School Readiness in Preschool-Age Children with Critical Congenital Heart Disease

This study examined the nature, variability, and predictors of school readiness difficulties in young children with critical congenital heart disease (CCHD). We hypothesized that, compared to a community control (CC) group, children with CCHD would score less well on measures of readiness and that readiness would be associated with CCHD-related risk factors. Children (60 CCHD and 60 CC) were 4 to 5 years of age and not yet attending kindergarten. Readiness measures included tests of cognition, executive function, motor ability, and pre-academic skills. Caregivers provided child behavior ratings. Analyses examined group differences in readiness, readiness profiles, and associations of readiness with CCHD-related medical risk factors. The CCHD group had lower scores than the CC group on testing and higher caregiver ratings of problems in social communication, as well as higher rates of deficits on several of the measures. Latent class analysis provided evidence for different readiness profiles, with more children with CCHD displaying profiles characterized by weaknesses in readiness. CCHD-related medical risk factors associated with readiness problems in the CCHD group included a co-morbid genetic disorder, postnatal diagnosis of CCHD, major perioperative complication, and longer periods of hospitalizations, cardiopulmonary bypass, and aortic cross-clamp placements. Findings document multiple problems in school readiness in young children with CCHD. Deficits vary across individuals and are associated with higher medical risk. Results confirm the importance of screening for school readiness in these children and suggest areas to target in designing screening measures and providing early childhood interventions.

Measuring social-emotional development in schoolchildren: A national-level analysis of ECLS-B cohort data

The present study examined the social-emotional development items assessed by kindergarten teachers in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort to determine the optimal factor structure underlying the items as well as the reliability and validity of the resulting factors. This study identified an empirically derived factor structure for teacher-reported social development, investigated whether there was evidence of bias in teacher assessments of social-emotional constructs, examined factor invariance across demographic characteristics (i.e., race and ethnicity, sex, and poverty status), and examined the external validity of the derived factors by determining the extent to which they were associated with well-established measures of early childhood competencies. Findings suggested a 4-factor solution was optimal, consisting of (a) Interpersonal Skills, (b) Externalizing Behavior, (c) Approaches to Learning, and (d) Perspective Taking. Findings offer suggestive evidence of teacher biases in assessments and some, although not conclusive, support for the invariance of social-emotional dimension across demographic characteristics. Results provide a useful next step toward documenting reliable and valid social-emotional measures for use in early childhood research and challenges users of national datasets to think critically about the use of "scales" without a priori attention to important psychometric properties.

Childhood poverty and school readiness: Differences by poverty type and immigration background

Objectives

Poverty exposes children to adverse conditions that negatively impact development. However, there is limited understanding on how different types of poverty may affect children of various immigration backgrounds differently in outcomes such as school readiness. This study examined these relationships between household and/or neighbourhood poverty, poverty timing, and immigration background with school readiness outcomes at kindergarten.

Methods

This study utilized a retrospective, population-based cohort of administrative records linked with surveys completed by kindergarten teachers for 15 369 children born in British Columbia, Canada. The exposures investigated were neighbourhood poverty (residing in a neighbourhood in the lowest income-quintile) and/or household poverty (receiving a health insurance subsidy due to low household income). Experiencing both neighbourhood and household poverty simultaneously was defined as "combined" household and neighbourhood poverty. The outcome of vulnerability on school readiness domains was assessed at kindergarten (47.8% female; mean age = 6.01 years) using teacher ratings on the Early Development Instrument (EDI).

Results

Children exposed to combined poverty between age 0 and 2 had greater odds of being vulnerable in two or more domains of school readiness than children not exposed to any poverty during this period (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 2.07, 95% CI: [1.74; 2.47], p < 0.001). The effect of combined poverty was larger than household poverty only (aOR = 1.54, 95% CI: [1.31; 1.82], p < 0.001) or neighbourhood poverty only (aOR = 1.49, 95% CI: [1.30; 1.70], p < 0.001). Combined poverty was associated with negative outcomes regardless of timing. Both non-immigrants (aOR = 2.40, 95% CI: [1.92; 3.00], p < 0.001) and second-generation immigrants (aOR = 1.63, 95% CI: [1.22; 2.17], p < 0.001) experiencing combined poverty scored lower on school readiness.

Conclusions

Children who experienced combined poverty had lower levels of school readiness at kindergarten, regardless of timing and immigration background.

Preschool Programs that Help Families Promote Child Social-Emotional School Readiness: Promising New Strategies

Parents play a central role in supporting the early learning that positions young children for success when they enter formal schooling. For this reason, efforts to engage families in meaningful collaboration is a long-standing goal of high-quality early childhood education (ECE). Family-school engagement can take multiple forms; in this review, we focus on universal preschool-based outreach strategies that help parents support growth in child social-emotional and self-regulation competencies and prepare them for the transition into formal schooling. Recent research has expanded understanding of the neurodevelopmental processes that underlie child school readiness, and the impact of parenting (and the social ecology affecting parenting) on those processes. These new insights have fueled innovation in preschool-based efforts to partner with and support parents, expanding and shifting the focus of that programming. In addition, new approaches to intervention design and delivery are emerging to address the pervasive challenges of reaching and engaging families, especially those representing diverse racial, ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds. This paper reviews developmental research that underscores the importance of prioritizing child social-emotional learning (with attention to self-regulation and approaches to learning) in universal preschool-based parenting programs targeting young children. We highlight the intervention strategies used in programs with strong evidence of impact on child readiness and school adjustment based on randomized controlled trials (RCTs). New directions in intervention design and delivery strategies are highlighted, with the hope of extending intervention reach and improving family engagement and benefit.

Material incentive motivation and working memory performance of kindergartners: A large-scale randomized controlled trial

This study investigated the effect of material incentive motivation on the working memory performance of kindergartners using a large-scale randomized controlled trial covering 7123 children aged 50 to 144 months (M = 75.85 months) from 19 provinces in Thailand. This study measured the working memory of young children using the digit span task. The first finding is that material incentive motivation raised the working memory performance of young children by 4% of the mean of the control group. The second finding is that young children with different background characteristics responded to material incentive motivation uniformly except for the children's age. The third finding is that school readiness was the most predictive variable for the working memory performance of young children.

A Pilot Study on the Validity and Reliability of Korean School Readiness Inventory on Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

OBJECTIVE

Successful transition to school is of great importance to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The purpose of this study was to develop a school readiness inventory for Korean children with ASD, and demonstrate its content validity and reliability.

METHODS

The Korean School Readiness Inventory (K-SRI) was developed to assess current levels of some fundamental skills needed for attending school for children with ASD. The K-SRI was comprised of four subscales and 16 test items: Self-help skills, Social and emotional development, School behavior, and Literacy and numeracy skills. For content validity, six experts rated the validity of the test items. Lawshe's Content Validity Ratio (CVR) was calculated. For reliability, parents of 22 children with ASD entering school completed the KSRI twice. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was calculated for internal consistency. The test-retest reliability was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).

RESULTS

All the items except two items in the literacy and numeracy skills did not show a CVR of 1. The two items were deleted resulting in a 14-item inventory. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the K-SRI was 0.93, showing good internal consistency reliability. The test- retest reliability results showed ICC value of 0.93 (p<0.001), which indicates good stability.

CONCLUSION

A parent-rated, 14-item school readiness inventory for Korean children with ASD were developed and preliminary evidence of its content validity and reliability were demonstrated in this study. The present study provides a basis for future studies that would further help evaluate and promote school readiness of the children with ASD.

