Children's communication and socialization skills by types of early education experiences.

Abstract. This study is an investigation of children's communication skills and socialization by the types of their early education experiences (e.g., child care centers, private schools, public schools, home, or other). A total of 244 children (average age: 61 months) and their parents participated in this study. According to the results of this study, there were significant mean score differences found on children's expressive, written language, and interpersonal relationship skills, based on the types of children's early education experience.

**********

Research has firmly established that children's early development, including cognitive, socioemotional, and language development, is essential for school readiness and success (Hair, Halle, Terry-Humen, Lavelle, & Calkins, 2006). In a national survey in which teachers listed the essential qualities of being ready for kindergarten, communication skills and physical health were identified as the most important qualities (National Center for Education Statistics, 1993). In a separate study, kindergarten teachers reported that about half of their children are unable to follow or understand directions and show a lack of required skills (Rimm-Kaufman, Pianta, & Cox, 2000).

According to the guidelines of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), young children are expected to be "school ready" upon their entry into public education; standardized assessments are used to ascertain the degree of readiness for each child (Gammage, 2006). Since NCLB was enacted, policymakers, educators, and researchers have placed a strong emphasis on children's cognitive development, as measured by performance-based language and mathematics proficiency tests, while paying less attention to children's other developmental domains. However, it has been well-documented that these domains are interlinked (Bredekamp & Copple 1997) and that children develop in a holistic manner. For example, children's cognitive development is closely associated with their language development, which is closely associated with their social and emotional development. Further, children's communication and socialization skills are critical elements in early childhood as their social agents begin to change from parents to friends. In this study, we investigated children's social development, focusing on communication and socialization skills, as they entered public school kindergarten. In our analysis of the data gathered in this study, we considered social development in the context of pre-kindergarten experiences.

According to the U.S. Department of Education (2003), 66% of 4-year-old children attend some type of preschool program, such as child care, private preschool, or public preschool, before they enter kindergarten. Fontaine, Torre, and Grafwallner (2006) reported that about 60% of children 5 years old and younger are enrolled in a center- or school-based preschool program. Many studies have demonstrated that children who attended any form of early educational programs showed higher levels of academic proficiency (Magnuson, Ruhm, & Waldfogel, 2004) and self-control (Magnuson, Lahaie, & Waldfogel, 2006, 2007) than children who did not have out-of-home experiences.

Children who have an earlier start in school show higher school achievement throughout their school careers (Evans, 1985; Maeroff, 2006). Some studies have shown positive academic and developmental outcomes for children who have previous preschool and pre-kindergarten experience before school entry (Magnuson et al., 2004, 2007; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development [NICHD], Early Child Care Research Network [ECCRN], & Duncan, 2003; Taylor, Gibbs, & Slate, 2000). The NICHD ECCRN (2004) reports that early education experiences benefit children by better preparing them for school.

National and state efforts to assist children from disadvantaged families include providing early education opportunities such as public pre-kindergarten or Head Start programs. As a part of national and state efforts, many states have set up an enrollment policy for public pre-kindergartens. Across the United States, about 47% of pre-kindergartens have more than 50% minority students in their programs, and 75% or more pre-kindergartens report that 51% of the children they serve are eligible for a free or reduced-price lunch program (U.S. Department of Education, 2003).

The state of Texas also has a strong enrollment policy in public pre-kindergartens to assist children who are currently or potentially at risk. Priority is given to those children who are academically at risk, such as English language learners, children living in poverty, and children with special needs (Lee, Autry, Fox, & Williams, 2008). A major concern is whether children who attend these public pre-kindergarten programs are prepared for school, particularly in the areas of language and socioemotional development. Since these children are likely to be categorized as at risk, their readiness must be carefully examined. For this reason, in the current study we investigated children's communication and socialization skills, based on the type of early education experience in which they participated. In particular, the scores of children with public pre-kindergarten experiences were compared to the scores of children who had different forms of early education, such as child care, private school, home, and other.

