ERIC Number: EJ974468
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0885-2006
EISSN: N/A
The Association between Preschool Children's Social Functioning and Their Emergent Academic Skills
Arnold, David H.; Kupersmidt, Janis B.; Voegler-Lee, Mary Ellen; Marshall, Nastassja A.
Early Childhood Research Quarterly, v27 n3 p376-386 3rd Qtr 2012
This study examined the relationship between social functioning and emergent academic development in a sample of 467 preschool children (M=55.9 months old, SD=3.8). Teachers reported on children's aggression, attention problems, and prosocial skills. Preliteracy, language, and early mathematics skills were assessed with standardized tests. Better social functioning was associated with stronger academic development. Attention problems were related to poorer academic development controlling for aggression and social skills, pointing to the importance of attention in these relations. Children's social skills were related to academic development controlling for attention and aggression problems, consistent with models suggesting that children's social strengths and difficulties are independently related to their academic development. Support was not found for the hypothesis that these relationships would be stronger in boys than in girls. Some relationships were stronger in African American than Caucasian children. Children's self-reported feelings about school moderated several relationships, consistent with the idea that positive feelings about school may be a protective factor against co-occurring academic and social problems. (Contains 5 tables and 1 figure.)
Descriptors: Aggression, Standardized Tests, Preschool Children, Mathematics Skills, Interpersonal Competence, Academic Ability, Social Development, Correlation, Attention Span, Emergent Literacy, Language Skills, Hypothesis Testing, Racial Differences, Gender Differences
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Preschool Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A