Factor structure of school readiness skills: conceptual vs. statistical distinctions.

Introduction: School readiness skills are a broad set of abilities that children develop in early childhood that support achievement once they enter formal schooling. Three components of school readiness skills are of focus in the current study: executive function (EF), language/literacy, and mathematics. The current study examines to what extent 13 direct assessments of these skills statistically align with theoretical models for distinct construct- and timepoint-specific latent factors. Methods: The sample included 684 children (52.34% male; 42% Black/African American; Mage = 4.80 years in the fall of prekindergarten) assessed in the fall and spring of the prekindergarten year. Results: Factor analyses revealed the most statistical support for a model with a latent random intercept across timepoints and constructs, along with timepoint-specific latent factors in the fall and spring of prekindergarten (independent of the random intercept). The timepoint-specific latent factors primarily consisted of early literacy and mathematics assessments. Discussion: These findings challenge commonly held practices of creating construct-specific latent factors in early childhood research and, to a lesser extent, timepoint-specific latent factors without consideration of the substantial shared variance across different constructs and timepoints. Implications for the factor structure and developmental theory of school readiness skills are considered, as well as practical considerations for future research.

The home numeracy environment and children's math skills: The moderating role of parents' math anxiety.

Evidence suggests that parents' math anxiety moderates the association between parents' help in mathematics homework and first graders' mathematics skills. Understanding whether similar associations are evident in younger children, in regard to the home numeracy environment (HNE) is essential, given that early math skills are strong predictors of later academic outcomes, and children's skills prior to kindergarten are fostered principally by their parents. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the association and interaction between the HNE and parents' math anxiety related to preschool children's numeracy performance. Participants were 121 parent-child dyads. Results from hierarchical multiple regression models demonstrated that parents' math anxiety and the HNE, included as separate predictors of children's math skills, were not statistically significant. However, the interaction between HNE and parents' math anxiety was statistically significant, such that the positive association between HNE and children's numeracy skills emerged when parents felt less anxious about math. These findings highlight the importance of accounting for parents' math anxiety when exploring the home influences on children's numeracy skills.

Revisiting age- and schooling-related growth in school readiness skills: A multimethod validation study.

In the present study, we investigated the relative impact of age- versus schooling-related growth in school readiness skills using four modeling approaches that leverage natural variation in longitudinal data collected within the preschool year. Our goal was to demonstrate the applicability of different analytic techniques that do not rely on assumptions inherent in commonly applied methods (e.g., the school entrance cutoff method, regression discontinuity design) that selection into subsequent grades is based on birthdate alone and that the quality of experiences between grades are not responsible for differences in outcomes. Notably, these alternative methods also do not require data collected across multiple grades. Participants included 316 children (Mage = 54.77 months; 47.15% male) who mostly identified as White (64%) or Latinx (20%). A little over half of the sample attended Head Start preschools (54.75%). Four modeling techniques that leverage data collected at two timepoints in preschool were used to examine schooling effects on children's preliteracy, emergent math, and executive function (EF) skills. Results replicate evidence from previous research using traditional methods. Specifically, findings across all models demonstrate a schooling effect on preliteracy skills during the preschool year, above and beyond maturation, but not on emergent math or EF. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each analytical tool for researchers who are interested in answering questions about the effects of schooling with diverse data collection strategies, as well as broader implications for the integrity of educational and developmental science. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Examining Associations Between Food Insecurity, Inhibitory Control, and Body Mass Index in Preschoolers.

OBJECTIVE: This study examines relations between food insecurity, inhibitory control, and body mass index (BMI) in early childhood. METHOD: The sample comes from an evaluation of a state-funded prekindergarten program and includes 126 children (mean age = 4.73 yrs, female = 42%) from families with low incomes. Parents reported on their child's food insecurity. Child inhibitory control was assessed using a performance-based task, and children's height and weight were objectively collected at the same time as the inhibitory control assessment. A regression model was used to test whether inhibitory control moderated the association between food insecurity and BMI. The model included a large battery of covariates and adjusted for clustering at the classroom level. Ad hoc analyses were conducted to examine the robustness of findings to different conceptualizations of food insecurity based on the US Department of Agriculture's categories for severity. RESULTS: A significant interaction revealed that inhibitory control moderated the association between food insecurity and children's BMI percentile. Investigation of the simple slopes suggested that greater food insecurity was related to a higher BMI percentile among children who demonstrated stronger inhibitory control. In addition, results from ad hoc analyses examining categories of food insecurity indicated that experiencing very low food security was also related to a higher BMI among children with average and strong inhibitory control. CONCLUSION: This study makes a unique contribution to the existing literature by examining relations among food insecurity, inhibitory control, and BMI during a critical period in children's physical and brain development. Findings have implications for public health efforts to address childhood obesity among populations with low incomes.

Examining transactional relations between behavioral self-regulation and social-emotional functioning during the transition to kindergarten.

