In Experiment 1, a demonstration study, I first tested the number of exposures to incidental learning conditions (naming experiences) required for 4 typically developing preschool-aged males with the naming developmental cusp and capability, to master the names of novel 2D non-contrived stimuli (i.e., symbols for pound, lira, tilde, percent, omega, and ampersand). Each stimulus required 1 to 5 naming experiences to master as both listener and speaker (with more needed for the speaker responses). Prior research found that without the naming cusp, children did not learn from instructional demonstrations presented before the opportunity to respond, however, following the establishment of naming, they could. In Experiment 2, using an ABAB (BABA) reversal design counterbalanced across two dyads, I compared the same participants’ rates of learning under two different instructional methods: 1) instructional demonstrations presented before the opportunity to respond through learn units (IDLUs) and 2) standard learn unit instruction (SLUs). The children learned at an accelerated rate (cumulative correct responses to mastery of objectives) under the IDLU conditions and with between 30% and 50% accuracy on first presentations following a model. The IDLU condition was more efficient (fewer trials to criteria). In this case, the degree of superiority for IDLUs, compared to SLUs alone for children with naming was tested for the first time in Experiment 2. These findings, together with prior findings, suggest more effective teaching procedures for children with the developmental cusp and capability of naming.

While a single residential move is a common experience for many families with children, residential moves that occur in higher frequency may serve as disruptive events in a child’s life. The present study draws upon data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study of children from birth to 15 years of age to examine associations between residential moves and five measures of health and cognition: emergency room utilization, body mass index, incidence of asthma attack or asthma episode, repeated school grades, and scores on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. Age-dependent, cumulative, and differential associations by sex and race are explored. Finally, the present study examines potential moderation of these associations by neighborhood context of a child’s city of birth. Cumulative analyses from the present study suggest that residential mobility is significantly associated with increased emergency room utilization over time, decreased body mass index over time, and a higher likelihood of a experiencing a repeated grade over time, and an increase in PPVT score over time. Age-dependent analyses of all children suggest that mobility in early childhood is significantly associated with emergency room usage and body mass index outcomes, while moves later in life are associated with increased body mass index and higher odds of repeating a school grade. The study further reveals significant sex and racial differences in both age-dependent and cumulative analyses. Evidence for age-dependent and cumulative associations between mobility and odds of an asthma attack emerged only when sex differences were examined. Several racial differences were observed in analyses. Notably, mobility was not a significant predictor of emergency room utilization for Black children at any time point examined nor in longitudinal analyses. Finally, evidence of consistent moderation effects by a child’s birth city neighborhood context was not found; however, significant moderation effects by neighborhood context were found for associations between mobility and emergency room utilization at age 1, BMI at age 3 and BMI at age 5. A central aim of the present study is to contribute to the growing body of empirical research about housing mobility and correlates to developmental outcomes for children. Results from the present study’s analysis can help inform housing-centered strategies to mitigate adverse outcomes for children from families experiencing housing hardship.

This dissertation examines associations among home noise exposure, language skills, and brain structure and function in children spanning multiple developmental stages. To measure home noise exposure, digital audio recordings of the home environment were obtained and used to calculate home noise levels. To examine brain structure in children, Study 1 leveraged magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). To examine brain function in response to speech sounds in toddlers, Study 3 leveraged electroencephalography (EEG) in order to elicit event-related potentials (ERPs) that have been related to language abilities. All studies also incorporated the use of standardized assessments of language to examine children’s developing language abilities and used either parent-report measures of language (Study 2) or direct assessments of children’s language abilities (Studies 1 & 3). Primary hypotheses included that higher home noise exposure would be associated with 1) reduced cortical thickness (Study 1), 2) lower scores on measures of language skills in infancy and childhood (Studies 1, 2, and 3), and reduced neural differentiation of speech sounds (Study 3). Together, these findings shed light on the potential impact of noise exposure on children’s brain and language development. By better understanding how factors in children’s everyday environments might influence neural and cognitive development, we can best inform efforts aimed at optimizing children’s developmental trajectories.

This study explored the diverse ways in which practitioners' roles manifest to develop pre-schoolers’ agency through learning for well-being in inner-city early childhood centres (ICECCs). Findings served as the foundation for a training programme for practitioners to develop pre-schoolers’ agency in South Africa. Various factors that have an impact on the development of pre-schoolers’ agency and ways in which preschoolers express agency were further explored through using the tool of pedagogical documentation. A conceptual framework was based on the Framework of Learning for Well-being, the Framework of Indigenous Well-being and the Reggio educational approach, which supports the notion that pre-schoolers can express themselves and influence their lifeworlds. Myself, three practitioners and nine pre-schoolers participated in the study. I made use of participatory action research (PAR) to generate qualitative data. The various data collection tools used were: Conversations with pre-schoolers; semi-structured interviews with practitioners; focus group interviews between myself and the practitioners; observations of circle time discussions; practitioners' open-ended questionnaires and self-reflective notes on fake Facebook pages; notes in my selfreflective journal; and documentation of pre-schoolers' four art projects. A manual thematic analysis of the data was done and feedback obtained during final interviews. Practitioners indicated the following insights into their practice during and upon completion of the research process: Discoveries of the capabilities of pre-schoolers to express agency; the need to ask more probing and open-ended questions; the importance of listening to pre-schoolers; an awareness of the diverse capabilities of preschoolers; and knowledge and understanding of the value of the tool of pedagogical documentation to make pre-schoolers' agency visible. Aspects that posed challenges were highlighted, such as lack of technology, time constraints, work load and concerns of parents over the academic performance of their children. Upon conclusion of the study the following recommendations were made: a new theme in the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS); a module in Foundation Phase education on children's agency; a one-day workshop for practitioners to develop pre-schoolers' / Psychology of Education / Ph.D. (Psychology)