An Investigation of Classroom Situational Dimensions of Emotional and Behavioral Adjustment and Cognitive and Social Outcomes for Head Start Children

This study employed a developmental-ecological approach to investigate the relationship across the school year between early problems in preschool classroom situations and a comprehensive set of readiness competencies for urban, low-income children. Study I identified three reliable and unique underlying classroom situational dimensions where behavior problems occurred: Structured Learning, Peer Interaction, and Teacher Interaction situations. Boys and younger children evidenced more problematic behavior across all situations. Study II investigated the relationship between early problems in the situations and readiness outcomes. Early situational difficulties uniquely and differentially predicted lower peer social and classroom learning outcomes. In combination, both the type of behavior problem (what) and the situational problem (where) explained greater variance in the prediction of readiness outcomes, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of developmental trajectories

Examining the Factor Structure of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System Toddler (CLASS-T) in Early Head Start and Subsidized Child Care Classrooms

Research Findings: The Classroom Assessment Scoring System Toddler (CLASS-T) is one of the most commonly used measures to assess the quality of teacher-child interactions in toddler classrooms. Despite widespread use of the CLASS-T, few studies have examined the factor structure of the CLASS-T for use in Early Head Start (EHS) and subsidized child care programs serving children from low-income, ethnically and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The purpose of the present study was (a) to examine the factor structure of the CLASS-T in a sample of 106 classrooms comprised of ethnically and linguistically diverse toddlers attending EHS and subsidized child care programs; and (b) to examine the invariance of the factor structure across classrooms in which teachers spoke predominantly English or Spanish in the classroom. Findings supported the two-factor structure of the CLASS-T, which included the Emotional and Behavioral Support and Engaged Support for Learning domains. Additionally, findings provide preliminary support for the use of the two-factor structure of the CLASS-T in linguistically diverse classrooms. Practice or Policy: Overall, research findings provide evidence for the use of the CLASS-T to measure quality within toddler classrooms that serve ethnically and linguistically diverse toddlers. Future directions and implications for both policy and practice are discussed

Learning Behaviors Mediate Associations between Parent-reported Peer Play Skills and Literacy and Mathematics Skills for Low-income Preschool Children

Research Findings: Peer play interactions are important contexts for supporting early learning both at home and at school for preschool children from low-income backgrounds. The current study used structural equation modeling to examine whether teacher-reported learning behaviors in the classroom mediated the relationship between parent-reported peer play skills in the home and direct assessments of language, literacy, and mathematics skills in a diverse sample of 680 Head Start preschoolers across 53 classrooms. Disconnected and disruptive play skills in the home were negatively associated with learning behaviors and language/literacy and mathematics skills. Additionally, learning behaviors mediated the relationship between disruptive play skills in the home and academic skills. Practice or Policy: Implications for strengthening parent teacher partnerships and program-wide interventions are discussed

Preschool behavior problems in classroom learning situations and literacy outcomes in kindergarten and first grade

Relations between classroom behavior problems early in the preschool year and elementary school literacy and language outcomes were examined for an entire cohort of four-year-old Head Start children ( N = 2682). A cross-classified random effects model was used that controlled for the variance in literacy outcomes attributed to: (a) child-level demographics (age, gender, ethnicity), and end of the preschool year cognitive skills; (b) Head Start, kindergarten and first grade classrooms; and (c) kindergarten and first grade schools. Preschool behavior problems were assessed across structured learning situations, and during peer and teacher interactions at the beginning of Head Start. Preschool behavior problems in structured learning situations differentially predicted lower literacy outcomes across all time points. Findings extend previous research and underscore the importance of early identification of problem behavior using developmentally and ecologically valid tools within early childhood classrooms intentionally designed to foster literacy skills

The pursuit of wellness for victims of child maltreatment: A model for targeting relevant competencies, contexts, and contributors

Child maltreatment is a national social problem that disproportionately threatens the development of our most vulnerable groups of children. The challenge of responding to the needs of these vulnerable young children is particularly daunting for mental health scientist-practitioners. Recently, the U.S. surgeon general (USDHHS, 1999) called attention to the significant disconnect between service providers and mental health scientists in addressing the needs of vulnerable children. He issued three major mandates to address these problems: (a) reduce stigma and increase sensitivity at points of entry and assessment, (b) expand supply and cultivate natural resources, and (c) establish real connections among disciplines and between research and practice (USDHHS, 1999). These comprehensive mandates create a common purpose to advance inquiry and intervention efforts; they also represent an incredibly tall order for mental health scientist-practitioners. The mandates are necessary to focus psychologists' attention, but they are insufficient to produce significant results. What scientist-practitioners need are heuristic models to guide the design of culturally responsive and ecologically valid assessment and intervention methods for the most vulnerable groups of young children. The purpose of this chapter is to present a model that is both responsive to the mandates and capable of producing effective methods. The value and utility of this model is illustrated by a sequence of research studies that were designed as applications of the model to address the needs of victims of child maltreatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved

