3-119 - The Relationship Function: Investigating the Link Between Social-Emotional Development and Early Math Skills

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Research has long shown that social-emotional well-being is a critical component of school readiness and, more recently, has been associated with gains in academic achievement. Specifically, several studies have examined links between social-emotional development and early language and literacy skills, yet little is known about how social-emotional skills affect other areas of achievement, such as mathematics. This symposium will bring together research examining the relation between social-emotional competence and early math skills, providing evidence that these skills may draw on common underlying abilities.

The first presentation investigates the role of children’s social skills and teacher-child relationships during the preschool year, and whether this functions as a mechanism that may be driving early math skills, particularly among low-income children who participated in the Head Start Impact Study. The second presentation examines the relation between several different aspects of social-emotional development (i.e., children’s social skills and self-regulation as reported by teachers and directly assessed) and mathematics achievement at kindergarten entry and will emphasize the importance of comprehensively assessing children’s social-emotional functioning. Finally, the third presentation will discuss the importance of social skills in both the classroom and at home in predicting math competence and performance in math class in early elementary school.

By bringing together presentations that examine this cross-domain relationship, this symposium provides evidence for the importance of promoting children’s social-emotional development in early care and educational settings with both short and long-term implications. The discussant will integrate these presentations and discuss the widespread implications for education, intervention, and policy.

Sub Unit

• Education, Schooling

Chair

• Bonnie Mackintosh, Harvard University

Discussant

• Craig S. Bailey, Yale University

Individual Presentations

• The Potential of Social Competence as a Mediator of Children’s Early Math Skills: Evidence from the Head Start Impact Study - Presenting Author: Bonnie Mackintosh, Harvard University

• Multi-method Assessment of Children’s Social-Emotional Skills at Kindergarten Entry and its Links to Incoming Math Achievement - Presenting Author: Jaclyn M. Russo, University of Virginia; Amanda P Williford, UVA

• Individual Differences in Early Social Skills and their Effects on Mathematics Achievement - Presenting Author: Caitlin Ford Canfield, NYU School of Medicine; Adriana Weisleder, New York University School of Medicine; Anne Seery, New York University School of Medicine; Carolyn Brockmeyer Cates, New York University School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics; Aleeya Mohammed, New York University; Catherine Workman, New York University; Andrea Paloian, New York University; Benard P Dreyer, New York University School of Medicine; Alan Mendelsohn, New York University School of Medicine