Introduction: This study investigated the use of spatial language by preschool teachers and children in 12 preschool classrooms to see if there are gender differences in the length and amount of spatial language teachers used with preschool boys versus girls or in the language boys versus girls used, during small group geometry activities. Spatial language, which includes words that explain the configuration of objects and their location in an environment, is related to math skill more broadly (Verdine, Bunger, Athanasopoulou, Golinkoff, & Hirsh-Pasek, 2017). Research indicates that girls are scoring lower on spatial skill tests as early as third grade (Levine et al., 1999), so this study aims to determine if one of the contributors may be differences in the way teacher or child language varies at an early age. Research Questions 1. Will teachers use words from all three categories of spatial language during geometry small group activities in preschool? 2. How much of the teachers’ spatial language use during geometry small group activities is directed at boys versus girls? 3. Will children use words from all three categories of spatial language during geometry small group activities in preschool? 4. How much spatial language are boys using versus girls during geometry small group activities Methods: Teacher and child language was coded in videotaped observations of preschool geometry activities collected for a larger study. The resulting data were not normally distributed so frequency counts and duration were analyzed using Mann-Whitney U tests. To further analyze the results from my Mann-Whitney U tests, I ran correlations for both preschool boys and preschool girls. Results and Conclusion: Mann-Whitney U tests showed a significantly longer duration of teachers’ use of spatial language towards preschool boys versus girls (p = .03) and of preschool boys’ versus girls’ own use of spatial language (p = .04). The frequency of spatial words used was not statistically significant for either teachers or preschoolers. There was no positive correlation that occurred for the preschool boys in terms of how long the teacher talked to them and the boys’ use of spatial language. There was a positive correlation in terms of the frequency with which the teacher talked to the girls and the girls use of spatial language. Though the boys’ spatial language was not related to the amount of time teachers’ used spatial language, the fact that girls spatial language was may suggest in general girls are more sensitive to teachers’ verbal interactions and their cues for responding. Children’s understanding of spatial language is important and contributes to their continued understanding of other important concepts as they progress through their education. Therefore, it is important that children gain an early confidence and skill in using spatial language. Preschool teachers have an opportunity to support them in developing their skills in this area through their own use of spatial language as well as the way in which they encourage children to use it themselves.

This study investigated the use of spatial language by preschool teachers and children (ages 3-5 years) in 12 preschool classrooms to see if there are gender differences in the length and amount of spatial language used toward and by preschool boys versus preschool girls. Frequency counts and duration were analyzed using Mann-Whitney U tests and correlations. Mann-Whitney U tests showed that duration of the teachers’ use of spatial language towards preschool boys versus girls (p = .03) and preschool boys’ versus girls’ use of spatial language (p = .04) were statistically significant, p < .05. The frequency of spatial language was not statistically significant for either teachers or preschoolers. Correlation analyses revealed various statistically significant relationships among frequency and duration variables. The study of gender differences in spatial language should continue to investigate further what may be causing girls not to use spatial language for long period of times.

Thesis advisor: Eric Dearing / The value of home-school collaboration has been repeatedly touted in psychology and education (e.g., Pomerantz et al., 2007). However, impacts on learning may depend on whether home-school relationships are, in fact, truly collaborative. Indeed, the importance of educators having asset-based partnership attitudes – viewing families as partners who bring strengths to the collaboration, including knowledge, skills, and cultural capital – and the pedagogical skills to make use of these assets has become clear in the literature (McWayne et al., 2022). Yet, many questions remain around how asset-based partnership practices can be supported for teachers working with marginalized and disadvantaged families, especially around teaching early math.The present dissertation study examined preschool teachers’ and families’ uses of early math home-school collaboration kits—Family Math Kits—that were co-designed to build asset-based home-school partnerships in 24 Head Start classrooms in the Boston area. The study aimed to examine implementation testing and correlational indications of kit impact on teachers and families. Four key findings emerged. First, there were large differences in fidelity of implementation both across study sites and within study sites. While site and center leadership was likely critical to some of these differences, teacher and family focus groups also revealed both implementation challenges and opportunities that deserve future attention in the field. Second, despite variability in implementation fidelity, the kits were not only enjoyable for families, but the kits also provided meaningful early math learning opportunities (i.e., uncovering family strengths in their daily lives) that families could communicate with teachers. Third, while teachers were able to learn more about their families (i.e., family strengths) via the kits, challenges remained as to how to best utilize experiences from families in the classroom. Fourth, kits appeared to be positively associated with changes in teachers’ beliefs and attitudes such that teachers who implemented the kits with higher fidelity displayed a trend toward improved attitudes and beliefs (e.g., general pedagogical beliefs to specific beliefs around early math and home-school collaboration), especially around teachers’ math confidence. However, the use of the kits appeared to have somewhat mixed associations with family attitudes and beliefs. Taken together, these study findings underscore the importance and challenges of effective home-school collaboration for early math learning that is strengths-based. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2024. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.

