and Youth Development (N = 1,364) and 2-level hierarchical linear models with site fixed effects, we examined between-and within-child associations between teacher-child relationship closeness and conflict and standardized measures of children's math and reading achievement from 1st through 5th grades. In addition, we tested whether longitudinal effects varied by gender. Results revealed a between-child effect of conflict and a within-child effect of closeness on reading achievement for the full sample. In addition, there were moderated between-and within-child effects of conflict on math achievement: Girls with more conflictual relationships showed lower overall levels of math achievement and less growth in math achieve ment than did boys with similar levels of conflict. Implications are discussed.
The primary aim of this group randomized trial was to test the efficacy of INSIGHTS Into Children's Temperament (INSIGHTS) in increasing the academic achievement and sustained attention and reducing the disruptive behavior problems of low-income kindergarten and 1st grade children. Twenty-two urban elementary schools serving low-income families were randomly assigned to INSIGHTS or a supple mental reading program that served as an attention-control condition. Data on 435 students in 122 classrooms were collected at 5 time points across kindergarten and 1st grade. Students received intervention in the 2nd half of kindergarten and the 1st half of 1st grade. Their teachers and parents participated in the program at the same time. Two-level hierarchical linear models were used to examine both within-and between-child changes in achievement across kindergarten and 1st grades. Results revealed that children enrolled in INSIGHTS experienced growth in math and reading achievement and sustained attention that was significantly faster than that of children enrolled in the supplemental reading program. In addition, although children participating in INSIGHTS evidenced decreases in behavior problems over time, children enrolled in the supplemental reading program demonstrated increases. Effects on math and reading were partially mediated through a reduction in behavior problems, and effects on reading were partially mediated through an improvement in sustained attention. Results indicate that INSIGHTS enhances the academic development of early elementary school children and supports the need for policies that provide social-emotional intervention for children at risk for academic problems.
This study examines whether associations between enrollment in public and non‐public PreK and children’s (N = 508; Mage = 5.60 years in fall of kindergarten) math and language and literacy outcomes were more likely to be sustained through the spring of kindergarten for unconstrained versus constrained skills. Associations between public PreK and language, literacy, and math outcomes were more strongly sustained through the spring of kindergarten for unconstrained skills, relative to constrained skills. Only associations between non‐public PreK and unconstrained language skills were sustained through the spring of kindergarten. Associations in the fall of kindergarten differed by family income and dual language learner (DLL) status but there was no subgroup variation by the spring of kindergarten. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.
Experts have heralded domain-specific play-based curricula coupled with regular coaching and training as our "strongest hope" for improving instructional quality in large-scale public preschool programs. Yet, details from different evaluations of the strongest hope model are not systematically compiled, making it difficult to identify specific features across studies that distinguish the most successful implementation efforts. We performed a cross-study review across five diverse large-scale evaluations (n = 6,500 children and n = 750 teachers across 19 localities and multiple auspice types) to identify common features that have characterized successful implementations of this model to date. We identified six features in our exploratory review that may help to flesh out the strongest hope model for localities considering it-a significant focus on specific instructional content, inclusion of highly detailed scripts, incorporation of teacher voice, time for planning, use of real-time data, and early childhood training for administrators. These six features provide more specific guidance for practitioners and help meet calls in preschool and K-12 for more synthesis of implementation lessons from large-scale research trials.
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