Browsing by Subject "LENA"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Exploring Early Childhood Language Environments: A Comparison of Language Exposure, Use and Interaction in the Home and Child Care Settings
    (2016-07) Larson, Anne
    The purpose of this study was to examine the home and child care language environments of young children (17 to 43 months of age) who are living in poverty. Participants included 38 children along with their primary caregivers and child care providers from 14 different classrooms across 5 child care centers. Each participant completed a standardized language assessment and two day-long recordings using Language ENvironment Analysis (LENA) to determine the number of adult words, conversational turns, and child vocalizations that occurred in the home and during child care. Data were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics. Results showed significant differences in child language environment between settings with the home setting providing higher levels of language input and use. Results are discussed in terms of early childhood policy and practice for children who are at-risk of having language delays due to environmental factors.
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    The Influence of Parenting Stress and Social Support on Parenting Behavior during a Preventative Parenting Education Program for Enhancing School Readiness
    (2015-08) Clayton, Kate
    The purpose of this study was to examine if parents with increased levels of risk (e.g. increased parenting stress and lower perceived social support) and less developed parenting behaviors prior to the intervention would show more change in key parenting behaviors (e.g. parent knowledge and parent-child language interactions) over the course of the intervention. Forty-seven parent-child dyads participated. Participants were recruited through a larger parent study investigating the overall efficacy of the intervention. All participants were English speaking. The majority of families were living below the poverty line. A quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest within-subjects intervention design was employed to evaluate the extent to which elevated parenting stress levels or low levels of social support moderated either a) increases in parenting knowledge or b) increases in CT for parents who participated in the College Bound Babies parenting education program. Dependent variables included change in frequency of parent-child conversational-turns and change in parenting knowledge. Data were collected using the Language ENvironmental Analysis (LENA) system in the participant's natural home environment and parenting knowledge was measured using the Parenting Knowledge and Practices Questionnaire, a self-report measure. Moderator analyses indicated that elevated levels of parenting stress or lower levels of perceived social support did not moderate change in parent-child language interactions or change in parenting knowledge for participants regardless of baseline levels of parenting knowledge or baseline level of parent-child conversational turns. Directions for future research and implications of non-significant findings are discussed.
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    Language environments in toddler classrooms: the contribution of setting, teacher, and child variables.
    (2010-06) Hickey, Meghan C.
    This study sought to ascertain to ascertain the relative contribution of setting, teacher, and child variables to the prediction of the amount of language teachers used in their toddler classrooms as well as the amount of engaged conversations they had with children. The Language ENvironment Analysis (LENA) system, Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS) and Teacher Beliefs Scale (TBS) were used. Child variables included age, gender, and disability, English language learner, and poverty (tuition subsidy) status. Results indicated that classroom quality, teacher education and experience, teacher pedagogy, and the percentage of tuition subsidy students in the classroom predicted adult word rates; however, they were not significant independent predictors. No significant relationships were found for conversational turns. Study limitations and implications for policy and practice are discussed.