Decades of research suggest that both Head Start and public pre-kindergarten (pre-k) programs boost low-income preschoolers' kindergarten skills. What is not yet well understood is whether there are relative advantages of transitioning from Head Start after 1 year into a school-based public pre-k program for the year immediately before…

Background: Over the past few decades early self-regulation has been identified as foundational to positive learning and wellbeing trajectories. As a consequence, a wide range of approaches have been developed to capture children's developmental progress in self-regulation. Little is known, however, about whether and which of these are reliable…

Social-emotional skills are essential for preschool children's mental health and later school success. Considering the variety of school-based interventions aiming to target SEL development, it remains unclear what programs can be considered evidence-based, and what features characterize well-established programs. Hence, the current systematic…

Early learning interventions are widely implemented in developing countries yet instruments to reliably measure the effects of such programs on children's development and learning in specific contexts are needed. This study examines the measurement properties of a globally-informed instrument adapted to measure school readiness in Laotian children…

Research Findings: A constellation of social positions of difference can contribute to substantial variation among children from culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) backgrounds. Using data from the "Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey" 2009 cohort, the present study identified intersectional typologies of cultural…

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…

This study examined whether associations exist between PA intensity, self-regulation, and indicators of school readiness, a proxy for academic achievement, in young children. Thirty young children completed assessments of physical activity, school readiness indicators, and self-regulation. Physical activity intensity was classified as light,…

The interrelationships between math and behavioral skill development prior to school entry are not well understood, yet have important implications for understanding how to best prepare young children for kindergarten. This study addresses this gap by utilizing a sample of 1,750 children (53% male; 47% White, 16% Black, 16% Hispanic, 8% Asian, and…

The Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) is a widely administered measure of classroom quality that assesses teacher-child interactions in the domains of Emotional Support, Classroom Organization, and Instructional Support. We use data from an evaluation of state-funded prekindergarten provided to 684 children from families with low incomes…

Early childhood interventions can improve self-regulation, but there are few economic evaluations of such interventions. This study analyzed the cost-effectiveness of an early childhood self-regulation intervention ("Red Light Purple Light!"; RLPL), comparing three different models of implementation across stages of intervention…

The benefits of active music participation and training for cognitive development have been evidenced in multiple studies, with this link leveraged in music therapy approaches with clinical populations. Although music, rhythm, and movement activities are widely integrated into children's play and early education, few studies have systematically…

This study investigated associations of three teacher-reported health indicators--hunger, tiredness, and sickness--with kindergarten readiness skills in San Francisco Unified School District (N = 12,423; female = 48%; M[subscript age] = 5.47, SD[subscript age] = 0.30, range[subscript age] = 4.67--7.00; Asian American = 26%, Black = 5%, Latinx =…

The research is devoted to the problem of speech training of preschool children before they begin studying at school. The terms "speech training for school", "general speech training", "special speech training" have been clarified. The essence and structure of the phenomenon of "communication and speech…

Grounded in the sociocultural perspective, this paper analyses current Croatian theory and practice on the transition to school and addresses the importance of fostering a play-based pedagogy and symbolic play in particular. Despite the contemporary theoretical background on early childhood and children's transition to school, the mainstream…

The purpose of this research is to determine the relationship between the attitudes of parents and school maturity of girls and boys aged between 48-72 months who attend private preschool education institutions. The study group of the research consists of a total of 339 people, 113 children attending private preschool education institutions in…