Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 15, No. 3, 307–329 (2000)
ISSN: 0885-2006
© 2000 Elsevier Science Inc.
All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.
Children at Risk for Early Academic Problems: The
Role of Learning-Related Social Skills
Megan M. McClelland, Frederick J. Morrison and
Deborah L. Holmes
Department of Psychology, Loyola University College
Increasing evidence suggests that aspects of children’s learning-related social
skills (including interpersonal skills and work-related skills) contribute to early
school performance. The present investigation examined the association of
work-related skills to academic outcomes at the beginning of kindergarten and at
the end of second grade as well as characteristics of children with low workrelated skills. Children were selected from a sample of 540 children based on low
work-related skills scores on the Cooper-Farran Behavioral Rating Scales, a
teacher-rated scale. Results indicated that work-related skills predicted unique
variance in academic outcomes at school entry and at the end of second grade,
after controlling for kindergarten academic score and important background
variables. In addition, children with poor work-related skills (n ⫽ 82) were found
to differ from the overall sample on a number of child, family, and sociocultural
variables including: significantly lower IQs, more behavior difficulties, and more
medical problems, such as hearing and language problems. Finally, children with
low work-related skills scored lower on academic outcomes at the beginning of
kindergarten and at the end of second grade. Findings highlight the importance
of early work-related skills in understanding successful school transition and
early academic achievement.
There has been increasing recognition over the last decade of the importance of
early academic skills for later academic achievement (Mullis & Jenkins, 1990)
and school adaptation (Alexander, Entwisle, & Dauber, 1993). National studies of
children’s achievement levels in reading, vocabulary and mathematics have
revealed that significant numbers of U.S. children are not acquiring the academic
skills required to succeed in school. Moreover, cross-cultural research has docuDirect all correspondence to: Megan M. McClelland, Department of Psychology, Loyola University
Chicago, 6525 N. Sheridan Road, Chicago, IL 60626; Phone: (773) 508-3042; E-mail:
mmcclel@luc.edu
307
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mented that children in this country lag behind children in other countries in
mathematics, reading and problem-solving (Applebee, Langer & Mullis, 1989;
Stevenson & Lee, 1990; Stevenson, Chen, & Lee, 1993). In addition, mounting
evidence suggests that important individual differences emerge quite early (e.g.,
Alexander, Entwisle, & Dauber, 1993; Plomin, 1995; Stevenson et al., 1993;
Stipek & Ryan, 1997). For example, Stevenson, Chen, & Lee (1993) found
differences between U.S. and Japanese children by the end of first grade.
In the search for possible causes for poor academic skills in American children,
a number of child, family, and sociocultural factors have been identified. Not
surprisingly, much of this research has focused on qualities of the home environment believed to stimulate cognitive growth and promote academic achievement.
Findings support what one would intuitively suspect, namely that children who
come from environments that stimulate cognitive growth, as reflected in measures
such as overall social class (Stipek & Ryan, 1997) and quality of the family
literacy environment (Griffin & Morrison, 1997), perform better academically.
Similarly, individual differences in child characteristics, such as IQ, are also
predictive of school performance (Plomin, 1995; Rowe, 1994). In contrast, less
attention has been paid to other child factors that may influence school achievement. In particular, there is growing evidence that social behavioral characteristics
of children contribute to adjustment to school and subsequent academic performance (Alexander, Entwisle, & Dauber, 1993; Cooper & Farran, 1988, 1991;
Ladd, 1990). For example, teacher reports suggest that children come into school
with differing levels of social skills and that these skills are critical to early school
success (Foulks & Morrow, 1989). The present study explored more explicitly the
nature of poor social skills and their implications for later academic success.
CONCEPTUALIZATIONS OF SOCIAL BEHAVIOR
Research relating children’s social behavior to school adjustment and performance has focused on different aspects of social behavior. Some investigations
have examined the importance of children’s peer relations in school adjustment,
finding that the consequences of peer rejection include aggressiveness, behavior
problems, and academic failure (e.g., DeRosier, Kupersmidt, & Patterson, 1994;
Dishion, 1990; Olson & Hoza, 1993; Pettit, Clawson, Dodge, & Bates, 1996;
Vitaro, Tremblay, & Gagnon, 1992).