The types of each early education experience have been operationally defined for the purpose of this study. Public pre-kindergarten is defined as publically funded state pre-kindergarten. Private school is defined as a self-paid preschool that also serves other grade levels (e.g., kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade, etc.) during the school year, day, and time. Child care is defined as a self-paid preschool that serves children from birth through pre-kindergarten. Child care sometimes serves children at primary grade levels in afterschool programs or programs during summer or winter breaks. In this study, education for children who were not involved in any types of formal education experiences (e.g., public pre-kindergarten, private school, or child care) is defined as home care-based. If parents are unable to match their children's early education experiences with listed categories, they are allowed to mark "other" and to describe the type of early education experience.

The research questions examined in this study are as follows:

1) Are there mean score differences on communication domains (receptive, expressive, and written language skills), based on children's early education experiences?

2) Are there mean score differences on socialization domains (interpersonal skills, play or leisure activities, and coping skills), based on children's early education experiences?

Methodology

Participants

For the purpose of this study, a sample of 244 kindergartners was systematically selected from a metropolitan suburb of the Dallas and Fort Worth (DFW) metroplex area in Texas. Descriptive data of participants are presented in the following three categories: participants' demographic information (gender and ethnicity/race), family income, and pre-kindergarten experience. Tables 1 and 2 display participants' demographic information regarding gender, ethnicity, and family income. The sample was 53.69% female (N = 131) and 42.64% male (N = 104) students. Gender information for nine participants was not available, as parents did not mark either gender when completing demographic information.

The sample was composed of 42.21% white, 29.92% Hispanic, 13.53% African American, 9.43% bi- or tri-racial, and 2.87% Asian children (see Table 2). Information on the ethnicity of 10 participants is unavailable, as parents did not complete this section when providing demographic information.

According to Table 3, among all the participants (N = 244), 35.84% reported incomes below $39,000; 18.44% reported incomes between $40,000 and $69,000; and 26.64% reported incomes of $70,000 or higher. Forty-nine participants did not report their family incomes.

Table 4 shows that 31.97% of children (N = 78) stayed at home, 29.1% of children (N = 71) attended public pre-kindergarten, 25.82% of children (N = 63) attended child care, and 6.97% of children (N = 17) attended private preschool.

Data Collection Procedure

Instrument. Development in children's communication and socialization domains was measured by adapting the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VABS), published by American Guidance Service (1993). VABS is a measure of adaptive behaviors for individuals ages 3 to 21 years. The reliability and validity of VABS was tested for public use (Sparrow, Balla, & Cicchetti, 2008). Sparrow et al. utilized split-half and test-retest reliability coefficients to test reliability; the scores of tests showed higher than .80, which is in the range of "good" reliability. They also tested validity by comparing the scores of the original Vineland, the ABIC, the K-ABC, the PPVT-R, and the VABS. The concurrent measures showed the generally higher coefficients. Sparrow et al. recommended that VABS is reliable and valid for assessment in clinical and research settings. VABS includes four major categories: communication, daily living skills, socialization, and motor skills. For the purpose of this study, only the communication and socialization sections were utilized.

The communication domain is composed of a total of 67 possible questions to assess children's receptive (13 questions with a maximum points of 26), expressive (31 questions with a maximum points of 62), and written (23 questions with a maximum points of 46) language skills. Because the children in this study were between the ages of 4 and 6 years, interviews did not extend to questions designed for older individuals, and interview times were limited to 10 to 15 minutes.

Receptive language is defined as the input system of language. Items in this assessment include such activities as turning eyes and heads toward sound, following instructions in "if-then" form, and listening to a story for at least five minutes. Expressive language is the communication of one's ideas, usually through speech. Examples of items for expressive language are as follows: gestures appropriately to indicate yes, no, and I want ; indicates preference when offered a choice; states own first and last name when asked; and so forth. The written language domain is defined as the representation of a language by means of a writing system (Wikipedia, 2008). Some examples of items used in this assessment include reading at least three common signs, reading on own initiative, printing or writing own first and last name, and so on.

The socialization domain was measured by scoring children's interpersonal relationships, play and leisure time activities, and coping skills. There are a total of 29 items (maximum score of 58 points): interpersonal relationships (8 items, maximum score of 16 points); play and leisure time (8 items, maximum score of 16 points); and coping skills (13 items, maximum score of 26 points). As with the communication domain, because the children in this study were between the ages of 4 and 6 years, the interviews did not extend to questions designed for older individuals, and interviews were limited to an appropriate length for children of this age.

