Understanding the Early Years - Early Childhood Development in North York

6. What factors affect these children's outcomes?

Positive parenting practices were associated with positive behavioural development in children.
A mother's level of education was strongly related to her child's level of vocabulary development.
Use of educational resources was linked to enhanced development in children.
Lower scores on learning assessments were seen in children whose families felt they encountered many barriers to participation in community programs and services.

All findings discussed in this chapter are based on the results of logistic regression analysis⁹ on the sample of children whose parents responded to the NLSCY.

Behaviours

Most children in North York exhibited signs of positive behaviours, but a small percentage showed signs of behavioural problems. In order to understand the factors affecting behavioural problems among children in the sample, two groups were examined in greater detail. The behaviour of the children in the first group was classified as being highly positive or pro-social, while the children in the other group had problems in two or more of the additional five areas of behavioural development (hyperactivity, emotional disorder, physical or indirect aggression and property offences).¹⁰

Each group was analyzed in terms of the child's personal characteristics (e.g., gender, age) the family's characteristics (e.g., mother' education, parenting style) and neighbourhood characteristics (e.g., safety, sports programs).

Factors associated with pro-social behaviours

Children who exhibit higher levels of pro-social behaviours are more likely to try to help and comfort others. They may offer to help pick up objects that another child has dropped or offer to try to help a child who is having trouble with a difficult task, and perhaps also invite their peers to join in a game.

Children who used educational centres or workshops (such as science centres or other learning programs) where they may get the opportunity to interact with other children of the same age while they learn about new things, were much more likely to show these positive behaviours. This was the strongest factor associated with pro-social behaviour in the children. Girls were also more likely to exhibit these types of behaviours than boys.

The manner in which a child's parent reacts when the child breaks rules or does things they are not supposed to also seems to be important for pro-social behaviour. The more often a parent reacts by trying to calmly discuss the problem, by describing alternative ways of behaving, and by avoiding yelling and scolding their child, the more likely that child is to show pro-social behaviours.

Figure 11 ? Which children are more likely to exhibit pro-social behaviours?

Factors associated with behaviour problems

In general, children were less likely to exhibit behaviour problems in the following circumstances:¹¹

Their parents had more effective parenting styles.
They lived in neighbourhoods that had many other families with children.
They did not have a long-term condition such as bronchitis, epilepsy or allergies.
Their families had higher levels of family functioning (they communicated well, were able to work together to solve problems, had good relationships with and were responsive to one another).
Their families had attended religious services or meetings in the past year.
They were rated by their parents as being healthier.
The language they first learned at home and that they still understood was a language other than English or French.
And finally, girls were less likely to show signs of behavioural problems than boys.

Learning and language

Factors associated with vocabulary development

Many factors seemed to be related to a child's vocabulary development (as measured by the PPVT-R). The strongest factor by far was the level of education of the child's mother. Mothers who had graduated from high school were much more likely to have children with normal or above-normal levels of vocabulary development. Those who had completed a university degree (or more) were even more likely to have children who scored in the higher ranges on vocabulary development.

Not surprisingly, children who were less able to speak English well enough to conduct a conversation were significantly less likely to have scored well on this assessment, which tests vocabulary in English.

Vocabulary development was also influenced by children's use of educational resources within their communities, such as libraries, book clubs, literacy programs, educational centres or workshops, and family and parent resource centres. Not only did it matter whether or not a child ever used these resources, it mattered how often they used them. The children who had used more of these kinds of resources more often were those who did better in the measure of vocabulary development.

Figure 12 ? Factors associated with vocabulary development

Other factors appeared to be associated with better vocabulary development. The frequency with which a parent reads to a child, for example, or a child's use of sports and recreational resources within his or her community can be important. However, when the factors were all analyzed together, the mother's education, the child's knowledge of English and the child's use of educational resources had the strongest impact on vocabulary skills.

Factors associated with development and learning outcomes

What factors were associated with average or above-average scores on this learning/development assessment (as measured by the Who Am I?)? Results are listed in order of the strength of their relationship with Who Am I? scores, with the strongest factors coming first.

Girls were more likely to score higher.
Six year olds performed better than five year olds.
Children whose mothers had immigrated to Canada (as compared to children whose mothers were born in Canada) scored more favourably.
Children whose parents were involved in community voluntary organizations such as a school association scored better.
Children who read on a daily basis scored better than those who read to themselves only weekly, monthly or rarely.
Children whose parents reported that they faced more barriers to participating in community organizations were less likely to score in the average or above-average range. Barriers they faced included lack of time, costs associated with program participation, lack of awareness about community resources, or transportation difficulties.

Summing up

Knowing which factors are associated with positive child development offers choices for interventions that are more likely to succeed.

Child factors

Knowledge of English as a second language is important for learning at school and, in North York, language was an important factor associated with the children's levels of language development. Although children who could not speak English were more likely to have problems on the vocabulary assessments, this was not the case in the Who Am I? instrument, which was a much broader measure of learning and development. This could be an indication that these children will perform better on similar assessments as their English improves. These same children were also more likely to be doing better on the behavioural assessments than their English-and French-speaking counterparts, perhaps because of different cultural norms for child rearing.

Family factors

Children whose families were functioning positively, where parents were parenting in a more positive and rational manner, and where the educational levels were higher, had better outcomes as measured by most of these assessments. When considered with all other factors, income did not appear to be a crucial factor. However, family characteristics that can be associated with income, such as levels of education and health status, were related to these outcomes. Support for families can be a key factor for children's development. This support can come through increased information (i.e., about the importance of reading with their children), skill development (i.e., to enhance parenting skills), support programs for families who are having problems, and encouragement of those who are not.

Community factors

Several community characteristics also played a role, even after the effects of family characteristics were considered. Children were more likely to be well behaved if they lived in neighbourhoods with many other families with children, possibly because of the opportunities for social interaction this can provide. Better outcomes were also seen in children who read every day and were more involved in their communities by making use of libraries, book clubs, and educational centres, as well as those who had parents who were involved in voluntary organizations.

Barriers to community participation are a real issue for many families. The types of barriers that families face vary a great deal and may include economic, physical and social obstacles. Their effects, however, are identifiable and cumulative. The more barriers a family faced, the more likely it was that their child would experience problems. This emphasizes the need to promote social interaction and integration within a community, to promote awareness about community resources and their importance, to ensure resources are available, and to address barriers to access.

⁹Logistic regression is an appropriate statistical technique to examine the relationship between the characteristics of a child, his or her family and community and his or her likelihood of having a certain outcome (e.g., behaviour problems).
¹⁰These children scored below the score of the lowest 20^th percentile nationally on two or more of the behavioural scales (excluding the pro-social behaviour scale).
¹¹Factors with the strongest relationships to children's behaviour problems are listed first.

Contents

Understanding the Early Years - Early Childhood Development in North York - May 2001