The teaching beliefs and classroom practices of 54 kindergarten teachers were assessed using a Q-sort measure. Cluster analysis of the Q-sort responses revealed four instructional approaches that differed in their focus on literacy skills, social development and self-esteem. In addition, measures of emergent literacy skills, classroom behaviour and peer relationships were obtained for 162 low-income children attending these kindergarten classrooms. Children in classrooms emphasising emergent literacy skills demonstrated greater mastery of such skills than did children in classrooms emphasising social development. Moreover, literacy skill-focused teachers also reported fewer disruptive behaviour and peer problems among these children. These findings highlight the importance of integrating an emphasis on emergent literacy development into kindergarten curricula for promoting literacy development among low-income children, and also suggest that children's rates of problem behaviour may vary under different curricular approaches. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.)