Some items related to interpersonal relationships include "initiates conversations on topics of particular interest to others," "responds to hints or indirect cues in conversation," and so on. "Play and leisure time" measures how children use their time in play or leisure activities with others; items in this section include going to evening school or other events with friends when accompanied by an adult, and so forth. Coping skills are related to social functioning. Some examples are "responds appropriately when introduced to strangers," "keeps secrets or confidence for more than one day," "makes and keeps appointments," and so on.

Data Collection. The researchers worked with school district officials to identify eight elementary schools whose populations were representative of the demographic distribution of the community at large. Children entering kindergarten were recruited as they came to school with their parents for kindergarten registration. Kindergarten teachers at the school or graduate students in early childhood education interviewed each child individually; each interview took between 10 and 15 minutes. While their children were being interviewed, parents were asked to fill out their children's demographic information (child's gender, ethnicity, age, and family income). Children who participated in this interview received a backpack with school supplies as an incentive for their participation.

Results

Communication Domain Scores by Early Education Experience

There was no statistically significant mean difference found on communication domains by types of early education (see Table 5).

Table 6 presents descriptive statistics on communication scores by types of preschools. Children who attended private schools scored higher (M = 84.00, SD = 10.31) on the communication domain than those who attended other types of early education programs or who did not have any formal early education experiences. Children who attended public pre-kindergartens showed the lowest scores (M = 78.08, SD = 4.30).

Receptive Language by Types of Early Education. As seen in Table 7, there was no statistically significant difference on receptive language by types of early education that children experienced. Children who attended private school scored slightly higher on the receptive language domain than children who experienced other types of early education (see Table 8).

Expressive Language by Types of Early Education. There was a statistically significant mean difference found on expressive language skills by type of early education experiences (see Table 9). Children who stayed at home without any formal early education experience (M = 52.02, SD = 3.26) and children who attended private schools (M = 51.67, SD = 2.30) showed higher scores on expressive language than children who attended other forms of early education programs. Children who attended public pre-kindergarten and education programs (M = 48.83, SD = 4.11) had the lowest scores on expressive language skills (see Table 10).

A post-hoc test, Tukey HSD, categorized homogeneous groups by mean scores of expressive language skills. The Tukey HSD categorized children of other, public pre-kindergarten, and child care as a homogeneous group, and child care and private preschool as a homogeneous group. This indicates that children from other, public pre-kindergarten, and child care showed similar scores in terms of expressive language skills, while children from child care, private school, and home showed similar scores in terms of expressive language skills. As Table 11 shows, children in group 2 showed higher scores than children in group 1. Children from child care are in both groups, showing that these children's expressive language skills can be categorized in either group 1 or group 2.

Written Language by Types of Early Education. Children's written language score was found to be significant by the types of their early education experience at a = .05 level (see Table 12). As Table 13 shows, children who attended public pre-kindergarten showed the lowest scores on written language (M = 4.97, SD = 2.30). Both children in private schools (M = 7.50, SD = 3.12) and under the category "other" (M = 7.50, SD = 4.19) showed the highest scores in the written language domain.

A post-hoc test, Tukey HSD, categorized homogeneous groups by mean scores of written language skills. The Tukey HSD categorized children from child care, home, other, and private preschool as a homogeneous group (see Table 14). This indicates that children from public pre-kindergarten showed less proficiency in written language skills than children from other types of early education experiences, such as child care, home, other, and private preschool. Children from public pre-kindergarten are in group 1, showing less proficiency in written language skills.

Socialization Domain Scores by Types of Early Education

There was no statistically significant mean difference found on socialization in general by children's types of early education experiences (see Table 15). Table 16 shows the mean scores of socialization by the types of children's early education experience. Children who attended public pre-kindergarten showed the lowest scores (M = 73.55, SD = 6.78) compared to children who had other types of early education experiences.

