Poster #39 - Preschoolers’ Stress and Observed Classroom Quality in High Poverty School Districts

• In Event: Poster Session 18

Abstract

Children living in low-income areas in the United States are among the most “at-risk” for lower academic outcomes, increased behavioral, social and mental health issues, as well as a lower quality of life. Given this trend, policy makers in New Jersey have aimed to improve these children’s educational experiences with a specific focus on providing “high-quality” early education. To meet this goal, policy makers and state and federal education organizations have used specific classroom quality observations to evaluate the effectiveness of these preschool programs. One such measure typically used in Quality Improvement Rating Systems (QRIS) is the CLASS Pre-K classroom observation tool, with some research demonstrating the relationship between higher CLASS observation scores and children’s academic achievement. (Bierman et al., 2008; Hamre, et al, 2014; Howes et al., 2008; Mashburn et al., 2008; Pianta & Hamre, 2009

Despite the abundance of research on the CLASS, there is limited research demonstrating a relationship between CLASS scores and children’s mental health, which may be particularly important to understand for children living in poverty. To investigate this potential association, we propose to examine the relationships (if any) that exists between high quality as measured by the CLASS Pre-K assessment tool and children’s stress as measured through salivary cortisol.

To begin this work, we conducted preliminary analysis using 1 cohort of data collected in the 2017-18 school, from 6 low-income school districts. This sample includes data collected from 142 preschool classrooms, from which 4 children were assessed (450 children in total). All children assessed were between the ages of 3 and 5 during data collection.

To measure children’s stress, saliva samples were collected at two points during their school day (morning/afternoon) in the Winter of the 2017-18 school year. We calculated a cortisol “change score” as the measure of children’s stress by subtracting the afternoon cortisol level from the morning level (following procedures commonly used (e.g., Badanes, Dmitrieva, & Watamura, 2010).

The CLASS observations occurred during the Winter of the 2017-18 school year during typical school days. The observations were conducted at the beginning of the school day, for approximately 2 and a half hours, following publisher’s guidelines (Hamre, et al, 2014; Pianta & Hamre, 2009;).

Preliminary analyses address associations between children’s cortisol change scores and their classrooms CLASS observation scores. An OLS model was used to estimate the relationship between cortisol levels and the three CLASS subscale scores (Emotional Support, Classroom Organization and Instructional Support. This preliminary analysis findings show a negative relationship between the Classroom Organization subscale scores and children’s cortisol change scores was observed.

We propose to further explore these associations by adding data collected from a second cohorts from the 2018-2019 school year (n=135 classrooms and n=519 children), as well as using mult-level models to account for the nested structure of the data (children in classrooms, in schools, and in districts). We will also explore the CLASS dimension scores that make up each subscale, to attempt to identify specific areas classroom quality that relate to children’s stress.

Group Authors

Charles Whitman
Allison Friedman-Krauss
Milagros Nores

Authors

• Charlie Whitman, National Institute for Early Education Research
  Presenting Author

• Allison Hope Friedman-Krauss, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

• Milagros Nores, National Institute for Early Education Research