This study examined the relationship of two important learning behaviors, persistence and initiative, and three- to five-year-old low-income preschool children?s school readiness outcomes. The sample consisted of 196 children from two urban Head Start Centers in a large Head Start Program in the Southeast. Initiative was measured by the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment and persistence by the Preschool Learning Behavior Scale. Academic outcomes were collected through the Language and Literacy subscale and the Early Math subscale of the Galileo System for Electronic Management of Learning. Results indicated that learning behaviors may be differentially important across age and academic domain. Persistence, and not initiative, significantly predicted younger and older preschoolers? yearly gains in early math outcomes. In contrast, while persistence was a significant predictor of language and literacy yearly gains for younger preschoolers, initiative was the significant predictor for older preschoolers. These differential results add to the understanding of learning behaviors and their effect on academic outcomes in early childhood. Such findings can help teachers, parents, and those developing early childhood interventions in promoting the learning behaviors that are the most appropriate for a certain age and academic area.

Problem behaviors early in the preschool year have been negatively linked to a variety of school readiness outcomes, including language, literacy and mathematics, both at the end of preschool and later on as children transition to elementary school. In order to inform preschool intervention efforts, the current study extends this research by examining the unique influence of internalizing and externalizing behaviors on children's growth in academic skills throughout the preschool year. Additionally, in order to identify mechanisms that may explain the associations between problem behaviors and academic growth, the potential mediating role of specific learning behaviors-competence motivation, attention/persistence and attitude toward learning-were examined. A sample of 275 four-year-old children enrolled in a large, urban Head Start program in the Southeast United States participated in the study. Teachers completed ecologically valid measures of children-s problem behaviors at the beginning of the year and children's learning behaviors mid-year. Data on children's academic achievement were collected at three time points (fall, winter and spring) by independent direct assessors. A series of latent growth models were conducted to examine children's growth in listening comprehension, alphabet knowledge, vocabulary, and mathematics across the preschool year. Results indicated that children made significant progress in all academic domains. Internalizing and externalizing behaviors were negatively associated with baseline academic scores, yet positively associated with rates of growth in some academic domains over time. Furthermore, children's attention skills and persistence were found to be important mediators of growth in alphabet knowledge and mathematics. Implications for early childhood research and practice are discussed.

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This thesis examined the relationship between classroom quality, approaches-to-learning, and early academic skills among 384 Latino dual language learners (DLLs) enrolled in Florida Head Start programs. The children were living in low-income homes where Spanish was the primary language spoken by at least one parent. The study analyzed the extent to which approaches-to-learning behaviors moderate early literacy and numeracy skills in Head Start classrooms of varying quality. During the spring of their prek-4 year, the children were administered the English and Spanish Letter-Word Identification and Applied Problems subtests of the WJ-III (Woodcock, McGrew, & Mather, 2001) and the Batería III (Muñoz-Sandoval, Woodcock, McGrew, & Mather, 2005) Tests of Achievement. General features of classroom quality were measured using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS; Pianta, La Paro, & Hamre, 2008). Multilevel models indicated that there is a negative association between a classroom's level of emotional support and early English Literacy Skills, a positive association between Attention/Persistence Learning Behaviors and early English Literacy Skills, and a positive association between Competence Motivation Learning Behaviors and early English Numeracy Skills. Approaches-to-learning behaviors did not moderate the relationship between classroom quality and early academic skills. Results are consistent with previous research that has found that general measures of classroom quality may not capture the cultural and linguistic factors that influence a DLL's early academic skills. The current findings are consistent with previous literature on the positive influence of approaches-to-learning behaviors on early academic skills. Implications for practice include using culturally responsive teaching practices, creating a positive classroom environment, and supporting the development of Attention/Persistence and Competence Motivation Learning Behaviors. Implications for research include strengths-based research examining the promotive role of approaches-to-learning in DLL development and using culturally sensitive measures of classroom quality.