Interpersonal Skills by Types of Early Education. As Table 17 shows, there was a significant difference on interpersonal skills by the types of children's early education experiences. Considering each mean score of interpersonal skills, children who attended education programs in the category of "other" (M = 37, SD = 3.17) and public pre-kindergartens (M = 38.68, SD = 7.31) showed lower scores than children who attended child care (M = 42.18, SD = 5.48) and private schools (M = 41.42, SD = 5.78).

As Table 19 shows, the Tukey HSD categorized other, public pre-kindergarten, and home as a homogeneous group. Home, private school, and child care are also categorized as a homogeneous group. This indicates that children from other, public pre-kindergarten, and home show less interpersonal skills than children from home, private preschool, and child care. Children who stayed at home are in group 1 and group 2, which means these children can be categorized as a homogeneous group in both groups in regard to their levels of interpersonal skills.

Play and Leisure by Types of Early Education. As Table 20 shows, there was no significant difference found on play and leisure activities by the types of children's early education experiences. Table 21 shows the mean scores of play and leisure activities by the types of children's early education experience. Children who attended education programs in the category of "other" showed the highest score (M = 25.25, SD = 1.97) among all children.

Coping Skills by Types of Early Education. No significant mean difference was found on coping skills based on children's early education experiences (see Table 22). Table 23 presents the mean scores of coping skills by the types of children's early education experiences. Children who attended public pre-kindergarten showed the lowest scores among all children (M = 12.73, SD = 1.22). In addition, children who stayed at home showed comparatively lower scores than children who attended other types of early education programs.

Discussion & Study Limitations

There were no statistical mean differences found based on total scores of communication and socialization domains. However, in the separate analyses of each skill within the communication and socialization domains, differences in expressive language, written language, and interpersonal skills were found to be statistically significant according to the types of children's early education experiences. The major findings of this study are: 1) children who attended public pre-kindergarten scored lowest on expressive language skills, 2) children who attended public pre-kindergarten scored lowest on written language skills, and 3) children who attended public pre-kindergarten scored lower on interpersonal skills than children who attended child care or private schools or stayed at home.

The finding that children who attended public pre-kindergarten showed the lowest scores on two categories of expressive and written language and scored lower on interpersonal skills is very important. These children already possessed risk factors, such as low family income, special needs, or English language deficiency. It has been shown in numerous studies that children's early school readiness has a major impact on their future school success as well as on their future life success (Brooks-Gunn, Guo, Furstenberg, & Frank, 1993; Huffman, Mehlinger, & Kerivan, 2000; Maeroff, 2006; Miller & Bizzell, 1983; Raver, 2002; Stevenson & Newman, 1986). Ramey and Ramey (1999) emphasized that positive learning experiences are associated with academic and social skills and that these skills are necessary for children's successful transition to school. However, many disadvantaged children are less likely to be prepared to start school (Magnuson et al., 2006). Children's lack of requisite skills is linked with their poor school achievement in the future (Entwisle & Alexandra, 1993), which can be further associated with their long-term economic earning potential (Krueger, 2003). As the findings of this study suggest, children with public pre-kindergarten experience, who are potentially at risk, are still at risk at the beginning of their kindergarten year. Therefore, it is necessary to pay more attention to children with pre-kindergarten experiences and to the nature of those pre-kindergarten experiences. Providing pre-kindergarten education to at-risk children is intended to improve their academic and social readiness as they begin school. It is possible to understand this result by considering the priority of public pre-kindergarten enrollment. In Texas, priority is given to children from minority groups, including English language learners, children from low-income families, and children with special needs. Sometimes, children have combined risk factors, such as low income and English language deficiency. These factors might cause children's lack of communication and socialization skills, even if they have had public pre-kindergarten experiences. It is necessary to provide ongoing assistance to these children to close potential social development gaps.

Researchers believe that children's public pre-kindergarten experiences might help their socialization and communication skills (Magnuson, Ruhm, & Waldfogel, 2004). However, in this study, we were unable to determine how much impact pre-kindergarten made on children's socialization and communication readiness, since we investigated these skills at only one point in time (about a month before kindergarten entry). In future studies, it will be necessary to examine the trajectory of children's development and skills by assessing their readiness at more than one point in time--for instance, at the beginning of the pre-kindergarten year and again at the end of pre-kindergarten year--utilizing pre-and post-assessments. Another recommendation is to apply a true experimental design to compare children with pre-kindergarten experiences and children without pre-kindergarten experiences while controlling for socioeconomic status and language barrier.

