What Matters for Students' Behavior Trajectories? Testing Associations of Early Academic and Non-academic Skills

• In Event: Poster Session 02
  In Poster Session: PS 02 Topic - Education, Schooling

Abstract

Some of the worst long-term outcomes of children are associated with the presence of both externalizing behavior and low academic achievement. Research on trajectories of externalizing problem behavior has shown that when children enter kindergarten with problem behavior, it tends to persist and is often associated with low academic achievement. However, the nature of the causal relationship between these two domains remains contested due to inconsistent findings in previous literature. This study sought to shed new light on the controversial relationship between the two domains by examining whether a student’s early academic achievement is associated with membership to differential behavior trajectories in elementary school, and to what extent child or school characteristics may contribute to those outcomes.

Leveraging a nationally representative sample (N=7,330) from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS)- Kindergarten cohort of 2011, and latent class growth analysis (LCGA), this study analyzed the association of early math and reading achievement with the development of externalizing behavior trajectories. Several theoretically and empirically important covariates were utilized to develop a profile of learners in each trajectory and better interpret the predictive power of academic achievement. Machine learning techniques were used to validate the final model. Eventually, a three class model was chosen (high-persistent group, low-persistent group, and a no-problem group) by using recommended fit statistics as well as theoretical and empirical evidence.

Results of the LCGA indicated that teacher-reported externalizing behavior remained largely stable from kindergarten to fifth grade. Importantly, students’ early inattention and approaches to learning behaviors, rather than academic achievement, were the strongest malleable predictors to trajectory membership, suggesting that the low achievement often observed in children with externalizing behavior problems likely stem from other underlying factors. Student demographics, like being a boy and identifying as Black, made them almost twice as likely to belong to the high problem behavior trajectory compared to girls and students who identified as White. Surprisingly, early language and direct working memory measures were not robust predictors to trajectory membership.

The results of this study provide several important implications for supporting students with externalizing behavior problems. Primarily, it indicates that inattention, approaches to learning and self regulation skills could be important factors in the development of externalizing behavior. Additionally, it cautions practitioners and educators to set realistic expectations when implementing behavioral interventions that claim to improve academic achievement. Lastly, the educational implications of the stable ratings of externalizing behavior, and the systematic rating of Black children by teachers as having more problematic behavior than other-race peers, are also discussed.

Authors

• Tara Kulkarni, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
  Presenting Author

• Amanda L Sullivan, University of Minnesota
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jiwon Kim, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
  Non-Presenting Author