The Relationship between Social-Emotional Development, Academic Achievement and Parenting

154 Pages·2017·1.83 MB·English

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The Relationship between Social-Emotional Development,
Academic Achievement and Parenting Practices in Young
Children who Attend Head Start
Emily A. A. Dow
Graduate Center, City University of New York
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The Relationship between Social-Emotional Development, Academic Achievement and
Parenting Practices in Young Children who Attend Head Start

By
Emily A. A. Dow, MA

A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Psychology in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York
2015
ii

© 2015
Emily A. A. Dow
All Rights Reserved
iii
The manuscript has been read and accepted for the
Graduate Faculty in Psychology in satisfaction of the
Dissertation requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

Roseanne L. Flores, PhD

Date Chair of Examining Committee

Joshua Brumberg, PhD

Date Executive Officer

Martin Ruck, PhD

David Rindskopf, PhD

Susan Nolan, PhD

Joan Lucariello, PhD
Supervisory Committee

THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK
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Abstract
The Relationship between Social-Emotional Development, Academic Achievement and
Parenting Practices in Young Children who Attend Head Start
By
Emily A. A. Dow
Adviser: Dr. Roseanne L. Flores
During the preschool years, children develop social-emotional skills – such as cooperation and
self-regulation – which predict later academic achievement. Research shows that parents play an
important role in the development of these skills. However, it remains unclear how specific
parenting practices may facilitate the relationship between social-emotional development and
academic success. Often, children who grow up in low-income families are at risk for a variety
of cognitive and emotional problems. Head Start is a federal program offered to low-income
families that provides services, including early childhood education programs, to help offset
these risks. Using Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory, the purpose of this dissertation was to
explore the relationship among these three factors -- social-emotional skills, academic
achievement, and parenting practices -- in an effort to better understand child development.
There were three primary aims of this dissertation: (1) to demonstrate the inter-relatedness of
several social-emotional skills for children who attended Head Start at age three; (2) understand
the relationship between social-emotional skills during preschool and academic achievement at
the end of kindergarten; and (3) understand how parent characteristics can influence the
relationship between social-emotional skills in preschool and academic achievement by the end
of kindergarten. Using a large, nationally representative data set from the Head Start program,
several specific research questions were addressed through secondary data analysis. Findings
from backwards regressions and moderation analysis indicate that there was a relationship
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between social-emotional skills at age three and academic achievement at age five, and that these
relationships were sometimes moderated by parenting approaches.
Keywords: Social-emotional development; academic achievement; Head Start; parenting
practices
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Acknowledgements

I dedicate this work to my mother, Audrey Lynne Athay Dow,
and father, Shelby John Dow, who provided me with all the opportunities they could.
This work is a reflection of those experiences.

I am in great gratitude to my sister, Audrey Allyson Athay-Barnes, for her ongoing and
continued support. She, along with her family, have been by far the loudest and most colorful
cheerleaders a doctoral student – and sister – could ever have.
I am forever grateful to Dr. Jeff Kukucka for his unwavering love and encouragement over the
past 4 years. He, and his family, have been nothing but supportive.
I would like to acknowledge and thank my committee members for their time, expertise, and
support in completing this dissertation.
I would especially like to thank my dissertation advisor, Dr. Roseanne Flores, for her mentorship
to help me become a better writer, researcher, and scholar. Thank you, Dr. Flores, for everything
you have done.
I would also like to acknowledge and thank Dr. Janet Sigal for her guidance and support both
academically and professionally. Her support has been essential to my success.
There have been many friends, peers, and colleagues who have been beyond caring and kind
over the years, and am grateful for their continued support.
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Table of Contents
List of Tables ix
List of Figures x
The Relationship among Social-Emotional
Development, Academic Achievement and Parenting Practices in Young
Children who Attend Head Start 1
Theoretical Perspective - Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Theory 3
An Overview of Social-Emotional Development in Early Childhood 7
Social-Emotional Development and Academic Achievement 20
Social-Emotional Development and the Role of Parents 28
Dissertation Overview 34
Rationale 34
Purpose, Goals and Research Questions 36
Methods 39
Head Start 39
FACES 2009 40
Overview of Analysis 47
Results 52
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The Relationship Among Self Control, Cooperation, And Social Relationships 52
Brief Discussion 57
Social-Emotional Skills and Academic Achievement 61
Brief Discussion 67
Moderating Analysis: Parenting, Social-Emotional Skills and
Academic Achievement 70
Brief Discussion 76
General Discussion 78
Discussion of Findings 78
Theoretical Implications 80
Limitations 83
Future Research 84
Appendix A: Tables 86
Appendix B: Figures 101
References 129
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List of Tables
Table 1. Measures Included In Analyses for Social-emotional Development 86
Table 2. Measures Included In Analyses for Academic Achievement 87
Table 3. Measures Included In Analyses for Parenting Approaches 88
Table 4. Descriptive Statistics of Social-emotional Skills at Age Three 89
Table 5. Unweighted Pearson’s Correlations and Sample Sizes of
Social-emotional Skills at Age Three 90
Table 6. Unweighted Correlations of All Leiter-R Subscales 91
Table 7. Descriptive Statistics of Academic Achievement at Age Five 92
Table 8. Unweighted Pearson’s Correlations of Measures of Academic
Achievement at the End of Kindergarten 93
Table 9. Unweighted Pearson’s Correlations of All Woodcock-Johnson
Measures of Academic Achievement at the End of Kindergarten 94
Table 10. Summary of B-Values and P-Values for Backwards Regression
Models for Language 95
Table 11. Summary of B-Values and P-Values for Backwards Regression
Models for Literacy 96
Table 12. Summary of B-Values and P-Values for Backwards Regression
Models for Mathematics 97
Table 13. Summary of B-Values and P-Values for Moderation Analysis
for Language 98
Table 14. Summary of B-Values and P-Values for Moderation Analysis
for Literacy 99
Table 15. Summary of B-Values and P-Values for Moderation Analysis
for Mathematics 100