Fine motor and executive functioning skills predict maths and spelling skills at the start of kindergarten: A compensatory account
Research shows that executive functions (EF) and fine motor skills (FMS) contribute to early academic skills, possibly in overlapping ways. We examine whether and how EF and FMS interact in the concurrent prediction of maths, reading and spelling skills at the start of kindergarten. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) on data from 1248 five-year-olds supports a compensatory account of EF and FMS in contributing towards maths and spelling skills. Controlling for socio-economic status, age, time spent in kindergarten and intelligence, the influence of EF on spelling achievement was larger for children with poorer compared to better FMS, and vice versa; FMS significantly predicted maths achievement only in children with high but not low EF, and vice versa. Identifying EF or FMS difficulties at or before the start of kindergarten may be important. Different approaches to intervention involving EF and FMS may be appropriate for maths versus spelling skills. We suggest for early childhood curricula to enhance opportunities for FMS development, especially for children who enter kindergarten with poor FMS.
Preschool teachers’ experiences of work-related stress: A pilot study of Singapore teachers
Research has shown that early childhood teachers play a crucial role in supporting children’s development via the provision of socially and emotionally supportive learning environments. However, teachers’ abilities to provide such high-quality learning environments may be hindered by work-related stress. Prolonged exposure to stress is also associated with several undesirable outcomes, including lower job satisfaction and increased motivation to leave the teaching profession. Although research on teacher stress is actively conducted in many countries, very little has been done in Singapore. Yet, considering recent concerns about the high turnover rates of preschool teachers in Singapore and the scarcity of local studies on teacher stress, more research is needed to understand whether and how work-related stress affects preschool teachers in Singapore. This chapter is a first attempt at bridging the knowledge gap between international findings and local evidence. In the first section, we provide a review of the theory and empirical findings on work-related stress in teachers. In the second section, we report findings from a pilot study involving one-to-one interviews with preschool teachers to understand their experiences of stress at the workplace. We highlight common themes as well as unique perspectives that emerged from the interviews. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of our findings and directions for future research.
Accounting for the SES-math achievement gap at school entry: Unique mediation paths via executive functioning and behavioral self-regulation
Childhood socioeconomic status (SES) is strongly predictive of math achievement in early childhood and beyond. In this study, we aimed to further our understanding of the mechanisms underpinning the SES-achievement gap by examining whether two aspects of self-regulation—executive functions (EF) and behavioral self-regulation (BSR)—mediate between SES and math achievement. Using data from a longitudinal study in Singapore (n = 1,257, 49% males), we examined the predictive link from SES to math achievement at entry to formal education (age 7), and the role of EF (child-assessed) and BSR (child-assessed and teacher-rated) as mediators of the SES-math achievement relationship. After accounting for children’s non-verbal reasoning and prior math achievement, EF and BSR (both child-assessed) emerged as significant partial mediators between SES and math. A key contribution of our study is in demonstrating that both components of self-regulation play a small role in explaining SES disparities in math achievement. Our findings further suggest that a balanced focus on enhancing EF and BSR skills of children from low-SES families may help to attenuate the SES-math achievement gap. More generally, our research contributes new insights to the ongoing debate about the theoretical distinctions between EF and BSR.
Does experience matter? Measuring self-efficacy in preservice and in-service early childhood educators using the teachers’ sense of efficacy scale
This study aimed to examine (1) the psychometric properties of The Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) in early childhood (EC) preservice (N = 202) and in-service (N = 182) teachers, and (2) the effect of teaching experience on efficacy beliefs. Findings indicated that EC teachers’ efficacy beliefs were best represented by a bifactor model (i.e., one general and three specific factors); teachers generally perceived their capabilities in teaching at a more general level rather than specific to different classroom functions. Teaching experience had a significant effect on efficacy beliefs for preservice but not for in-service teachers. This study fills a gap in our understanding of EC teachers’ sense of efficacy by providing empirical evidence on the structure of efficacy beliefs and the effect of teaching experience on efficacy beliefs in preservice and in-service EC teachers. In this study, a new efficacy factor named Responsive Teaching emerged, capturing an element of in-service EC teachers’ perceptions of their capabilities that may be specific to the EC setting. Findings regarding the effects of experience on preservice EC teachers’ sense of efficacy may provide guidance on targeted instruction to increase sense of efficacy.