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The utility and validity of the Toddler Home Learning Environment (THLE) scale as an assessment tool in early childhood education and care

The utility and validity of the Toddler Home Learning Environment (THLE) scale as an assessment tool in early childhood education and care
The utility and validity of the Toddler Home Learning Environment (THLE) scale as an assessment tool in early childhood education and care
Objectives: To describe the utility and validity of an assessment tool that measures the pedagogical activities that take place with toddlers in the home. This to improve our understanding of educational trajectories and to foster educational equity.

Perspective: Home Learning Environments (HLE) are well known to shape students’ educational trajectories, long-term outcomes, and facilitate educational equity. Further, we know that early HLEs are particularly important because they can have detectable effects on attainment through to late adolescence and because they can have effects on attainment that are above and beyond those associated with social disadvantage (e.g. Sammons et al., 2014). However, HLEs are less frequently assessed for children under 3 years of age.

Methods: The paper first outlines the evidence base regarding the long-term impacts of HLEs – with a focus on persistent effects from Home Learning Environments in the early years. The Toddler Home Learning Environment (THLE) scale is then described and research results are considered that demonstrate the ability of the THLE to consistently measure caregiver-toddler pedagogical activities at this age and to statistically predict HLEs in the preschool period.

Data Sources & Evidence: The data used in demonstrating the validity of the THLE scale comes from the longitudinal Evaluation of Children’s Centres in England (ECCE] project (see Sylva et al., 2015; Sammons et al., 2015). This study followed 2,608 families and children who were mean age 14 months at study onset. Follow-up that assessed HLE then took place at mean child age 38 months. The THLE was used at mean child age 14 months and the PHLE at 38 months. The THLE was developed by the ECCE researchers as an adaptation of a pre-exiting Preschool HLE measure that was developed by the Effective Provision of Preschool Education (EPPE) project (Sylva, Melhuish, Sammons, Siraj-Blatchford, & Taggart, 2010).

Conclusions: The THLE scale is a reliable and valid early years assessment tool that can statistically predict subsequent home learning environments during the preschool period – these having prior well-established links to improved long term educational outcomes and to effects on attainment above and beyond social disadvantage. As a result, the THLE has substantial potential to help inform the practices of early years’ practitioners, researchers, and policy makers by increasing our understanding of the early drivers of attainment. Educational Importance for Theory, Practice, and Policy: Robust evidence already exists that indicates long-term sizeable impacts of HLEs in the early years for subsequent educational progress and improved educational equity. However, this evidence based is concentrated upon home learning environments during the preschool period from age 3 onwards. We know less about HLEs for the under threes.

References:Sammons, P., Sylva, K., Melhuish, E., Siraj, I., Taggart, B., Smees, R., Toth, K., & Welcomme, W. (2014). Influences on students’ dispositions and well-being in Key Stage 4 at age 16. London, UK: Institute for Education/Department for EducationSammons, P., Hall, J., Smees, R., Goff, J., Sylva, K., Smith, T., Evangelou, M., Eisenstadt, N., & Smith, G. (2015). Evaluation of Children’s Centres in England (ECCE). Strand 4: The impact of Children’s Centres: Studying the effects of Children’s Centres in promoting better Outcomes for young children and their families. Research Report DFE-RR495. London, UK: Department for EducationSylva, K., Goff, J., Hall, J., Eisenstadt, N., Smith, T., Evangelou, M., Smith, G., & Sammons, P. (2015). Evaluation of Children’s Centres in England (ECCE). Strand 3: The organisation, services and reach of Children’s Centres in England. Research Report DFE-RR433. London, UK: Department for EducationSylva, K., Melhuish, E., Sammons, P., Siraj-Blatchford, I., & Taggart, B. (2010). Early childhood matters: Evidence from the Effective Pre-school and Primary Education project. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
toddler-hood development, parent-child interactions, home learning environment, home learning
Hall, James
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Sylva, Kathy
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Sammons, Pamela M
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Smees, Rebecca
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Evangelou, Maria
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Smith, Teresa
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Smith, George
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Goff, Jenny
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Hall, James
29e17a2b-dca0-4b91-be02-2ace4abaa6c4
Sylva, Kathy
0a7a1f5e-c538-405b-a74e-5518d0462d70
Sammons, Pamela M
6e0fda4f-4780-4368-a64e-637cb182428e
Smees, Rebecca
dd2ef65b-59e8-41e3-bbf1-7978e873af97
Evangelou, Maria
86b54370-048b-4e61-9f6a-c3f9bc5ff39d
Smith, Teresa
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Smith, George
77b588ee-d37b-4831-bd12-2c216e2740db
Goff, Jenny
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Hall, James, Sylva, Kathy, Sammons, Pamela M, Smees, Rebecca, Evangelou, Maria, Smith, Teresa, Smith, George and Goff, Jenny (2020) The utility and validity of the Toddler Home Learning Environment (THLE) scale as an assessment tool in early childhood education and care. International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement: 33rd Annual Conference, , Marrakech, Morocco. 06 - 10 Jan 2020.

