Abstract

Can early childhood education (ECE) support the societal language development of children from linguistically diverse backgrounds? This study examined how existing variation in classroom interaction quality (CLASS Pre-K), classroom composition (percentages of children from low-income backgrounds and dual language learners [DLLs]), and duration of attending German ECE were related to language trajectories from 30 to 73 months of age (n = 519 children in 154 classrooms). DLL status served as a focal moderator and parental education was considered as an additional moderator. Age-based growth models revealed interactions between DLL status and ECE characteristics. There were numerous intercept effects that endured over the age span studied. Interaction quality (emotional support) and classroom composition (percentage of DLLs) were related only to DLLs’ German language growth. Parental education did not moderate ECE effects. Hence, the observed range of variation in German ECE may matter for DLLs’ societal language development but may be of less relevance for monolingual children.

摘要

幼儿教育 (ECE) 能否支持来自不同语言背景的儿童的社会语言发展？本研究检查了课堂互动质量（CLASS Pre-K）、课堂构成（来自低收入背景的儿童和双语学习者 [DLL] 的百分比）以及参加德语 ECE 的持续时间与 30至 73 个月（n = 154 间教室中的 519 名儿童）。DLL 状态作为焦点调节者，父母教育被认为是额外的调节者。基于年龄的增长模型揭示了 DLL 状态和 ECE 特征之间的相互作用。在所研究的年龄范围内，有许多拦截效应持续存在。互动质量（情感支持）和课堂构成（DLL 的百分比）仅与 DLL 的德语增长有关。父母教育并没有缓和 ECE 的影响。因此，观察到的德语 ECE 变化范围可能对 DLL 的社会语言发展很重要，但对单语儿童的相关性可能较小。