Others have examined social behavior in terms of the child’s social competence, which includes prosocial behavior, peer relations, and appropriate classroom behavior. This research points to an association between general social
competence and achievement and school adjustment (Wentzel, 1991, 1993),
without specifying those aspects of social skills that may be especially relevant.
However, recently, some measures such as the Social Skills Rating Scales (SSRS;
Gresham & Elliott, 1990) and the Bronson Social and Task Skill Profile (Bronson,
1994, 1996) have differentiated between social behavior and learning-related
skills. In addition, Cooper and Farran (1988, 1991) have developed both a
conceptualization of social behavior and a behavior rating scale that distinguishes
Children at Risk for Academic Problems
309
two kinds of learning-related social skills, interpersonal skills and work-related
skills. Interpersonal skills include behaviors such as interacting positively with
peers, playing cooperatively, sharing, and respecting other children; whereas
work-related skills encompass behaviors like listening and following directions,
participating appropriately in groups (such as taking turns), staying on task, and
organizing work materials. In general, work-related skills tap the domains of
independence, responsibility, self-regulation, and cooperation (Cooper & Farran,
1991). Results of factor analyses indicated that the two scales are relatively
independent (Cooper & Farran, 1988).
Comparison of Cooper and Farran’s behavior rating scale assessing learningrelated social skills with other similar instruments, such as the SSRS (Gresham &
Elliott, 1990) and the Bronson Social and Task Skill Profile (Bronson, 1994,
1996), have demonstrated overlap among the different measures. In addition, the
Bronson Social and Task Skill Profile has shown moderate correlations ranging
from 0.24 to 0.31 with the social behavior subscale of the SSRS, pointing to the
concurrent validity in the measures (Bronson, 1999). This similarity among
instruments suggests that the conceptualization of learning-related social skills as
including both work-related skills and interpersonal skills is a valuable differentiation of social behavior.
LEARNING-RELATED SOCIAL SKILLS AND ACADEMIC
ACHIEVEMENT
Although an extensive body of literature has linked social behavior to school
achievement, there is less research looking at particular aspects of social behavior
specifically related to school achievement, namely learning-related or workrelated social skills. Nonetheless, the existing research does document the importance of social skills for early school success and school adjustment. For example,
Ladd and Price (1987) and Ladd (1990) found that children’s school adjustment
(measured by indices of school perceptions, involvement, and performance)
depended on a child’s social behavior in preschool as well as on the child’s early
classroom peer relations in kindergarten. In turn, these interpersonal behaviors
predicted school involvement and performance over the kindergarten year. Foulks
and Morrow (1989) have shown that, according to teachers, work-related skills
such as listening to instructions and directions, and compliance with teacher
demands, were most important for success in kindergarten. Interestingly, other
social and interpersonal skills were not found in this study to be as important for
school success as work-related skills.
Once children make the transition to school, work-related social skills continue
to be linked to a child’s academic success. These early skills can be said to “set
the stage” for later social behavior and academic performance by providing the
foundation for positive classroom behavior. In a study examining the relationship
between classroom behavior and school performance, Alexander, Entwisle and
Dauber (1993) found that teacher-rated domains of Interest-Participation and
Attention Span-Restlessness were significantly related to children’s academic
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performance in first grade and fourth grade. Children who were interested and
involved in classroom activities, and were able to focus and pay attention,
performed better academically. Similarly, Stott, Green, and Francis (1983), Green
and Francis (1988), and Swartz and Walker (1984) all found that early learning
skills, as measured by teacher ratings, were related to later academic achievement
two and four years later. More recently, Agostin and Bain (1997) demonstrated
that cooperation and self-control significantly predicted promotion and retention
of kindergarten children. Finally, a study using a national sample of kindergarten
teachers indicated that over one-third of teachers reported that at least half of
kindergartners entered school with specific problems such as trouble following
directions, working independently, and having adequate academic skills (RimmKaufman, Pianta, & Cox, in press).
