Below are excerpts from a recent (Sept. 21) Education Week publication on a report of findings from research done by the University of Virginia. We thought you would want to consider its relevance as well.
---Steven H. Prigohzy, Cornerstone Director

Study: Quality of 1st Grade Teachers Plays Key Role

 

Research Findings Results from the study, Academic and Social Advantages for At-Risk Students Placed in High-Quality 1st Grade Classrooms," are featured in the September/October issue of the journal Child Development The sample of 910 children is drawn from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development's Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, started in 1991. If placed in classrooms offering "low instructional quality," children whose mothers had less than a 4-year college degree scored lower than their peers on achievement tests. If placed in supportive classrooms where instruction was direct and children received regular feedback on their work, they performed as well as pupils with more highly educated mothers. Children who displayed social, behavioral, or academic problems in kindergarten could overcome those difficulties in 1st grade-and perform as well as those without such problems. If they were placed in classrooms with a teacher who displays warmth and sensitivity. If assigned to teachers who did not have those traits, they scored lower than their classmates on measures of achievement and adjustment. Classroom quality can vary significantly from teacher to teacher and from year to year.

The research undertaken by the University of Virginia concluded that classroom teachers who give instructional and emotional support can improve academic outcomes for first graders who are considered at risk for school failure. (See the findings, noted above.)

The researchers reported in the September/October issues of the journal Child Development that the findings are significant because they are drawn from "naturally occurring variation in everyday classroom interactions" instead of a specific program designed to improve the classroom environment. The report went on to say that "these findings provide evidence of the potential for everyday experiences in schools to greatly reduce children's academic and social problems-to close gaps in the early school years." The research sample-910 children from the federal government's long-running study on child care-is also significant.

" Their research is complex, well-designed and uniquely important because it is richly grounded in observations of teacher and students' classroom behavior that surrounds classroom tasks," said Thomas L. Good, who edits The Elementary School Journal.

However, limitations do exist in the findings. Even though some children in the sample were identified as being at risk for problems in school, the overall sample in the NICHD study was not highly disadvantaged.

One of the criticisms of the project has been that the families studied are not representative of the general population, with more than 700 Caucasian children, 100 African-American, and 50 Hispanic.

" The fact that the overall sample was not highly at risk (based on race and socioeconomic status) constrains our ability to generalize findings," the researchers acknowledged in the study. "These results need to be replicated before a more conclusive statement regarding the role of instructional emotional support in moderating risk of school failure can be made."

The authors of the study say that it does not provide details on the specific interactions between children and their teachers that may lessen the risks of academic failure. But they do suggest that it could help guide individual teachers regarding their experiences with a particular student or could be used on a broader scale in staff development.

" If children are not systematically exposed to high levels of classroom support across time," the authors warn, "the effects of such positive placements are likely to be shortlived."