This is one in a series of 15 two-page, evidence-based framing memos on pressing education and social issues prepared by MDRC for the incoming Obama Administration and the new Congress.

Bottom Line

Improving the school readiness of disadvantaged young children is a promising strategy for ameliorating some of the nation’s most persistent social problems. But disquieting evidence that preschoolers are experiencing disturbingly high rates of behavior problems — and are being expelled from school at higher rates than their elementary-age peers — raises concerns about the ability of preschool programs to deliver on that promise. Expansions in access to preschool programs will only succeed in benefitting low-income children if accompanied by clear information about how to ensure program quality. An important — but too-often neglected — aspect of maintaining quality is addressing children’s social-emotional development. Yet we know that social and emotional development is an important contributor to children’s early academic success. A research agenda focused on supporting children’s social and emotional development in preschool settings could provide the information needed to strengthen Head Start and state pre-k approaches.

What Do We Know?

1. Children’s behavioral challenges are a source of concern and stress for teachers. Researchers and policymakers have begun to recognize that preschool teachers face high rates of emotional and behavioral difficulties among young, low-income children in their classrooms. As many as 20 percent of preschool-enrolled children have severe behavioral problems — meaning that teachers may have to work with four children who have serious symptoms of sadness, withdrawal, aggression, and disruptiveness in a typical preschool classroom of 20 students. In fact, one study found that preschool expulsion rates were three times those of K-12 classes, with 10 percent of preschool teachers reporting that they had expelled at least one student in the past year, probably as a result of such behavioral challenges. In survey after survey, teachers report that managing children with problem behaviors is one of the most stressful parts of their day.
   
   
2. Children’s behavioral challenges disrupt the learning environment for all children in preschool classrooms. Classroom instructional time is significantly reduced when teachers are unable to control acting-out behaviors among preschoolers. A study in Chicago found that, in the lowest performing quartile of preschool classes, fewer than 31 minutes in a four-hour period were devoted to instructional time. Faced with even a small number of challenging children, teachers often respond with criticism, lowering young children’s motivation and interest in classroom activities. Research finds that child engagement is higher in classrooms where teachers are able to manage children’s behavior challenges.
   
   
3. Early behavioral issues create challenges for children throughout their school careers. Academic achievement in the elementary years is thought to be built on a foundation of strong early emotional and social skills. The way teachers manage problem behaviors matter: children with behavioral difficulties do better in school when enrolled in classrooms that are positive and well-managed. Left unaddressed — and compounded by attendance in lower-quality schools — early academic disparities among disadvantaged children grow into the persistent achievement gaps that the education community is now attempting to close.

What Do We Need to Know?

Total government expenditures on all preschool programs targeting children from birth to age 5 added up to $22 billion in 2002. The potential for a real payoff on this investment is large: high-quality model preschool programs have been found to return $4 to $10 in future benefits per dollar spent. As Nobel laureate economist James Heckman has argued, preschool may be the best time to intervene with children, as future gains build off of prior skills. However, not all preschool programs yield positive benefits, particularly when such programs are delivered at scale. Research should focus on two related goals:

• Understanding how to strengthen Head Start and state pre-k programs. The key question is how to deliver on the promise of preschool education in large-scale programs, such as Head Start and state pre-k. The Head Start Impact study demonstrated that existing Head Start programs have considerable potential to foster school readiness but that they can also be strengthened, particularly by providing more support for the development of language and emergent literacy skills, as well as by addressing children’s behavioral challenges.
  
  Current studies are now testing a new generation of preschool curricula and teacher training strategies that are specifically designed to facilitate children’s social-emotional competencies by (1) providing preschool classrooms with very specific hands-on activities and lessons for children to help them increase their knowledge about emotions and peer behavior, (2) providing training for teachers and parents in specific behavior strategies that support the social-emotional development of preschool children, and (3) providing children with opportunities to practice social roles, while emphasizing critical skills of planning, memory and attention. In fact, MDRC’s Foundations of Learning Project provides early evidence that training teachers in behavior management strategies improves the emotional and learning environment of the preschool classroom. Results from this and other studies — both small-scale efficacy trials as well as the Department of Health and Human Services’ Head Start CARES national trial (managed by MDRC) — will provide critical information about how to strengthen preschool programs to best meet the needs of low-income children.
  
  
• Integrating a focus on language and literacy with social-emotional development. Supporting children’s social-emotional development is only one part of strengthening preschool education. While behavior management forms the foundation upon which a high-quality preschool experience develops, surprisingly little time in preschool classrooms is spent on literacy and numeracy instruction. In classrooms where teachers have learned how to manage children’s behavioral issues, the next step is to focus on critical pre-academic skills. The home environments of low-income children often lack the kinds of learning experiences to best prepare them for kindergarten — they hear fewer words, learn less vocabulary, and struggle with basic knowledge of numbers and colors in comparison to their higher-income peers. Future research could provide critical evidence about whether an integrated literacy/social-emotional program could ensure that children get the academic skills they need to prepare for elementary school.

Key References and Resources

MDRC's Child Care and Early Education Projects

Cunha, Flavio, and James J. Heckman. 2006. Investing in Our Young People. Chicago: University of Chicago.

Gilliam, Walter S. 2005. Prekindergartners Left Behind: Expulsion Rates in State Prekindergarten Programs. FCD Policy Brief Series No. 3. New York: Foundation for Child Development.

Raver, C. Cybele. 2002. "Emotions Matter: Making the Case for the Role of Young Children’s Emotional Development for Early School Readiness." Social Policy Reports 16: 3-18.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. 2005. Head Start Impact Study: First Year Findings. Washington, DC: Author.