Article
Children at risk for early academic problems: the role of learning-related social skills

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Abstract

Increasing evidence suggests that aspects of children’s learning-related social skills (including interpersonal skills and work-related skills) contribute to early school performance. The present investigation examined the association of work-related skills to academic outcomes at the beginning of kindergarten and at the end of second grade as well as characteristics of children with low work-related skills. Children were selected from a sample of 540 children based on low work-related skills scores on the Cooper-Farran Behavioral Rating Scales, a teacher-rated scale. Results indicated that work-related skills predicted unique variance in academic outcomes at school entry and at the end of second grade, after controlling for kindergarten academic score and important background variables. In addition, children with poor work-related skills (n = 82) were found to differ from the overall sample on a number of child, family, and sociocultural variables including: significantly lower IQs, more behavior difficulties, and more medical problems, such as hearing and language problems. Finally, children with low work-related skills scored lower on academic outcomes at the beginning of kindergarten and at the end of second grade. Findings highlight the importance of early work-related skills in understanding successful school transition and early academic achievement.

Section snippets

Conceptualizations of social behavior

Research relating children’s social behavior to school adjustment and performance has focused on different aspects of social behavior. Some investigations have examined the importance of children’s peer relations in school adjustment, finding that the consequences of peer rejection include aggressiveness, behavior problems, and academic failure (e.g., DeRosier et al 1994, Dishion 1990, Olson and Hoza 1993, Pettit et al 1996, Vitaro et al 1992).

Others have examined social behavior in terms of

Learning-related social skills and academic achievement

Although an extensive body of literature has linked social behavior to school achievement, there is less research looking at particular aspects of social behavior specifically related to school achievement, namely learning-related or work-related social skills. Nonetheless, the existing research does document the importance of social skills for early school success and school adjustment. For example, Ladd and Price (1987) and Ladd (1990) found that children’s school adjustment (measured by

The role of work-related skills

The importance of work-related skills has been documented in a number of studies. Cooper and Farran (1988) found that having low scores on their work-related skills (WRS) subscale was associated more with being identified with a behavior problem than having low scores on the interpersonal (IPS) subscale for a sample of 650 kindergarten children. Children rated low on WRS by their teachers in the fall and spring of kindergarten were more at risk for being identified with behavior problems

Child, family, and sociocultural factors and learning-related social skills

Relatively little empirical work has attempted to determine the degree to which work-related social skills reflect individual differences in the child or reflect characteristics of the family or sociocultural environment. Stott, Green, and Francis (1983) found more girls having a superior learning style score and performing at a higher level in reading at school entry compared to boys. These findings supported other investigations demonstrating that, in general, boys are more likely to have

Early work-related skills and academic achievement

The research reviewed here suggests that work-related skills are linked to children’s social and academic performance as they enter and continue through school. Overall, however, few studies have intensively examined poor work-related skills and academic achievement Cooper and Speece 1988, Speece and Cooper 1990 and few studies have looked at kindergarten entry (Bronson et al., 1995) or followed children longitudinally to see if poor work-related skills continue to predict later academic

Participants

Five-hundred and forty children participated in a study of early individual differences conducted in Greensboro, NC Christian et al 1998, Morrison et al 1998. The sample was 51% White, 49% Black, 51% male and 49% female. Children entered the study at the beginning of kindergarten and ranged in age from 4 years, 10 months to 5 years, 11 months (M = 5 years, 5 months, SD = 4.22). Sample size from the fall of kindergarten to the spring of second grade decreased from 540 to 295 due to attrition.

Results

This study attempted to examine the predictability of work-related skills1 to academic achievement at school entry and at the end of second grade, identify characteristics of children with poor work-related skills, and investigate the relationship of poor work-related skills and academic achievement at the beginning of kindergarten and at the end of second grade.

Discussion

The present study had three central goals: to examine the predictability of work-related skills to academic outcomes at the beginning of kindergarten and at the end of second grade; to identify characteristics of children with low work-related skills; and to investigate the relationship between poor work-related skills and academic achievement at school entry and at the end of second grade. Findings unearthed a broad array of characteristics linked to children with poor work-related skills and

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