School readiness and social determinants of health: A collaboration with community teachers and parents

PURPOSE

To explore perceptions of community dwelling caregivers of preschool-aged children regarding the influence of social determinants of health (SDOH) on children's school readiness. Parents' perspectives regarding solutions to enhance school readiness in preschool-aged children are also explored.

METHODS

This study employed a qualitative, descriptive design and a community based participatory research (CBPR) approach. An academic institution collaborated with parents, teachers, and administrators at a community-based preschool learning center. Ten young-adult to middle-aged mothers and caregivers attended two separate focus groups and completed open-ended questionnaires. Inductive and deductive thematic analysis of text were employed.

FINDINGS

Three themes emerged 1) Families described the vast lack of appropriate community resources and inability to access those resources that are available to prepare their children for school 2). Family members need help processing information about social resources 3) Community, individual and systemic level solutions to enhance school readiness.

CONCLUSIONS

Academic-Community partnerships provide an opportunity to (1) identify solutions to remove systemic barriers that impede children's readiness for school, and (2) design interventions to support families through that process. Interventions to enhance school readiness should be family-focused and can be informed by understanding the influence of SDOH during the planning stages. SDOH create barriers and prevent parents from prioritizing their children's school, health-care, and developmental needs.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Interventions to enhance school readiness should be family-based and can be informed by understanding the influence of SDOH during the planning stages. Social advocacy is also needed to enhance the ability of parents to enhance their children's school readiness.

Language Problems and ADHD Behaviors: Unique and Interactive Associations with School Readiness in a Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Preschool Sample

This study examined the unique and interactive effects of receptive language ability and ADHD behaviors on six school readiness outcomes, over and above the effects of socioeconomic status, in 49 preschoolers (M_age = 3.98, SD_age = .58; 53.06% female) recruited from Head Start-affiliated classrooms. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed unique positive associations between receptive language ability and cognitive and mathematics readiness, and unique negative associations between ADHD behaviors and social-emotional, physical, cognitive, and literacy readiness. Moderation analyses indicated that at higher, but not lower, levels of ADHD behaviors, lower receptive language ability was associated with lower social-emotional readiness. Results highlight that, when considered together, children's receptive language ability and ADHD behaviors vary in how they predict school readiness. Further, results provide preliminary evidence for ADHD behaviors as a risk factor in the association between receptive language deficits and social-emotional school readiness. Educational and clinical practice implications are discussed.

Pre-K and Kindergarten Teacher Perception of School Readiness During the COVID-19 Pandemic

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a mandatory shift from in-person instruction to online learning for many young children. Teachers needed to adjust to virtual teaching, children were isolated from their peers, and parents played a bigger role in learning during the pandemic. In 2021, the shift back to in-person learning occurred. Research has already shown the negative influence COVID-19 had on students' mental health; however, limited research has examined the impact of the pandemic on school readiness. In this study, using the Head Start domains of school readiness, 154 Kindergarten and Pre-K teachers compared current student school readiness to the readiness of their students prior to the pandemic. Results showed that nearly 80% of teachers felt that overall student functioning was Worse or Much Worse than before the pandemic; no teachers reported functioning was overall much better. Teachers most frequently identified the Ready to Learn and Social-Emotional Development domains as the areas of greatest struggle for their students; Physical Development was the least frequently reported. Chi-square tests were used to examine the association between teacher demographics and overall school readiness and domain of greatest struggle; no significant relationships were found. Future directions and limitations of these results are discussed.

Risks to Child Development and School Readiness Among Children Under Six in Pakistan: Findings from a Nationally Representative Phone Survey

This paper analyzes the risks to child development and school readiness among children under age 6 in Pakistan. Drawing on a nationally representative telephone survey conducted in the midst of a global pandemic, between December 2021 and February 2022, we present the first nationally representative estimates of child development for children under 3 years of age and school readiness for children 3-6 years of age, using internationally validated instruments. The paper examines how risk factors that were exacerbated due to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as parental distress, lack of psychosocial stimulation, food insecurity, low maternal education, no enrollment in early childhood education, and living in a rural area, are associated with children's outcomes. The data indicate that more than half (57 percent) of parents with children under age 3 were distressed and that 61 percent of households reported cutting down on the size of or skipping meals since the start of the pandemic. The data reveal that over half of parents fail to engage in adequate psychosocial stimulation with their child and enrollment in early childhood education is very low (39 percent). The paper finds that child development outcomes decline rapidly as the number of risks increase. Specifically, for children under 3 years, lack of psychosocial stimulation at home and higher levels of parental distress were most significantly associated with lower child development levels. For a child aged 3-6 years, early childhood education enrollment and the amount of psychosocial stimulation the child received at home had the strongest association with school readiness scores.

Transition to Kindergarten for Children on the Autism Spectrum: Perspectives of Korean-American Parents

This study explores Korean-American parents' perceptions on successful transition to kindergarten (TTK) for their child on the autism spectrum. It further examines challenges experienced during this process, and possible predictors for their challenges. Findings from an online survey (N = 212) indicate that participants consider their child's behavioral readiness and cooperation with teachers as the most important school readiness skills for successful TTK. They further consider building positive relationships with teachers and providing support at home as the most important support parents could provide during this process. Moreover, the child being a vocal communicator, higher income and parent's educational level were found to buffer against their reported challenges, while first-generation immigrant status and restrictive school placement were found to predict more challenges.

Understanding academic readiness for kindergarten: The interactive role of emotion knowledge and teacher-child closeness

One goal of this study was to test the role of emotion knowledge and teacher-child closeness and conflict in predicting academic readiness for kindergarten over and above demographic factors and executive functioning skills (especially inhibitory control) known to predict readiness. Another goal was to test teacher-child closeness as a moderator of the association between emotion knowledge or executive functioning and academic readiness. A total of 141 4- and 5-year-old children completed emotion knowledge, academic readiness, and inhibitory control measures. Preschool teachers reported their perceived relationship closeness and conflict with individual students. Accounting for child age in months, family income, and inhibitory control, emotion knowledge and teacher-child closeness were positively associated with academic readiness. Teacher-child closeness moderated the relationship between emotion knowledge and academic readiness, suggesting that teacher-child closeness may be especially important in promoting academic readiness for preschool students with low emotion knowledge.

Pediatricians` attitudes, practices, and perceived barriers to school readiness

BACKGROUND

School readiness (SR) has been adopted by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) as a component of health supervision, but the medical community`s role is unknown. We evaluated the pediatricians` attitudes, practices, and perceived barriers to SR.

METHODS

This multicenter, cross-sectional descriptive study was performed among 787 general pediatricians, pediatric residents, subspecialists, and subspecialty fellows. A 41-item survey was administered.

RESULTS

Forty-nine point two percent of the pediatricians defined SR as a multidimensional issue, as outlined by the AAP, whereas 50.8% defined it as the child`s set of skills or passing the SR tests. Three-quarters of pediatricians believed that SR assessment tests are necessary before starting school, and children who do not appear ready should wait a year. To promote SR, the rates of usually fostering at least four of the five `Rs` (reading, rhyming, routines, rewarding, relationships) and integrating developmental surveillance into daily practice were 37.8% and 23.8%, respectively. Only 2.2% of pediatricians usually inquired about eight adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), and 68.9% did not usually ask about any. Usually fostering at least four of the five `Rs` was associated with usually integrating developmental surveillance (p < 0.001), usually inquiring about each ACE (p < 0.001), and being perceived as responsible for promoting SR (p < 0.01). Training on SR during pediatric residency was 2.7%. Time constraints and insufficient knowledge were the most common barriers.