Studies have shown that high-quality early education significantly helps disadvantaged children in academic performance as well as social development (e.g., Barnett, 1995; Hauser-Cram, 2007; Magnuson et al., 2004, 2007; McCartney, 2006). According to Olson (2007), high-quality preschool experiences help children get ready for school and greatly benefit disadvantaged children, especially children from low-income families. Children from low-income and minority groups are less likely to be prepared in terms of social development; over 40% of these children showed delays in social competencies and communication skills at school entry (Kaiser, Hancock, Xinsheng, Foster, & Hester, 2000). Social and communication skills are effective in learning engagement for group work (Blair, 2002) and for communicating during learning process (e.g., asking and answering questions, discussing). To make pre-kindergarten programs more effective for disadvantaged children, programs should carefully integrate social-communication skill enrichment interventions. Several programs have been designed to enhance the social and emotional skills of children at risk, such as Preschool Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies ([PATHS], Domitrovich, Greenberg, Cortes, & Kusche, 1999; Kusche & Greenberg, 1994), "I Can Problem Solve" ([ICPS], Shure & Spivack, 1982), and "Al's Pals: Kids Making Healthy Choices" (Lynch, Geller, & Schmidt, 2004).

These intervention programs recommend that teachers of young children apply more emotion coaching (e.g., how to express their feelings) and problem-solving dialogue techniques (e.g., asking higher order thinking questions, such as "why" and "what if"), using real life situations.

Language skills are also closely associated with children's social and emotional skills. For this reason, it is necessary for teachers of young children to provide a languagerich environment in both oral and written language areas. It has been reported that children of low socioeconomic status (SES) tend to have less discussion and less interactive reading experiences at home, compared to children of high SES (Senechal & LeFevre, 2002). Interventions can be designed for these children at risk in regard to emotional and social development; providing more discussion and interactive book-reading opportunity while allowing children to reflect their thoughts and fostering narrative skills is recommended (Bierman et al., 2008).

There are several limitations to this study, which was funded by a coalition of local civic, education, and business agencies. A major limitation is that we were unable to utilize multiple instruments and sources to assess children's communication and socialization skills, due to lack of funding.

Furthermore, we did not randomly select the target children, since the funding agency selected target school districts from the Dallas and Fort Worth metroplex area. In future studies, it will be necessary to apply a true experimental design to investigate the development of children who had (and did not have) public pre-kindergarten experiences, while controlling for their demographic backgrounds (e.g., family SES, language, and race/ethnicity).

Despite the several limitations in this study, the findings serve as an important empirical reminder of children's ongoing need for quality experiences before kindergarten and suggest that, for many children, one year of pre-kindergarten may not be enough.

(submitted 9/15/0& accepted 12/4/08)

References

American Guidance Service. (1993). Vineland adaptive behavior scales (VABS). Circle Pines, MN: Pearson & American Guidance Service.

Barnett, W. S. (1995). Long-term effects of early childhood programs on cognitive and school outcomes. The Future of Children, 5, 25-50.

Bierman, K. L., Domitrovich, C. E., Nix, R. L., Gest, S. D., Welsh, J. A., Greenberg, M. T., Blair, C., Nelson, K. E., & Gill, S. (2008). Promoting academic and social-emotional school readiness: The Head Start REDI Program. Child Development, 76, 1802-1817.

Blair, C. (2002). School readiness: Integrating cognition and emotion in a neurobiological conceptualization of child functioning at school entry. American Psychologist, 57, 111-127.

Bredekamp, S., & Copple, C. (1997). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Brooks-Gunn, J., Guo, G., Furstenberg, J., & Frank, F. (1993). Who drops out and who continues beyond high school? A 20-year follow-up of black urban youth. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 3(3), 271-294.

Domitrovich, C. E., Greenberg, M. T., Cortes, R., & Kusche, C. (1999). Manual for the Preschool PATHS Curriculum. State College, PA: Pennsylvania State University.

Entwisle, D. R., & Alexandra, K. L. (1993). Beginning school math competence: Minority and majority comparisons. Child Development, 61, 454-471.

