Department
Speech-Language Pathology
Format of Presentation
Poster
Research Category
Health Sciences
Description
Language acquisition is impacted greatly in the early years of life by many contributing factors. Children begin to have the conscious ability to acquire, learn, and develop language in exponential capacities around the age of 3-4 years old. These years are vital for the future of individuals' speech and communication. Preschool education is the beginning building blocks that lead to K-12 language learning and development. Socioeconomic statuses differ across all preschool aged children’s homes, consequently affecting the language heard and learned in the household. Our goal is to examine whether the quality of preschool education reduces the language acquisition gap among preschoolers from different socioeconomic backgrounds. To research the preschool’s educational impact upon language in different socioeconomic statuses we would carry out a plan to conduct a survey during the first week of school by sending a questionnaire home for the parents to fill out regarding annual household income. The annual household income of each family would be compared to the rankings of socioeconomic status annual income average rankings in the U.S. Then, the Preschool Language Scale - 5th Edition would be conducted on a class of 3-4 year olds in the preschool in August, and then again in May to compare the results. We will have gathered the socioeconomic statuses of each child while comparing score results to view the growth of language across this timeline.
Recommended Citation
Hannnon, Abby E. Ms; Clark, Kaitlyn Ms; Lewis, Olivia Ms; and Cotton, Catherine L. Ms, "Closing the Gap: Preschool Quality Affect on Language Acquisition Across Socioeconomic Statuses" (2025). Undergraduate Research Conference. 8.
https://athenacommons.muw.edu/urc/2025/posters/8
Included in
Closing the Gap: Preschool Quality Affect on Language Acquisition Across Socioeconomic Statuses
Language acquisition is impacted greatly in the early years of life by many contributing factors. Children begin to have the conscious ability to acquire, learn, and develop language in exponential capacities around the age of 3-4 years old. These years are vital for the future of individuals' speech and communication. Preschool education is the beginning building blocks that lead to K-12 language learning and development. Socioeconomic statuses differ across all preschool aged children’s homes, consequently affecting the language heard and learned in the household. Our goal is to examine whether the quality of preschool education reduces the language acquisition gap among preschoolers from different socioeconomic backgrounds. To research the preschool’s educational impact upon language in different socioeconomic statuses we would carry out a plan to conduct a survey during the first week of school by sending a questionnaire home for the parents to fill out regarding annual household income. The annual household income of each family would be compared to the rankings of socioeconomic status annual income average rankings in the U.S. Then, the Preschool Language Scale - 5th Edition would be conducted on a class of 3-4 year olds in the preschool in August, and then again in May to compare the results. We will have gathered the socioeconomic statuses of each child while comparing score results to view the growth of language across this timeline.