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Kindergarten readiness delivers protective edge in late teens

Kindergarten readiness forecasts a later protective edge in emerging adulthood and suggests that youngsters who begin school with the right preparedness gain a lifestyle advantage, found a study based on data from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development.

Everything you ever really needed to know you learned back in kindergarten – that old saying gets some scientific support in a new study by researchers at Canada's Université de Montréal and Université Sainte-Anne (USA). "We've known for years that getting off to a good start in kindergarten leads to better achievement over the long-term," said lead author Caroline Fitzpatrick, an assistant professor of psychology at USA, in Nova Scotia. "But now with our study we can really lock in the idea that early childhood skills help you achieve success and adopt a healthier lifestyle in emerging adulthood. And that's promising for society as a whole."

"Many children begin kindergarten inadequately prepared to benefit from classroom instruction," said senior author Linda Pagani, a professor at UdeM School of Psycho-Education.

"Those who go in unprepared risk struggling throughout their academic journey. They arrive without the necessary tools in terms of cognitive skills, social skills and motor skills from physical activity," added Pagani, who is also senior researcher at CHU Sainte-Justine Paediatric Hospital in Montreal.

Fitzpatrick and Pagani examined associations between kindergarten readiness and academic, psychological and health risks that manifested themselves when a child reached the end of high school.

"Kindergarten math skills contributed to better end-of high-school achievement and a lower dropout risk, and that was supported by observations from teachers, who also noted a reduced risk of substance abuse later on, said Fitzpatrick.

"Kindergarten classroom engagement also predicted involvement in physical activity and a 65% drop in the risk of a child being overweight by age 17," added Pagani, who worked on the study with UdeM postdoctoral researcher Elroy Boers.

The authors came to their conclusions after examining Institut de la statistique du Québec data from a cohort of 2,000 children born in 1997 or 1998 who were part of the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development.

At age 5, trained examiners assessed each child's knowledge of numbers and their receptive vocabulary. Each spring, teachers reported kindergarten classroom engagement, such as how a child did tasks, followed directions and worked with others.

At age 17, participants reported on their academic grades, their feelings of connectedness, whether they abused drugs or alcohol, their involvement in physical activity, and their height and weight. The drop-out risk was also estimated for each participant based on their grades’ retention and engagement at school.

The researchers then analysed the data to identify any significant link between kindergarten readiness and academic, psychological and health risks by the end of high school. They attempted to discard possible confounding factors by adjusting their analyses for key indicators in the children (their sex, weight per gestational age, non-verbal IQ and internalising and externalising behaviours) and in their families (parental involvement, maternal depression, immigration status, family configuration and socioeconomic status).

"Early childhood readiness forecasts a later protective edge in emerging adulthood and suggests that youngsters who begin school with the right preparedness gain a lifestyle advantage," said Fitzpatrick. "Our findings show a way to eliminate the established link between underachievement and disease by providing children with the conditions that will promote kindergarten readiness."

Added Pagani: "Promoting kindergarten readiness seems, over the long-term, to help reduce the lifestyle risks generated by dropping out of high school. Therefore, policies to promote and preserve children's early skills, such as providing stimulating childcare and diminishing family adversity, may thus represent a valuable policy strategy for governments to invest in."

Abstract
Objectives: To estimate associations between kindergarten readiness and academic, psychological, and health risks by end of high school.
Methods: This study is based on 966 Canadian children. At age 5, trained examiners assessed child number knowledge and receptive vocabulary. Teachers reported kindergarten classroom engagement. At age 17, participants reported academic grades, school connectedness, anxiety sensitivity, substance abuse, physical activity involvement, and height and weight. High school dropout risk was also estimated for each participant on the basis of grades, school engagement, and grade retention.
Results: Kindergarten math skills contributed to better end-of high school grades (β = .17, P < .01) and lower dropout risk (β = −.20, P < .001), whereas receptive vocabulary predicted lower anxiety sensitivity (β = −.11, P < .01). Kindergarten classroom engagement predicted higher end of high school grades (β = .17, P < .001), lower dropout risk (β = −.20, P < .01), better school connectedness (β = .15, P < .01), lower risk of substance abuse (β = −.21, P < .001), and more physical activity involvement (β = .09, P < .05). Kindergarten classroom engagement was also associated with a 65% reduction (odds ratio = 0.35) in the odds of being overweight at age of 17. Analyses were adjusted for key child (sex, weight per gestational age, nonverbal IQ, and internalizing and externalizing behaviors) and family (parental involvement, maternal depression and immigrant status, family configuration, and socioeconomic status) characteristics.
Conclusions: Early childhood readiness forecasts a protective edge by emerging adulthood. With these findings, we build links between education and health indicators, suggesting that children who start school prepared gain a lifestyle advantage. Promoting kindergarten readiness could reduce the health burden generated by high school dropout.

Authors
Caroline Fitzpatrick, Elroy Boers and Linda S Pagani

 

[link url="https://nouvelles.umontreal.ca/en/article/2020/11/02/starting-kindergarten-on-the-right-foot/"]University of Montreal[/link]

 

[link url="https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2020/10/29/peds.2020-0978"]Pediatrics abstract[/link]

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