Preschool to kindergarten transition patterns for African American boys

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2013.11.004Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Examined the transition patterns of African American boys from preschool to kindergarten using the ECLS-B.

  • Found four patterns for African American boys’ transition from preschool to kindergarten.

  • Family demographics and parenting associated with likelihood of being in a particular school transition pattern.

Abstract

This study focused on the transition patterns of African American boys from preschool to kindergarten using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Birth Cohort (ECLS-B) dataset. Analyses were conducted to examine whether socioeconomic status, parenting (i.e., emotional support, intrusiveness), and attendance in a center-based program predicted likelihood of being in a particular transition pattern. Four patterns emerged from the data: (1) Increasing Academically, (2) Early Achiever: Declining Academically & Socially, (3) Low Achiever: Declining Academically, and (4) Consistent Early Achiever. There was heterogeneity in the school transition patterns of African American boys, with many showing stability from preschool to kindergarten. Family income and parenting practices and interactions were associated with an increased probability of being in the group that showed a significant increase in academics, suggesting the importance of parents’ provision of enriching opportunities and experiences for African American boys as they transition from preschool to kindergarten.

Introduction

The transition to kindergarten can be challenging for many children due to new academic and behavioral expectations, novel social interactions, and physiological changes (Rimm-Kaufman & Pianta, 2000). Research suggests heterogeneity in children's transitions to kindergarten with many children displaying different growth patterns and fluctuations in academic and social functioning before, during and after the transition to kindergarten (Alexander et al., 1988, Konold and Pianta, 2005). Such heterogeneity may also be expected for African American boys when examining multiple dimensions of development, namely academic and social skills. However, minimal research exists on the varying patterns of African American boys’ school transitions. Such research is particularly important for understanding the trajectories of African American boys whose transition may be even more arduous than other groups of children, given the additional sociocultural challenges that some face when teachers view their behaviors negatively and assume that they are deficient cognitively (Davis, 2003, Davis et al., 2009, Noguera, 2003, Sbarra and Pianta, 2001, Zimmerman et al., 1995). Thus, the current study seeks to address this gap by examining the nature of transitions from preschool to kindergarten for African American boys.

The current study uses a person-centered approach to determine the patterns of academic achievement and social behavior during African American boys’ preschool–kindergarten transition. This approach is an alternative to a variable-centered approach which focuses on generalized associations between variables across a sample. Early childhood research on the developmental competencies of ethnic minority children has become overwhelmingly variable-centered, neglecting to fully leverage the value of person-centered analyses, which can illustrate how different child attributes co-vary with one another at the level of the individual (Marsh, Lüdtke, Trautwein, & Morin, 2009), revealing nuances and profiles in how a child develops. As the basis for the person-centered approach, the current study examines patterns of boys’ academic and social competence over the course of the transition to kindergarten. Academic and social competence are both relevant to children's successful academic matriculation (Duncan et al., 2007) and taken together, they present a more holistic, complex, integrated picture of a child's development than examining either one in isolation (Daily, Burkhauser, & Halle, 2010). In addition to examining patterns of boys’ transitions, the current study examines several factors associated with these transitions, including family and child characteristics and parenting practices.

The integrative model for the study of developmental competencies in minority children (García Coll et al., 1996) provides a framework for considering heterogeneity in the kindergarten transition patterns of African American boys. This model underscores how African American boys may be impacted by the opportunities and expectations they experience due to their race, gender, and socio-economic status. García Coll et al. (1996) emphasize the interplay between several inter- and intrapersonal characteristics for understanding variability in the development of ethnic minority youth. For the purposes of this paper, we focus on the specific interactions between social position (e.g., ethnicity, social class), social environments (e.g., schools and out-of-home care), and family processes and characteristics (e.g., parenting), and their relation to patterns of academic and social competence for preschool African American boys transitioning into kindergarten. The integrative model posits family processes may serve as protective mechanisms for children. For African American boys transitioning into kindergarten, family processes (i.e., sensitive parent–child interactions) may buffer the negative effects of low teacher expectations (Garibaldi, 1992, Graham and Robinson, 2004, Pigott and Cowen, 2000) or the general challenges associated with the transition (Rimm-Kaufman & Pianta, 2000). Similarly, social position, such SES, can serve as protective factors during school transition by providing boys with enriching resources and opportunities that prepare them for formal schooling.