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)

Abstract

Objectives: To describe the utility and validity of an assessment tool that measures the pedagogical activities that take place with toddlers in the home. This to improve our understanding of educational trajectories and to foster educational equity.

Perspective: Home Learning Environments (HLE) are well known to shape students’ educational trajectories, long-term outcomes, and facilitate educational equity. Further, we know that early HLEs are particularly important because they can have detectable effects on attainment through to late adolescence and because they can have effects on attainment that are above and beyond those associated with social disadvantage (e.g. Sammons et al., 2014). However, HLEs are less frequently assessed for children under 3 years of age.

Methods: The paper first outlines the evidence base regarding the long-term impacts of HLEs – with a focus on persistent effects from Home Learning Environments in the early years. The Toddler Home Learning Environment (THLE) scale is then described and research results are considered that demonstrate the ability of the THLE to consistently measure caregiver-toddler pedagogical activities at this age and to statistically predict HLEs in the preschool period.

Data Sources & Evidence: The data used in demonstrating the validity of the THLE scale comes from the longitudinal Evaluation of Children’s Centres in England (ECCE] project (see Sylva et al., 2015; Sammons et al., 2015). This study followed 2,608 families and children who were mean age 14 months at study onset. Follow-up that assessed HLE then took place at mean child age 38 months. The THLE was used at mean child age 14 months and the PHLE at 38 months. The THLE was developed by the ECCE researchers as an adaptation of a pre-exiting Preschool HLE measure that was developed by the Effective Provision of Preschool Education (EPPE) project (Sylva, Melhuish, Sammons, Siraj-Blatchford, & Taggart, 2010).

Conclusions: The THLE scale is a reliable and valid early years assessment tool that can statistically predict subsequent home learning environments during the preschool period – these having prior well-established links to improved long term educational outcomes and to effects on attainment above and beyond social disadvantage. As a result, the THLE has substantial potential to help inform the practices of early years’ practitioners, researchers, and policy makers by increasing our understanding of the early drivers of attainment. Educational Importance for Theory, Practice, and Policy: Robust evidence already exists that indicates long-term sizeable impacts of HLEs in the early years for subsequent educational progress and improved educational equity. However, this evidence based is concentrated upon home learning environments during the preschool period from age 3 onwards. We know less about HLEs for the under threes.

References:Sammons, P., Sylva, K., Melhuish, E., Siraj, I., Taggart, B., Smees, R., Toth, K., & Welcomme, W. (2014). Influences on students’ dispositions and well-being in Key Stage 4 at age 16. London, UK: Institute for Education/Department for EducationSammons, P., Hall, J., Smees, R., Goff, J., Sylva, K., Smith, T., Evangelou, M., Eisenstadt, N., & Smith, G. (2015). Evaluation of Children’s Centres in England (ECCE). Strand 4: The impact of Children’s Centres: Studying the effects of Children’s Centres in promoting better Outcomes for young children and their families. Research Report DFE-RR495. London, UK: Department for EducationSylva, K., Goff, J., Hall, J., Eisenstadt, N., Smith, T., Evangelou, M., Smith, G., & Sammons, P. (2015). Evaluation of Children’s Centres in England (ECCE). Strand 3: The organisation, services and reach of Children’s Centres in England. Research Report DFE-RR433. London, UK: Department for EducationSylva, K., Melhuish, E., Sammons, P., Siraj-Blatchford, I., & Taggart, B. (2010). Early childhood matters: Evidence from the Effective Pre-school and Primary Education project. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.

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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 13 September 2019
Published date: 9 January 2020
Venue - Dates: International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement: 33rd Annual Conference, , Marrakech, Morocco, 2020-01-06 - 2020-01-10
Keywords: toddler-hood development, parent-child interactions, home learning environment, home learning

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 434588
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/434588
PURE UUID: 2a3021f0-c65a-4cb0-b253-a6d449409a7c
ORCID for James Hall: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-8002-0922

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Date deposited: 02 Oct 2019 16:30
Last modified: 23 Feb 2023 03:11

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Contributors

Author: James Hall ORCID iD
Author: Kathy Sylva
Author: Pamela M Sammons
Author: Rebecca Smees
Author: Maria Evangelou
Author: Teresa Smith
Author: George Smith
Author: Jenny Goff

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