Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document / Dissertation (MA (Development Communication))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Information Science / unrestricted

This dissertation includes three papers examining role of childcare stability in the lives of families, focusing on low-income households. Paper one considers the relationship between household instability and childcare instability for parents with young children in New York City. Paper two examines the relationship between universal pre-kindergarten in New York City and education and employment outcomes for parents. Finally, paper three explores the effect of federal childcare subsidies on education and employment outcomes for parents.

Human infants have been shown to have an innate capacity to acquire their mother tongue. In recent decades, the advent of the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technique has made it feasible to explore the neural basis underlying language acquisition and processing in children, even in newborn infants (for reviews, see Kuhl & Rivera-Gaxiola, 2008; Kuhl, 2010) . Spontaneous low-frequency (< 0.1 Hz) fluctuations (LFFs) in the resting brain have been shown to be physiologically meaningful in the seminal study (Biswal et al., 1995) . Compared to task-based fMRI, resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) has some unique advantages in neuroimaging research, especially in obtaining data from pediatric and clinical populations. Moreover, it enables us to characterize the functional organization of the brain in a systematic manner in the absence of explicit tasks. Among brain systems, the language network has been well investigated by analyzing LFFs in the resting brain. This thesis attempts to investigate the functional connectivity within the language network in typically developing preschool children and the covariation of this connectivity with children’s language development by using the rs-fMRI technique. The first study (see Chapter 2.1; Xiao et al., 2016a) revealed connectivity differences in language-related regions between 5-year-olds and adults, and demonstrated distinct correlation patterns between functional connections within the language network and sentence comprehension performance in children. The results showed a left fronto-temporal connection for processing syntactically more complex sentences, suggesting that this connection is already in place at age 5 when it is needed for complex sentence comprehension, even though the whole functional network is still immature. In the second study (see Chapter 2.2; Xiao et al., 2016b), sentence comprehension performance and rs-fMRI data were obtained from a cohort of children at age 5 and a one-year follow-up. This study examined the changes in functional connectivity in the developing brain and their relation to the development of language abilities. The findings showed that the development of intrinsic functional connectivity in preschool children over the course of one year is clearly observable and individual differences in this development are related to the advancement in sentence comprehension ability with age. In summary, the present thesis provides new insights into the relationship between intrinsic functional connectivity in the brain and language processing, as well as between the changes in intrinsic functional connectivity and concurrent language development in preschool children. Moreover, it allows for a better understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying language processing and the advancement of language abilities in the developing brain.

This thesis focuses on the relationship between theory of mind and language skills in Czech preschoolers. The theoretical part summarizes current knowledge about theory of mind, its relationship to language skills, and some areas of development of preschool children. The empirical part describes the research of the relationship between theory of mind and language skills of Czech preschoolers. Fifty-five children in total participated in this research, twenty children in a younger group (m=42 months), and thirty-five children in an older group (m=54 months). Theory of mind has been assessed by two false-belief tasks: Sally-Ann Task, and Smarties task. Language skills were tested by Grammar reasoning test, and Understanding of grammar test from test battery of Seidlová-Málková and Smolík (2014). The older group has significantly better results in false-belief tasks then the younger group. Despite anticipated results, there was not statistically significant difference between the younger and the older groups' language skills. A moderate positive correlation was found between language skills and false-belief understanding in both groups. KEYWORDS Theory of Mind, False Belief Understanding, Language Skills, Preschoolers, Sally-Ann Task, Smarties Task

The diploma thesis deals with problems of preparation of children in kindergartens before entering elementary school. The work is mainly focused on the development of pre- reading skills in children. The first part of the thesis deals with the issue of pre-school education legislation. The following are the areas in which children need to develop the most and need to be supported. The second part of the diploma thesis contains information about the survey that was carried out. In conclusion, recommendations and a summary of the lessons learned are presented.

This master thesis is dedicated to the importance of diagnostics of auditory memory in preschool children in means of determining school readiness. The theoretical part of this thesis contains an elaborate description of the somatic, cognitive and social development of preschool children. The second chapter concerns memory in general, categorizing auditory memory in the whole system and description of its individual modalities. It is also briefly mentioned how auditory memory is affected by the presence of specific language impairment in children. The third chapter describes school readiness. There are individual areas of focus described which affect school readiness, methods of diagnostics and how deficits in auditory memory are related to future poor reading and writing. The last chapter of the theoretical section summarizes diagnostic materials which asses auditory memory in preschool children and which are available in the Czech Republic as well as foreign countries. The research part of this thesis is mainly dedicated to the new Test of auditory memory in preschool children which was compiled with this thesis. The main goal of the research was to assess the level of auditory memory in preschool children with this new test and determine how specific language impairment, bilingual education and...

