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School Readiness

Lisa Afonso Lynes

CEP 603

Dr Elizabeth Holtzman

December 5, 2019
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School Readiness Annotated Bibliography

Duncan, G. J., Dowsett, C. J., Claessens, A., Magnuson, K., Huston, A. C., Klebanov, P.,

Feinstein, L., Engel M., Brooks-Gunn, J., Sexton, H., Duckworth, K. Japel, C. (2007).

School readiness and later achievement. Developmental Psychology, 43(6), 1428–1446.

https://doi-org.ric.idm.oclc.org/10.1037/0012-1649.43.6.1428.supp (Supplemental)

This study builds upon previous research on school readiness, however it does it in a much larger

scope. It looks at and analyzes data from six longitudinal studies, in regard to skills and

behaviors that emerge in the preschool years. This study references previous studies that have

also found that early educational interventions result in a reduction of long-term special

education services as well as overall academic success. The results are conclusive as far as the

importance of early academic skills, however, it does not say anything regarding the type of

curriculum that is most effective.

Palermo, F., Ispa, J. M., Carlo, G., & Streit, C. (2018). Economic hardship during infancy and

US Latino preschoolers’ sociobehavioral health and academic readiness. Developmental

Psychology, 54(5), 890–902. https://doi-org.ric.idm.oclc.org/10.1037/dev0000476

This study focuses on the impact of economic hardships and maternal mental health on

preschooler’s behavior and academic readiness for kindergarten. This study showed that

economic hardship contributed negatively to academic readiness and due to its impact on

maternal mental health, it diminished the ability of the mother to use positive parenting

strategies. This research was consistent with previous research studies that have discussed the

negative impact of family stress and lack of supportive mother-child interactions with behavioral

difficulties which can lead to difficulties with attentiveness and engagement in learning
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activities. This study further supported the need for early interventions and the need to support

families in positive parenting behaviors as a way to address the impact of economic hardships.

Browne, D. T., Wade, M., Prime, H., & Jenkins, J. M. (2018). School readiness amongst urban

Canadian families: Risk profiles and family mediation. Journal of Educational

Psychology, 110(1), 133–146. https://doi-org.ric.idm.oclc.org/10.1037/edu0000202.supp

(Supplemental)

This study examined “(a) who are the families that are most at risk for poor school readiness

among a sample of ethnically diverse Canadian immigrants and nonimmigrants? And (b) How

does risk operate via family investment and family process among these identified families?” (p.

135). This study, like the previous study, emphasized the importance of parental mental health

and positive parenting strategies as a way to support children’s development and promote future

educational, social, and economic success. This study also outlined the importance of addressing

issues of economic hardship at an earlier stage of life in order to have the biggest impact on

overall development.

Stormont, M., Cohen, D. R., Herman, K. C., & Reinke, W. M. (2019). Teacher-rated school

readiness items in a kindergarten sample: Outcomes in first grade. School

Psychology, 34(6), 612–621. https://doi-org.ric.idm.oclc.org/10.1037/spq0000329

This study looked more at the importance of screening children in prior to kindergarten and put

supports into place as to assist children prior to displaying behavioral issues. This study

highlighted that children who had poor school readiness skills prior to entering kindergarten

were at a higher risk to have poor academic and social behavioral outcomes by the end of first

grade. This study further illustrated as “time is of the essence” (p. 619) in identifying and
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putting supports into place for the most vulnerable children in kindergarten to support as early as

possible.

McCoy, D. C., Jones, S., Roy, A., & Raver, C. C. (2018). Classifying trajectories of social–

emotional difficulties through elementary school: Impacts of the Chicago School

Readiness Project. Developmental Psychology, 54(4), 772–787. https://doi-

org.ric.idm.oclc.org/10.1037/dev0000457

This study examined the effectiveness of the Chicago School Readiness Project (CSRP) in

supporting low income children’s social emotional development in the context of the larger

school and community setting throughout preschool through elementary school years. The

results of this study support the long-term effectiveness of classroom-based preschool

interventions in supporting social emotional development, again highlighting the need for early

intervention.

Brown, E. D., Ackerman, B. P., & Moore, C. A. (2013). Family adversity and inhibitory control

for economically disadvantaged children: Preschool relations and associations with

school readiness. Journal of Family Psychology, 27(3), 443–452. https://doi-

org.ric.idm.oclc.org/10.1037/a0032886

This study analyzes the longitudinal relationships between family income and family instability,

and the impact of those stressors on inhibitory control and school readiness. “For economically

disadvantaged children, inhibitory control helps to explain the deficits in school readiness, which

can broadly be defined as a set of emotional, behavioral, and cognitive skills needed to function

successfully in elementary” (p.443). This study, much like the previous, looks ar children across

a year of Head Start preschool. Although, the study was not able to make a clear connection
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between family adversity and children’s inhibitory control. It was able to support the notion that

the adversity index was significantly related to inhibitory control. It also was able to support that

inhibitory control was significantly related to overall school readiness.

Cavadel, E. W., & Frye, D. A. (2017). Not just numeracy and literacy: Theory of mind

development and school readiness among low-income children. Developmental

Psychology, 53(12), 2290–2303. https://doi-org.ric.idm.oclc.org/10.1037/dev0000409

This study looked at Theory of the Mind and its importance on school readiness in low-income

African American children. This study, like the previous, focused on Head Start children.

“Interventions aimed at improving ToM and teaching the understanding jointly, particularly if

situated in an applied learning situation may improve performance in mathematics and literacy”

(p. 2298).

Johnson, A. D., Finch, J. E., & Phillips, D. A. (2019). Associations between publicly funded

preschool and low-income children’s kindergarten readiness: The moderating role of

child temperament. Developmental Psychology, 55(3), 623–636. https://doi-

org.ric.idm.oclc.org/10.1037/dev0000651.supp (Supplemental)

This study explores the role of temperament for low-income children in public preschool

programs. It compares and contrasts the experience of children in Head Start and school-based

Pre-K Programs to children in parental care, as a predictor of kindergarten cognitive and social

emotional skills based on observer rated temperament. This study also looked at the difference

between Head Start teachers and school-based Pre-K teachers, as far as education, training, and

supports for the reduction of externalizing behaviors.