This study examines concurrent teacher-student interaction quality and 5th graders' (n = 387) engage ment in mathematics classrooms (n = 63) and considers how teacher-student interaction quality relates to engagement differently for boys and girls. Three approaches were used to measure student engagement in mathematics: Research assistants observed engaged behavior, teachers reported on students' engage ment, and students completed questionnaires. Engagement data were conducted 3 times per year concurrent with measures of teacher-student interaction quality. Results showed small but statistically significant associations among the 3 methods. Results of multilevel models showed only 1 significant finding linking quality of teacher-student interactions to observed or teacher-reported behavioral en gagement; higher classroom organization related to higher levels of observed behavioral engagement. However, the multilevel models produced a rich set of findings for student-reported engagement. Students in classrooms with higher emotional support reported higher cognitive, emotional, and social engagement. Students in classrooms higher in classroom organization reported more cognitive, emo tional, and social engagement. Interaction effects (Gender X Teacher-student interaction quality) were present for student-reported engagement outcomes but not in observed or teacher-reported engagement. Boys (but not girls) in classrooms with higher observed classroom organization reported more cognitive and emotional engagement. In classrooms with higher instructional support, boys reported higher but girls reported lower social engagement. The discussion explores implications of varied approaches to measuring engagement, interprets teacher-student interaction quality and gender findings, and considers the usefulness of student report in understanding students' math experiences.

Researchers have suggested that children who are interested in literacy activities and voluntarily engage in them are likely to become better readers than children with less literacy interest. Literacy interest, along with engaging literacy activities and responsive teaching, are important components in children’s early literacy experiences. This study examines associations among children’s self-reported literacy interest, their parents’ reports of home literacy environment (HLE), and their code-related skills. Overall, literacy interest was related to code-related skills (i.e., letter–word identification and alphabet knowledge). HLE was not related to code-related skills. Further analyses reveal different patterns of relations among interest and code-related skills for children with low receptive language scores compared to their peers with age-level receptive language scores. These results suggest that taking advantage of individual children’s interests as well as planning activities that are likely to be interesting may be effective strategies for promoting children’s learning of important school readiness skills.

Purpose Children's literacy interest is positively associated with their literacy attainments. However, interest in literacy activities, particularly for younger children, is likely influenced by their home literacy environment (HLE), which may also be bound up with socio‐economic factors, such as parental education levels. Method In the present study, we examine whether literacy interest, HLE and socio‐economic status (SES) make independent contributions to emergent literacy skills. Fifty‐five preschoolers aged 4 to 5 years completed a self‐report measure of interest in literacy and three emergent literacy tasks. The parents provided information on SES and HLE. Results Children's literacy interest explained nearly 25% of the variance in emergent literacy skills after controlling for HLE and SES (which also made significant contributions). Conclusions The findings underscore the importance of literacy interest, independent of HLE and SES, and highlight the role that children themselves play in choosing their literacy environments.

This study examines the relations among the classroom literacy environment, children's interest and engagement in literacy activities, and children's early reading skills in a sample of 167 children aged 4 and 5 years enrolled in 31 Head Start classrooms. Researchers rated the classroom literacy environment. Teachers reported on children's interest in literacy activities and observers reported on children's engagement in literacy activities during large group and free play. Researchers directly assessed children's early reading skills: phonological awareness, letter-word knowledge, and expressive vocabulary. Classroom literacy environment was indirectly associated with some early reading skills via child literacy interest and engagement. Different associations were found for literacy engagement during large group compared to literacy engagement during free play. The implications of the findings are discussed, as are directions for future research.

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