Relationships Between Social Skills, Behavioral Problems, and School Readiness for Head Start Children

This study followed 515 4-year-olds from Head Start entry to exit to investigate their social and behavioral skills and the impact of these skills on school readiness outcomes. Results indicated that, on average, social skills improved across the preschool year, while behavior problems remained relatively stable. Social skills and behavior problems were significantly related to multiple child school readiness outcomes in the areas of oral language, early literacy, and early math. In addition, the effects of different preschool literacy curricula on children's social and behavioral skills were examined. A greater percentage of children in the literacy intervention classrooms were categorized as lower risk (better social skills and fewer behavior problems) at the end of the preschool year, compared with children in classrooms without an added literacy curriculum. Implications for promoting cognitive and social development in preschool are discussed.