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Special Issue Review

Teachers’ Language Practices and Academic Outcomes of Preschool Children

Science19 Aug 2011Vol 333, Issue 6045pp. 964-967DOI: 10.1126/science.1204526

Abstract

Early childhood programs have long been known to be beneficial to children from low-income backgrounds, but recent studies have cast doubt on their ability to substantially increase the rate of children’s academic achievement. This Review examines research on the role of language in later reading, describes home and classroom factors that foster early language growth, and reviews research on preschool interventions. It argues that one reason interventions are not having as great an impact as desired is because they fail to substantially change the capacity of teachers to support children’s language and associated conceptual knowledge.
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Science
Volume 333 | Issue 6045
19 August 2011

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Published in print: 19 August 2011

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David K. Dickinson
Department of Teaching and Learning, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37203–5721, USA. E-mail: [email protected]

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