CONCLUSIONS

Pediatricians were not familiar with the concept of SR and had some misconceptions. There is a need for additional training regarding pediatricians` roles in promoting SR along with addressing multiple, modifiable barriers within the health system. < strong > Supplementary: < a href="https://www.turkishjournalpediatrics.org/uploads/2573-supplementary.pdf" target=`_blank` > Supplementary Appendix < /a > < /strong >.

Entering Kindergarten After Years of Play: A Cross-Case Analysis of School Readiness Following Play-Based Education

Cross-case study research was used to explore the school readiness of four 5-year-old children entering kindergarten during the 2020-2021 school year after three or more years of play-based early childhood education at a Reggio Emilia-inspired early childhood education center. Data included a series of three 1-h individual interviews with four mothers and three kindergarten teachers, field visits during remote learning, and artifact collection over the course of the school year. Themes describing the children's school readiness were developed through cross-case analysis. Participants described the children as learners, explorers, communicators, and empathizers. The learner theme centers on the children's responsiveness to instruction; the explorer theme describes how the children approached learning; the communicator theme illustrates the children's prowess with social connection and self-advocacy, and the empathizer theme shows the thoughtfulness and emotional sensitivity these children displayed. Findings suggest that play-based learning prepared these children for successful kindergarten experiences and was a viable early childhood education pedagogy fostering school readiness.

The Intensity of Formal Child-Care Attendance Decreases the Shared Environment Contribution to School Readiness: A Twin Study

The purpose of this study was to explore if child-care intensity (hours/weeks) and age of onset could moderate genetic and environmental contributions to school readiness. A sample of 648 (85% Whites; 50% Females) pairs of twins was used to compute a GxE, CxE and ExE interaction analyses. The moderation model showed that shared environment explains 48% of individual differences in school readiness for children not attending formal child-care, and decreased gradually to a mere 3% for children attending formal child-care full time, e.g., 40 h per week. Age of onset exerted no moderation effect. The results support the hypothesis that child-care acts as a normalizing environment, possibly buffering negative effects from low-quality home environments on school readiness.

Association between child welfare reporting rates and the developmental vulnerability of kindergarten children at the neighborhood level

BACKGROUND

In Canada, more than one in four children are considered vulnerable in at least one domain of development when they enter kindergarten. Recent studies have suggested that this ratio is higher among those who were previously maltreated. However, little is known about this associations at the neighborhood level, although it may be an interesting way to identify risk areas and highlight child welfare system data to prevent public health issues.

OBJECTIVE

Using the census tract as the unit of measurement, this study examines the association between the proportions of vulnerable children in different domains of development upon entering kindergarten, and four indicators of child maltreatment (CM) among 0-5 year olds.

PARTICIPANTS, SETTING AND METHOD

This study is based on the secondary use of data from a survey on the development of kindergartners carried out in 2017, combined with data from child welfare records for that same year. The data have been aggregated on the basis of 759 census tracts located in four health regions of Quebec, Canada.

RESULTS

The results of spatial regression analyses show that all indicators of maltreatment are positively and significantly associated with each indicator of developmental vulnerability. The size of these associations varies according to the indicators used (β = 0.192, p < .05 to β = 1.587, p < .001).

CONCLUSION

The results highlight the link between CM and school readiness, including potential externalities on neighborhood children. Neighborhoods at high risk of maltreatment could help identify areas with high rate of vulnerable children in early childhood.

Early Maternal Employment And Children's School Readiness: Changing Associations Over Time?

This study assessed whether the links between early maternal employment and children's school readiness have changed over time. Research has examined mothers' labor force participation and its associations with children's well-being. As maternal employment has become more normative, these associations may have changed, particularly among subgroups of families. Data come from two large, longitudinal samples of children born in the U.S. in 1991 (N = 1042) and in 2001 (N = 7850). OLS regression models estimated changes between cohorts in the associations between early maternal employment and children's reading/language skills, math skills, and conduct problems at age 4 and school entry. Despite similar prevalence rates of maternal employment by 9 months between the 1991 and 2001 samples, there were differences in the demographic characteristics of mothers in each employment pattern over the decade. Examining associations between the early maternal employment patterns and children's school readiness, results revealed that full time employment by 9 months in comparison to non-employment shifted to having more positive associations with reading/language skills at age 4 and school entry from 1991 to 2001. However, full time maternal employment by 9 months was associated with children's higher conduct problems at school entry in 1991 and 2001, and by 2001, part time employment had similar repercussions. The results differed by family income. There have been small changes in the associations between early maternal employment and children's school readiness over time.

A systems perspective on early childhood development education in South Africa

South Africa's basic education system is dysfunctional. It scores last or close to last in a myriad of metrics and delivers learners with some of the worst literacy and numeracy competencies worldwide. A bimodal distribution in the results exists when learners from the richest socioeconomic quintile are performing adequately well, while learners from the poorest quintiles are failing. This paper presents a system dynamics simulation model to describe the causal linkages between improved early childhood and pre-school learning practices on the education system as a whole. The paper investigates the difference in performance between rich and poor communities. Three interventions explore the research question of whether it is the number of enrolments into early childhood development programs that increases a cohort's school readiness, or rather the quality of the early childhood development programs into which they were enrolled. The results answer the research question for the Western Cape province by showing that increasing the quality of the formal ECD programs leads to a greater percentage of school-ready five year olds than increasing the percentage of enrolled children, but that decreasing community poverty leads to better results than either intervention. The results show the simulation model to be a powerful tool to assist with policy setting and intervention testing for any other province or country by simply changing the input data and calibration.

Content validation of school readiness module and school readiness scale for assessing school readiness in children with autism spectrum disorder

BACKGROUND

There is a paucity of research on interventions targeting preschool children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) for school readiness.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this study are to develop and validate a school readiness module for making children with ASD ready for inclusive education and a scale to assess school readiness in them.

METHODS

Based on literature review, principles of learning, and techniques of behavioral intervention, a module was developed and reviewed by independent experts regarding the utility of the contents. A scale to assess school readiness was also developed to measure the impact of administering the module on children with ASD which was also validated by the same set of experts. Lawshe's content validity ratio was used to assess the appropriateness of each item for inclusion in the module and scale.

RESULTS

Experts (n = 6) gave their opinion on the usefulness of the School Readiness module for children with ASD. The experts agreed that most of the content under each component were valid with the exception of identification of objects by function, identification of environmental sounds and answering social questions. Similarly, in the school readiness scale there was good agreement for all items except for 1 item under domain 2 and 2 items under domain 5.

CONCLUSION

A school readiness module and a scale to assess school readiness based on interventions provided as per the school readiness module were developed and validated. Further studies are needed to assess the utility of the module and scale in children with ASD.

Is more child-initiated always better? Exploring relations between child-initiated instruction and preschoolers' school readiness

Although research suggests that the use of child-initiated vs. teacher-directed instructional practices in early childhood education has implications for learning and development, the precise nature of these effects remains unclear. Using data from the Midwest Child-Parent Center (CPC) Expansion Project, the present study examined the possibility that a blend of child- and teacher-directed practices best promotes school readiness among preschoolers experiencing high levels of sociodemographic risk and explored whether the optimal blend varies based on child characteristics. Sixty-two CPC preschool teachers reported their instructional practices throughout the year, using a newly developed questionnaire - the Classroom Activity Report (CAR). The average reported proportion of child-initiated instruction was examined in relation to students' end-of-year performance on a routine school readiness assessment (N = 1,289). Although there was no main effect of child-initiated instruction on school readiness, there was a significant interaction between instruction and student age. Four-year-olds' school readiness generally improved as the proportion of child-initiated time increased, while three-year-olds showed a U-shaped pattern. The present findings add to the evidence that child-initiated instruction might support preschoolers' school readiness, although they also suggest this relation may not always be linear. They also point to the importance of examining instructional strategies in relation to student characteristics, in order to tailor strategies to the student population. The CAR has potential as a brief, practical measurement tool that can support program monitoring and professional development.