Forskning visar att risken för våld och utsatthet i hemmet för barn ökar som en konsekvens av ”nedstängningar” under våren 2020 i samband med covid-19. Personal vid förskola och socialtjänst mister insyn i förskolebarns liv när vårdnadshavare håller barn hemma. Utsatta barn hamnar således i – vad i studien benämns vara – ett ingenmansland. Studien syftar till att undersöka hur personal inom förskola respektive socialtjänst uppfattar pandemin påverkat förskolebarns frånvaromönster i relation till upprättade orosanmälningar gällande barn i förskoleålder våren 2020. Data insamlades från förskolerektorer samt socialsekreterare. Materialet analyserades genom konventionell innehållsanalys utifrån Becks teori om risksamhället. Resultaten visar att förskolan i jämförelse med innan pandemin, har lägre grad av insyn i barns liv samtidigt som socialtjänsten inte ser ett pandemirelaterat ökat antal orosanmälningar, snarare ett minskat eller stagnerat inflöde. Resultaten visar att barns utsatthet i hemmet därmed har ökat. Förskolebarn är  hemma i högre utsträckning än tidigare, särskilt barn med annat modersmål än svenska, samtidigt som förväntad ökning av orosanmälningar till socialtjänsten uteblivit. Rektorer gjorde inte i högre utsträckning orosanmälningar, trots att de uttryckt en direkt och indirekt ökad oro för barn. Barns hemsituation osynliggörs på så sätt för professionella vuxna, och barnen hamnar mellan skyddsnätet förskola och socialtjänst. / Research shows that the risk of violence and vulnerability in the home for children increases as a consequence of lockdowns related to the covid-19 pandemic. Staff at preschools and social services lose insight into the lives of preschool children when guardians keep their children at home. Vulnerable children thus end up being in a no-man's land. The study aims to investigate how staff in preschool and social services perceive the pandemic affected preschool children's absence patterns in relation to established reports of concerns regarding children of preschool age in the spring of 2020. Data were collected from preschool principals and social workers, analyzed through a conventional content analysis and Ulrich Beck's theory of a risk society. The results show that preschools to a lesser extent than before the pandemic, has insight into children's lives and the social services do not see any pandemic-related increased inflow of reports of concern, rather decreased or stagnated. The study shows  that children's vulnerability in the home has increased. Preschool children were at home to a greater extent than before, especially children with a mother tongue other than Swedish, and the annual expected increase in reports of anxiety to the social services did not materialize. Principals have not made more reports of concern, despite the fact that they have expressed a direct and indirect increased concern for children. Children's home situation is made invisible to professional adults, and the children end up in between two important safety nets, preschool and social services.

