This study examined the concurrent relations of English (EL) and heritage language (HL) proficiency to executive functions (EF) among low-income dual language learners (DLLs) from immigrant families. In a sample of 90 children (age = 38 to 70 months) from Chinese-speaking Chinese American and Spanish-speaking Mexican American families recruited from Head Start preschools, children's EL and HL proficiency was assessed using receptive and expressive vocabulary tests, and EF was assessed using behavioral tasks measuring response inhibition and attention shifting. Multiple regressions were conducted to test the unique and interactive relations of EL and HL vocabulary to EF, controlling for family socioeconomic status and other demographic characteristics. Higher EL and higher HL vocabulary were uniquely associated with higher attention shifting. By contrast, neither EL nor HL vocabulary was uniquely associated with response inhibition. Interaction effects of EL × HL in relation to EF were also found. The results provided some evidence for the dual benefits of EL and HL proficiency on EF (especially attention shifting) among DLLs from low-income, immigrant families.

We examined the nature of association between toddler negative affectivity (NA) and later academic achievement by testing early childhood executive function (EF) as a mediator that links children's temperament and their performance on standardized math and reading assessments. One hundred eighty-four children (93 boys, 91 girls) participated in our longitudinal study. Children's NA was measured at age 2 and EF at age 4. At age 6, academic achievement in reading and mathematics were assessed using the Woodcock Johnson III Tests of Achievement (Woodcock, McGrew, & Mather, 2001). Results indicated that NA at age 2 negatively predicted EF at age 4, which positively predicted mathematics achievement and reading achievement at age 6. Age 4 EF mediated the relation between age 2 NA and age 6 academic achievement on both reading and math. These findings highlight the significance of considering both NA and EF in conversations about children's academic achievement.

Previous research has indicated that low-income children are at increased risk for socio-emotional problems, which may contribute to socioeconomic disparities in wellbeing and academic achievement. The present study examines socio-emotional learning (SEL) across the prekindergarten year in a low-income, racially and ethnically diverse sample of Chicago Public School students (=2,630). The sample included participants of the Child-Parent Center early educational intervention program (=1,724) and a propensity-score matched comparison group (=906). At the beginning of the prekindergarten year, teachers rated boys and lower income participants as having relatively lower SEL skills, and CPC participants and older children as having slightly higher SEL skills. Over time, CPC participants exhibited significantly greater rates of SEL growth, ending the prekindergarten year with teacher-rated SEL scores that were an average 10.30% higher than control participants. There were no significant differences in SEL growth over time by sex or family income.

In the U.S., one-third of preschool children attend programs run by childcare centers. Childcare centers are generally isolated and under-resourced businesses, often challenged by high rates of teacher turnover and inconsistent financial support. Correspondingly, childcare centers often struggle to provide high-quality educational experiences for preschool children. This study introduced an evidence-based curriculum (REDI) to improve the educational experiences of preschool children in childcare centers and used a novel professional development (PD) model in which center directors were trained to serve as local coaches. Open-ended interviews with 45 teachers and 31 center directors evaluated the acceptability, feasibility, and effectiveness of the REDI intervention and coaching model. Participants also described their workplace and rated their intentions regarding future program use. Participants described multiple challenges in the workplace but generally positive perceptions of the REDI intervention. Perceptions regarding the feasibility of the coaching model were mixed. Workplace descriptions were associated with intervention experiences which, in turn, predicted intentions for future program use. Findings validate the importance of addressing the unique workplace challenges faced by childcare staff when designing classroom interventions and PD supports. Attending to program acceptability, feasibility, and perceived effectiveness in these settings may be critical to support sustained use.

Positive emotional expressivity has been associated with increased social competence and decreased maladjustment in childhood. However, a few researchers have found null or even positive associations between positive emotional expressivity and maladjustment, which suggests that there may be nuanced associations of positive expressivity, perhaps as a function of the social context in which it is expressed. We examined whether observed positive emotional expressivity balance across peer-oriented/recreational and learning contexts predicted kindergarten children's adjustment ( = 301).