Children's screen use and school readiness at 4-6 years: prospective cohort study

Background

The primary aim of this study was to determine if screen use in early childhood is associated with overall vulnerability in school readiness at ages 4 to 6 years, as measured by the Early Development Instrument (EDI). Secondary aims were to: (1) determine if screen use was associated with individual EDI domains scores, and (2) examine the association between screen use and EDI domains scores among a subgroup of high screen users.

Methods

This prospective cohort study was carried out using data from young children participating in a large primary care practice-based research network in Canada. Logistic regression analyses were run to investigate the association between screen use and overall vulnerability in school readiness. Separate linear regression models examined the relationships between children’s daily screen use and each separate continuous EDI domain.

Results

A total of 876 Canadian participants participated in this study. Adjusted logistic regression revealed an association between increased screen use and increased vulnerability in school readiness (p = 0.05). Results from adjusted linear regression demonstrated an association between higher screen use and reduced language and cognitive development domain scores (p = 0.004). Among high screen users, adjusted linear regression models revealed associations between increased screen use and reduced language and cognitive development (p = 0.004) and communication skills and general knowledge domain scores (p = 0.042).

Conclusions

Screen use in early childhood is associated with increased vulnerability in developmental readiness for school, with increased risk for poorer language and cognitive development in kindergarten, especially among high users.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-022-12629-8.

Progress Toward a Multisectoral Community Intervention Approach to Prevention of the Word Gap

Children learn language through the interactions they have with their parents/caregivers beginning at birth. Hart and Risley (1995) discovered an inequity in the home language input children received from parents/caregivers. Children reared in low-income families received less input (conversations, turns) from parents than did children reared in more advantaged families. Less language input was linked to a disparity in children's vocabulary learning by age 3. The long-term result of this social determinant of early language/literacy learning is a life trajectory of poor educational, economic, and health attainment for many children in families with limited resources, at vast cost to individuals, communities, and the nation. What is needed is an approach to word-gap prevention that is capable of achieving positive individual, community, and population outcomes. Translating research into practice, we developed the Bridging the Word Gap Community Action Planning Guide (BWG-CAPG) using a combined behavior-analytic, community psychology, and public health framework for this purpose (Greenwood et al., 2017). We also developed a progress-monitoring measure, the online BWG Community Check Box Evaluation System, to provide feedback on a community's actions and progress in implementing their plan. Results from an initial pilot investigation within and across three community sectors in a large urban city were promising. BWG Community Check Box results indicated a number of desired outcomes: (a) capacity development and mobilization, (b) community implementation actions, and (c) community changes in practices, programs, and policies. Implications are discussed.

Family Perceptions of Participating in a Structured Summer Kindergarten Transition Program

Many school districts provide one-time transition events to help students prepare for the rigors of kindergarten; yet, research shows families desire additional information and opportunities to help their children thrive once school begins. Researchers for this study interviewed 39 parents whose children participated in a three-week structured kindergarten transition program designed to promote parental involvement in school, reduce students' chronic absenteeism, and increase children's readiness for kindergarten. All interviewees expressed that participating in the program yielded benefits for themselves and their children. Respondents shared that meeting education staff members early during the summer, familiarizing themselves with the layout and routines of their schools, and building stronger social connections with other families were of particular value in helping them prepare for the start of kindergarten. Similarly, understanding kindergarten expectations more thoroughly and acquiring tools to support their children at home were deemed especially beneficial for those families who had not previously participated in preschool or other structured school opportunities. In addition to positive feedback, participants proposed various ways that adjusting the program could better meet the needs of all stakeholders. Suggestions included increasing the length of the student sessions, improving communication between district and families, re-structuring the parent information sessions to be more conducive to working families, and staffing the program with more individuals who would stay on as teachers during the transition from summer to fall. Parent suggestions from this study were synthesized into multiple implications for practice and substantiated by current relevant literature.

Reducing Poverty-Related Disparities in Child Development and School Readiness: The Smart Beginnings Tiered Prevention Strategy that Combines Pediatric Primary Care with Home Visiting

This paper describes the Smart Beginnings Integrated Model, an innovative, tiered approach for addressing school readiness disparities in low-income children from birth to age 3 in the United States through universal engagement of low-income families and primary prevention in pediatric primary care integrated with secondary/tertiary prevention in the home. We build on both public health considerations, in which engagement, cost and scalability are paramount, and a developmental psychopathology framework (Cicchetti & Toth, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines 50:16–25, 2009), in which the child is considered within the context of the proximal caregiving environment. Whereas existing early preventive models have shown promise in promoting children’s school readiness, the Smart Beginnings model addresses three important barriers that have limited impacts at the individual and/or population level: (1) identification and engagement of vulnerable families; (2) the challenges of scalability at low cost within existing service systems; and (3) tailoring interventions to address the heterogeneity of risk among low-income families. Smart Beginnings takes advantage of the existing platform of pediatric primary care to provide a universal primary prevention strategy for all families (Video Interaction Project) and a targeted secondary/tertiary prevention strategy (Family Check-Up) for families with additional contextual factors. We describe the theory underlying the Smart Beginnings model, some initial findings from its recent application in two cities, and implications for changing social policy to promote school readiness beginning during very early childhood.

Evaluating implementation of LEAPS, a youth-led early childhood care and education intervention in rural Pakistan: protocol for a stepped wedge cluster-randomized trial

Background

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) highlight the importance of investments in early childhood care and education (ECCE) and youth development. Given Pakistan’s large young population, and gender and urban-rural inequalities in access to education, training, and employment, such investments offer opportunities. LEAPS is a youth-led ECCE program that trains female youth, 18–24 years, as Community Youth Leaders (CYLs) to deliver high-quality ECCE for children, 3.5–5.5 years, in rural Sindh, Pakistan.

Methods

We use a stepped wedge cluster-randomized trial to evaluate implementation of LEAPS. Ninety-nine clusters will be randomized to receive the intervention in one of three 7-month steps (33 clusters/step). The primary outcome is children’s school readiness (indexed by the total score on the International Development and Early Learning Assessment (IDELA)). Secondary child outcomes are children’s IDELA domain scores and executive functions. Data are collected in cross-sectional surveys of 1089 children (11 children/cluster from 99 clusters) aged 4.5–5.5 years at four timepoints (baseline and at the end of each step). Additionally, we will enroll three non-randomized youth participant open cohorts, one per step (33 CYLs: 66 comparison youth per cohort; 99:198 in total). Youth cohorts will be assessed at enrollment and every 7 months thereafter to measure secondary outcomes of youth personal and professional development, depressive symptoms, and executive functions. A non-randomized school cohort of 330 LEAPS students (10 students/cluster from 33 clusters) will also be enrolled and assessed during Step 1 after intervention rollout and at endline. The quality of the learning environment will be assessed in each LEAPS ECCE center and in a comparison center at two timepoints midway following rollout and at endline. A concurrent mixed-methods implementation evaluation will assess program fidelity and quality, and the extent to which a technical support strategy is successful in strengthening systems for program expansion. A cost evaluation will assess cost per beneficiary. Data collection for implementation and cost evaluations will occur in Step 3.

Discussion

Youth-led models for ECCE offer a promising approach to support young children and youth. This study will contribute to the evidence as a means to promote sustainable human development across multiple SDG targets.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.govNCT03764436. Registered on December 5, 2018.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13063-021-05518-9.