There is a plethora of research that emphasizes the shortcomings of African American boys, resulting in a dearth of literature that focuses on these boys’ strengths. Nevertheless, there is evidence that many African American boys transition into kindergarten prepared to learn and excel (Aud, Fox, & KewalRamani, 2010). For instance, over 50% of African American preschool-age boys were proficient at number and shape recognition (Aud et al., 2010). African American children in the early years, including boys, produce narratives of higher quality and have greater narrative comprehension compared to White children (Gardner-Neblett, Pungello, & Iruka, 2012). A recent report from the National Center for Children in Poverty showed that once socioeconomic status was controlled, African American boys had better reading and math outcomes in preschool and kindergarten compared to White boys (Aratani, Wight, & Cooper, 2011).

While research confirms the existence of heterogeneity in African American boys’ learning, it does not provide clarity about changes in boys’ skills across school transitions. A few studies have examined transition patterns (Chung et al., 1998, Konold and Pianta, 2005), though not specifically for African American boys. Konold and Pianta (2005) examined patterns of children's school transition (11% of the sample was African American) based on their pre-kindergarten skills and found that the profiles of children's cognitive ability and behavior problems predicted academic skills in first grade. Thus, while the literature suggests heterogeneity in school transition patterns among predominantly White samples of children, no studies have specifically focused on African American boys academic and social changes as they transition from preschool to kindergarten.

The focus on boys’ academic and social competence is warranted given evidence showing that these early skills predict positive transitions and later school outcomes. Early competence in the area of expressive language as well as reading and math has been associated with positive school transitions and later school performance (Craig et al., 2003, Griffin et al., 2004, Tabors et al., 2001, Zohar and Dori, 2003). That is, the ability to communicate prepares children to be able to convey their thoughts and emotions. Early reading skills support children's acquisition of new knowledge in all academic areas, while early math skills promote higher-order and critical thinking (e.g., synthesizing and analyzing). Similarly early social competence, such as the ability to follow instruction, behave appropriately, communicate, and interact with peers and adults, has been associated with adaptive school transitions and is often viewed by kindergarten teachers as critical to children's adjustment and learning (Hains et al., 1989, Ladd and Price, 1987, Taylor, 1991).

There are a number of important factors to consider for African American boys as they transition from preschool to kindergarten including family background, parent–child relationship, and early educational experiences. African American boys are more likely to live in and experience more challenging environments than their peers (Davis, 2003). National data shows that during the first five years of life African American boys were more likely to experience poverty, reside in one-parent households, have mothers with less than a high school education, have more mothers exhibiting depressive symptomatology, and were less likely to be read to daily when compared to White boys (Aratani et al., 2011, Najarian et al., 2010). In spite of the obstacles they face, numerous African-American boys excel academically and are socially competent (Noguera, 2003).

García Coll et al. (1996) note that children's environments and family processes play key roles in minority children's development. Therefore, it is expected that the most proximal settings (e.g., home, preschool) will directly impact young African American boys’ learning and behavior and subsequently, how they transition into school. Thus, family and preschool environments are likely to promote or inhibit an adaptive transition into school. In this study, we focus on socioeconomic status, home literacy practices, parent–child interactions, and attendance in center-based care to predict African American boys’ preschool to kindergarten transition patterns.

Family socioeconomic status (SES) has been linked to children's adjustment to formal schooling (Conger et al., 1992, Entwisle and Alexander, 1993, Entwisle et al., 2007, McLoyd, 1998, Slaughter-Defoe et al., 1990). Specifically, research has indicated that high-SES families have greater resources to provide access to materials and experiences that prepare children to meet the academic and social expectations of schools.

