1.5. Research aims
Using a new sample of children, we examined the relations between the first and second years in preschool and the level and growth of self-regulation, early literacy skills (i.e., letter knowledge and decoding) and language (i.e., vocabulary). Given the current focus on early literacy instruction in preschool, we hypothesized that children who were starting their second year of preschool (i.e., having experienced one year of preschool) would exhibit greater decoding and letter knowledge skills compared to same-age chil- dren starting their first year of preschool. We also hypothesized that children starting their second year of preschool would dis- play higher levels of self-regulation than same-age children starting their first year of preschool, as formal school settings may place many more behavioral demands on children than home settings, encouraging development of self-regulation skills. In contrast, we expected children of the same-age starting their first and second years of preschool to have similar vocabularies, as vocabulary is not as heavily emphasized as other skills during children’s first years in school and may be supported through activities present in both home and school settings (e.g., through play). In all cases, regardless of level differences, we expected children to demon- strate similar growth across the school year in both the first and second years of preschool. That is, even though children attend- ing their second year of preschool were preparing to make the transition to kindergarten, we expected equivalent amounts of self- regulation, literacy, and vocabulary growth during both years of preschool.
2. Method
2.1. Participants
Children (n = 76) were part of a longitudinal study of social and academic development in a suburban school district in a Mid- west state. All children were four years of age in the fall of the study year (M = 3.63; SD = .11). The sample was divided into two sub-groups based on the district-wide cutoff date for entry into preschool, which was Dec 1st. The final sample included 46 chil- dren attending their first year of preschool (birthdates two months before or on December 1) and 30 children attending their sec- ond year of preschool (birthdates within two months following December 1). It is important to note that only one-third of chil- dren attending preschool at that time were eligible for the current study. Thus, children in this study were almost identical in age,
but had different educational experiences. This between-children design allowed us to examine developmental and schooling influ- ences separately. Children were predominately Caucasian (83%), native English speakers (95%), and from middle-to-upper-SES backgrounds. Fifty-seven percent of children were female; the pro- portion of males and females did not differ for children beginning their first or second year of preschool ( 2 = .04, p = .84). Children who were attending their first year of preschool had, on aver- age, .65 years (SD = 1.18) of previous child care experiences and those attending their second year of preschool had an average 1.99 years (SD = 2.48) of previous experience in child care. Thus, chil- dren beginning their second year of preschool had, on average, a year more child care experiences than children starting their first year in preschool.