Language-Supportive Strategies and their Associations with Child Language Outcomes During Instructional Time

In this dissertation, I conducted a correlational study that examined the frequency of educator-delivered language-supportive strategies during instructional time in public Kindergarten classrooms. Additionally, I explored the association between educators’ use of language-supportive strategies and child language outcomes. To index child language, I assessed a sample of 96 children from 10 different classrooms on standardized measures of expressive and receptive language. I recruited 10 educators to participate in the present study and assessed their use of language-supportive strategies during instructional time in the classroom through transcription and coding of audio recordings. The educators completed demographic forms for themselves as well as their 10 children who participated in the study. Descriptive data revealed educators used close-ended questions most frequently and open-ended questions least frequently during instructional time. The results of the path analyses reported that educators’ use of Scaffoldingwas associated with child language outcomes. This study provides an exploratory analysis of educators’ use of language-supportive strategies and their relation to child language outcomes. I conclude by discussing future research and the implications of these findings for practice and policy