Social-emotional competence has received increased attention as being critical to a student's success in the classroom. Social-emotional strengths are multidimensional and include assets such as social competence, self-regulation, empathy, and responsibility; however, previous research has not investigated which of these strengths contribute most to a student's academic success. Additionally, limited research has investigated the use of multiple informants (e.g., parents and teachers) to determine whose perceptions are more predictive of academic achievement in kindergarten students. This study examined the relationship between social-emotional strengths, as rated by parents and teachers on the SEARS (Merrell, 2011), and academic outcomes, using the AIMSweb Tests of Early Literacy (Shinn & Shinn, 2008) and Missing Number Fluency (Clarke & Shinn, 2004b), in kindergarten students (n = 154). A moderate, positive relationship between parent and teacher ratings of social-emotional strengths was obtained. When prior achievement was removed from the regression equation, social competence, as measured by parents, was the only significant predictor of current achievement in early literacy. No social-emotional strength, as rated by parents, was a significant predictor of early math achievement regardless of including or removing prior achievement from the regression equation. Additionally, teacher-rated total strengths were predictive of current achievement in reading, when controlling for prior achievement, and for math, when prior achievement was removed from the equation. Teacher ratings of total strengths were thus found to be more predictive than parent ratings of academic achievement in reading, but not math. Implications of findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) perspective changes across countries due to different political goals, culture, organizational factors and educational theories. Those differences are expressed in curriculum orientations that generate different curriculums, practices and interactions in the different preschool contexts. This study aims not only to analyse how the preschool math curricular orientations in two European countries are organized, but mostly intends to demonstrate in what extent is preschool teachers understanding about teaching and pedagogical awareness interfere with their perspectives about national curricular orientations. Portugal and Sweden are the countries represented in this study. Both preschool math curricular orientations were compared as well as other relevant background variables. Preschool teachers from each country were interviewed via zoom for data production. Results show that even though there are different perspectives about the math curricular orientations that generate different approaches and practices, both countries understand the importance of the child as an active constructor of their mathematical knowledge.

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Thesis advisor: Marina Vasilyeva / Children's early math development is essential for their later academic achievement (Duncan et al., 2007). Yet, research shows that children from lower socioeconomic (SES) backgrounds encounter disadvantages even before starting school. This dissertation includes three empirical studies conducted in China, aiming to enhance our understanding of SES-related disparities in the home math environment and to develop cost-effective interventions for families in need. Study One suggests that parents of preschool children from high SES background demonstrate higher math efficacy, lower math anxiety, and higher math skills than those with higher levels of education. Moreover, high-SES parents engage more often in informal math activities with their preschool children and provide more enriched math talk. Path analysis further reveals an indirect path from SES to children’s math skills via parents’ characteristics and home math environment. Building on Study One, Study Two demonstrates that higher-educated parents have a greater tendency to spontaneously focus on numerical aspects in their environment, a tendency that significantly correlates with both the quantity and quality of their math talk. Study Three suggests that parental math talk can be implicitly increased by manipulating play contexts and toy features. Math-relevant contexts, like pretend grocery shopping, might elicit more math talk. Furthermore, material features within these contexts may shape the nature and amount of math talk: homogeneity increases discussions about absolute magnitude, while boundedness increases talk about relative magnitude.Theoretically, this dissertation enriches our understanding of the mechanisms underlying SES disparities in early math development. Practically, it identifies potential directions for designing cost-effective interventions to enhance home math environment. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2024. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.

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