Student-Teacher Relationships Moderate the Association Between Executive Functions and Social Skills in Transition to School

• In Event: Thursday Roundtable Session 12:40 pm
  In Roundtable Session: The Importance of Adult-Child Relationships (Table 38)

Abstract

Using data from Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-2011 (N = 18,174), this study examined a) the bidirectional associations between executive functions (EF; working memory and attention flexibility) and social skills (SS) across the fall (T1) and spring (T2) of kindergarten, and the moderating role of student-teacher relationships. Our results indicated bidirectional associations between EF and SS. Furthermore, working memory (T1) predicted higher SS (T2) only among students with higher student-teacher closeness. Similarly, earlier working memory was positively associated with later SS only for students with average and lower student-teacher conflict. The findings suggest that positive student-teacher relationships may enhance the link between EF and SS within the kindergarten classroom context, which can be foundational to school success.

Authors

• Seulki Ku, Erikson Institute

• Kelly Purtell, The Ohio State University