Halliday Simone E, Calkins Susan D, Leerkes Esther M
Department of Psychology, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27412, USA.
Department of Human Development and Family Studies, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27412, USA.
J Exp Child Psychol. 2018 Mar;167:93-116. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2017.10.006. Epub 2017 Nov 28.
Learning engagement is a critical factor for academic achievement and successful school transitioning. However, current methods of assessing learning engagement in young children are limited to teacher report or classroom observation, which may limit the types of research questions one could assess about this construct. The current study investigated the validity of a novel assessment designed to measure behavioral learning engagement among young children in a standardized laboratory setting and examined how learning engagement in the laboratory relates to future classroom adjustment. Preschool-aged children (N = 278) participated in a learning-based Tangrams task and Story sequencing task and were observed based on seven behavioral indicators of engagement. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the construct validity for a behavioral engagement factor composed of six of the original behavioral indicators: attention to instructions, on-task behavior, enthusiasm/energy, persistence, monitoring progress/strategy use, and negative affect. Concurrent validity for this behavioral engagement factor was established through its associations with parent-reported mastery motivation and pre-academic skills in math and literacy measured in the laboratory, and predictive validity was demonstrated through its associations with teacher-reported classroom learning behaviors and performance in math and reading in kindergarten. These associations were found when behavioral engagement was observed during both the nonverbal task and the verbal story sequencing tasks and persisted even after controlling for child minority status, gender, and maternal education. Learning engagement in preschool appears to be successfully measurable in a laboratory setting. This finding has implications for future research on the mechanisms that support successful academic development.
学习参与度是学业成就和顺利过渡到学校的关键因素。然而，目前评估幼儿学习参与度的方法仅限于教师报告或课堂观察，这可能会限制人们可以评估的关于这一概念的研究问题类型。本研究调查了一种新型评估方法的有效性，该方法旨在测量标准化实验室环境中幼儿的行为学习参与度，并研究实验室中的学习参与度与未来课堂适应情况之间的关系。学龄前儿童（N = 278）参与了基于学习的七巧板任务和故事排序任务，并根据七个参与行为指标进行观察。验证性因素分析支持了由六个原始行为指标组成的行为参与度因素的结构效度：对指令的注意力、任务行为、热情/活力、坚持性、监控进展/策略使用以及消极情绪。该行为参与度因素的同时效度通过其与家长报告的掌握动机以及实验室测量的数学和读写学前技能的关联得以确立，预测效度则通过其与教师报告的课堂学习行为以及幼儿园数学和阅读表现的关联得以证明。当在非语言任务和语言故事排序任务中均观察到行为参与度时，这些关联依然存在，并且即使在控制了儿童的少数族裔身份、性别和母亲教育程度之后仍然成立。学龄前儿童的学习参与度似乎可以在实验室环境中成功测量。这一发现对未来关于支持学业成功发展机制的研究具有启示意义。
