ABSTRACT

Developing strong language and communication skills in the first years of life provides young children with a foundation for a number of positive outcomes, including school readiness, early literacy skills, and self-regulation. High quality language supports in early childhood education programs are key to this development. Part of providing these high-quality language supports involves educators perceiving themselves as efficacious in their capability to support young children’s language development. Using mixed methods, this study examines the extent to which there are changes in educators’ language-focused self-efficacy after participating in professional development program focused on promoting infant/toddler language development. We examine the changes across two groups: (1) educators who participated in a workshop focused on infant/toddler language development and (2) educators who participated in the same workshop plus one-on-one practice-based coaching. Results suggest that participation in the workshop plus coaching compared to the workshop alone was related to greater growth in self-efficacy in language modeling and instructional practices. In follow-up interviews, coached educators reported on their perceptions of impact of the program on their practices and interactions with children. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

摘要

在生命的最初几年培养强大的语言和沟通技巧为幼儿提供了一系列积极成果的基础，包括入学准备、早期识字技能和自我调节。幼儿教育计划中的高质量语言支持是这一发展的关键。提供这些高质量语言支持的一部分包括让教育工作者认为自己有能力支持幼儿的语言发展。本研究使用混合方法检验了教育工作者在参与以促进婴儿/幼儿语言发展为重点的专业发展计划后，以语言为中心的自我效能感的变化程度。我们检查了两组之间的变化：(1) 参加过以婴儿/幼儿语言发展为重点的研讨会的教育工作者，以及 (2) 参加同一研讨会的教育工作者以及一对一的实践指导。结果表明，与单独参加研讨会相比，参加研讨会加辅导与语言建模和教学实践中自我效能的更大增长有关。在后续采访中，受过辅导的教育工作者报告了他们对该计划对其实践和与儿童互动的影响的看法。讨论了对未来研究和实践的影响。结果表明，与单独参加研讨会相比，参加研讨会加辅导与语言建模和教学实践中自我效能的更大增长有关。在后续采访中，受过辅导的教育工作者报告了他们对该计划对其实践和与儿童互动的影响的看法。讨论了对未来研究和实践的影响。结果表明，与单独参加研讨会相比，参加研讨会加辅导与语言建模和教学实践中自我效能的更大增长有关。在后续采访中，受过辅导的教育工作者报告了他们对该计划对其实践和与儿童互动的影响的看法。讨论了对未来研究和实践的影响。