Moving is common during middle childhood, but links between move type and children's development are less well understood. Using nationally-representative, longitudinal data (2010-2016) of [approximately]9900 U.S. kindergarteners (52% boys, 51.48% White, 26.11% Hispanic/Latino, 10.63% Black, 11.78% Asian/Pacific Islander), we conducted…

Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Cohort (2010-2011), this study is the first to investigate predictors of kindergarten science achievement and growth across elementary school--English language proficiency (ELP), executive functioning, math and reading achievement, parent-engaged science and math activities, and classroom…

Many studies examine how bilinguals and monolinguals differ in their executive function abilities at one time-point or cross-sectionally. Fewer examine how these groups of children may differ over time. Using nationally representative data obtained from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-2011 (ECLS-K:2011), this…

Spanking and parental verbal aggression are potentially toxic stressors that can negatively affect children's academic achievement by disrupting mental skills like executive function. Yet little empirical evidence has been provided for this mediating pathway. This study used data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Cohort of…

Research Findings: The present study examined patterns of executive function (EF) development among socio-demographically diverse children in kindergarten, first grade, and second grade. Using nationally representative data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Cohort: 2011, we estimated children's growth in working memory and…

This paper used a nationally representative sample of children from the United States to examine the extent to which physical activity and sports participation may promote growth in children's executive functions (EFs), attention, and social self-control over time. Using data from the ECLS-K:2011 (N = 18,174), findings indicated that regular…

Despite much research examining whether bilingual individuals demonstrate superior executive function (EF) skills compared to monolinguals, the purported bilingual advantage remains controversial. One potential reason for discrepant findings across studies examining the bilingual advantage is the difficulty in matching monolingual and bilingual…

Structural equation models were used to examine pathways from maternal depression and early parenting to children's executive function (EF) and externalizing behaviours in the first nationally representative study to obtain direct assessments of children's kindergarten EF skills (i.e., the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Class of…

Children with higher levels of executive function (EF) skills consistently demonstrate higher levels of academic achievement. Despite the consistency of these associations, fundamental questions remain about whether efforts to improve an individual child's EF skills result in corresponding improvements in his or her academic performance. In the…

This study examines how gains in mathematics achievement are related to executive processing functions and student sociodemographic characteristics across schools' national representative longitudinal sample of children in kindergarten (K) followed through grade four in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study of 2010. Mathematics trajectories were…

The school adjustment of children is the cornerstone of their development, and has been known to be influenced by a variety of factors. This study investigated the effects of peer relationships, theory of mind (ToM), hot executive function (hot EF), and cognitive ability on young children's school adjustment. Participants were 183 children with a…

Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Class of 2010-2011 (n = 11,000), this study examined the developmental outcomes of 5-year-old children in multigrade classrooms (combined prekindergarten and kindergarten classrooms serving 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds) compared with those of 5-year-olds attending kindergarten-only…

Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Class of 2010-2011 (ECLS-K: 2011; n = 11,000), this study examined the developmental outcomes of 5-year-old children in multi-grade classrooms (combined pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classrooms serving 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds) compared with 5-year-olds attending…

Responding to a robust body of literature suggesting that children's early educational experiences are critical, policymakers have implemented and expanded the provision of full-day kindergarten (FDK) in recent decades. Most studies have focused on the effectiveness of FDK on child academic assessments or test scores, but none have examined FDK…

In the United States a "civic engagement gap" persists between low-income youth and their higher-income counterparts. To examine the developmental origins of civic engagement in a sample of U.S. children growing up in poverty, a conceptual model was tested employing the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Class (ECLS-K)…