Evans, E. D. (1985). Longitudinal follow-up assessment of differential preschool experience of low income minority group children. Journal of Educational Research, 78, 197-202.

Fontaine, N., Torre, D. L., & Grafwallner, R. (2006). Effects of quality early care on school readiness skills of children at risk. Early Child Development and Care, 176, 99-109.

Gammage, P. (2006). Early childhood education and care: Politics, policies and possibilities. Early Years, 26(3), 235-248.

Hair, E., Halle, T., Terry-Humen, E., Lavelle, B., & Calkins, J. (2006). Children's school readiness in the ECLS-K: Predictions to academic, health, and social outcomes in first grade. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 21, 431-454.

Hauser-Cram, P. (2007). Services or programs that influence young children (0-5) and their completion/academic achievement. Encyclopedia of Early Childhood. Retrieved July 2007, from www.enfant-encyclopedie.com/Pages/PDF/ Hauser-CramANGxp_rev.pdf

Huffman, L. C., Mehlinger, S. L., & Kerivan, A.S. (2000). Risk factors for academic and behavioral problems at the beginning of school. Bethesda, MD: The Child Mental Health Foundations and Agencies Network.

Kaiser, A. P., Hancock, T. B., Xinsheng, C., Foster, E. M., & Hester, P. P. (2000). Parent-reported behavioral problems and language delays in boys and girls enrolled in Head Start classrooms. Behavioral Disorder, 26, 26-41.

Krueger, A. (2003). Economic considerations and class size. Economic Journal, 113, 34-63.

Kusche, C., & Greenberg, M. T. (1994). PATHS curriculum. Retrieved November 19, 2008, from http://education.pld.gov.au/studentservices/protection/sel/ pathscurriculum.html.

Lee, J., Autry, M. M., Fox, J., & Williams, C. (2008). Investigating children's mathematics readiness. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 22, 316-328.

Lynch, K. B., Geller, S. R., & Schmidt, M. G. (2004). Multi-year evaluation of the effectiveness of a resilience-based prevention program for young children. The Journal of Primary Prevention, 24, 335-353.

Maeroff, J. I. (2006). Pre-K-3 and school achievement. Education Week, 25, 44-45.

Magnuson, K. A., Ruhm, C., & Waldfogel, J. (2004). Inequality in preschool education and school readiness. American Educational Research Journal, 41, 115-157.

Magnuson, K., Lahaie, C., & Waldfogel, J. (2006). Preschool and school readiness of children of immigrants. Social Science Quarterly, 87, 1241-1260.

Magnuson, K., Lahaie, C., & Waldfogel, J. (2007). The persistence of preschool effects: Do subsequent classroom experiences matter? Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 22, 18-38.

McCartney, K. (2006). Why doesn't the U.S. invest in early education? Education Week, 25, 44-45.

Miller, L. B., & Bizzell, R. P. (1983). Long-term effects of four programs: Sixth, seventh, and eighth grade. Child Development, 54, 727-741.

National Center for Education Statistics. (1993). Public school kindergarten teachers' views on children's readiness for school. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Early Child Care Research Network. (2004). Are child developmental outcomes related to before- and after-school care arrangements? Results from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care. Child Development, 75, 28-295.

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Early Child Care Research Network, & Duncan, G. (2003). Modeling the impacts of child care quality on children's preschool cognitive development. Child Development, 74, 1454-1475.

Olson, L. (2007). Paying attention earlier on. Education Week, 26(17).

Ramey, C. T., & Ramey, S. L. (1999). Beginning schools for changing families. In R. C. Pianta, & M. J. Cox (Eds.), The transition to kindergarten (pp. 217-251). Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing.

Raver, C. C. (2002). Emotions matter: Making the case for the role of young children's emotional development for early school readiness. Ann Arbor, MI: Society for Research in Child Development.

Rimm-Kaufman, S. E., Pianta, R. C., & Cox, M. J. (2000). Teachers' judgments of success in the transition to kindergarten. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 15, 147-166.

Senechal, M., & LeFevre, J. (2002). Parental involvement in the development of children's reading skill: A 5-year longitudinal study. Child Development, 73, 445-460.

