Work

Learning‐related Social Skills as a Mediator between Teacher Instruction and Child Achievement in Head Start

Year: 2015

Type: article

Abstract: Using a subsample of the Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) 2006, this study examined the associations between the amount of teacher instruction in 292 Head Start classrooms with changes in young children's (n =936) early academic achievement and learning‐related social skills from ages three to five. In general, during the early years, children exhibited relatively stable academic and learning‐related social skills. Although the amount of teacher instruction did not predict children's short‐term academic growth directly, it did predict it indirectly through improvements in learning‐related social skills, with benefits lasting through the end of kindergarten. These findings demonstrate that gains in children's learning‐related social skills may be necessary before academic gains can be realized.

Source: Social Development

DOI: 10.1111/sode.12124

Authors: Arya Ansari, Elizabeth Gershoff

Institution: The University of Texas at Austin

Language: English

Topic: Early Childhood Education and Development

Subfield: Education

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Quality education

Open Access status: green

Funders: University of Texas at Austin, National Institutes of Health, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development