This study examines the relationship between children's generational status and their cognitive and social school readiness, paying particular attention to racial/ethnic and national origin differences. This relationship is examined using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K). Results indicate…

Work-based learning interventions, particularly cooperative education, are a viable way to support the post-high school transition process, enhance work-related cognitive development, and increase the occupational engagement of at-risk youth. Using propensity score matching to analyze data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002…

Maternal education is a strong correlate of children's language, cognitive, and academic development. In most prior research, mothers' education has been treated as a fixed characteristic, yet many mothers, particularly economically and educationally disadvantaged mothers, attend school after the birth of their children. In the present study, we…

The Early Head Start evaluation included 17 sites drawn from the first two waves of programs started more than a decade ago. By design, the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF) selected programs that would reflect the range of service options and context of all extant program rather than choosing a representative sample. The sites…

Research Findings: The purpose of this study was to investigate how neighborhoods and neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage impact school readiness over time. School readiness was measured using the Early Development Instrument (EDI) for 3 populations of kindergartners in 2001, 2003, and 2005 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. EDI results…

This article is a commentary for the special issue on the Early Development Instrument (EDI), a community tool to assess children's school readiness and developmental outcomes at a group level. The EDI is administered by kindergarten teachers, who assess their kindergarten students on 5 developmental domains: physical health and well-being, social…

During a career spanning five decades, Edward Zigler has combined scholarly research with public service to promote national and state policies that are good for all children. Often called "the father of Head Start," he served on the planning committee for the program in 1965 and became the first director of the Office of Child…

What skills and competencies do high school students need to master for future success? And what can high schools do to develop these skills? Research on skills has tended to focus either on college readiness or on workplace readiness, often in isolation and frequently without reference to what the broader field of youth development tells us…

Reports results of Dutch study of presuppositions about teachers' diagnostic skills in determining school readiness. Lists a sequence of 5 different levels of functions and behaviors of 13 cognitive functions used in the study. Concludes that teachers accurately judged the cognitive levels of children who were shown less school ready by an…

This study sought to determine the mean differences in readiness test scores of three groups of children: (1) children whose parents volunteered to particpate in a training program and received the training before their children were tested (Experimental Group); (2) children whose parents volunteered to participate in the training program and…

The efficacy of second dentition, the number of erupted teeth, as an index in assessing school readiness was examined. A series of cognitive, achievement, and social-emotional instruments were administered to a group of 41 first- and 43 second-grade children. The tests used in this study were: Devereux Elementary School Behavior Rating Scale,…

Children's communicative competence is essential and predictive of their success in school. However, in England in recent years we have faced particular challenges inculcating this understanding into primary and early years teachers' practice. Furthermore, some studies have raised concerns about children's communicative competence on school entry.…

Noting that the latest messages communicated to the public about the learning problems of American children emphasize children's lack of social maturity and premature school entry, this book examines the many complex issues surrounding school readiness and entry. The 15 chapters are divided into 4 sections. The first section includes an…

Discusses early entrance to kindergarten on the basis of whether a child's success in school can be reasonably predicted. Provides an early entrance procedure. (FL)

The school readiness goal of the America 2000 educational reform program admits that not all children start school ready to learn, but implies that with proper and adequate interventions, all children can start with the requisite cognitive and social adaptive skills that will enable them to learn. This paper discusses and analyzes critical skills…