Children’s Social and Emotional Functioning and Academic Success in Preschool: the Role of Internalizing Problems and Adaptive Skills

Abstract

The present study investigated the role of children’s social and emotional functioning on their academic success in preschool. Data was collected from 81 children, and their teachers, in preschool programs in a Western Canadian municipality. Children completed measures of receptive language and academic functioning; teachers independently completed a standardized measure of children’s social and emotional functioning. Results indicated that children’s adaptive skills in the fall of preschool significantly predicted their academic scores in the fall and spring of their preschool year, with higher adaptive skills predicting higher academic scores. Children’s levels of internalizing problems were not found to significantly predict their academic skills during the preschool year. Children’s average levels of adaptive skills and internalizing problems significantly increased over the school year. This study highlights the connection between children’s social and emotional functioning and academic skills in preschool. Given these findings, early learning programs are encouraged to include components that promote the development of children’s adaptive skills, in addition to academic skills.