From Neurons to Neighborhoods An Update: Workshop Summary (2012) / Chapter Skim
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2 Research Issues in Early Childhood Development
2 Research Issues in Early Childhood Development
Pages 9-24
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Mirsky Professor at Rockefeller University, looked at the exciting work on the biological and neurological consequences of stress. And Deborah Stipek, James Quillen Dean and Professor of Education at Stanford University, discussed emerging work associated with executive functioning in the lives of young children.
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As an example, Guttmacher cited the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, which combines longitudinal data on adolescents' social, economic, psychological, and physical well-being with data on family, neighborhood, community, school, friendships, peer groups, and romantic relationships to study how such factors affect health and achievement. He also cited the National Children's Study, which will allow researchers to examine multiple effects of environmental influences and biological factors on the health and development of approximately 100,000 children across the United States from before birth to age 21.
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This research will include the use of new neuroimaging techniques to explore variation in learning, longitudinal studies of learning that look at the interaction of genetic variation and sociocultural influences, examination of how or if early learning experiences modify the child's genome through epigenetic modification, and the application of new research knowledge to improve early interventions for individuals with learning disabilities. Another important research focus will be neural plasticity -- how neuronal structure and function change in response to experiences.
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In addition, a number of topics cut across all of these themes: • Analytical and measurement tools and methods • Animal and computational models • Bioethics • Bioinformatics • iotechnologies and bioengineering, including high-throughput, B assistive, and related technologies • Developmental trajectories • Differences and disparities across populations • Epigenetics and metagenomics • Functional status • Global health • Implementation science, including health economics • Nutrition • Preventive and personalized medicine • Stem cells • Systems biology • Training and mentoring The intention is to produce a research agenda that is useful not only to NICHD but also to many other organizations that are interested in early childhood development, said Guttmacher. In this way, research will be able
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This input relates both to the scientific opportunities and to the public health impact of research. A sense of the key questions that can be answered would be extremely useful to NICHD.
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Positive stress points toward the existence of a healthy brain architecture, self-esteem, good judgment, and impulse control. Tolerable stress results from the occurrence of adverse life events that are buffered by supportive relationships.
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In addition, other physiological reactions can disrupt brain, metabolic, immune, and cardiovascular function, creating a complex and nonlinear network of stress responses. The brain also governs behavioral responses.
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Low socioeconomic status is associated with poor language skills, poor executive function, and other effects on learning ability. Maltreatment of children has a cascade of consequences that influence cognitive and in
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For example, in rodent models prenatal stress retards the development of the hippocampus, whereas good maternal care improves the emotional state and even seems to affect the lifespan of offspring. With a background of good maternal care, novel experiences can benefit cognitive and social development in rodent models.
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That is a very simple and direct solution to help a lot of people help themselves, and particularly kids." The centrality of the stress response means that interventions to decrease stress and the harmful effects of stress can produce major benefits for society. For example, interventions influencing early childhood development can produce major financial returns through increased earnings to individuals, lower crime rates, savings on special education and welfare, and increased income tax revenues (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 2010a)
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" she asked. Stipek argued that interventions in particular domains can act as particularly effective leverage points, noting that "Piaget taught us that cognitive development is a system of understandings, and that changes in any part of that system are likely to influence changes in other parts of the system." As examples of potentially important leverage points, she discussed verbal skills, social skills, mathematical skills, and the executive functions that underlie many developing skills in young children.
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In this situation, learning predicts social skills better than social skills predict learning. This does not imply that social skills are unimportant, Stipek emphasized, but the common assumption that social skills cause academic skills needs further analysis.
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Stipek observed, "It is not that we don't have the tools, but we have not been convinced of the value of mathematics." If this is a productive leverage point, as current research suggests it might be, teachers and caregivers will need to develop skills to help children develop fundamental mathematical skills. Executive Functions As a final example of a potential leverage point, Stipek spoke more broadly about executive functions (see Figure 2-3)
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They need to inhibit the immediate action that comes to mind and consider alternatives. Researchers need to study executive functions to learn more about how they influence behavior in both the learning context and the social context, Stipek said.
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their child," she noted. Discussion Stipek was asked during the discussion session how executive functions can be measured in preschoolers.
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For example, a program at Stanford called Jumpstart gives students a year-long seminar in early childhood education along with 6 hours per week spent in a low-income community working with preschool children. "These bright, energetic undergraduates are totally hooked by the time they finish the year," Stipek said, "if they are not going into early childhood education, many of them end up going into K-12 education." However, they will not stay in early childhood education unless their pay and the respect they are accorded by the rest of society improves.
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