Preschool classroom behavioral context and school readiness outcomes for low-income children: A multilevel examination of child- and classroom-level influences.

Abstract

Guided by an ecological theoretical model, the authors used a series of multilevel models to examine associations among children's individual problem behavior, the classroom behavioral context, and school readiness outcomes for a cohort of low-income children (N ϭ 3,861) enrolled in 229 urban Head Start classrooms. Associations were examined between early problem behavior (overactive and underactive behavior) at the child and classroom level and three dimensions of school readiness: cognitive skills, social engagement, and coordinated movement, assessed at the end of the preschool year. At the child level, younger children, boys, and underactive and overactive problem behavior were associated with lower school readiness skills. At the classroom level, classroom contexts early in the preschool year characterized by high levels of underactive behavior (e.g., social withdrawal among children) were uniquely and additively associated with lower school readiness skills. Contrary to hypotheses, there were no significant associations between classroom behavioral contexts characterized early in the preschool year by high levels of overactive behavior (e.g., socially disruptive or dysregulated behavior among children). Findings extend prior research in Head Start. Implications for early identification and intervention are discussed.

The Relation Between Classroom Age Composition and Children’s Language and Behavioral Outcomes: Examining Peer Effects

“…Some consider the finding that classroom age composition does not relate to child outcomes surprising due to research that shows that peers are very influential on children’s classroom experiences (Bell et al, 2013; Bulotsky‐Shearer, Domínguez, & Bell, 2012; Hamre & Pianta, 2001). However, classroom age composition only accounts for the age of peers.…”

Effortful control and school adjustment: The moderating role of classroom chaos

“…Several studies have found that children’s behavioral problems (e.g., internalizing and externalizing) relative to their classroom peers’ behavior problems predicted children’s academic outcomes, such as their social competence in school and academic achievement (e.g., Bulotsky-Shearer, Dominguez, & Bell, 2012; Figlio, 2007; Yudron, Jones, & Raver, 2014). Only one study, to our knowledge, has examined children’s EC relative to their classroom peers.…”

Child temperamental regulation and classroom quality in Head Start: Considering the role of cumulative economic risk.

“…There is a need for experimental work that may more precisely tease apart the mechanisms by which certain classroom processes and regulation-focused interventions may be effective for improving children's learning. Third, effect sizes from this study are small, as is typical of classroom-based research (e.g., Bulotsky-Shearer, Dominguez, & Bell, 2012;Hamre & Pianta, 2005;Reyes, Brackett, Rivers, White, & Salovey, 2012) as well as with studies of specific subsets of children from large representative samples (e.g., Adelson, McCoach, & Gavin, 2012). Fourth, although our measure of cumulative economic risk included the most robust indicators of economic disadvantage (i.e., income below poverty and mothers' education below high school; Crosnoe & Cooper, 2010), research suggests that there are other indicators related to economic risk, such as food insufficiency or household density, that may add meaningfully to our understanding of the impact of cumulative risk on children's outcomes (e.g., Burchinal, Vernon-Feagans, Cox, & Key Family Life Project Investigators, 2008).…”