This study contributed to the school readiness literature by taking an intrachild perspective that examined the relations between Latino/a children's school readiness profiles and later academic achievement. Teachers rated the school readiness of 781 Latino/a kindergartners during the first month of school using the Kindergarten Student Entrance…

Young-for-grade students have been shown to receive lower grades and have a higher likelihood of retention compared to their oldest peers upon kindergarten entry. Our study of 1474 economically disadvantaged first-time kindergarteners investigates if preschool attendance may ameliorate some of the risks potentially associated with being…

Attachment is the emotional bond between children and their caregivers (parents or otherwise). Infants and young children usually have more than one selective attachment, and all of these attachment relationships, including those between children and teachers, have important effects on cognitive and social development. Secure attachment to a…

Two studies examined the relationship between preschool experiences and the early academic achievement of rural Chinese children. In both Study 1 (n = 165) and Study 2 (n = 205), the school preparedness, and the literacy and mathematics attainment of first graders with different preschool experiences (kindergarten, separate pre-primary class,…

Previous studies have identified the features of preschool programs that correlate with positive outcomes for low-income children, but the impact of economic integration has not been studied. This study compares the receptive language growth of two groups of children from low-income families. One group of children (N=35) attended economically…

Examined the relationship between nonmaternal care and infant-mother attachment. Results indicated that full-time, nonmaternal care was not associated with increased insecure attachment and did not negatively affect the associations between infant-mother attachment and the mother's involvement with her infant during the infant's first year of…

Discusses family selection issues that should be considered in child care research, and evidence demonstrating why each should be considered. Issues include whether causal inferences can be made from observational studies and the impact on conclusions from regression analyses that include highly correlated measures of child care experiences,…

This study examined 236 8-year olds from a state with minimal child care standards in an effort to discover possible differences associated with child care histories. Children with more extensive child care experiences were associated with negative ratings by parents, teachers, and peers. (SH)

Children's early mathematical experiences play an enormous role in the development of their understanding of mathematics, and serve as a foundation for their cognitive development. In this descriptive study, we observed the naturally occurring mathematical activities engaged in by thirty-nine 3-year-olds, equally divided by race/ethnicity and…

Examined the relations between school-relevant activities of preschoolers and teachers' subsequent perception of the children's competence once they had entered school. Found that middle-class preschoolers engaged in more school-relevant activities than working-class preschoolers. Elementary students who had initiated and engaged in more…

Explored practices around transitioning infants/toddlers to new classes. Responses to mail survey indicated that relatively few programs provided caregiver continuity. Most programs considered attainment of developmental milestones, age, and available space when making transition decisions for infants/toddlers. Most centers used a few practices to…

This study used an "enhanced constructed comparison group" statistical model to conduct longitudinal research on the child developmental impact of Pittsburgh's early childhood initiative (ECI), a partnership to provide high-quality early care and education for children in high-risk neighborhoods. First-phase findings indicate that…

Long-term correlates of early child care and maternal employment were examined in a representative sample of 333 middle-class children ages 6 through 12. The results indicated that, for most middle-class children, early child care experiences had few, if any, lasting substantial influences when the concurrent contribution of family and child…