Shure, M. B., & Spivack, G. (1982). Interpersonal problem-solving in young children: A cognitive approach to prevention. American Journal of Community Psychology, 10, 341-356.

Sparrow, S. S., Balla, D. A., & Cicchetti, D. V. (2008). Vineland adaptive behavior scales. Retrieved November 12, 2008, from www.cps.nova.edu/Ncpphelp/ VINELAND.html.

Stevenson, H. W., & Newman, R. S. (1986). Long-term prediction of achievement and attitudes in mathematics and reading. Child Development, 57, 646-659.

Taylor, K. K., Gibbs, A. S., & Slate, J. R. (2000). Preschool attendance and kindergarten readiness. Early Childhood Education Journal, 27(3), 191-95.

U.S. Department of Education. (2003). Pre-kindergerten in U.S. public schools: 20002001 public title. Retrieved July 29, 2008, from http://cache.search.yahooht2.akadns.net/search/ cache?ei=UTF8&p=public +prekindergarten+enrollment&fr=yfp- t501&u=nces.ed.gov/pubs2003/2003019.pdf&w=public +prekindergarten+%22pre+kindergarten%22+enrollment+enroll& d=V4Vwmy72RJUl&icp=l&.intl=us

Wikipedia. (2008). Written language. Retrieved July 26, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Written_language

Joohi Lee

Jill Fox

University of Texas at Arlington

Note: Joohi Lee is Assistant Professor and Jill Fox is Associate Professor, Director of Early Childhood Education, Curriculum and Instruction-EC4, and College of Education, University of Texas at Arlington. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Joohi Lee, Box 19777, College of Education, University of Texas at Arlington, 502 Yates, Arlington, TX 76019 or e-mail: [e-mail].

Table 1
Descriptive Data of Participants' Gender

Gender         N    % (%)

Female        131   53.69
Male          104   42.64
No Response    9     3.77
Total         244   100.0

Table 2
Descriptive Data of Participants' Race/Ethnicity Race/Ethnicity
                     N    % (%)

White               103    42.21
African American     33    13.53
Hispanic             73    29.92
Asian                7      2.87
Bi- or Tri-Racial    23     9.43
Other                5      2.05
No Response          10     0.40
Total               244    100.0

Table 3 Descriptive Data of Family Incomes

Income             N    % (%)

Below $39,000      85   35.84
$40,000-$69,000    45   18.44
$70,000 or more    65   26.64
No Response        49   20.08
Total             244   100.0

Table 4
Descriptive Data of Children's Early Education Experiences

Types of Early Education    N    % (%)

Child Care                  63    25.82
Public Pre-kindergarten     71    29.10
Private Preschool           17     6.97
Other                       14     5.74
Home                        78    31.97
No Response                 1      .40
Total                      244    100.0

Table 5
Analysis of Variance for Communication Domain Scores by Types of Early
Education

Source           df     F      p

Between Groups    7    2.16   .51
Within Groups    235
Total            242

Table 6
Communication Domain Scores by Types of Early Education

Types of Early Education    N    Communication Domain Score (SD)

Child Care                  63           82.34 (6.11)
Public Pre-kindergarten     71           78.08 (4.30)
Private Preschool           17           84.00 (6.32)
Other                       14           82.59 (3.21)
Home                        78           83.26 (8.98)
No Response                 1
Total                      244               410.27

Table 7
Analysis of Variance for Receptive Language by Types of Early Education

Source           df     F      p

Between Groups    7    1.27   .28
Within Groups    235
Total            242

Table 8

Receptive Language Scores by Types of Early Education

Types of Early Education    N    Receptive Language Scores (SD)

Child Care                  63          24.61 (1.20)
Public Pre-kindergarten     71          24.28 (2.31)
Private Preschool           17          24.83 (1.79)
Other                       14          24.61 (2.00)
Home                        78          23.77 (2.17)
No Response                 1
Total                      244            122.10

Table 9
Analysis of Variance for Expressive Language by Types of
Early Education

Source           df      F       p

Between Groups    7    3.07   .008 *
Within Groups    235
Total            242

* Note: Indicates significance at .01 level

Table 10
Expressive Language Scores by Types of Early Education

Types of Early Education    N    Expressive Language Scores (SD)