The present study examined longitudinal associations between behavioral self-regulation and social-emotional functioning across four waves of measurement during the transition from preschool to kindergarten in a low-income sample. Participants included two cohorts of children (N = 558; 51% male). Children in both cohorts were 4 years old (Cohort 1: M = 4.82 years, SD = .31; Cohort 2: M = 4.80 years, SD = .31). Forty-four percent of children were Black, 32% were White, 13% were Latino, 10% were Multiracial, and 1% were Asian. Monthly income ranged from $0-5,539 (M = $1,508.18, SD = $892.92). Two statistical methods were used to examine relations among constructs. The cross-lagged panel model revealed a mixed pattern of relations between behavioral self-regulation and two indicators of social-emotional functioning (social skills and behavior problems) over time. There were no significant relations among behavioral self-regulation and social-emotional functioning during the preschool year; however, evidence for bidirectional associations were found between the spring of preschool and the fall of kindergarten. There were no significant relations among behavioral self-regulation and behavior problems at any time point. Finally, there were bidirectional relations among social skills and behavior problems in preschool, but directional relations emerged after this time point. A second model that included random intercepts was also run with the cross-lagged paths. Results from this model indicated that the random intercepts between behavioral self-regulation, social skills, and behavior problems were significantly related. Implications for future research are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Examining Additive and Synergistic Relations Between Preschool Self-Regulation and Executive Function Skills: Predictions to Academic Outcomes.

In the present study, we examined the extent to which teacher-rated self-regulation and directly assessed executive function skills were independently, additively, or synergistically related to academic achievement during the transition to kindergarten. The sample included 126 children (42% female; M age = 4.73 years) from families with low incomes who participated in a larger evaluation of state-funded preschool. Regression models with children nested in their respective preschool classrooms investigated main effects and moderated effects of teacher-rated self-regulation skills manifested in preschool classroom behaviors and cognitive executive function skills assessed through direct assessments on math, literacy, and vocabulary in the spring of preschool and in the fall of kindergarten. Results revealed independent but not additive relations between executive function and math in the spring of preschool and self-regulation and literacy in the fall of kindergarten. One significant interaction emerged providing evidence for synergistic relations between teacher-rated self-regulation and directly assessed executive function for literacy at both timepoints across the transition to kindergarten. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

Self-Regulation in Preschool: Examining Its Factor Structure and Associations With Pre-academic Skills and Social-Emotional Competence.

Self-regulation in early childhood is an important predictor of success across a variety of indicators in life, including health, well-being, and earnings. Although conceptually self-regulation has been defined as multifaceted, previous research has not investigated whether there is conceptual and empirical overlap between the factors that comprise self-regulation or if they are distinct. In this study, using a bifactor model, we tested the shared and unique variance among self-regulation constructs and prediction to pre-academic and social-emotional skills. The sample included 932 preschool children (M age = 48 months, SD = 6.55; 49% female), their parents, and their teachers in the United States. Children's self-regulation was assessed using measures of executive function, behavioral self-regulation, and emotion regulation. The bifactor model demonstrated a common overarching self-regulation factor, as well as distinct executive function and emotion regulation factors. The common overarching self-regulation factor and executive function predicted children's pre-academic (i.e., mathematics and literacy) and social-emotional skills. The emotion regulation factor predicted children's social-emotional skills. Identifying the shared and unique aspects of self-regulation may have important implications for supporting children's regulatory skills as well as their success in school.

Pilot Intervention Enhances Preschoolers' Self-Regulation and Food Liking.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to develop and evaluate a 5-week intervention that targeted self-regulation and healthy food liking through mindfulness and classroom-based games with exposure to fruits and vegetables. METHODS: Children (mean age, 3.6 ± 0.05 years) in 1 Head Start center received the classroom-based intervention (n = 24) and children in a second did not (n = 15). Assessments of self-regulation and liking of fruits and vegetables were administered pre- and postintervention. RESULTS: Children in the intervention, but not the comparison group, experienced significant improvements in behavioral regulation (P = 0.003) and liking of fruits and vegetables (P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: This study lays a foundation for future research that replicates findings with a larger sample using a randomized controlled design, incorporates more typical mindful eating practices, and includes additional, broader measures of food liking.

Prekindergarten classroom language environments and children's vocabulary skills.

The number of adult words children hear and conversational turns they experience are key aspects of their language environments. The current study examined variability in language environments throughout 2 prekindergarten days and variability within and between classrooms for 44 children (Mage = 4.77 years) in 11 classrooms in the United States. In addition, the study examined to what extent prekindergarten language environments are associated with children's vocabulary skills. Language environments varied considerably throughout the prekindergarten day and between classrooms, although children within the same prekindergarten classrooms had generally similar experiences. Conversational turns were more robustly associated with children's vocabulary skills than were adult words heard even when only examining within-classroom variability. Implications for understanding prekindergarten classroom language experiences and their associations with vocabulary skills are discussed.

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.

Revisiting the utility of retrospective pre-post designs: The need for mixed-method pilot data.

The retrospective pre-post design affords many benefits to program staff and, accordingly, has piqued renewed interest among applied program evaluators. In particular, the field has witnessed increasing application of a post-program-only data collection strategy in which only posttest and retrospective pretest data are collected. A post-program-only assessment strategy takes considerably less time than is required for collecting pre-program data and presumably has the added benefit of eliminating the impact of response-shift bias. Response-shift bias occurs when the knowledge, skills, or experiences participants gain through program participation leads them to interpret questionnaire items in a qualitatively different manner at pretest versus posttest. In this article, we discuss the strengths and weaknesses associated with administering retrospective pretest assessments and underscore the importance of thoroughly evaluating any application of a retrospective measurement strategy prior to its broader implementation. We provide a practical illustration of this evaluation process using a mixed-method study that assesses one measure of parenting education program effectiveness-the Parenting Skills Ladder.