In the context of parent-child book sharing, cultural influences on cognitive distancing language and its associations with child executive function (EF) have been understudied. This study examined cultural group similarities/differences in parent and child book-sharing distancing language among preschool-aged dual language learners from low-income Mexican American (MA) and Chinese American (CA) families. We further tested concurrent relations between parent/child distancing language and children's EF. The sample consisted of 88 children (45 MAs, 43 CAs, age = 38-68 months) enrolled in Head Start preschools and their parents. To assess distancing language, utterances were coded for cognitive demand and classified as referential (low demand), behavioral (moderate demand), or inferential (high demand). Cognitive tasks tapping inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility were used to assess child EF. Results showed parents and children from both cultural groups produced comparable numbers of story-related utterances. MA dyads used higher proportions of parent/child inferential statements and a lower proportion of parent referential questions. The proportions of parent behavioral questions and child behavioral statements were positively related to child cognitive flexibility.

All teachers have demanding jobs and work with limited resources. However, working with young children with disabilities may place additional demands on early childhood special education (ECSE) teachers which may impact their well-being. Using the Job Demands and Resources model, the present study aimed to predict ECSE teachers' job burnout and psychological stress by using their job demands, job resources, and professional internal resources. An online survey was collected from 121 ECSE teachers from a large urban school district in a Western state of the United States. The results showed that job demands (work-related stressors) were positively associated with teachers' job burnout and psychological stress. Job resources (sense of school community) were negatively associated with their job burnout and psychological stress. Teachers' job commitment was negatively associated with job burnout. Though their other internal resources (beliefs about developmentally appropriate practices and teaching-efficacy) were not related to their job burnout and psychological stress, their beliefs about social emotional learning were positively related to job burnout.

The primary goal of this study was to determine whether sleep duration moderated the relations of two dimensions of children's temperament, shyness and negative emotion, to academic achievement. In the autumn, parents and teachers reported on kindergarteners' and first graders' ( = 103) shyness and negative emotion and research assistants observed negative emotion in the classroom. In the spring, children wore actigraphs that measured their sleep for five consecutive school nights, and they completed the Woodcock Johnson-III standardized tests of achievement. Interactions between temperament and sleep duration predicting academic achievement were computed. Interactions of sleep duration with parent-reported shyness, teacher-reported negative emotion, and observed negative emotion indicated that the negative relations of shyness or negative emotion to academic achievement were strongest when children slept less. Results suggest that sleep duration may be an important bio-regulatory factor to consider in young children's early academic achievement.

This study examined racial/ethnic differences in the relations between three dimensions of parenting practices (harsh, lax, and warm parenting) and children's externalizing behaviors across European American, African American, and Latinx families. Participants included 221 mothers who identified as African American ( = 32), Latina ( = 46), or European American ( = 143). Mothers' self-rated and observer-coded harshness, laxness, and warmth, and their ratings of their 3-year-old children's externalizing behaviors (hyperactivity, aggression) were analyzed. Multiple regression analyses indicated some racial/ethnic differences in the relations between harsh and warm parenting, and children's externalizing behaviors. The slopes of the relation between greater harshness and greater aggression and hyperactivity were more positive for European American families than for African American or Latinx families. The slopes of the relation between greater warmth and less aggression were more negative for European American and Latinx families than for African American families. Results indicated no racial/ethnic differences in the relation between laxness and externalizing behaviors. These findings suggest racial/ethnic differences in the relation between some parenting practices and externalizing behaviors, which has important implications in culturally sensitive clinical practice for different racial/ethnic groups. More research is necessary to replicate these findings, and to identify other parenting practices that may be more important in racial/ethnic minority families.

Parents' academic socialization of their young children is a critical yet understudied area, especially in the context of vulnerable parent-child dyads. The current longitudinal study examined factors that informed mothers' beliefs and practices concerning children's kindergarten readiness in a sample of 204 Mexican-origin adolescent mothers ( = 19.94). Adolescent mothers' individual characteristics and assets (i.e., parental self-efficacy, educational attainment, educational utility beliefs, knowledge of child development) and sources of stress (i.e., economic hardship, coparenting conflict) were related to the importance they placed on children's social-emotional and academic readiness for kindergarten, their provision of cognitive stimulation and emotional support to their children in the home, and their enjoyment of literacy activities with their child. Moreover, adolescents' perception of parenting daily hassles emerged as a mediator in this process. Findings underscore the importance of considering Mexican-origin adolescent mothers' strengths and assets along with their unique contextual stressors as they relate to beliefs and practices that could have implications for their children's school success.

