Description:
The University of Pennsylvania will study the relationship between Head Start interactive peer play behavior and later academic achievement and social adjustment in the primary grades. Subjects will include 210 former Head Start children who will be followed longitudinally through the 1st and 2nd grades. While the students were enrolled in Head Start, data regarding peer play behaviors were collected via the Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale- Teacher Version (PIPPS-T), which assesses three underlying dimensions of play behaviors: Play Interaction, Play Disruption, and Play Disconnection. These data will be compared via multiple logistic analyses to measures of social adjustment and academic achievement assessed during the children's primary grades. Teachers will complete the Adjustment Scale for Children and Adolescents (ASCA), and children's grades and scores on the Stanford Achievement Test-9th Edition (SAT-9) will provide measures of academic achievement. Researchers will also assess the relative influence on peer play of contextual characteristics such as family, classroom, and neighborhood. The researchers' ultimate aim is to determine the protective and risk influences of preschool peer interaction on Head Start children's later school adjustment and achievement in order to promote school readiness and future success.
Resource Type:
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
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