THE ROLE OF WORK-RELATED SKILLS
The importance of work-related skills has been documented in a number of
studies. Cooper and Farran (1988) found that having low scores on their workrelated skills (WRS) subscale was associated more with being identified with a
behavior problem than having low scores on the interpersonal (IPS) subscale for
a sample of 650 kindergarten children. Children rated low on WRS by their
teachers in the fall and spring of kindergarten were more at risk for being
identified with behavior problems compared to children rated low on IPS in the
fall and spring of kindergarten. Overall, boys were rated lower on both IPS and
WRS than girls throughout the kindergarten year, and WRS were found to be a
stronger predictor of academic achievement than IPS. In other words, having poor
interpersonal skills was not seen to be as detrimental to performance by kindergarten teachers as was having poor work-related skills. The children rated low on
WRS were more likely to be boys who were inattentive, disorganized, impulsive,
and unable to follow directions. These findings highlight the importance of both
work-related skills and interpersonal skills, but stress that work-related skills may
be more predictive of later behavior problems in school.
In a similar study, Cooper and Speece (1988) found that low WRS scores were
the most important predictors of referral to special education and of school failure
in first grade children, and in a follow-up study, Speece and Cooper (1990) found
that all children with profiles describing atypical academic performance were also
characterized by having low WRS scores. Additionally, children with the most
severe academic problems, and who showed possible learning disabilities, were
also characterized by the lowest ratings on both the WRS and IPS scales and the
lowest performance in reading, math, and measures of intelligence. Children in
this group were more likely to behave inappropriately and make fewer academically-oriented responses. In addition, there were five times more boys than girls
in this extreme group.
Finally, another study by Bronson, Tivnan, and Seppanen (1995) found that
prekindergarten children who spent more time uninvolved in the classroom and
had difficulty with rules or the teacher, had more risk indicators such as family
Children at Risk for Academic Problems
311
problems, lower parental education, and behavioral or emotional problems. These
children also scored lower on a standardized cognitive achievement measure
(Bronson, Tivnan, & Seppanen, 1995).
Taken together, these studies suggest that poor work-related skills constitute an
indicator of risk, which can be used to identify and develop profiles of children
with possible academic and social problems in school. However, this research
provides few insights into other characteristics that may be associated with the
presence of poor work-related skills. What characteristics do these children share,
and on what dimensions do they differ from their peers? The present study
investigated the predictability of work-related skills, as well as a range of child,
family, and sociocultural characteristics in children with poor work-related skills.
CHILD, FAMILY, AND SOCIOCULTURAL FACTORS AND
LEARNING-RELATED SOCIAL SKILLS
Relatively little empirical work has attempted to determine the degree to which
work-related social skills reflect individual differences in the child or reflect
characteristics of the family or sociocultural environment. Stott, Green, and
Francis (1983) found more girls having a superior learning style score and
performing at a higher level in reading at school entry compared to boys. These
findings supported other investigations demonstrating that, in general, boys are
more likely to have poor work-related skills than girls (Cooper & Farran, 1988;
Speece & Cooper, 1990). There are fewer data available on other child characteristics, although one study found that children with poor learning-related skills
were more likely to have lower than average IQ scores (Speece & Cooper, 1990).
Even less research has been conducted on the relation of family and sociocultural characteristics to work-related skills. One study (Speece & Cooper, 1990)
that examined this relationship showed no differences in maternal education
between a high risk group of children (characterized by poor work-related and
interpersonal skills, and low scores on reading, math, and measures of intelligence) and other more normative groups of children (Speece & Cooper, 1990). In
addition, little research exists on work-related skills and ethnicity. However, in a
recent study by Rimm-Kaufman, Pianta, and Cox (in press), teachers reported that
children in high minority composition schools had more problems adjusting to
kindergarten, and were more likely to lack academic skills, than children in
schools with lower minority levels.
