7 results on '"Goldfeld, Sharon"'
Search Results
2. Profiles of Mental Health Competence and Difficulties as Predictors of Children’s Early Learning.
- Author
-
O’Connor, Elodie, O’Connor, Meredith, Gray, Sarah, and Goldfeld, Sharon
- Abstract
There is increasing acknowledgement of the importance of the early years of school in laying the foundations for children’s learning pathways, and interest in the role of mental health in promoting positive early learning experiences. Understanding child mental health requires consideration of both mental health competence and mental health difficulties. The aim of this paper was to determine how profiles of competence and difficulties relate to children’s early learning skills in their first year of school. Cross-sectional data from a population census was used to explore whether children’s mental health profile (the combination of competence and difficulties) predicted key domains of early learning. In 2015, the Australian Early Development Census (a teacher-rated measure of child development) was completed for 96.5% of Australian children in their first year of schooling (N = 302,003; M = 5 years, 7 months of age). Logistic regression analyses revealed that mental health profiles were strongly related to two key domains of early learning: language and cognitive skills, and communication skills and general knowledge. Anything less than the optimal high competence with low difficulties profile was associated with substantially poorer early learning skills (OR 2.17, p < .001 to OR 67.75, p < .001). These results suggest that profiles of mental health competence and difficulties are a salient factor as children begin school, and illustrate the importance of recognising both competence and difficulties when considering the mental health of young children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2018
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
3. The role of preschool in promoting children’s healthy development: Evidence from an Australian population cohort.
- Author
-
Goldfeld, Sharon, O'Connor, Elodie, O'Connor, Meredith, Sayers, Mary, Moore, Tim, Kvalsvig, Amanda, and Brinkman, Sally
- Subjects
- *
EDUCATIONAL quality , *CHILDREN'S health , *PRESCHOOL administration , *CHILD development , *LOGISTIC regression analysis - Abstract
A growing body of evidence suggests that engagement with quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) programs such as preschool can enhance children’s early development. The Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) provides a unique opportunity to explore the relationship between ECEC and children’s developmental outcomes in a full population cohort of Australian school entrants. The AEDC is a teacher-rated checklist that provides data on ECEC experiences in the year before starting school, as well as five important domains of child development at school entry: physical health and wellbeing, social competence, emotional maturity, language and cognitive skills, and communication skills and general knowledge. In 2009, the AEDC was completed for 97.5% of Australian children in their first year of formal schooling ( N = 261,147; M = 5 years, 7 months of age). Logistic regression analyses revealed that attendance at preschool was associated with reduced odds (OR = 0.69, p < 0.001 to OR = 0.40, p < 0.001) of being in the vulnerable range (<10th percentile) on four of the five AEDC domains (with the exception of emotional maturity; OR = 0.89, p = 0.002), compared to other ECEC experiences, or care exclusively by parents. Subsequent analyses revealed that this effect was evident for children living in both advantaged and disadvantaged communities. Together, the results suggest that engagement with preschool programs in Australia may present a plausible, equitable, and modifiable approach to improving children's developmental outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2016
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
4. Early development of emerging and English-proficient bilingual children at school entry in an Australian population cohort.
- Author
-
Goldfeld, Sharon, O’Connor, Meredith, Mithen, Johanna, Sayers, Mary, and Brinkman, Sally
- Subjects
- *
CHILDREN'S language , *CHILD development , *SOCIAL skills in children , *CHILDREN'S health , *WELL-being , *LOGISTIC regression analysis - Abstract
Children who enter school with limited proficiency in the language of instruction face a range of challenges in negotiating this new context, yet limited data have been available to describe the early developmental outcomes of this subpopulation in the Australian context. The Australian Early Development Index (AEDI) is a teacher-rated checklist that measures five important domains of child development: physical health and wellbeing, social competence, emotional maturity, language and cognitive skills, and communication skills and general knowledge. In 2009, the AEDI was completed for 97.5% of Australian children in their first year of schooling (N = 261,147; M = 5 years, 7 months of age), providing a unique opportunity to explore the cross-sectional associations between language background, proficiency in English, and early developmental outcomes at the population-level. Logistic regression analyses revealed that, compared to their peers from English-speaking backgrounds, bilingual children who were not yet proficient in English had substantially higher odds of being in the “vulnerable” range (bottom 10th percentile) on the AEDI domains (OR = 2.88, p < .001, to OR = 7.49, p < .001), whereas English-proficient bilingual children had equal or slightly lower odds (OR = .84, p < .001, to OR = .97, ns). Future research with longitudinal data is now needed to establish causal pathways and explore long term outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2014
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
5. Trends in preschool attendance in Australia following major policy reform: Updated evidence six years following a commitment to universal access.