Meeting a Physical Activity Guideline in Preschool and School Readiness: A Program Evaluation

This study evaluates if the Kiddie Children and Teachers on the Move physical activity (PA) program improves the proportion of days meeting the Institute of Medicine (IOM) PA guideline, and whether meeting the guideline is correlated with improvement in school readiness. Thirteen Head Start-affiliated pre-kindergarten classrooms participated in this study. Minutes per hour of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and proportion of days meeting the IOM PA guideline were examined across three types of intervention days: days during a non-intervention period, non-program days during the intervention period, and program days during the intervention period. Children displayed increasingly more MVPA and a greater proportion of days meeting the IOM guideline from non-intervention days to non-program days, and from non-program days to program days. Proportion of days meeting the guideline significantly predicted improvement in school readiness in five of six domains. Examination of program fidelity indicated the program was run with high fidelity.

School Readiness and Achievement in Early Elementary School: Moderation by Students' Temperament

The goals of this study were to examine the longitudinal relations between school readiness and reading and math achievement and to test if these relations were moderated by temperament. The sample included socio-economically and ethnically diverse twins (N=551). Parents reported on school readiness when children were five years old. Teachers reported on temperament (effortful control, anger, and shyness) three years later. Standardized measures of reading and math were obtained when children were eight years old. Effortful control and shyness moderated the effect of school readiness on reading. Prediction of reading from school readiness was strongest when students were high in effortful control and low in shyness. Effortful control and shyness predicted math beyond school readiness. There were no relations involving anger. Findings demonstrate that temperament can potentiate the relations between school readiness and reading and highlight the importance of promoting school readiness and effortful control, while decreasing shyness.

Distinct patterns of organized activity participation and their associations with school readiness among Chinese preschoolers

Organized extracurricular activities (EAs) constitute an important part of many young children's lives. However, the role of EAs in children's development during early childhood is poorly understood. The current study examined the associations between EA participation and a range of school readiness outcomes in a sample of 345 urban Chinese preschoolers. Using three waves of data collected on EA participation and applying growth mixture modeling, we discovered two distinct trajectory classes with respect to the breadth of EA participation as well as two classes for EA attendance intensity. With a series of covariates controlled for, children's greater initial levels of or rates of increase in EA breadth were related to better early math skills. Greater probabilities of belonging to the higher-intensity class were also associated with better early math skills in children. However, EA participation did not predict other aspects of children's school readiness, including Chinese reading, receptive vocabulary, expressive language, social skills, and problem behaviors. This study extends existing EA literature, which has primarily focused on school-aged populations in Western contexts, by demonstrating substantial individual variations in Chinese preschoolers' trajectories of EA participation. Our findings suggest that EAs seem to have little unique contribution to children's school readiness except for early math skills.

Traumatic Brain Injury and School Readiness Among Preschool-Aged Children in the United States

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study is to examine the association between traumatic brain injury (TBI) and school readiness using a nationally representative sample of preschool-aged children in the United States.

METHODS

Using data on 15,402 preschool-aged children (ages three to five years) from the 2016 to 2018 cohorts of the National Survey of Children's Health, this study investigates the association between lifetime measure of TBI in children and four domains of school readiness: early learning skills, self-regulation, social-emotional development, and physical health/motor development.

RESULTS

Among this sample of preschool-aged children, 252 (1.64%) had experienced a TBI during their lifetime. Within school readiness domains, TBI was associated with a 62% to 99% increase in the rate of needs support/at-risk items and a 129% to 322% increase in the rate of at-risk items, contingent on the exact domain examined. Additional analyses reveal that, net of covariates, TBI reduced the predicted probability of being on-track across all four domains from approximately 0.424 for children with no history of TBI to 0.224 for children with a history of TBI.

CONCLUSIONS

A history of TBI was associated with reductions in school readiness within and across domains. Facilitating better communication between parents, pediatricians, and schools about both TBI and responses to TBI may result in the implementation of services and individualized, tailored instructional approaches that can improve educational outcomes.

Household food insecurity and school readiness among preschool-aged children in the USA

OBJECTIVE

The present study examines the association between mild and moderate-to-severe household food insecurity and school readiness among a nationally representative sample of preschool-aged children.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional data pertaining to household food availability as well as four domains of school readiness - early learning skills, self-regulation, social-emotional development and physical health & motor development - were employed.

SETTING

The USA.

PARTICIPANTS

15 402 children aged 3-5 years from the 2016-2018 National Survey of Children's Health.

RESULTS

Both mild and moderate-to-severe food insecurity are associated with an increase in needing support or being at-risk in each of the four school readiness domains, particularly Self-Regulation (IRR = 4·31; CI 2·68, 6·95) and Social-Emotional Development (IRR = 3·43; CI 2·16, 5·45). Furthermore, while nearly half of the children in food-secure households are on-track across all four school readiness domains (47·49 %), only one in four children experiencing moderate-to-severe household food insecurity is on-track across all domains (25·26 %).

CONCLUSIONS

Household food insecurity is associated with reductions in school readiness among preschool-aged children.

Intervention response among preschoolers with ADHD: The role of emotion understanding

Emotion recognition/understanding (ERU), which is the ability to correctly identify emotional states in others as well as one's self, plays a key role in children's social-emotional development and is often targeted in early intervention programs. Yet the extent to which young children's ERU predicts their intervention response remains unclear. The current study examined the extent to which initial levels of ERU and changes in ERU predicted intervention response to a multimodal early intervention program (Summer Treatment Program for Pre-Kindergarteners; STP-PreK). Participants included 230 young children (M_age = 4.90, 80.0% male) with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who participated in the 8-week STP-PreK. Children's ERU was measured via a standardized behavioral task. Similarly, standardized measures of academic achievement (Woodcock-Johnson-IV), executive functioning (Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders-Task), and social-emotional functioning (Challenging Situation Task) were obtained pre- and post-intervention. Parents and teachers also reported on children's behavioral functioning pre- and post-intervention. Children with better initial ERU made greater improvements in academic, executive functioning (EF), and social-emotional domains, along with decreases in inattention symptom severity. However, pre-intervention levels of ERU were not associated with improvements in parent/teacher report of hyperactivity, oppositional defiant disorder, and overall behavioral impairment. Lastly, changes in ERU only predicted improvement in EF, but not any other school readiness outcomes. We provide preliminary evidence that initial levels of ERU predict intervention response across school readiness domains in a sample of preschoolers with ADHD.

Inequalities in child development at school entry: A repeated cross-sectional analysis of the Australian Early Development Census 2009-2018

BACKGROUND

Australia is the only developed country to consistently undertake a developmental census of its children nationwide. The repeated collection of the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) has provided an unprecedented opportunity to examine the prevalence of developmental vulnerability across Australia's states and territories, the socio-economic distribution of developmental vulnerability across jurisdictions, and how these distributions might have changed over time.

METHODS

This study employed multivariable logistic regressions to estimate the probability of developmental vulnerability within each jurisdiction and AEDC collection year (2009 to 2018), adjusting for jurisdictional differences in socio-demographic characteristics. To explore socio-economic inequalities in child development, adjusted slope index of inequality (SII) models were utilised.

FINDINGS

The results of this study found reductions in the adjusted prevalence of developmental vulnerability over time in Western Australia (26% to 20%) and Queensland (30% to 25%), with an increase observed in the Australian Capital Territory (27% to 30%). Analysis also indicated an increase in socio-economic inequalities over time in the Northern Territory (+12%), the Australian Capital Territory (+6%) and Tasmania (+4%). Sensitivity analysis found these effects to be robust with an alternative measure of socio-economic position.

