This study examines the relationship between English Learner (EL) classification, language program type, and peer victimization using nationally representative data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study- Kindergarten Class of 2011. Leveraging a sample of 9,562 children, this study investigates whether Dual-Language programs serve as a…

Research Findings: This study illustrated whether and how ecological environments are associated with language-minority students' (N = 12,500) math and reading development from kindergarten to the eighth grade. Results identified the robust effects of preschool type, kindergarten length, classroom activities, parent-child reading, parent…

We analyzed a population-representative cohort (N=13,611; M[subscript age] at kindergarten, first, and second grade = 67.5, 79.5, and 91.5 months, respectively) to identify kindergarten to second grade factors predictive of being bullies or victims during third to fifth grade. We did so by estimating a block recursive structural equation model…

Background: Embedded within children's weight trajectories are complex environmental contexts that influence obesity risk. As such, the normative environment of body mass index (BMI) within schools may influence children's weight trajectories as they age from kindergarten to fifth grade. Methods: I use 5 waves of the ECLS-K--Kindergarten Class…

Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Cohort of 1998 (n = 15,070), this study used propensity scores to examine the short- and long-term academic and psychosocial benefits of preschool education for a diverse sample of middle-class children. Compared with children who attended informal care at age 4, preschool…

We examined whether the early learning environment predicts children's 5th grade skills in 2,204 families from ethnically diverse, low-income backgrounds; tested the mediating roles of children's pre-kindergarten school-related skills and later learning environment; and asked whether lagged associations generalize across White, Black, Hispanic…

Program administrators and policy makers have placed a priority on expanding access to inclusive, center-based early care and education (ECE) for low-income children with special needs, a "doubly vulnerable" population characterized by academic and social-emotional achievement gaps at kindergarten entry. Yet, no research has documented…

Despite the vast body of research examining the relationship between full-day kindergarten attendance and children's outcomes, little is known about the effects of full-day kindergarten on children with disabilities (i.e., students with 1 of the 13 categories of disabilities recognized under federal law). This study fills this research void by…

The current study extends research on the transition to early adolescence and middle grade schools by examining students' achievement trajectories from school entry through 8th grade in a national sample, and beginning to disassociate the role of school context and school grade configuration in achievement trajectories. Data were drawn from the…

Prior research has unearthed a link between early education and care (EEC) experiences and worse behavioral functioning for children, yet the research has not clearly delineated whether this link is due to early entry into care (timing), extensive hours of care (extent), or use of center-based care (type). Using a nationally representative sample…

Research Findings: Unlike other Latino groups, there is little information about the early socialization of children from Central American (CA) immigrant families. This study examined CA immigrant mothers' short-term goals and the implications of these goals for children's behavior in preschool. A total of 47 low-income mothers described their…

Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Cohort, this study examines the role that bilingualism plays in children's academic developmental trajectories during their early school years, with particular attention on the school environment (N = 16,380). Growth-curve results showed that despite starting with lower math scores in…

Many school districts have turned attention to school grade configuration as a way to ease student transitions and improve academic performance, however the research base supporting such reforms is limited. Little attention has been given to how and to what degree school attachment influences the relationship between schools' middle level grade…

In 2010, Congress authorized the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program by enacting section 511 of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 711, which also appropriated funding for fiscal years 2010 through 2014. Subsequently enacted laws extended funding for the program through fiscal year 2022. The program is…

Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K)--a large, nationally representative sample of US elementary school students, we employed multilevel analysis to answer the following research questions: (a) Does students' mathematics achievement growth in grades K-3 vary among schools? (b) To what extent does…