Peer interaction offers critical learning opportunities for preschool students, yet exposure to peers of different skill levels varies within and across classrooms. We explore two ways peers may affect learning: differences in who children play with in a classroom and differences in student composition across classrooms. We find that playing with…

The present study examined the relations between two aspects of peer experiences in preschool classrooms and children's math and literacy development during kindergarten transition. Based on the theoretical framework of classroom ecology model, peer experiences were represented by classroom social network and teachers' grouping preferences. The…

The goals of this study were to investigate whether young children attending Head Start (N = 292; M[subscript age] = 4.3 years) selected peers based on their preschool competency and whether children's levels of preschool competency were influenced by their peers' levels of preschool competency. Children's peer interaction partners were…

The ESEA Blueprint for Reform states that teachers need "effective, ongoing, job-embedded, professional development that is targeted to student and school needs… [and] aligned with evidence of improvements in student learning." Unfortunately, the professional development approaches advocated, though sensible and compelling in theory,…