Child Care                  63            50.90 (3.20)
Public Pre-kindergarten     71            48.83 (4.11)
Private Preschool           17            51.67 (2.30)
Other                       14            47.50 (8.10)
Home                        78            52.02 (3.26)
No Response                 1
Total                      244               250.92

Table 11
Post-Hoc Tests (Tukey HSD) by Children's Expressive Language
Skills by Types of Early Education

                          Subset for Alpha = .05

Expressive Language             1       2

Other                         47.50
Public Pre-kindergarten       48.83
Child Care                    50.90   50.90
Private Preschool                     51.67
Home                                  52.02

Table 12
Analysis of Variance for Written Language by Types of Early Education

Source           df     F       p

Between Groups    7    2.44   .03 *
Within Groups    235
Total            242

* Note: Significant at .05 level

Table 13
Written Language Scores by Types of Early Education

Types of Early Education    N    Written Language Scores (SD)

Child Care                  63            6.84 (2.47)
Public Pre-kindergarten     71            4.97 (2.30)
Private Preschool           17            7.50 (3.12)
Other                       14            7.50 (4.19)
Home                        78            7.47 (2.31)
No Response                 1
Total                      244               34.28

Table 14
Post-Hoc Tests (Tukey HSD) by Children's Written Language Skills by
Types of Early Education

                          Subset for Alpha = .05

Expressive Language             1      2

Public Pre-kindergarten        4.97
Child Care                            6.84
Home                                  7.47
Other                                 7.50
Private Preschool                     7.50

Table 15
Analysis of Variance for Socialization by Types of Early Education

Source           df     F      p

Between Groups    7    1.46   .20
Within Groups    235
Total            242

Table 16
Socialization by Types of Early Education

Types of Early Education    N    Socialization (SD)

Child Care                  63      78.13 (8.10)
Public Pre-kindergarten     71      73.55 (6.78)
Private Preschool           17      78.42 (6.72)
Other                       14      80.00 (9.43)
Home                        78      77.58 (7.11)
No Response                 1
Total                      244         387.68

Table 17
Analysis of Variance for Interpersonal Skills by Types of Early
Education

Source           df     F       p

Between Groups    7    2.35   .03 *
Within Groups    235
Total            242

Note: * indicates significant at .05 level

Table 18
Interpersonal Skills by Types of Early Education

Types of Early Education    N    Interpersonal Skills (SD)

Child Care                  63         42.18 (5.48)
Public Pre-kindergarten     71         38.68 (7.31)
Private Preschool           17         41.42 (5.78)
Other                       14         37.75 (3.17)
Home                        78         39.56 (2.39)
No Response                 1
Total                      244            199.59

Table 19
Post-Hoc Tests (Tukey HSD) by Children's Interpersonal Skills by
Types of Early Education

Expressive Language       Subset for Alpha = .05

                                 1       2

Other                          37.75
Public Pre-kindergarten        38.68
Home                           39.56   39.56
Private Preschool                      41.42
Child Care                             42.18

Table 20
Analysis of Variance for Play and Leisure by Types of Early Education

Source           df     F     p

Between Groups    7    .67   .68
Within Groups    235
Total            242

Table 21
Play and Leisure by Types of Early Education

Types of Early Education    N    Play and Leisure (SD)

Child Care                  63       22.32 (1.00)
Public Pre-kindergarten     71       22.63 (1.98)
Private Preschool           17       22.42 (2.12)
Other                       14       25.25 (1.97)
Home                        78       21.65 (3.20)
No Response                 1
Total                      244          114.27

Table 22
Analysis of Variance for Coping Skills by Types of Early Education

Source           df     F      p

Between Groups    7    1.25   .29
Within Groups    235
Total            242

Table 23
Coping Skills by Types of Early Education

Types of Early Education    N    Coping Skills (SD)

Child Care                  63      14.63 (.98)
Public Pre-kindergarten     71      12.73 (1.22)
Private Preschool           17      13.92 (1.09)
Other                       14      16.25 (2.48)
Home                        78      13.37 (1.44)
No Response                 1
Total                      244         70.90