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Bidirectional links between executive functioning and behavioral engagement across the preschool year and under different conditions of classroom interaction quality

Fri, April 9, 11:35am to 1:05pm EDT (11:35am to 1:05pm EDT), Virtual

Abstract

Despite ample evidence that teacher-child interaction quality in early childhood education (ECE) classrooms on average contributes to school readiness skill development (Hamre et al., 2014), we lack an understanding of how these effects are individualized, given that children engage with classroom opportunities quite differently (Jones & Dindia, 2004). There is also growing recognition that executive functioning (EF) is a core developmental capacity underlying both academic and behavioral readiness for children in poverty (Raver, 2012). However, the extent to which EF relates to a child’s day-to-day engagement in the ECE classroom, and how the interplay between these child characteristics (behavioral engagement and EF) vary as a function of teacher-child interaction quality, remains unexamined. The current study is innovative in that it elucidates how EF operates in the real-world context of ECE classrooms serving children from low-income families.

The study involved a sample of 767 children attending 103 Head Start and state-funded ECE classrooms [See Table 1 for participant demographics]. EF, behavioral engagement, and teacher-child interactions were assessed at three time points across the preschool year. EF was assessed via a latent construct, indicated by scores on three measures: Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders (Cameron et al., 2008), Pencil Tap (Smith-Donald et al., 2007), and EF Touch (Willoughby & Blair, 2016). Behavioral engagement was assessed through inCLASS observations (Downer et al., 2010), reflecting four latent constructs: Positive Engagement with Teachers, Peers, and Tasks, as well as Negative Engagement. The CLASS observation tool (Pianta et al., 2008) assessed global teacher-child interactions across three domains: Emotional Support, Classroom Organization, and Instructional Support.

Four autoregressive cross-lag models were fit with EF and each behavioral engagement construct separately, with both autoregressive and cross-lag effects constrained to be equal across time. Strong measurement invariance was imposed across the three time points. Models were run using the sandwich estimator in Mplus, with preschool classroom as the cluster variable. Results indicated that autoregressive effects were very strong for EF (β's = .88-.92), and significant but smaller for behavioral engagement (β's =.25-.60). Cross-lag main effects were evident from EF to both Peer and Task engagement (β's = .12 & .28). Bidirectional effects were only evident between EF and Negative Engagement, though EF was still the leading indicator with an effect of .10 (vs. effect of .05 from Negative Engagement). In terms of conditional effects, Classroom Organization and Emotional Support both moderated the cross-lag link from EF to Positive Engagement with Teachers, indicating that in well-managed, responsive classrooms EF was more strongly predictive of children’s engagement with their teacher. In addition, Classroom Organization moderated the autoregressive path for Negative Engagement, indicating that in better managed classrooms children’s negative classroom engagement was less stable.

Findings suggest EF is a strong leading indicator of later engagement with peers and tasks, an association also evident for engagement with teachers in the presence of higher quality teacher-child interactions. Additionally, bidirectionality exists between EF and negative classroom engagement (e.g., aggression; disruptive behavior). These models begin to disentangle associations between EF and classroom processes, pointing toward proximal targets for ECE classroom interventions.

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