Search

As implementation scientists know well, evaluating fidelity is essential for researchers and practitioners when making sure they implement a plan as intended. However, the concept of fidelity remains unclear, given that various conceptualizations exist within and across disciplines. To help researchers and practitioners understand fidelity, a conceptual framework integrating definitions within and across disciplines is needed. The study we report on here aimed to review the many different terms for and definitions of fidelity to create such an integrated interdisciplinary conceptual framework. We performed a rigorous and structured literature review, known as a scoping review. The 77 documents included in this scoping review: (1) defined fidelity by the degree to which a plan is implemented as planned, and (2) discussed fidelity as a concept, definition, conceptualization, facet, dimension, conceptual framework, model, or theoretical model. We used techniques that will be familiar to interdisciplinarians to find the commonalities amid the differences, allowing us to propose an integrated framework for this sort of endeavor. The conceptual framework we propose includes consideration of levels, dimensions, and relationships between key terms in the reviewed literature. It also clarifies the concept of fidelity and provides details regarding reliable measures to evaluate it. This framework can be used by those in all disciplines seeking to assess fidelity. And we think it will be especially helpful to those working in interdisciplinary teams.

Introduction Objective Design Findings Conclusion Indigenous children may be at higher risk of being misdiagnosed with speech‐language difficulties due to Eurocentric practices in health care and education. The use of conventional speech pathology assessment practices contributes to inappropriate disorder identification, further stigmatising a vulnerable population. Few resources are available for speech pathologists, which examine the cultural and linguistic relevance of assessments for this population.To provide important features for speech pathologists to account for when building assessment plans for Indigenous children.This comprehensive scoping literature review was completed using the Arksey and O'Malley 6‐step methodological framework, including the optional consultation exercise, and reported using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta‐Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA‐ScR) guidelines. To be included, studies needed to have been published since 2000, discuss speech‐language assessments and involve a significant proportion of Indigenous participants under 7 years old.Three features were extracted from 32 studies that discussed First Nations, Métis, Inuit, Native American, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities: using a battery of resources including alternative approaches, ensuring authenticity and cultural relevance, and considering a child's linguistic characteristics.While there remains a need to adapt according to a specific child's reality, this study provides a guideline for all allied health clinicians when they are building their culturally and linguistically relevant assessment plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nursery rhymes provide a unique learning context for preschoolers in regard to their emergent literacy and musical development. According to Vygotsky's social constructivist theory (1978), in order for learning to occur, children must face challenges, and adults must provide support to guide them toward mastery of new skills. The current pilot study began with the aim of documenting teachers' reactions to nursery rhymes in relation to their level of difficulty. Eighty-eight kindergarten teachers were asked to use the new nursery rhymes in their classrooms. Then, they were asked fill out a questionnaire to document their reactions and their ratings of the linguistic and musical difficulty. Teachers' reactions were measured by their overall impression of the nursery rhymes, their perception of pupils' enjoyment of the nursery rhymes and the time they spent using these nursery rhymes in their classrooms. The results revealed that the teachers tended to have a better impression of the nursery rhymes, perceive their pupils' enjoyment of the nursery rhymes as more positive, and spend more time on those nursery rhymes judged the easiest in regard to their vocabulary and their rhythm. According to Ezell and Justice (2005), by putting more emphasis on easier nursery rhymes, teachers might target only what children have already mastered, leaving less opportunity for new emergent literacy and music skills to develop. The results point to the necessity of improving educators' training in regard to the use of nursery rhymes by focusing on the educational opportunities provided by linguistic and musical challenges in nursery rhymes, an important starting point for explicit instruction and scaffolding (Bruner, 1983).

While previous research has shown that language use in the home is an important factor in bilingual language development, little research has focused on how specific language strategies used by parents relate to bilingual children's language exposure and vocabulary development. Yet, for parents, this information has the potential to inform their day-to-day decisions about language use in their home. The present study aims to contribute to this understanding by applying a Bioecological Systems Model to understand how language use within the community and within the family influenced young children's amount of language exposure and vocabulary abilities. A total of 51 French-English bilingual four-year-old Canadian children participated in the present study. Children's exposure to each language was measured through parent reports, and their vocabulary was assessed in each language. Differences in community context were not a significant predictor of the amount of exposure or vocabulary abilities. Family language strategies predicted vocabulary scores in English but not French, whereas the amount of exposure predicted vocabulary scores in French but not English. These findings suggest that, in the preschool years, family language use strategies and amount of exposure impact vocabulary development and that their role differs based on context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study compares the effects of two shared storybook reading (SSR) interventions on language and emergent literacy skills of low-income preschoolers. The control intervention targeted language and print awareness, skills for which there is strong evidence of the effect of SSR. The experimental intervention added a focus on phonological awareness, a skill for which there is less evidence of the effect of SSR. Following the interventions, results indicated that the experimental group (n = 10) outperformed the control group (n = 13) on phonological awareness scores, but not on vocabulary and print awareness scores. The study also compared the outcomes of the experimental intervention for the low-income participants with the skills of higher-income preschoolers who did not receive intervention. The low-income children in the experimental condition outperformed their higher-income peers (n = 12) on all three measures. The experimental intervention offers promising techniques for SSR activities in childcare centres. (Contains 3 tables.)

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of a 2-day in-service education program for (a) promoting the use of two emergent literacy strategies by early childhood educators and (b) increasing children's responses to these strategies. Method: Sixteen early childhood educators were randomly assigned to an experimental and a control group. The experimental in-service program sought to increase educators' use of abstract utterances and print references. Educators were videotaped with small groups of preschoolers during storybook reading and a post-story craft activity. Pretest and posttest videotapes were coded to yield rates of abstract language, verbal print references, and children's responses. Results: In comparison to the control group, educators in the experimental program used more abstract utterances that elicited talk about emotions and children's past experiences during storybook reading. They also used significantly more print references during a post-story craft activity. In addition, children in the experimental group responded more often with appropriate responses to abstract utterances and print references in comparison to children in the control group. Conclusion: A 2-day in-service education program resulted in short-term behavioral changes in educators' use of abstract language and print references. Suggestions for improving instruction include providing opportunities for classroom practice with feedback, modeling the use of strategies in classroom routines, and long-term mentoring of educators to promote retention of gains.