One aim of the present study was to investigate a broad range of child, family,
and sociocultural factors and their relation to work-related skills in an attempt to
gain more in-depth information on the characteristics of children with poor
work-related skills. It was predicted that children with poor work-related skills
would have significantly lower IQ scores, lower parental education levels, higher
incidence of single mother households, more behavior problems, be younger in
age, and be more likely to be male than female, compared to the overall sample
of children.
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EARLY WORK-RELATED SKILLS AND ACADEMIC
ACHIEVEMENT
The research reviewed here suggests that work-related skills are linked to children’s social and academic performance as they enter and continue through
school. Overall, however, few studies have intensively examined poor workrelated skills and academic achievement (Cooper & Speece, 1988; Speece &
Cooper, 1990) and few studies have looked at kindergarten entry (Bronson et al.,
1995) or followed children longitudinally to see if poor work-related skills
continue to predict later academic achievement. A primary aim of the current
study was to examine whether work-related skills predicted unique variance in
academic outcomes above and beyond the influence of other important child,
family, and sociocultural factors such as IQ, ethnicity, preschool experience,
entrance age, family literacy environment, and parental education. It was hypothesized that work-related skills would uniquely predict academic outcomes at the
beginning of kindergarten and at the end of second grade.
A final aim of the study was to examine the relationship of poor work-related
skills to academic achievement at school entry and three years later, in the spring
of second grade. It was hypothesized that children with poor work-related skills
would perform more poorly on academic tests compared to the overall sample at
the beginning of kindergarten and at the end of second grade.
METHOD
Participants
Five-hundred and forty children participated in a study of early individual
differences conducted in Greensboro, NC (Christian, Morrison, & Bryant, 1998;
Morrison et al., in preparation). The sample was 51% White, 49% Black, 51%
male and 49% female. Children entered the study at the beginning of kindergarten
and ranged in age from 4 years, 10 months to 5 years, 11 months (M ⫽ 5 years,
5 months, SD ⫽ 4.22). Sample size from the fall of kindergarten to the spring of
second grade decreased from 540 to 295 due to attrition. This relatively high
attrition rate resulted from difficulties in maintaining the original sample when the
principal investigator (Dr. Frederick Morrison) moved from Greensboro, NC to
Chicago, IL, USA. A comparison of the two groups revealed that children in the
original sample were similar to those remaining in second grade on gender, but the
group who left the study had proportionally more Black children, lower maternal
education levels, and lower IQ levels (Griffin & Morrison, 1997).
In the present study, 82 kindergartners were selected from the larger longitudinal sample of 540 children on the basis of poor work-related skills (as defined
by scores of four or less on the Cooper-Farran Behavioral Rating Scales; Cooper
& Farran, 1991) and were compared with the overall sample on a number of child,
family, and sociocultural factors. The subset of 82 children was used for the
analyses examining the characteristics of children with poor work-related skills,
and the relation of poor work-related skills to academic skills, while the overall
Children at Risk for Academic Problems
313
sample of children was used for other analyses looking at the predictability of
work-related skills to academic skills.
For the low work-related skills (low WRS) group, sample size decreased from
82 children at the fall of kindergarten to 33 children at the end of second grade
because of attrition. ␹2 analyses indicated that the attrition rate was significantly
higher for the low WRS group than for the remaining sample of children, ␹ 2 (1,
N ⫽ 540) ⫽ 8.29, p ⬍ .05, suggesting that fewer children in the low WRS group
remained in the sample at the end of second grade compared to children in the
overall sample. Comparison of the low WRS children who left the study with
those who remained in second grade indicated no significant differences between
those who stayed and those who left, except that children who left the study had
mothers who were younger in age (M ⫽ 28.70 years, SD ⫽ 5.56) than children
who stayed in the study (M ⫽ 36.20 years, SD ⫽ 9.72).
