Supporting School Readiness in Social & literacy Domains

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The development of social-emotional competence and preliteracy skills in preschool children are important determinants of school readiness, which in turn sets the stage for school success and fosters attachment, bonding, and engagement with the schooling process. There is clear longitudinal evidence that school success and engagement serve as powerful protective factors against a host of later health risk behaviors and negative outcomes, including violent delinquent acts, school dropout, teenage pregnancy or fathering a child, heavy drinking and drug use, and multiple sex partners. It is critically important to get at-risk children off to a positive path as soon as possible in their lives and school careers through early, coordinated interventions involving parents and caregivers, teachers and peers. Preschool, kindergarten, and the primary grades are ideal settings and developmental stages for accomplishing this task in collaboration with families. The experimental design is a randomized 2 (treatment/usual-care-control) by 2 (risk status for either externalizing or internalizing behavioral disorders) trial intended to test the effects of a combined social skills and preliteracy intervention for children living in families with low incomes. Teachers in 20 Head Start classrooms in Oregon will be recruited and randomly assigned to either intervention or usual care/control. Four-year-old children (pre-kindergarten) will be screened through teacher ratings to identify those exhibiting the early signs of externalizing and internalizing behavioral disorders. Parent, teacher, and child measures will be collected at preintervention, post-intervention, and Kindergarten follow-up. This line of research has the potential to (a) produce an adoptable, effective early intervention model for school readiness among at-risk preschool populations, and (b) add to our understanding of the additive effects of the intervention's components. The components of the curriculum are well developed and are the result of more than 20 years of empirical research in home and school settings on reducing antisocial behavior patterns, increasing preliteracy skills, and promoting school readiness. This proposed work addresses the rising tide of young children, having very challenging behavior problems and language delays, which are increasingly overwhelming early childhood staff in preschool, Head Start, and kindergarten classroom programs.