Research Findings: The purpose of this study was to examine whether approaches to learning significantly mediated relations between cognitive flexibility (a component of executive functions) and school readiness in Head Start preschoolers. A total of 191 children from 22 Head Start classrooms were directly assessed on cognitive flexibility and…

Research Findings: This study examined whether children's executive functions before kindergarten would predict variance in executive functions after kindergarten. We obtained behavioral (working memory task performance), parent-reported (temperament-based inhibitory control), and psychophysiological (working memory-related changes in heart rate…

Research Findings: The present study examined the role of demographic risk factors in the development of children's behavioral regulation. We investigated whether being from a low-income family and being an English language learner (ELL) predicted behavioral regulation between prekindergarten and kindergarten. Results indicated that children from…

Research Findings: Social-emotional competence is especially important for children living in poverty, and effective assessment of social-emotional skills is critical. This study examined parent-teacher agreement and reliability of the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment (DECA; P. A. LeBuffe & J. A. Naglieri, 1999) English and Spanish forms in a…

Research Findings: In the past 20 years school districts have increasingly adopted classroom-based social and emotional development programs. The dissemination of these programs, however, has surpassed our understanding of and ability to assess factors that influence program implementation. The present study responded to this gap by developing a…

Differences in children's social interactions during cooperative and competitive games were investigated. Thirty-seven children from two first grade classes with cooperative classroom climates were videotaped while playing a cooperative and a competitive board game. Children's social interactions were coded using Selman's Levels of Enacted…

This study examined the proportion of cooperative play in 4-year-old children across centers (housekeeping, block, manipulative, and computer) and gender in a natural classroom setting. Eighty-four white, middle-income children (41 boys and 43 girls, mean age = 55 months) were videotaped during free-play for 30 minutes per day for four weeks in…

Examined the impact of a bi-generational mathematics intervention with Head Start families in two studies. Found that intervention children developed more extensive mathematical knowledge than a comparison group of low-income children. Low-income parents were willing and able to support the children's mathematical development once trained to do…