Intra- and Inter-Group Differences in the Cognitive Skills of Toddler Twins with Birth Weight Discordance: The Need to Enhance Their Future from Early Education

Abstract

Strengthening of early schooling enhances Equal and Inclusive Education (Sustainable Development Goal 4). Early education protects infant development and learning, especially for children suffering from pathologies and risk factors, such as twin birth weight discordance (BWD). These children—particularly the lighter twin—frequently show disadvantages in their cognitive skills. However, research about this issue is particularly scarce. The aims of this study were to (1) analyze the development of cognitive skills in each type of birth weight discordant twins (heavier and lighter ones) at 18, 21, and 24 months; and (2) discover whether there were differences between the two groups of twins in their cognitive skills. A nomothetic, follow-up, and multidimensional observational design was used. The cognitive skills of 32 birth weight discordant twins were observed while they played at 18, 21, and 24 months. The T-pattern analysis was performed using Thème software (Reykjavík, Iceland) to detect the sequential and temporal structure of infant behavior; indicative of cognitive skills. Results showed: (1) longitudinal intra-group differences in both groups of twins; and (2) some inter-group differences, mainly favoring the heavier twins. These results must be considered for designing early educational practices that allow all twins to be prepared for successful future learning.

New insights into the behavioral structure of Pikler educators: An application of T-pattern detection and analysis with THEME

“…The amount of different event-types, interpreted as behavior variability, shows that the PikLEd expert constantly adjusts to each moment, circumstance and child (Kàllò, 2016;Hevesi, 2018). If one of the defining aspects of early education is the educators' capacity to adapt their practice to the children's basic needs (Durlak, 2010;Escolano-Pérez, 2020), then PikLEd prioritizes the establishment of a close, continued relationship between the educator and the children in her/his care. In this way, everyday interactions can be furnished with the particular and individualized traits that come from mutual knowledge and which are so necessary at early ages (Falk, 2008).…”

“…Over the last few decades, early childhood schooling (0-3 years of age) has grown exponentially to become a generalized reality (European Commission, 2019). This has given rise to an increase in studies centered on the assessment of educational programs and interventions in nursery schools (Kaufman et al, 2015;Escolano-Pérez, 2020). A number of these studies warn of poor quality in such centers, especially in terms of educator-child interaction (Turnbull et al, 2009;Durlak, 2010;Hallam et al, 2016).…”

“…This methodological option offers valuable procedural resources for the study of daily life in the classroom and the adultchild relationships that are established therein (Anguera, 2001a). It also provides the objectivity and rigor essential for educational assessment, whilst at the same time affording the necessary flexibility for capturing the many, often complex processes of development and early learning in real life environments (Anguera, 2001b;Herrán, 2008;Early Head Start National Resource Center, 2013;Escolano-Pérez et al, 2017;Escolano-Pérez, 2020). OM offers guidelines for justifying and analyzing the quality of the records obtained using study dimensions and segmentation criteria of the spontaneous behavioral continuum in its natural context.…”

“…This third technique used for diachronic analysis in OM may be the best option for a complete characterization of the choreography. Until now, the use of TPA within the framework of OM, in the field of education, has made it possible: to identify patterns of academic persistency in pre-school age-groups (Santoyo et al, 2020), to examine the development of cognitive skills in infancy (Escolano-Pérez et al, 2019;Escolano-Pérez, 2020), to evaluate teaching-learning strategies in motor skills (Castañer et al, 2009), to assess the interaction and communication models of physical education teachers (García-Fariña et al, 2018;Camerino et al, 2019;Valero-Valenzuela et al, 2020), and to design and assess training programs focused on the professionals' change in behavior (Portell et al, 2019;Sene-Mir et al, 2020).…”

Evaluating in the Real-World Educational Intervention to Improve Interference Control in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…(1) The first and major limitation is the reduced sample size. Research involving children is a lengthy and delicate process due to the inherent developmental characteristics of children and their specific vulnerability [ 100 ]; this is even more relevant when the children present special characteristics [ 101 ], just as ASD children do. These issues hinder access to these types of participants and justify the small sample size of our study.…”