Activity settings in full-day kindergarten classrooms and children's early learning

Bioecological profiles of preschool children's individual, familial, and educational characteristics, and their relations with school adjustment, academic performance, and executive function in first grade

This study investigates the relationships between distinct bioecological profiles of individual, familial, and educational characteristics of preschool children and their school adjustment, academic performance, and executive function in first grade. Data on 11 indicators of personal and environmental characteristics were collected from 1,016 five-year-old Korean preschoolers using a national-level open dataset. Latent profile analysis identified five profiles that were associated with different levels of school adjustment, academic performance, and executive function one year later when the preschoolers became first graders. The "Good Social Competence by Good Familial Environment" profile was the most associated with levels of school adjustment, academic performance, and executive function. The "Good Social Competence by Good Educational Environment" profile was more associated with levels of school adjustment and executive function than the "Moderate" profile but less associated with these levels than the "Good Social Competence by Good Familial Environment" profile. Findings indicate that the environment, rather than individual characteristics of preschoolers, plays a more significant role in their elementary school adjustment, academic performance, and executive function, and that their familial environment plays a more significant role than their educational environment. The study highlights the importance of creating supportive familial environments for preschool children to improve their school adjustment, academic performance, and executive function in elementary school, and provides a useful guide for practitioners and policymakers seeking to improve children's academic and socioemotional outcomes.

Kindergarteneres' Peer Relationships and Early School Absenteeism

This study used a short-term longitudinal design to examine the extent to which kindergartners': (a) peer relationships are associated with their school absenteeism; and (b) development of positive peer relationships vary as a function of their time spent in school. To address these aims, data were drawn from 801 kindergartners across 64 classrooms and 15 schools in a Midwest city in the United States. Results from covariate-adjusted regression models revealed that kindergartners' relational bonds were not predictive of their time away from school, and that their relationships with classmates were generally unaffected by absenteeism. There was, however, some indication that children's relationships with their classmates were more strongly predicted by their absenteeism for children from less educated households relative to children from more educated households.

The Role of Preschool Peers in Children's Language Development

Almost 5 million children attend preschool in the United States each year. Recent attention has been paid to the ways in which preschool classrooms shape children's early language development. In this article, we discuss the importance of peers and classroom composition through the lens of age and socioeconomic status and the implications for children's early learning and development. We also discuss the direct and indirect mechanisms through which classroom peers may shape each other's language development. As part of this discussion, we focus on exposure to peer language and engagement with peers, along with teachers' classroom practices. We conclude by discussing the ways in which teachers can ensure that children in classrooms of different compositions reap the maximum benefit, along with implications for research, policy, and practice.

Detailing New Dangers: Linking Kindergarten Chronic Absenteeism to Long-Term Declines in Executive Functioning

Of all elementary school years, absenteeism is at its peak during kindergarten. Although much has been established about the effects of missing kindergarten school days on achievement, nothing has yet been established on absenteeism and executive function (EF) skills. Yet developing EF skills early in school is critical, and missed in-school time might have long-term implications. To explore this link, we asked whether absenteeism in kindergarten was linked to both short- and long-term EF skill development. Using nationally representative data (N = 14,370) and employing fixed-effects modeling, we found that kindergarten absenteeism was linked to lower working memory and cognitive flexibility outcomes. The patterns varied based on definition of absenteeism, though our evidence does suggest long-term declines on EF skills seen through at least third grade.

Mealtimes in Head Start pre-k classrooms: examining language-promoting opportunities in a hybrid space

In this study we sought to identify profiles of talk during Head Start preschool mealtime conversations involving teachers and students. Videos of 44 Head Start classrooms' lunch interactions were analyzed for the ratio of teacher-child talk and amount of academic vocabulary, and then coded for instances of academic/food, social/personal, and management talk to highlight the degree of hybridity of talk within this unique setting. Cluster analysis revealed four distinct patterns of teacher-child mealtime interactions in 44 Head Start preschool classrooms: classroom discourse, home discourse, hybrid-low, and hybrid-high. Multilevel models further demonstrated a relationship among these clusters of teacher-child interactions and children's end-of-year expressive vocabulary scores controlling for ratio of teacher-child talk and pre-test scores. Children in classrooms displaying a hybrid style of mealtime discourse made the greatest gains on measures of expressive vocabulary in contrast to their peers in classrooms displaying other discourse styles.