Materials
The Cooper-Farran Behavioral Rating Scales (CFBRS) The CFBRS (Cooper & Farran, 1991) is a teacher-rated scale consisting of 37 items rated on 7-point
Likert scales. The measure has been shown to have adequate reliability and
validity. Examination of this scale compared to other scales such as the Social
Skills Rating Scale (SSRS; Gresham & Elliott, 1990) showed evidence of concurrent validity, but the use of a 7-point scale in the CFBRS recommended its use
over the SSRS (which uses a 3-point scale) in order to capture more variability in
scores.
Cooper and Farran (1991) found that intra-rater reliability in the CFBRS ranged
from 0.49 to 0.80, and inter-rater reliability ranged from 0.31 to 0.68, with 59%
of the items reliable above 0.50. Inter-rater reliability for the two subscales
(work-related skills and interpersonal skills) showed a reliability of 0.78 for IPS
and 0.79 for WRS. In addition, content and construct validity were measured.
Content validity showed a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.94 for the two subscales.
Construct validity was assessed using factor analysis and the two factors that
emerged accounted for 89% of the total variance. On the IPS subscale, Cronbach’s alpha ranged between 0.95 and 0.99. Items loading highly on the IPS
subscale included “physical interaction with peers,” “effect on other children,”
“statements to peers,” and “behavior when others are speaking.” On the WRS
subscale, Cronbach’s alpha ranged between 0.94 and 0.99. Items loading highly
on the WRS subscale included “independent work,” “compliance with work
instructions,” “memory for instructions,” and “completion of games and activities.”
Background Questionnaire A background questionnaire completed by parents gathered information on a number of child, family and sociocultural variables
including ethnicity, gender, intellectual functioning, health, maternal and paternal
education level, family organization, home literacy environment, maternal and
paternal occupation, preschool experience, and school entrance age (see Table 1
for a list of variables examined).
The home literacy environment score is a composite score measured by the nine
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McClelland, Morrison, and Holmes
Table 1.
List of Child, Family, and Sociocultural Variables Measured
Child Variables
Family Variables
Sociocultural Variables
Entrance age
IQ
Social emotional behavior proba
Gender
Preschool experience
Birth complication
Health
Chronic problemsb
Convulsions or seizures
Head injuries
Hearing problems
Language and speech problem
Vision problems
Number of medical risk factorsc
Home literacy environment
Guardian
Maternal age
Paternal age
Number of siblings at home
Number of younger sisters
Number of younger brothers
Number of older sisters
Number of older brothers
Number of sisters
Number of brothers
Other children at home
Other adults at home
Ethnicity
Maternal occupation
Paternal occupation
Maternal employment status
Paternal employment status
Maternal education level
Paternal education level
a
Social Emotional Behavior Prob refers to social, emotional, or behavior problems.
Chronic Problems include allergies, asthma, and ear infections.
c
Number of Medical Risk Factors refers to having any of the above medical problems except language and
speech problems.
b
literacy-related items on the background questionnaire. It includes the hours of
television watched by the child per week, number of newspaper and magazine
subscriptions, whether or not the family owns a library card, how often the mother
and father read to themselves, who reads to the child and how often, and how
many books the child owns (Griffin & Morrison, 1997).
Intelligence The short version of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale Revised was used to measure general intelligence (Thorndike, Hagen, & Sattler,
1986). This version includes six subscales: comprehension, vocabulary, sentence
memory, pattern analysis, bead memory, and quantitative, and has been shown to
have reliability coefficients of 0.95 to 0.97 with the entire scale (Thorndike,
Hagen, & Sattler, 1986).
Peabody Individual Achievement Test - Revised (PIAT-R) The mathematics,
reading recognition, and general information subscales of the PIAT-R were used
(Markwardt, 1989). The PIAT-R has shown superior reliability and validity for all
subscales. The mathematics subscale measures children’s math skills such as
number recognition, addition, and multiplication. The test-retest reliability ranges
from 0.86 to 0.89, and split-half reliability between 0.84 and 0.94. The general
information subscale assesses children’s general knowledge about the world. It
has a test-retest reliability ranging from 0.86 to 0.92, and split-half reliability of
between 0.93 and 0.94. The reading recognition subscale measures children’s
letter and word recognition, as well as reading ability. It has a test-retest reliability
of 0.96 to 0.97, and split-half reliability ranging from 0.94 and 0.97.
