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Executive control goes to school: Implications of preschool executive performance for observed elementary classroom learning engagement.

ABSTRACT: The transition to elementary school is accompanied by increasing demands for children to regulate their attention and behavior within the classroom setting. Executive control (EC) may be critical for meeting these demands; however, few studies have rigorously examined the association between EC and observed classroom behavior. This study examined EC in preschool (age 5 years 3 months) as a predictor of classroom learning engagement behaviors in first grade, using a battery of performance-based EC tasks and live classroom observations in a longitudinal sample of 313 children. Multilevel modeling results indicated that stronger EC predicted more focused engagement and fewer task management and competing responses, controlling for socioeconomic status, child sex, and age at observations. Results suggest that early EC may support subsequent classroom engagement behaviors that are critical for successful transition to elementary school and long-term learning trajectories. (PsycINFO Database Record

SUBMITTER: Nelson TD

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5436807 | biostudies-literature | 2017 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Executive control goes to school: Implications of preschool executive performance for observed elementary classroom learning engagement.

Nelson Timothy D TD Nelson Jennifer Mize JM James Tiffany D TD Clark Caron A C CAC Kidwell Katherine M KM Espy Kimberly Andrews KA

Developmental psychology 20170330 5

The transition to elementary school is accompanied by increasing demands for children to regulate their attention and behavior within the classroom setting. Executive control (EC) may be critical for meeting these demands; however, few studies have rigorously examined the association between EC and observed classroom behavior. This study examined EC in preschool (age 5 years 3 months) as a predictor of classroom learning engagement behaviors in first grade, using a battery of performance-based E ...[more]

PMID: 28358540

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Project description:ImportanceHome visiting programs targeting the school readiness of preschool children (age range, 4-5 years) show promise in short-term and quasi-experimental studies but rarely are evaluated with rigorous designs and follow-up assessments.ObjectivesTo examine the sustained effects of a preschool home visiting program on child and family competencies and on child need for services 4 years later.Design, setting, and participantsIn a randomized clinical trial, individual families with preschool children were assigned to receive the Research-Based and Developmentally Informed-Parent home visiting program (REDI-P) (intervention group) or math home learning games in the mail (control group). Follow-up assessments occurred in third grade. Families were recruited from 24 Head Start centers in 3 Pennsylvania counties serving rural and urban areas. Four-year-old children from 200 low-income families participated. Families were recruited in fall 2008 and fall 2009. The follow-up data used were collected in spring 2013 and spring 2014. The analyses were conducted in 2016 to 2017.InterventionsREDI-P visits followed a well-specified curriculum, with 10 home visits during preschool and 6 booster visits in kindergarten. Parents received coaching to enhance parent-child relationships and home learning materials to support child development and school readiness.Main outcomes and measuresIntervention focused on boosting competencies in academic performance and social-emotional adjustment and reducing child problems at home. Direct assessments, teacher ratings, and parent reports were collected. In addition, third-grade teachers recorded all services that children needed and received at school.ResultsTwo hundred participating children (110 [55.0%] white, 52 [26.0%] black, and 38 [19.0%] Latino; 112 [56.0%] male) had a mean (SD) age of 4.45 (0.29) years at the start of intervention. Third-grade outcomes were available for 153 (76.5%) of the initial sample and revealed statistically significant effects on multiple measures in each competency domain. In addition, REDI-P reduced child need for educational and mental health services at school. Significant effect sizes were small to moderate, averaging approximately one-third of 1 SD (Cohen d = 0.27 to 0.45). Mediation models demonstrated that intervention effects on services were accounted for by intervention effects on the targeted competencies.Conclusions and relevanceREDI-P produced sustained benefits evident 4 years after intervention, significantly reducing child need for school services. The results of this study appear to validate the value of preschool home visiting as a strategy to help close the gap in school readiness and child well-being associated with poverty.

Project description:PurposeSocial inequalities are widely accepted to have a deleterious effect on children's mental health, and those with lower socioeconomic status generally experience more mental health issues. In this study, we examine the impact of socioeconomic situations of children's families during their early childhood on the children's social adaptation in Japanese elementary school.MethodsThe current investigation consisted of two sets of data relating to two separate years (with a one-year interval). The participants included preschoolers aged five years at Time 1 (the first year) and first graders aged six years at Time 2 (the second year); 1,712 met the inclusion criteria for both years. Parents of the participants completed a self-reported questionnaire regarding their SES (i.e., family economy and mother's education) and their children's mental health. Mental health was assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist/4-18, Parent Report.ResultsFor each SES indicator, we found an inverse relationship across all the symptom dimensions. Specifically, bivariate analyses revealed that lower family income, maternal education level, and paternal education level predict all three domains of behavioral problems (i.e., internalized problems, externalized problems, and total behavioral problems). Further, multivariate analyses revealed that lower family income consistently predicts all domains of behavioral problems, lower maternal education level predicted externalized problems and total behavioral problems, and paternal education level did not predict any clinically significant behavioral problems.ConclusionIn this sample, we found that, for children, family income and parental education when entering preschool were significant predictors of mental health problems after elementary school enrollment; in particular, low income and low maternal educational achievement predicted a high probability of the development of a psychiatric disorder. A greater understanding of the mechanisms of these associations could contribute to improvements in interventions aimed at preventing child maladjustment.

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Executive control goes to school: Implications of preschool executive performance for observed elementary classroom learning engagement.

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Executive control goes to school: Implications of preschool executive performance for observed elementary classroom learning engagement.

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