ERIC Number: EJ1070105
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015-Jul
Pages: 29
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0272-930X
EISSN: N/A
Classroom and Teacher Support in Kindergarten: Associations with the Behavioral and Academic Adjustment of Low-Income Students
Lee, Phyllis; Bierman, Karen L.
Merrill-Palmer Quarterly: Journal of Developmental Psychology, v61 n3 Article 4 p383-411 Jul 2015
For socioeconomically disadvantaged children, a positive experience in kindergarten may play a particularly important role in fostering the behavioral adjustment and learning engagement necessary for school success. Prior research has identified supportive student--teacher relationships and classroom emotional support as two features of the classroom context that can promote student adjustment; however, very few studies have examined these two aspects of the classroom context simultaneously. Given their modest intercorrelations, these dimensions of classroom context may have both unique and shared associations with child progress. This study followed the cases of 164 children as they transitioned from Head Start into elementary school, and regressions revealed significant unique associations between each type of kindergarten support and children's aggressive behaviors, social withdrawal, learning engagement, and emergent literacy skills in first grade, controlling for their prekindergarten adjustment. In addition, learning engagement significantly mediated the association between a supportive relationship with the kindergarten teacher and first-grade literacy skills.
Descriptors: Kindergarten, Disadvantaged Youth, Low Income Groups, Early Intervention, Elementary School Students, Regression (Statistics), Correlation, Aggression, Behavior Problems, Withdrawal (Psychology), Learner Engagement, Emergent Literacy, Grade 1, Student Adjustment, Teacher Student Relationship, Preschool Teachers, Classroom Environment, Student Needs, Emotional Response, Intervention, Rating Scales, Observation, Likert Scales
Wayne State University Press. The Leonard N. Simons Building, 4809 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI 48201-1309. Tel: 800-978-7323; Fax: 313-577-6131; Web site: http://wsupress.wayne.edu/journals/merrill/merrillj.html
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Kindergarten; Primary Education; Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; Grade 1; Preschool Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (NIH); Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Pennsylvania
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Student Teacher Relationship Scale; Woodcock Johnson Tests of Achievement
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: HD046064; HD43763; R305B090007