiropractic Medicine, 15, 155–163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcm.2016.02.012

22.

Kook

J. F.

Greenfield

D. B.

(2020). Examining variation in the quality of instructional interaction across teacher-directed activities in head start classrooms. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 19, 128–144. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476718X20942956

23.

Lewis

C. C.

Klasnja

Powell

B. J.

Lyon

A. R.

Tuzzio

Jones

Walsh-Bailey

Weiner

(2018). From classification to causality: Advancing understanding of mechanisms of change in implementation science. Frontiers in Public Health, 6, Article 136. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2018.00136

24.

MacSuga-Gage

A. S.

Simonsen

(2015). Examining the effects of teacher-directed opportunities to respond on student outcomes: A systematic review of the literature. Education and Treatment of Children, 38, 211–239. https://doi.org/10.1353/etc.2015.0009

25.

Mashburn

A. J.

Pianta

R. C.

Hamre

B. K.

Downer

J. T.

Barbarin

O. A.

Bryant

Burchinal

Early

D. M.

Howes

(2008). Measures of classroom quality in prekindergarten and children’s development of academic, language, and social skills. Child Development, 79(3), 732–749. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2008.01154.x

26.

McWilliam

R. A.

Casey

(2008). Engagement of every child in the preschool classroom. Paul H. Brookes Publishing.

27.

Merrill

Cohen-Vogel

Little

Sadler

Lee

(2020). “Quality” assurance features in state-funded early childhood education: A policy brief. Children and Youth Services Review, 113, 104972. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.104972

28.

National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2020). Developmentally appropriate practice: National association for the education of young children position statement. https://www.naeyc.org/resources/position-statements/dap/contents

29.

Phillips

B. M.

Oliver

Tabulda

Wood

Funari

(2020). Preschool teachers’ language and vocabulary knowledge: Development and predictive associations for a new measure. Dyslexia, 26(2), 153–172. https://doi.org/10.1002/dys.1644

30.

Pianta

R. C.

Barnett

W. S.

Burchinal

M. R.

Thornburg

K. R.

(2009). The effects of preschool education: What we know, how public policy is or is not aligned with the evidence base, and what we need to know. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 10(2), 49–88. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100610381908

31.

Pianta

R. C.

Hamre

B. K.

(2009). Conceptualization, measurement, and improvement of classroom processes: Standardized observation can leverage capacity. Educational Researcher, 38(2), 109–119. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X09332374

32.

Powell

D. R.

Burchinal

M. R.

File

Kontos

(2008). An eco-behavioral analysis of children’s engagement in urban public school preschool classrooms. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 23(1), 108–123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2007.04.001

33.

R Core Team. (2015). RStudio: Integrated development for R. RStudio. http://www.rstudio.com/

34.

Sameroff

A. J.

(2009). The transactional model. In Sameroff

A. J.

(Ed.), The transactional model of development: How children and contexts shape each other (pp. 3–21). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/11877-001

35.

Sandilos

Goble

Schwartz

(2020). Burnout and teacher–child interactions: The moderating influence of SEL interventions in head start classrooms. Early Education and Development, 31(7), 1169–1185. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2020.1788331

36.

Snyder

Hemmeter

M. L.

McLean

Sandall

McLaughlin

Algina

(2018). Effects of professional development on preschool teachers’ use of embedded instruction practices. Exceptional Children, 84(2), 213–232. https://doi.org/10.1177/0014402917735512

37.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services & U.S. Department of Education. (2015). Policy statement on inclusion of children with disabilities in early childhood programs. Infants & Young Children, 29(1), 3–24. https://doi.org/10.1097/IYC.0000000000000054

38.

Vitiello

V. E.

Booren

L. M.

Downer

J. T.

Williford

A. P.

(2012). Variation in children’s classroom engagement throughout a day in preschool: Relations to classroom and child factors. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 27(2), 210–220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2011.08.005

39.

Williford

A. P.

Maier

M. F.

Downer

J. T.

Pianta

R. C.

Howes

(2013). Understanding how children’s engagement and teachers’ interactions combine to predict school readiness. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 34(6), 299–309. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2013.05.002

40.

Shafto

Bonawitz

Yang

S. C.-H.

Golinkoff

R. M.

Corriveau

K. H.

Hirsh-Pasek

(2018). The theoretical and methodological opportunities afforded by guided play with young children. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, Article 1152. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.011

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.00 MB

0.09 MB