Studiens syfte är att undersöka expressiv fonologisk förmåga hos barn i åldrarna 3;5-4;9 år som följer en atypisk tal- och språkutveckling och jämföra den med en åldersmatchad kontrollgrupp.  Ytterligare ett syfte är att undersöka huruvida det föreligger ett samband mellan expressiv fonologisk förmåga och impressiv lexikal förmåga. Elva barn med konstaterade uttalssvårigheter rekryterades från logopedmottagningar och språkförskolor i Stockholm och i Östergötland. Barnen testades i en för dem välkänd miljö med bedömningsmaterialet LINUS. Barnens svar audioinspelades och transkriberades och utifrån transkriptionerna gjordes en analys med utgångspunkt från icke-linjär fonologi samt beräkning av Percentage Phonemes Correct och Word Complexity Measure. Resultatet jämfördes sedan med kontrollgruppen. Åtta av barnen i studiegruppen testades även med PPVT-IV för att undersöka eventuella samband mellan expressiv fonologisk förmåga och impressiv lexikal förmåga. Resultatet visade att barnen i de båda grupperna uppvisade uttalsavvikelser från vuxet målordsuttal på ord-, stavelse och segmentnivå, stavelsenivån var den nivå där flest avvikelser förekom i båda grupperna, men att avvikelserna förekom i högre grad hos barnen i studiegruppen. På stavelse- och segmentnivå kunde signifikanta skillnader ses men inte på ordnivå mellan grupperna. På stavelsenivå förekom klusterreduktioner i större utsträckning än uteslutning av enskilda segment för båda grupperna. På segmentnivå uppvisade barnen i studiegruppen problem med samtliga särdrag (sätt, plats och ton), till skillnad från barnen i kontrollgruppen som endast uppvisade problem med särdraget plats. Barnen i studiegruppen fick lägre värden på såväl PPC och WCM. En signifikant skillnad sågs mellan PPC och WCM i studiegruppen men inte i kontrollgruppen. Inget samband mellan expressiv fonologisk förmåga och impressiv lexikal förmåga kunde påvisas i följande studie. Studiens resultat indikerar att det är viktigt att ta hänsyn till alla fonologiska nivåer vid en bedömning och resultatet motiverar att ett icke-linjärt perspektiv kan vara till fördel vid planering av intervention. Då stavelsenivån ger upphov till störst svårigheter är det viktigt att ta hänsyn till detta vid fonologisk intervention. Studiens resultat kan ligga till grund för hur en icke-linjär analys kan användas inom klinisk verksamhet. / The aim of the study is to investigate the expressive phonological ability in children aged 3;5-4;9 following an atypical speech and language development and make a comparison to an age-matched control group following a typical speech and language development. A further purpose is to investigate whether there is a relation between expressive phonological ability and receptive lexical ability. Eleven children with speech sound difficulties were recruited from Speech-Language Pathology clinics and preschool language units in Stockholm and Östergötland. The children were tested in a familiar environment, with the swedish phonological assessment material LINUS. The children's responses were audio-recorded and transcribed and based on the transcriptions, a non-linear phonology analysis and calculations of Percentage Phonemes Correct and Word Complexity Measure were made. The results were then compared to the control group. Eight of the children were also tested with PPVT-IV to investigate a possible correlation between expressive phonological ability and receptive lexical ability. The results showed that the children in both groups had deviations at word-, syllable- and segmental levels, the syllable level appeared to be the most affected level in both groups, but that the deviations were more frequent in the study group. The differences on syllable- and segmental levels were significant, whereas the difference at word level was not significant between the groups. At the level of syllable, cluster reductions occurred to a greater extent than the exclusion of individual segments for both groups. At the segmental level, the study group showed problems with all features (manner, place and tone), whereas the children in the control group only had problems with the feature place. The study group had lower PPC and WCM than the control group. A significant difference was seen between PPC and WCM in the study group but not in the control group. No correlation between expressive phonological ability and receptive lexical ability was found. The results of the study indicate that it’s important to address all phonological levels in assessment and motivate that a non-linear approach could be beneficial as basis for planning of treatment. Since the syllable-level is the most affected it is important to address it in intervention. The report could serve as a guide for clinicians when applying a non-linear analysis.

This study describes the language behaviors and social strategies of English as Second Language (ESL) and English as Primary Language (EPL) pre-kindergarten students during cooperative Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) experiences. Thirty-three pre-kindergarten subjects ages four to five years, were videotaped at two personal computers during self-selected center time. The sources of data for this descriptive study were a parent computer survey, videotapes, a subject interview derived from the Young Children's Computer Inventory, and written records.

I dagens internationaliserade samhälle lever vi i en mångkultur som präglas av olika kulturer och språk. Förskolan blir en social mötesplats där kultur och språk samverkar med hjälp av barn, pedagoger och vårdnadshavare. Syftet med studien är att undersöka vilka förutsättningar för språkutveckling som ges till flerspråkiga barn samt hur förskollärare förhåller sig till att främja denna utveckling som en del av det praktiska arbetet med språk i förskolan. Vi har valt att ha flerspråkig barnlitteratur som utgångspunkt då högläsning och samtal om litteratur lyfts som en viktig del av läroplanen för förskolan (Skolverket, 2018). Som underlag för studien har vi använt oss av teorierna om Translanguaging (Kirsch, 2018; Garcia, 2018) samt det sociokulturella perspektivet (Vygotskij via Säljö 2014; Strandberg, 2009). Vi har intervjuat 10 förskollärare från 7 olika förskolor för att kunna undersöka hur förskollärare upplever arbete med flerspråkighet och vilka resurser som finns tillgängliga för ändamålet. Materialet som samlades in genom intervjuerna har sedan analyserats och bearbetats för att kunna fastställa ett resultat utifrån respondenternas erfarenheter av arbete med flerspråkighet i förskolan. Resultatet presenterar att svenska är det primära språket som används i förskolans verksamhet men att barnens möjligheter till språkutveckling av sitt modersmål eller sina vårdnadshavares modersmål främjas genom engagerade pedagoger som ser flerspråkighet som en styrka och en resurs. Det visar sig även att barns språkutveckling är beroende av det sociala samspelet som sker och att barn lär sig och utvecklar sina språkkunskaper tillsammans med andra. Vi ser även att digitala verktyg är en mycket uppskattad resurs för att kunna erbjuda barnen bilderböcker på flera olika språk som en del av språkutvecklingen och att flerspråkiga pedagoger är en stor fördel för barns språkutveckling i förskolan. Slutligen framgår det att förskollärarna lägger stor vikt vid att fånga upp barnens intresse kring språk och att samverkan med vårdnadshavare är en viktig del i barnens språkutveckling eftersom den utvecklingen sker både på förskolan och i hemmet.