Sustainable early literacy outcomes for young children of poverty: Influences of attendance, social competence, and problem behaviour

Abstract

This study examined the role of children’s early school attendance and social competency skills in their early literacy development. Participants were 286 African American pre-schoolers from low-income homes enrolled in Head Start classrooms in the Unites States of America (mean age = 44.4 months, SD = 6.92 months; boys = 156). We gathered data on their program attendance, social competence, and early literacy skills. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated children’s attendance predicted the pre-schoolers’ early code-related reading measures, while the children’s positive social competence predicted both code-related learning and story comprehension. Positive social competence was a more prominent predictor of early literacy outcomes than children’s challenging behaviour. Findings highlight attendance, literacy, and social-emotional factors important to evidence-based practices aimed at improving and sustaining school readiness among young children of poverty.

Keywords:

• early childhood education
• evidence-based early literacy practices
• impoverished children
• social competence

Acknowledgements

The authors extend thanks to the teachers and children who participated in this study. Appreciation is also extended to Heather Drumm and Glenna Gransee who assisted with the statistical analyses and to the graduate students who administered child assessments and data collection