Emotional support moderates associations between preschool approaches to learning and academic skills

The present study examined the extent to which the association between teacher reports of preschool children's approaches to learning–the ways in which children engage in learning activities–and children's academic skills was dependent upon teacher emotional support. Multilevel models were estimated using data from a sample of diverse urban Head Start children (N = 301 children across 53 classrooms). Findings showed direct associations between attention persistence and children's literacy and mathematics skills, as well as an association between attitude toward learning and literacy skills. Cross-level interactions indicated that higher emotional support strengthened the relationship between attitude toward learning and children's literacy skills. Our findings suggest when children are enrolled in classrooms characterized by respectful, warm, and supportive teacher-child interactions, there are benefits for children's approaches to learning and academic skills. Implications for future research, policy, and practice are discussed. •Emotional support and approaches to learning framed by sociocultural models.•Attention and persistence positively associated with literacy and mathematics skills.•Attitudes toward learning positively associated with literacy skills.•Emotional support moderated associations between attitudes toward learning and literacy skills

Preschool Classroom Behavioral Context and School Readiness Outcomes for Low-Income Children: A Multilevel Examination of Child- and Classroom-Level Influences

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 = 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 validity of the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment for culturally and linguistically diverse Head Start children

•Construct validity of the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment (DECA) was examined.•Three Protective Factors subscales showed consistency in factor structure.•Behavioral Concerns subscale demonstrated poor fit to the data.•Implications for the consequential validity of the DECA are discussed. The Devereux Early Childhood Assessment (DECA) is a social-emotional assessment widely used by early childhood educational programs to inform early identification and intervention efforts. However, its construct validity is not well-established in independent samples of children from low-income backgrounds. We examined the construct validity of the teacher report of the DECA using a series of confirmatory factor analyses, exploratory factor analyses, and the Rasch partial credit model in a large sample of culturally and linguistically diverse Head Start children (N=5,197). Findings provided some evidence for consistency in the factor structure of the three Protective Factors subscales (Initiative, Self-Control, and Attachment); however, the factor structure of the Behavioral Concerns subscale was not replicated in our sample and demonstrated poor fit to these data. Findings suggested that the 10 items of the published Behavioral Concerns subscale did not comprise a unidimensional construct, but rather, were better represented by two factors (externalizing and internalizing behavior). The use of the total Behavioral Concerns score as a screening tool to identify emotional and behavioral problems in diverse samples of preschool children from low-income backgrounds was not supported, especially for internalizing behavior. Implications for the consequential validity of the DECA for use as a screening tool in early childhood programs serving diverse populations of children and directions for future research are discussed

Latent profiles of problem behavior within learning, peer, and teacher contexts: Identifying subgroups of children at academic risk across the preschool year

Employing a developmental and ecological model, the study identified initial levels and rates of change in academic skills for subgroups of preschool children exhibiting problem behavior within routine classroom situations. Six distinct latent profile types of emotional and behavioral adjustment were identified for a cohort of low-income children early in the preschool year (N=4417). Profile types provided a descriptive picture of patterns of classroom externalizing, internalizing, and situational adjustment problems common to subgroups of children early in the preschool year. The largest profile type included children who exhibited low problem behavior and were characterized as well-adjusted to the preschool classroom early in the year. The other profile types were characterized by distinct combinations of elevated internalizing, externalizing, and situational problem behavior. Multinomial logistic regression identified younger children and boys at increased risk for classification in problem types, relative to the well-adjusted type. Latent growth models indicated that children classified within the extremely socially and academically disengaged profile type, started and ended the year with the lowest academic skills, relative to all other types. Implications for future research, policy, and practice are discussed

Bidirectional Associations Between Preschool Classroom Behavior and Language and Literacy Skills

Potential bidirectional associations between preschool classroom overactive (or externalizing) and underactive (or internalizing) behaviors and language and literacy skills (i.e., vocabulary and listening comprehension) were examined in a sample of children enrolled in Head Start ( N = 297). Cross-lagged panel designs using structural equation modeling (SEM) were conducted using data gathered through teacher ratings and direct assessments developed for use in preschool programs serving diverse populations of young children. Significant associations varied by type of behavior and language and literacy skill. Higher overactive behavior in the fall was associated with lower listening comprehension skills in the spring, whereas higher underactive behavior in the fall was associated with lower vocabulary skills in the spring. In addition, lower listening comprehension skills in the fall were associated with higher levels of underactive behavior in the spring. Implications for future research, policy, and practice are discussed