Abstract
In this study we used data on a sample of children in the Chicago Public Schools in areas of concentrated poverty-related disadvantage to examine associations between school climate and low-income children’s language/literacy and math skills during the transition to kindergarten. We also explored whether teacher-child closeness moderated these associations. Multilevel modeling analyses conducted using a sample of 242 children nested in 102 elementary schools revealed that low adult support in the school was significantly associated with children’s poorer language/literacy and math skills in kindergarten. Teacher-child closeness predicted children’s higher language/literacy and math scores and moderated the association between low adult support and children’s academic skills. Among children who were high on closeness with their teacher, those in schools with high levels of adult support showed stronger language/literacy and math skills. There were no significant associations between adult support and the academic skills of children with medium or low levels of teacher-child closeness. Results shed light on the importance of adult support at both school and classroom levels in promoting low-income children’s academic skills during the transition to kindergarten.
Highlights
A substantial body of research suggests that low-income children are at greater risk for poor academic skills than their higher-income peers (Jencks & Phillips, 1998; McLoyd, 1998; Ripke & Huston, 2006; Votruba-Drzal, 2006)
The purpose of this paper was to examine the roles of school climate and closeness in the teacher-student relationship as key predictors of low-income children’s academic skills as they made the transition to kindergarten
The two dimensions of school climate examined in our analysis, unsafe climate and low adult support, reflect distinct components of the social climate in public schools in urban areas of concentrated disadvantage
Summary
A substantial body of research suggests that low-income children are at greater risk for poor academic skills than their higher-income peers (Jencks & Phillips, 1998; McLoyd, 1998; Ripke & Huston, 2006; Votruba-Drzal, 2006). As a key developmental context, schools hold the potential to attenuate the negative effects of poverty and promote low-income children’s academic success. Schools may exert their influence on children at multiple levels. Both school-wide processes, such as school climate (Esposito, 1999; Hoy & Hannum, 1997), and classroom-level processes, such as the teacher-child relationship (Hamre & Pianta, 2001; Pianta & Stuhlman, 2004) have been independently linked to students’ academic achievement. In an attempt to fill these gaps, the purposes of this paper were to explore associations between elementary school climate and low-income, racial/ethnic-minority children’s academic skills during the transition to kindergarten, and to examine whether and how teacher-child closeness moderates these relationships
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