At the beginning of primary school, young children need to adapt academically, socially, and emotionally to their new school environment. Enjoying going to school and becoming socially integrated are important preconditions for successful learning. However, children from disadvantaged families have fewer resources and receive less support, and…

In times of climate change, worldwide diseases, and the question of sustainable energy, scientific literacy has never been more important. The acquisition of scientific literacy starts in early childhood and depends on children's experiences in learning environments such as the parental home and kindergarten. The Starting Cohort 2 of the German…

Research Findings: Children differ in their ability to adapt to elementary school. Yet, the family factors that foster a successful transition to elementary school are less well understood. Family cohesion as an indicator of a positive emotional climate within families may play an important role for children's ability to adapt to school. Thus,…

The concept of "Home Learning Environment" (HLE) covers activities in a family providing intellectual stimulation for a child, such as reading to him or her or visiting libraries. Numerous studies have shown an association between HLE and children's cognitive development. In this longitudinal study, we focus on HLE as a predictor for…

Mathematical competencies are important not only for academic achievement at school but also for professional success later in life. Although we know a lot about the impact of "Home Literacy Environment" on the development of early linguistic competencies, research on "Home Numeracy Environment" (HNE) and the assessment of its…

Reading and writing are necessary prerequisites for a successful school career. Therefore it is important to identify precursor variables which predict these abilities early in order to identify children possibly at risk of developing reading or spelling difficulties. Relevant precursors include letter knowledge, phonological awareness (PA),…