Using Learning Centers to Improve the Language and Academic Skills of Preschool Children

Abstract

A mixed-methods research design was employed to investigate the impact of use of learning centers to support
language and academic skills of children aged 61–72 months. The sample of quantitative data of the study consisted
of 70 children (35 in the experimental group and 35 in the control group). In the quantitative dimension of the study,
data were collected using the “Kaufman Survey of Early Academic and Language Skills,” “Progress in Maths 6 Test,”
and the “Control List for the Evaluation of the Print Awareness of Pre-School Children” scales. In the qualitative
dimension of the study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with the teachers of the experimental group
through the “Teacher Interview Form” developed by the researchers. During the implementation period, learning
centers were established and organized in such a way that the 35 children in the experimental group could use them
for about 75–90 minutes every day for eight weeks. The results obtained from the study reveal that arrangements
made in the learning centers provide important contributions to the development of children’s language, literacy and
mathematics skills.