Preparing Preschool Children for Successful Classroom Relationships

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1 Preparing Preschool Children for Successful Classroom Relationships Dave G ord ey, PhD Candidate Dire ctor of Clinical Re s e arch and Profe s sional Re lations

2 Disclosures Financial support for this project provided by Oticon and Oticon Medical. I am an employee of Oticon A/S.

3 Today s Children with Hearing Loss Newborn Hearing Screening children who are identified early, and receive intervention with appropriate hearing technology can achieve communication outcomes similar to hearing peers (Yoshinaga-Itano, 2003). Better Hearing Technology for children and adults, innovations in digital hearing aids and cochlear implants mean more access to auditory information and for young children, more opportunities to develop age appropriate spoken language (Cole & Flexer, 2007). Education - Today, most deaf and hard of hearing students find themselves at their neighborhood schools, interacting with hearing classmates and being educated by hearing education professionals (Angelides & Aravi, 2006; CRIDE, 2014).

4 Why Prepare Preschool-Age Children with Hearing Loss for their Elementary School Classroom? Preschool programs are family focused, school programs are child focused. Higher expectations for social skills and behaviour. Kindergarten is primarily about the teacher-student relationship. Moving from play activities to those that are more academic. Different service levels within preschool compared to school. Moving to environment with more students, more policy, more complex infrastructure. Uncertainty of how child s needs will be met, the structure of classroom, and teacher s knowledge level of working with students with hearing loss.

5 Why Prepare Preschool-Age Children with Hearing Loss for their Elementary School Classroom? Practicing Relationship Building and Social Skills: Research on Children with Typical Hearing There is growing evidence to suggest that positive teacher-student relationships result in increased engagement and improvement in academic and social outcomes (Decker, Dona, & Christenson, 2007). Understanding the impact and dynamics of teacher-student relationships is most important in early elementary grades, as this period is when students have the closest relationship with their teacher (Pianta, 1994). As Birch and Ladd (1997) noted, students with whom the teacher described as having a close relationship were more likely to display academic readiness, be more independent learners and have a positive perspective on school.

6 Why Prepare Preschool-Age Children with Hearing Loss for their Elementary School Classroom? Little is known about the social relationships and social contexts of children with hearing loss and their classroom teacher, and how these dynamics impact school success. Problems with social interactions at school both between the student and his or her teacher, and between the student and his or her peers have long been recognized to be an issue for students with hearing loss (Dalton, 2011; Stinson, Whitmire & Kluwin, 1996).

7 Research Question What are the facilitators and barriers for the development of teacher-student relationships in children with hearing loss in their early elementary school classroom?

8 Self Determination Theory (Ryan & Deci, 1991) Children have a natural motivational propensity to take in behaviours and to make them their own. There are three identified needs that are essential for optimal functioning, integration, constructive social development and personal well-being. Relatedness, competency and autonomy.

9 Self Determination Relatedness can be thought of as the desire or need to have positive, understanding relationships that will facilitate motivation and growth. It is the starting point for selfdetermined functioning. Competency can be described as a general desire to succeed in achievement-tasks and to perceive one s own success. It is the process of active engagement to learn about oneself and the environment and therefore to feel in control and successful. Experiencing a sense of autonomy and choicefulness is critical for peoples optimal functioning. Autonomy is helped by a supportive, non-coercive family climate.

10 Self-Determination Self-determination theory was used as a comprehensive framework to explain the development and wellbeing of students with hearing loss. The notion of relatedness, a key concept in self-determination, and was applicable to this research as it supports the importance of school relationships for individuals from early childhood, to adolescence and into adulthood.

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