- Author
-
O'Connor, Meredith, O'Connor, Elodie, Gray, Sarah, and Goldfeld, Sharon
- Subjects
- *
PRESCHOOL children , *POOR children , *SCHOOL year , *REFORMS , *ATTENDANCE , *CONCEPTUAL structures - Abstract
Major policy reforms were instigated in 2008 in Australia to ensure that all children have access to a preschool program in the year before starting school. The Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) provides a means of monitoring the impact of these reforms at the population level, as teachers of all children in their first year of school retrospectively report on children's preschool experiences every three years. Early indications from AEDC data spanning the preschool years of 2008–2011 indicated that the proportion of children attending preschool remained relatively stable over this period. In this short communication, we update this with analysis of preschool trends from 2008 to 2014. We find evidence of increasing preschool attendance over this longer time frame (80.43% in 2008, compared to 91.30% in 2014; OR 2.53, 99% CI 2.44–2.62). Consistent with earlier data, children from disadvantaged communities had higher odds of non-attendance, compared to those living in the most advantaged communities (OR 2.94, 99% CI 2.74–3.15). In 2014, children who did not attend preschool were also disproportionately Indigenous and from non-English speaking backgrounds. Findings suggest that participation in preschool appears to have increased, concurrent to government efforts to promote participation through universal access. Engaging the most vulnerable families in preschool programs remains a major challenge that requires continued policy focus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
6. Preschool attendance trends in Australia: Evidence from two sequential population cohorts.
- Author
-
O’Connor, Meredith, Gray, Sarah, Tarasuik, Joanne, O’Connor, Elodie, Kvalsvig, Amanda, Incledon, Emily, and Goldfeld, Sharon
- Subjects
- *
SCHOOL attendance , *PRESCHOOL administration , *SCHOOLS , *COHORT analysis , *CHILDREN'S health - Abstract
Participation in a preschool program in the year before starting school can promote children’s healthy development, and has the potential to reduce inequities in developmental outcomes for at-risk subpopulations. In Australia, boosting preschool attendance has emerged as a national policy priority. In this paper, we draw on data from the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) to describe preschool attendance in two sequential population cohorts, with preschool experiences in 2008 and 2011 reported retrospectively by teachers of children in their first year of school. Overall, findings show that the proportion of children attending preschool remained relatively stable between the two AEDC cohorts (in 2008, preschool attendance ranged from 57.0% to 85.8% across the states and territories, while in 2011, attendance ranged from 49.2% to 93.7%). At a subpopulation level, children from non-English speaking and Indigenous backgrounds and children living in disadvantaged communities all had substantially higher odds of not attending preschool in both 2008 and 2011. These findings highlight the need to maintain policy attention on efforts to further reduce barriers to preschool access for at-risk subpopulations, and the value of monitoring population trends in preschool attendance to better inform policy and service provision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2016
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
7. The role of preschool in promoting children's healthy development: evidence from an Australian population cohort
- Author
-
Mary Sayers, Amanda Kvalsvig, Elodie O'Connor, Tim Moore, Meredith O'Connor, Sally Brinkman, Sharon Goldfeld, Goldfeld, Sharon, O'Connor, Elodie, O'Connor, Meredith, Sayers, Mary, Moore, Tim, Kvalsvig, Amanda, and Brinkman, Sally
- Subjects
Early childhood education ,Sociology and Political Science ,Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) ,Psychology, Developmental ,preschool ,Education ,Developmental psychology ,Emotional Maturity ,Developmental and Educational Psychology ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,Cognitive skill ,05 social sciences ,Attendance ,050301 education ,disadvantage ,transition to school ,Child development ,Education & Educational Research ,Australian Early Development Index (AEDI) ,early childhood education and care (ECEC) ,Disadvantaged ,developmental vulnerability ,Cohort ,Social competence ,Psychology ,0503 education ,050104 developmental & child psychology - Abstract
A growing body of evidence suggests that engagement with quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) programs such as preschool can enhance children's early development. The Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) provides a unique opportunity to explore the relationship between ECEC and children's developmental outcomes in a full population cohort of Australian school entrants. The AEDC is a teacher-rated checklist that provides data on ECEC experiences in the year before starting school, as well as five important domains of child development at school entry: physical health and wellbeing, social competence, emotional maturity, language and cognitive skills, and communication skills and general knowledge. In 2009, the AEDC was completed for 97.5% of Australian children in their first year of formal schooling (N=261,147; M=5 years, 7 months of age). Logistic regression analyses revealed that attendance at preschool was associated with reduced odds (OR=0.69, p
- Published
- 2016
Catalog
Discovery Service for Jio Institute Digital Library
For full access to our library's resources, please sign in.