Longitudinal Peer Social Networks and Early Language Development: Transforming Understanding of Critical Features of Young Children’s Classroom Experiences

This study is aimed at fundamentally improving our understanding of how peer social networks influence language development in preschool settings. A state-of-the-art sensing system involving speech recorders and location trackers will be used to capture continuous data on who children interact with and the precise nature of peer-to-peer talk. With this data, we will examine:

• Individual differences in children’s peer language networks
• Effects of these networks on children’s language growth

Results of this study are likely to transform our understanding of peer-to-peer dynamics in preschool classrooms and support teachers’ use of practices to leverage the role of peers in shaping early language development.