INTERPRETATION

There is considerable variation in the prevalence and socio-economic inequalities in developmental vulnerability across Australia's jurisdictions. Future research should explore the policy drivers in early childhood education and health contributing to the findings of this study, with a particular focus on jurisdictions where there have been notable changes in developmental vulnerability and socio-economic inequality over time.

FUNDING

Analyses were funded under research contract by the Department of Education, Skills and Employment. Prof Brinkman is supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council fellowship, APP1160185.

Maternal cigarette use during pregnancy and school readiness: An analysis of preschool age children in São Paulo, Brazil

BACKGROUND

Barriers to early childhood development (ECD) are a global concern. Limited research exists on prenatal smoking and ECD in vulnerable populations, especially as it relates to school readiness (SR).

AIMS

To examine how maternal cigarette use during pregnancy is associated with SR in a sample of Brazilian preschool-age children.

STUDY DESIGN

We used the Brazilian Preschool Mental Health Study, a cross-sectional, epidemiological study of preschool-age children in Embu das Artes, São Paulo. SR was assessed using the Engle Scale of Child Development (ESCD). We restricted analyses to biological mothers, who represented 81.9% (n = 591) of the total 722 with ESCD data. Logistic regression models, adjusting for birth and child characteristics (year of preschool, sex, race, history of head trauma, coma, convulsions or epilepsy), sociodemographic factors and school environment, were used to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals.

RESULTS

Prenatal smoking was negatively associated with SR. Children of mothers who smoked during pregnancy were more likely to be in the lowest ESCD quartile (aOR = 1.26, 95%CI: [1.02-1.55]) compared to those of non-smoking mothers, and each cigarette resulted in additional risk (aOR = 1.03, 95%CI:[1.01-1.05]). Children of heavy smokers had worse ESCD scores compared to children of non-smokers (aOR = 1.69, 95%CI:[1.18-2.44]), as well as when compared to children of moderate and non-smokers combined (aOR = 1.77, 95%CI:[1.22-2.57]). This relationship was not seen when comparing children of moderate smokers to children of non-smokers. Inferences were robust when examining very heavy smoking.

CONCLUSION

Maternal tobacco use during pregnancy may affect child SR. Additional studies in other populations are needed to corroborate these results.

Community-Level Social Determinants and Children's School Readiness

The current study examined links between social determinants across communities and school readiness of children attending kindergarten in each community, in literacy, math, self-regulation, and social skills. Four types of social determinants were explored: socioeconomic, crime/violence, health and well-being, and access to resources. Data came from the Oregon Kindergarten Assessment, with 40,652 entering kindergarteners attending 706 schools in the fall of 2014. The 706 schools were nested within 36 counties. Variables representing social determinants were drawn from a variety of publicly available data sources from the year(s) most recently prior to the 2014-2015 school year. Bayesian multilevel modeling was conducted with children nested within schools, within counties. Children's school readiness in all four domains was negatively predicted by economic disadvantage at the school-level (indicated by other children with whom they attend Kindergarten), accounting for economic disadvantage in their own household. Moreover, school-level economic disadvantage amplified the negative effects of children's economic disadvantage on their school readiness. Four county-level social determinants also predicted one or more of the four school readiness outcomes, accounting for child- and school-level factors: child care supply, behavioral crime, maternal smoking, and adult health. County-level findings should be interpreted with caution due to a small sample and exploratory approach. However, this study is a first step to helping leaders address critical questions about how community risk factors like crime, and resources like child care, relate to school readiness among children in their communities.

When do preschoolers learn specific mathematics skills? Mapping the development of early numeracy knowledge

Children's mathematics skills undergo extensive development during the preschool years. Opportunities for engaging in mathematics in the preschool classroom, however, are limited, and activities and instruction are often targeted below children's skill levels. Although researchers have developed general learning trajectories of children's mathematics skills, no fine-grained trajectories across a broad range of mathematics skills exist. Such a fine-grained trajectory of when specific numeracy skills develop would allow preschool and kindergarten instruction to more appropriately match and scaffold children's mathematics capabilities. The current study examined preschool children's item-level performance on eight numeracy subtests at half-year age points throughout the preschool period. Data were compiled across six studies, and participants comprised 801 preschool children (age range = 3.12-5.99 years, M = 4.63, SD = 0.68). Children were grouped into six age categories (3, 3.5, 4, 4.5, 5, and 5.5 years). Linear regression analyses were used to investigate the number of children who correctly answered each item of a specific subtest within a particular age group. Findings provide clear trajectories of children's early mathematics skills that can be used to inform preschool classroom practices and facilitate the design of intervention studies.

Preparing Children with Autism for Transition to Mainstream School and Perspectives on Supporting Positive School Experiences

School readiness is important to a positive start and success in school but children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are at risk of not being school-ready. This study aimed to explore parent and therapist perspectives on school readiness skills of children with ASD and factors impacting on a positive mainstream school experience. A mixed methods design was used. Key findings were that school readiness depends on child and school factors, with social skills the most important child factor. The child's experience was largely reliant on teacher and education assistant attitudes and highlighted a need for further training and support. This study identified areas of focus for early intervention as well as school-aged intervention and the need for collaborative practice.

Dimensionality and Predictive validity of the Classroom Learning Activities Checklist in Prekindergarten

The Classroom Learning Activities Checklist (CLAC) is a brief classroom observation measure that assesses task-oriented and self-regulated learning in early childhood environments. We assessed the tool's dimensionality and validity in predicting prekindergarten (PreK) learning gains. The study sample is from the Midwest Child-Parent Center (MCPC) program, an evidence-based PreK-3rd grade school reform model providing comprehensive educational and family support services. Data from 1358 enrolled students in 72 observed classrooms indicated that a 2-factor model-instructional responsiveness and student engagement-explained 50% of the variance in item scores. Evidence for construct validity was strong. Linear and probit regression analyses indicated that CLAC scores independently predicted learning gains in literacy (ES = .34 SD) and math (ES = .30 SD) on the Teaching Strategies Gold Assessment System, a standardized performance assessment. Findings support the validity of the CLAC in assessing the classroom learning environment. Implications for program monitoring, evaluation, and professional development are discussed.

Cumulative Antenatal Risk and Kindergarten Readiness in Preterm-Born Preschoolers

A suboptimal intrauterine environment is thought to increase the probability of deviation from the typical neurodevelopmental trajectory, potentially contributing to the etiology of learning disorders. Yet the cumulative influence of individual antenatal risk factors on emergent learning skills has not been sufficiently examined. We sought to determine whether antenatal complications, in aggregate, are a source of variability in preschoolers’ kindergarten readiness, and whether specific classes of antenatal risk play a prominent role. We recruited 160 preschoolers (85 girls; ages 3–4 years), born ≤33⁶/₇ weeks’ gestation, and reviewed their hospitalization records. Kindergarten readiness skills were assessed with standardized intellectual, oral-language, prewriting, and prenumeracy tasks. Cumulative antenatal risk was operationalized as the sum of complications identified out of nine common risks. These were also grouped into four classes in follow-up analyses: complications associated with intra-amniotic infection, placental insufficiency, endocrine dysfunction, and uteroplacental bleeding. Linear mixed model analyses, adjusting for sociodemographic and medical background characteristics (socioeconomic status, sex, gestational age, and sum of perinatal complications) revealed an inverse relationship between the sum of antenatal complications and performance in three domains: intelligence, language, and prenumeracy (p = 0.003, 0.002, 0.005, respectively). Each of the four classes of antenatal risk accounted for little variance, yet together they explained 10.5%, 9.8%, and 8.4% of the variance in the cognitive, literacy, and numeracy readiness domains, respectively. We conclude that an increase in the co-occurrence of antenatal complications is moderately linked to poorer kindergarten readiness skills even after statistical adjustment for perinatal risk.