The proximal processes of parenting, which includes sensitive parent–child interactions and cognitively stimulating opportunities, have been linked to African American children's school readiness and optimal school transition (Iruka et al., 2010, Reynolds et al., 1992). Researchers found the more sensitive mothers were with their children, the less anxious or inhibited children were during the transition to kindergarten (Early et al., 2002). Parents and caregivers who are authoritative and emotionally available and supportive are likely to provide environments for children that engage them in contingent verbal and nonverbal exchanges and higher-order thinking, as well as encourage appropriate behaviors. As the behavioral and academic expectations for children increase in kindergarten, these parenting practices prepare children to deal with “formalized instruction” and the demands of formal schooling (Gullo and Burton, 1993, Reynolds et al., 1992, Rimm-Kaufman et al., 2000).

In addition to family resources and parenting practices, attendance in preschool center-based environments is also thought to be associated with children's school transition by preparing them for the structure, processes, expectations, and interactions (i.e., adult-child, peer-peer) that school brings (Gullo and Burton, 1993, Iruka et al., 2010, Ladd and Price, 1987). The positive association between attendance in center-based care and child outcomes before and after school transition has been supported by numerous studies (e.g., Barnett, 1995, Belsky and MacKinnon, 1994, Ladd and Price, 1987, Melhuish et al., 2008). The few exceptions to this positive association are studies that report increased externalizing problems due to attendance in center-based programs (Crosby et al., 2010, Magnuson et al., 2007).

In sum, African American who have culturally responsive parents and experience enriching early education programs are likely to have strong social and emotional functioning (McAdoo, 1985, Spencer, 1983) and good academic outcomes (Oliver, 1989, Thomas et al., 2009). Thus, the environments and interactions experienced by African American boys may lead some to successful school transition (e.g., growth in academics and social competence) and others to a troubled school entry and disengagement from school (Noguera, 2003, Taylor and Graham, 2007).

The current study seeks to explore the transition profiles of African American boys from preschool through kindergarten based on assessment of their academic skills and teacher ratings of their social behaviors. Given the importance of family socio-demographics, parenting, and attendance in center-based preschool programs, it is critical to examine these variables as predictors of membership in a particular school transition profile. The questions guiding this study are: (a) what are the academic and social skill patterns of African American boys as they transition from preschool through kindergarten, and (b) do SES, parenting, and preschool attendance predict the likelihood of being in a particular transition pattern? Limited research on African American boys’ school transition patterns restricts our ability to postulate. However, based on earlier-cited research with diverse samples, we expected positive parenting practices and high SES to predict the likelihood of membership in the high achiever or socially competent groups (Early et al., 2002, Rimm-Kaufman et al., 2000), with uncertainty about the role of attendance in center-based care due to mixed findings (Belsky and MacKinnon, 1994, Magnuson et al., 2007).

Section snippets

Participants

The children and families in this study were participants in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), a nationally representative study aimed at understanding children's early experiences between birth and entry into formal schooling. The study sampled approximately 14,000 children born in the U.S. in 2001, from birth until they entered kindergarten (due to the restrictive nature of this dataset, exact numbers cannot be provided). Children were mostly sampled through

Preliminary analyses

Bivariate correlations are provided for the key variables in Table 1. Family income and maternal education were related to parenting processes and children's academic and social skills with the exception of kindergarten social skills. Parenting practices (e.g., literacy practices) and interactions (e.g., cognitive stimulation) were positively associated with many child outcomes. Attendance in center-based programs was positively associated with many aspects of children's academic and social

Discussion

The aim of this study was to examine patterns that emerge for African American boys transitioning into kindergarten based on their language, academic, and social skills collected in preschool and kindergarten. The secondary aim was to examine the extent to which family socio-demographics, parenting, and attendance in a center-based preschool program was associated with the probability of membership in a particular subgroup. The four patterns that emerged were: (1) Increasing Academically, (2)

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