Preschool teachers' relationships with children are a critical component of classroom quality. We draw from a sample of N=2,114 children attending Head Start to examine child-centered profiles of experiences across two dimensions of classroom interaction quality that are often considered separately, individual teacher-child closeness and conflict and classroom-level instructional and emotional support. Findings reveal considerable heterogeneity in Head Start children's experiences, as the profiles differed on individual conflict, and classroom emotional and instructional support. The largest profile was characterized by a positive emotional climate and low instructional support. Higher teacher distress was associated with the highest quality and the highest conflict profiles. The results also revealed early evidence for gender and race and ethnicity-based disadvantages in Head Start classroom experiences.

Children that experience neglect are at risk for maladaptive outcomes. One potential resource for these children is early childhood education (ECE), but there is currently limited evidence which is compounded by data limitations. This study used data from the National Study of Child and Adolescent Well-being II ( = 1,385) to compare children's cognitive and social-emotional outcomes among children involved in child protective services that experienced either no care, informal care, or formal care, as well as moderation by type of neglect. Results suggest that ECE was related to increased cognitive and social skills and decreased behavior problems, depending on whether the child attended informal or formal care, with some associations being stronger for children that experienced neglect. These findings have implications for practitioners and policymakers in the intersection of ECE and child protective services.

This study described infant/toddler teachers' (N = 106) perceptions of stress intensity and exhaustion (emotional, physical, mental) intensity. We examined the associations between stress and exhaustion and teachers' reports of stress sources and coping strategy use. Using ecological momentary assessment (EMA), teachers from Early Head Start (EHS), EHS childcare-partnerships, or independent childcare programs (midwestern U.S.) completed twice-weekly reports of: stress and exhaustion intensity; stress sources (workload, children's behaviors, personal life); and, coping strategies (support from colleagues, distraction, mindfulness techniques, reframing).

This study examines whether the development of social skills during childhood serves as a mechanism through which temperamental anger and positive reactivity in toddlerhood influences children's academic competence during preadolescence (N = 406). Temperamental anger at age 2 was negatively associated with children's social skills at age 7; in turn, children's social skills at age 7 were negatively associated with teacher report of academic competence and child and teacher report of school problems at age 10. All three indirect effects were significant suggesting that children's social skills at age 7 is one mechanism through which temperamental anger at age 2 is associated with age 10 child- and teacher-reported school problems. Temperamental positive reactivity was not associated with children's social skills or academic competence.

Using two groups of dual language learners (DLLs), the current study examined links between two developmental constructs closely linked to school readiness: the home language environment (HLE) and executive function (EF). In a sample of 90 children (age range = 38-70 months, 59% girls) from either Mexican American (MA, = 46) or Chinese American (CA, = 44) low-income families enrolled in Head Start preschool programs, parents reported on their HLE (home language balance, home English/heritage language activities) and children's EF (inhibitory control and attention shifting) was measured by cognitive tasks. Findings showed preschool-aged DLLs in low-income immigrant families received more heritage language exposure relative to English language exposure at home. Several demographic variables (parental education, per capita income, DLL group, child age of English acquisition, child generation, child English receptive vocabulary) were related to various aspects of HLE. Controlling for covariates, the amount of heritage language activities at home was uniquely and positively related to children's attention shifting.

Exuberant temperament, characterized by high approach and positive affect, is linked to socioemotional outcomes including risk for externalizing symptoms across development. Externalizing problems interfere with children's school readiness and lead to disruptive behavior in the classroom. While some moderating factors help identify which exuberant children are at risk and in which contexts they are at risk, few studies have identified early moderators that protect against maladjustment when children enter school. In the current study, we examined exuberant temperament in 124 toddlers and classroom behavior problems reported by kindergarten teachers. We also assessed the impact of maternal responsiveness at 24 months on the relation between exuberance and classroom behavior problems. As hypothesized, we found that higher exuberance predicted more behavior problems. Additionally, maternal responsiveness moderated this association such that high responsiveness protected exuberant children from classroom behavior problems.