Summer Treatment Program for Preschoolers with Externalizing Behavior Problems: a Preliminary Examination of Parenting Outcomes

Within an at-risk sample of preschoolers with externalizing behavior problems (EBP), the current study examined the initial promise of a multimodal intervention, the Summer Treatment Program for Pre-Kindergarteners (STP-PreK), in improving parenting outcomes. Using an open trial design, 154 parents and their preschool children (73% male; M _age = 5.06 years; 82% Hispanic/Latino background) with at-risk or clinically elevated levels of EBP (57% of which were referred by schools or mental health/medical professionals) completed a baseline and post-treatment assessment. A subsample of 90 families completed a follow-up assessment approximately 6 to 9 months after treatment completion. Parental measures of parenting stress and discipline strategies were collected across all three assessments. Observational data were also collected across all assessments during a 5-min standardized child-led play situation and a 5-min parent-led clean up task. The parenting component of the STP-PreK included a School Readiness Parenting Program (SRPP) of which the behavioral management component was implemented via a Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) adaptation (8 weekly group sessions with 15-20 parents in each group, lack of requirement of "mastery" criteria). All parenting outcomes (both ratings and observed) significantly improved after the intervention (Cohen's d mean effect size across measures 0.89) with all effects being maintained at the 6-9 month follow-up. These findings highlight the initial promise of our SRPP's PCIT adaptation in targeting multiple aspects of parenting while yielding comparable parenting skills acquisition compared to traditional individual PCIT.

Timing of the first report and highest level of child protection response in association with early developmental vulnerabilities in an Australian population cohort

BACKGROUND

Childhood maltreatment is associated with early childhood developmental vulnerabilities. However, the extent to which higher levels of child protection responses confer benefit to developmental competencies, and the impact of earlier timing of first reports in relation to early childhood vulnerability remains unclear.

OBJECTIVE

We examined associations between early developmental vulnerabilities and (1) the highest level of child protection response (where OOHC was deemed the highest response among other types of reports/responses), and (2) the developmental timing of the first child protection report.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

Participants included 67,027 children from the New South Wales Child Development Study, of whom 10,944 were reported to child protection services up to age 5 years.

METHODS

A series of Multinomial Logistic Regressions were conducted to examine focal associations.

RESULTS

Children with substantiated maltreatment reports showed the strongest odds of vulnerability on three or more developmental domains (adjusted OR = 4.90; 95% CI = 4.13-5.80); children placed in OOHC showed slightly better physical, cognitive and communication competencies (adjusted ORs from 1.83 to 2.65) than those with substantiated reports that did not result in OOHC placements (adjusted OR from 2.77 to 3.67), when each group was compared to children with no child protection reports. Children with first maltreatment reports occurring in the first 18 months of life showed the strongest likelihood of developmental vulnerabilities on three or more developmental domains (adjusted OR = 3.56; 95% CI = 3.15-4.01) relative to children with no child protection reports.

CONCLUSION

Earlier reports of maltreatment may signal the need for targeted remediation of early developmental competencies to mitigate early developmental difficulties.

Gains in teacher-child interaction quality and children's school readiness skills: Does it matter where teachers start?

Teachers' initial level of interactional quality at the beginning of a school year (baseline) was examined as a potential moderating factor in the relation between change in interactional quality and change in children's school readiness skills throughout an academic year. Participants were 269 preschool teachers and 1179 children from low-income backgrounds. Teacher-child interactions and children's school readiness skills were measured in the fall and spring of the preschool year. Overall, improvements in the quality of teacher-child interactions across the year were not significantly related to children's skill development. Three important findings emerged; two main effects and one interaction effect. Gains in teachers' instructional support across the year were related to children's literacy and inhibitory control development. Additionally, the relation between gains in teachers' emotional support and gains in children's inhibitory control was moderated by teachers' initial level of emotional support at the beginning of the year. These findings provide limited evidence for the need to consider teachers' initial level of quality and how much they change across the year in understanding the relation between quality of teacher-child interactions and children's skill development.

Does dose of early intervention matter for preschoolers with externalizing behavior problems? A pilot randomized trial comparing intensive summer programming to school consultation

The goals of this study were to (a) isolate the ideal length (i.e., 4 or 8 weeks) of the Summer Treatment Program for Kindergarteners (STP-PreK) for improving school readiness and kindergarten success outcomes of preschool children with externalizing behavior problems (EBPs) during the transition to kindergarten; and (b) compare the STP-PreK model to a more standard approach in school settings (i.e., behavioral school consultation). Forty-five preschool children (82% boys; Mage = 5.16 years; 93% Hispanic/Latino background) were randomized to one of three intervention conditions: 1) 8-week STP-PreK (8W); 2) 4-week STP-PreK (4W); or 3) school year behavioral consultation (SC). Both STP-PreK groups included an 8-week parent training component. Baseline, post-intervention, and 6-month follow-up data were collected on children's school readiness and kindergarten success outcomes including parent, teacher, and objective assessment measures. Analyses using linear mixed models indicated that children's behavioral, academic, social-emotional, and self-regulation functioning significantly improved across groups. Few significant differences were found between children receiving the 4W and 8W programs, suggesting that both programs have the potential to prepare preschool children with EBP for the transition to school. Both 4W and 8W groups experienced greater initial growth across time in most domains compared to children in the SC group. However, by the end of the kindergarten year, children in the SC group caught up to children in both 4W and 8W groups on most domains. Overall, these findings suggest that all three intervention doses are effective in improving kindergarten year functioning, with some important considerations for intervention timing in preparation for the transition to elementary school. Clinical implications for school personnel are discussed.

A Population-Based Study of School Readiness Determinants in a Large Urban Public School District

Objectives We examined biologic and social determinants of school readiness in an urban population and whether childcare altered these associations. Methods A retrospective cohort study was conducted using school readiness data linked to birth certificates of first-time kindergarten students (n = 39,463) in a large, urban public-school district during 2002-2012. Multivariate linear regression models compared mean readiness scores (MRS) for students born low birthweight (LBW) or preterm (PTB) and by childcare type, adjusting for other student and parent risk factors. Results MRSs for moderately LBW (1000-2499 g), extremely LBW (< 1000 g), moderately PTB (28-36 weeks), early-term (37-38 weeks) and post-term (42 + weeks) students were significantly lower than scores for their normal weight or full-term peers, adjusting for childcare type and other student and parent characteristics. Childcare was an important predictor of MRSs. MRSs were highest for district prekindergarten (PK) students and for students of mothers with greater years of education. Conclusions for Practice Social and biologic differences in MRSs for children entering school in a large urban public-school district suggest the need for greater attention to family and child health backgrounds. Increased enrollment in formal childcare may improve school readiness in these settings.

Income-Related Gaps in Early Child Cognitive Development: Why Are They Larger in the United States Than in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada?

Previous research has documented significantly larger income-related gaps in children’s early cognitive development in the United States than in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. In this study, we investigate the extent to which this is a result of a more unequal income distribution in the United States. We show that although incomes are more unequal in the United States than elsewhere, a given difference in real income is associated with larger gaps in child test scores there than in the three other countries. In particular, high-income families in the United States appear to translate the same amount of financial resources into greater cognitive advantages relative to the middle-income group than those in the other countries studied. We compare inequalities in other kinds of family characteristics and show that higher income levels are disproportionately concentrated among families with advantageous demographic characteristics in the United States. Our results underline the fact that the same degree of income inequality can translate into different disparities in child development, depending on the distribution of other family resources.

