Relations between parent and teacher factors and children’s school readiness skills

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

Early achievement gaps emerge prior to kindergarten, and children less ready for school often underperform throughout their academic careers (Burchinal et al., 2011; Garcia & Weiss, 2017; Henry et al., 2020). School readiness skills develop within informal learning contexts such as the home and preschool, where there are opportunities to learn from parents and teachers. This symposium will highlight parent and teacher factors (e.g., beliefs, support) that are important for the development of school readiness outcomes. This research is important for developing interventions to support parents’ and teachers’ efforts to foster children’s school readiness.

This symposium will include four studies on parents’ and teachers’ support of children’s school readiness. The first paper finds that parents are less confident about fostering children’s math readiness than reading readiness, and that parents would appreciate teachers’ guidance on fostering their child’s reading and math readiness. The second paper clarifies that parents tend to have inaccurate estimates of their preschooler’s math skills and parents’ overestimation of their child’s math skills is related to more frequent home math readiness support, while underestimation of math skills is related to less support. The third paper finds that children from low-SES backgrounds have more positive school readiness outcomes when their parents have positive perceptions about preschool teachers’ invitations for parent involvement in early education. Finally, the fourth paper finds an interaction between parent and child factors, such that high levels of parent math support are related to preschoolers’ math skills, specifically for children with higher inhibitory control.

Sub Unit

• School Readiness/Childcare

Chair

• Yemimah King, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Individual Presentations

• Getting Preschoolers Ready for School: Parents’ Perceptions of the Home Learning Environment - Presenting Author: Susan Sonnenschein, University of Maryland - Baltimore County; Non-Presenting Author: Michele Stites, University of Maryland - Baltimore County

• Relations Between Home Math Activities and Parents’ Accuracy on Reports of Preschoolers’ Math Language Knowledge and Numeracy Skills - Presenting Author: Yemimah King, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Non-Presenting Author: Erica L. Zippert, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Non-Presenting Author: Joyce Lin, California State University - Fullerton; Non-Presenting Author: David James Purpura, Purdue University, West Lafayette

• Differential Associations among Transition Practices, Parental Perceptions, Involvement, and School Readiness for Children from Economically Disadvantaged Backgrounds - Presenting Author: Jaime Puccioni, State University of New York at Albany (SUNY Albany); Non-Presenting Author: John Mark Froiland, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Non-Presenting Author: Mariola Moeyaert, University at Albany

• Parental math talk is not uniformly beneficial for young children: The moderating role of inhibitory control - Presenting Author: Alex M. Silver, University of Pittsburgh; Non-Presenting Author: Leanne Elliott, University of Pittsburgh; Non-Presenting Author: Melissa E Libertus, University of Pittsburgh