SCHOOLING AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT: NATURAL EXPERIMENT

拟议的研究有四个广泛的目标。 首先，使用自然 实验，被称为学校切断，这项工作旨在深入研究 儿童认知变化的性质、时间和幅度 从幼儿园到小学 第二，研究将奋进 追踪学校（和暑假）经历的影响 随着年龄的增长， 研究期间。 第三，研究将更加深入， 较长的年龄范围-学校分界线的可行性和敏感性 理解认知增长的本质和来源的方法。 第四，本研究将扩展分层线性模型的适用性 新的设计和方法的模型。 两组孩子（幼儿园的老人和一年级的年轻人）， 错过与刚刚作出的第一级截断，将被选中。 的 各组将在实足年龄和其他相关方面密切匹配 背景变量 孩子们将获得一系列识字技能 尝试（阅读、数学、语言、记忆和一般知识） 每年的开始和结束。 所取得进展程度的比较 幼儿园的老孩子和一年级的小孩子， 识字技能的变化是由与学校有关的或 与年龄有关的影响。 夏季期间的类似比较将 研究与家庭有关的经历的群体差异。 与此同时， 将收集课堂活动的详细信息， 为了更直接地研究它们之间的关系， 教学活动和识字技能的发展。 作为 在这里开发的框架中，一些新的发展现象可能 包括间接效应、分离效应和延迟效应。 转移效应 从拟议的研究结果将产生更多的 全面了解学龄早期的认知发展情况 孩子 研究结果将阐明复杂，错综复杂的方式， 发展变化可能发生在同一个孩子身上。 此外，研究 将有助于说明进行坚实的，经验性的 在一个复杂的，多层次的，相互关联的框架内进行研究， 发展模式。 最后，该研究对以下方面具有影响 教育政策与实践。 调查结果将解决最近 关于在校年龄相对较小的儿童 入学有学术问题的风险。 此外，结果将产生 关于孩子们正在获得的各种识字技能的宝贵信息 以及重要的识字技能是否在学校被忽视， 课程。

The proposed research has four broad aims. First, using a natural experiment, termed school cut-off, the work seeks to examine in depth the nature, timing, and magnitude of cognitive changes in children from kindergarten through elementary school. Second the research will endeavor to trace the influences of experiences in school (and during the summer) that parallel (and might mediate) changes in cognitive skills over the age period studied. Third, the research will explore in greater depth and over a longer age range the feasibility and sensitivity of the school cut-off method for understanding the nature and sources of cognitive growth. Fourth, the research will extend the applicability of Hierarchical Linear Models to new designs and methods. Two groups of children (old kindergarten and young first grade) who just miss versus just make athe cut-off for first grade, will be selected. The groups will be closely matched on chronological age and other relevant background variables. Children will receive a battery of literacy skills taste (reading, math, language, memory, and general knowledge) at the beginning and end of each year. Comparisons of the degree of progress made by old kindergarten and young first grade children, will reveal the extent to which changes in literacy skills were produced by schooling-related or age-related influences. Similar comparison during the summer period will examine group differences in family-related experiences. Concurrently, detailed information will be gathered on classroom activities and characteristics in an attempt to examine more directly the relation between instructional activities and growth of literacy skills. As an outgrowth of the framework developed here, a number of novel developmental phenomena may be elaborated including indirect effects, dissociation effects, and delayed transfer effects. Results from the proposed study will yield a more complete and comprehensive picture of cognitive growth in early school-age children. Findings will illuminate the complex, intricate ways that developmental change may proceed in the same child. Further, the study will help to illustrate the feasibility of conducting solid, empirical research within the framework of a complex, multi-level, interfactional model of development. Finally, the research has implications for educational policy and practice. Findings will address a recent controversy regarding whether children who are relatively young at school entry are at risk for academic problems. In addition, results will yield valuable information on the kinds of literacy skills children are acquiring in school and whether important literacy skills are being neglect ed in the curriculum.