Studies with extensive observations of real-life emotions at school are rare but might be especially useful for predicting school-related outcomes. This study evaluated observations of negative emotion expressivity in lunch and recreation settings across kindergarten, first grade, and second grade ( = 301), kindergarten teachers' reports of children's effortful control, and kindergarten and second grade teachers' reports of their perceived conflict with children. In latent growth curve analyses, we tested whether individual trajectories of negative expressivity from kindergarten to second grade, based on estimated slopes, predicted teacher-student conflict in second grade, and whether effortful control in kindergarten moderated this association.

Using a bio-social-ecological systems framework, we examined whether interpersonal relationships at school (specifically teacher-student and peer relationships) mediated the link between child resiliency (temperament-based adaptability) and reading or math achievement in a sample of children assessed as experiencing early academic adversity. Participants were 784 ethnically diverse students (mean age at Year 1 = 6.57 years, SD=0.39) who began school as struggling readers or as weak in reading skills relative to their peers (scoring below the median on a school-wide standardized literacy exam). Data on children's resiliency, teacher-student warmth and conflict, peer social preference and peer liking, and reading and math achievement scores were collected across 3 years and three-wave longitudinal models of mediation were tested. Accounting for students nested within classrooms and for baseline covariates (i.e., ethnicity, social economic status, gender), results showed that peer relationships mediated the effect of resiliency on reading, but not math, achievement. Teacher-student relationships were not found to be a mediator between resiliency and achievement. Findings suggest that for children with early academic adversity, resiliency is a protective factor against future academic problems with peer competence facilitating children's academic engagement and achievement.

Children's readiness to handle the expectations of elementary school depends heavily on their self-regulation skills. Self-regulation includes both cognitive and behavioral elements; however, past studies have typically looked at cognitive and behavioral self-regulation in isolation or as a composite score rather than examining self-regulation profiles. Conceptually, a profile characterized by pervasive cognitive and behavioral self-regulation difficulties may have different developmental roots than a profile limited to behavioral regulation difficulties and children displaying these different profiles likely require different intervention supports. In the current study, latent profile analysis (LPA) with cognitive and behavioral self-regulation indicators revealed four unique self-regulation profiles for preschool children (=566): Pervasive Dysregulation (cognitively and behaviorally dysregulated), Behavioral Dysregulation (behaviorally dysregulated only), Average Self-Regulation, and High Self-Regulation. Latent moderational analyses testing the interaction between latent profile membership and preschool teacher-student relationship indicated that while both the Pervasive and Behavioral Dysregulation group were at increased risk for less desirable kindergarten and 2 grade outcomes, this risk was offset to a greater extant for children from the Behavioral Dysregulation profile when they experienced a close, non-conflictual teacher-student relationship in preschool.

This within-group exploratory sequential mixed methods investigation sought to identify how ethnically diverse, urban-residing, low-income Black families conceptualize positive parenting. During the item development phase 119 primary caregivers from Head Start programs participated in focus groups and interviews. These qualitative data were content analyzed using a three-stage iterative process that resulted in the development of a final set of 72 items for a paper-and-pencil measure. In the measure validation phase of the study initial construct validity of the 72-item measure was assessed with an independent sample of 665 respondents. Common factor analyses revealed five dimensions of positive parenting on the (BPSC) scale that related in expected ways with other parent self-report measures.

This sequential mixed methods study evaluated the impact of the Chicago Parent Program (CPP) in 12 Baltimore Title I PreK programs on parent engagement and student outcomes from kindergarten through 2 grade. Phase 1 (quasi-experiment; = 11,996) compared PreK students whose parents enrolled in CPP with those whose parents did not enroll in CPP on measures of kindergarten readiness, chronic absenteeism, suspensions/expulsions, and grade retention. Phase 2 (qualitative; = 20) explored the perceptions of school-based staff, principals, and district and community leaders on CPP's impact on parents, students, and parent engagement, and why they sought to continue CPP in the schools.