Parent Engagement in a Head Start Home Visiting Program Predicts Sustained Growth in Children's School Readiness

This study examined three components of parent engagement in an enriched Head Start home visiting program: intervention attendance, the working alliance between parents and home visitors, and parents' use of program materials between sessions. The study identified those family and child characteristics that predicted the different components of parent engagement, and the study tested whether those components predicted sustained growth in children's school readiness skills across four years, from preschool through second grade. Ninety-five low-income parents with four year-old children attending Head Start (56% white; 26% black; 20% Latino; 44% girls) were randomly assigned to receive the home visiting program. Assessments included home visitor, parent, and teacher ratings, as well as interviewer observations and direct testing of children; data analyses relied on correlations and hierarchical multiple regression equations. Results showed that baseline family characteristics, like warm parent-child interactions, and child functioning predicted both working alliance and use of program materials, but only race/ethnicity predicted intervention attendance. The use of program materials was the strongest predictor of growth in children's literacy skills and social adjustment at home during the intervention period itself. In contrast, working alliance emerged as the strongest predictor of growth in children's language arts skills, attention skills, and social adjustment at school through second grade, two years after the end of the home visiting intervention. To maximize intervention effectiveness across school readiness domains over time, home visiting programs need to support multiple components of parent engagement, particularly working alliance and the use of program materials between sessions.

Bedtime routines child wellbeing & development

Background

Bedtime routines has shown important associations with areas associated with child wellbeing and development. Research into bedtime routines is limited with studies mainly focusing on quality of sleep. The objectives of the present study were to examine the relationship between bedtime routines and a variety of factors associated with child wellbeing and to examine possible determinants of bedtime routines.

Methods

A total of 50 families with children between 3 and 5 years old took part in the study. Data on bedtime routines, parenting styles, school readiness, children’s dental health, and executive function were collected.

Results

Children in families with optimal bedtime routines showed better performance in terms of executive function, specifically working memory (t (44)= − 8.51, p ≤ .001), inhibition and attention (t (48)= − 9.70, p ≤ .001) and cognitive flexibility (t (48)= − 13.1, p ≤ .001). Also, children in households with optimal bedtime routines scored higher in their readiness for school (t (48)= 6.92, p ≤ .001) and had better dental health (U = 85.5, p = .011). Parents in households with suboptimal bedtime routines showed worse performance on all measures of executive function including working memory (t (48)= − 10.47, p ≤ .001), inhibition-attention (t (48)= − 10.50, p ≤ .001) and cognitive flexibility (t (48)= − 13.6, p ≤ .001). Finally, parents with optimal bedtime routines for their children deployed a more positive parenting style in general (i.e. authoritative parenting) compared to those with suboptimal bedtime routines (t (48)= − 6.45, p ≤ .001).

Conclusion

The results of the present study highlight the potentially important role of bedtime routines in a variety of areas associated with child wellbeing and the need for further research.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-018-5290-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

School readiness of maltreated children: Associations of timing, type, and chronicity of maltreatment

Children who have been maltreated during early childhood may experience a difficult transition into fulltime schooling, due to maladaptive development of the skills and abilities that are important for positive school adaptation. An understanding of how different dimensions of maltreatment relate to children's school readiness is important for informing appropriate supports for maltreated children. In this study, the Australian Early Development Census scores of 19,203 children were linked to information on child maltreatment allegations (substantiated and unsubstantiated), including the type of alleged maltreatment, the timing of the allegation (infancy-toddlerhood or preschool), and the total number of allegations (chronicity). Children with a maltreatment allegation had increased odds of poor school readiness in cognitive and non-cognitive domains. Substantiated maltreatment was associated with poor social and emotional development in children, regardless of maltreatment type, timing, or chronicity. For children with unsubstantiated maltreatment allegations, developmental outcomes according to the type of alleged maltreatment were more heterogeneous; however, these children were also at risk of poor school readiness irrespective of the timing and/or chronicity of the alleged maltreatment. The findings suggest that all children with maltreatment allegations are at risk for poor school readiness; hence, these children may need additional support to increase the chance of a successful school transition. Interventions should commence prior to the start of school to mitigate early developmental difficulties that children with a history of maltreatment allegations may be experiencing, with the aim of reducing the incidence of continuing difficulties in the first year of school and beyond.

School readiness of maltreated preschoolers and later school achievement: The role of emotion regulation, language, and context

Guided by bio-ecological theory, this study aimed to: (1) identify heterogeneity in the developmental patterns of emotion regulation for maltreated preschool-aged children; (2) examine the role of gender, language, placement instability, cognitive stimulation, and emotional support on patterns of stability and change of emotion regulation over time; and (3) elucidate the role of emotion regulation/dysregulation patterns on later academic achievement. This study utilized data from the first cohort of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being. Results using LCA and LTA models indicated stability and change in emotionally regulated vs. emotionally dysregulated latent classes across 4, 5, and 6 ½ years of age. Placement instability significantly increased the likelihood of being classified as emotionally dysregulated at wave 1. Moreover, children classified as emotionally dysregulated by age 6 ½ scored significantly lower than children who were classified as emotionally regulated on measures of reading and math achievement by age 10. Based on these findings, placement stability at first contact with CPS should be promoted in order to prevent cascading negative effects on emotion regulation. Additionally, children who are more emotionally dysregulated by the time they transition to formal schooling should receive increased socioemotional and socioemotional learning supports.

Measuring preschool learning engagement in the laboratory

Learning engagement is a critical factor for academic achievement and successful school transitioning. However, current methods of assessing learning engagement in young children are limited to teacher report or classroom observation, which may limit the types of research questions one could assess about this construct. The current study investigated the validity of a novel assessment designed to measure behavioral learning engagement among young children in a standardized laboratory setting and examined how learning engagement in the laboratory relates to future classroom adjustment. Preschool-aged children (N = 278) participated in a learning-based Tangrams task and Story sequencing task and were observed based on seven behavioral indicators of engagement. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the construct validity for a behavioral engagement factor composed of six of the original behavioral indicators: attention to instructions, on-task behavior, enthusiasm/energy, persistence, monitoring progress/strategy use, and negative affect. Concurrent validity for this behavioral engagement factor was established through its associations with parent-reported mastery motivation and pre-academic skills in math and literacy measured in the laboratory, and predictive validity was demonstrated through its associations with teacher-reported classroom learning behaviors and performance in math and reading in kindergarten. These associations were found when behavioral engagement was observed during both the nonverbal task and the verbal story sequencing tasks and persisted even after controlling for child minority status, gender, and maternal education. Learning engagement in preschool appears to be successfully measurable in a laboratory setting. This finding has implications for future research on the mechanisms that support successful academic development.

Transition to school for children with autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review

AIM

To identify factors that promote a positive start to school for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

METHODS

Web of Science, MEDLINE, Scopus, and PsychINFO searches were conducted to identify literature published after 1991 and relevant to school transition processes in children with ASD. Twenty studies were deemed eligible for inclusion. These studies evaluated a range of factors including school readiness, parent and teacher perspectives on transition practices, characteristics of children with ASD that are associated with successful transition to school and the impact of school based intervention programs.

RESULTS

A review of these studies showed that children with ASD are less school ready emotionally than their peers and those children with ASD appear to have more externalising behaviours and self-regulation difficulties that affect their school engagement and their relationships with their teachers. There was a paucity of research looking at interventions targeting school readiness. However, school-based behavioural interventions appear to improve cognitive, language and daily living skills, but have less impact on socialisation and peer inclusion.

CONCLUSION

Children with ASD face more challenges transitioning to school, particularly with social interaction. Further development and implementation of specific school-based interventions is needed in order to assist children with autism to maximise their success in starting school.