Children at Risk for Academic Problems
315
The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test - Revised (PPVT-R) The PPVT
(Dunn & Dunn, 1981) was used to measure children’s receptive vocabulary skills.
The test requires children to identify a word from four pictures, and has demonstrated adequate reliability and validity. Split-half reliability ranges from 0.73 to
0.84. Construct validity has been assessed by comparing the PPVT-R to other
vocabulary tests and shows moderate to superior correlations: 0.20 to 0.89, with
a median correlation of 0.71.
Alphabet Recognition An alphabet recognition task was administered to
assess children’s letter recognition skills. The task consists of asking children to
name letters of the alphabet. The score is determined by the percentage correct out
of 26 letters.
Procedure
In the current study, data from the fall of kindergarten and the spring of second
grade were used. At each time point, children were tested in two sessions, each
lasting approximately 30 min, on the following tests: the short version of the
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale - Revised (Thorndike, Hagen, & Sattler, 1986);
the reading recognition, mathematics, and general information subscales of the
Peabody Individual Achievement Test - Revised (Markwardt, 1989); the Peabody
Picture Vocabulary Test - Revised (Dunn & Dunn, 1981); and an alphabet
recognition test (administered only in the fall and spring of kindergarten). Testing
and teacher ratings for the Cooper-Farran Behavioral Rating Scales were collected
two months after the beginning of school.
Participants were selected as members of the low WRS group on the basis of
their ratings on the Cooper-Farran Behavioral Ratings Scales. A low score was
defined as a skill rating of 4 or below (on a scale ranging from 1 to 7, where 1
signifies lowest performance and 7 signifies best performance), based on Cooper
and Speece’s finding (1988) that a score below 4 indexed an increasing degree of
problem behavior in children.
RESULTS
This study attempted to examine the predictability of work-related skills1 to
academic achievement at school entry and at the end of second grade, identify
characteristics of children with poor work-related skills, and investigate the
relationship of poor work-related skills and academic achievement at the beginning of kindergarten and at the end of second grade.
Predictability of Work-Related Skills to Academic Outcomes
The first goal of the study was to determine whether work-related skills
predicted academic outcomes at the beginning of kindergarten and three years
later, at the end of second grade. For both time points, hierarchical regressions
were used to test if work-related skills accounted for unique variance above and
beyond the influence of other important variables. Based on regression analyses
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McClelland, Morrison, and Holmes
from other research (Morrison et al., in preparation), seven variables have been
found to be particularly important in predicting early academic skills: two child
variables (IQ and school entrance age); two social variables (work-related skills
and amount of preschool experience); and three family and sociocultural variables
(ethnicity, parental education level, and home literacy environment). Building on
these findings, the current study used hierarchical regressions with the six predicting variables entered in the first step (IQ, school entrance age, amount of
preschool experience, ethnicity, parental education level, and home literacy environment) and work-related skills entered in the second step for each of the
academic variables measured: general information, receptive vocabulary, reading
recognition, mathematics, and alphabet (measured at kindergarten only).
At the beginning of kindergarten, work-related skills predicted modest but
unique variance in all academic outcomes beyond the influence of IQ, entrance
age, amount of preschool experience, parental education level, ethnicity, and
home literacy environment (see Table 2). Work-related skills accounted for
between one and six percent of the variance in all academic variables: one percent
of the variance in general information, mathematics, and vocabulary; two percent
of the variance in reading recognition; and six percent of the variance in alphabet.
In the spring of second grade, a conservative series of hierarchical regressions
were used to determine if work-related skills predicted second grade academic
outcomes after controlling for kindergarten academic skills as well as for the six
background variables. In this method, kindergarten academic score (reading,
vocabulary, general information, or math) was entered in the first step of the
regression equation; the six variables of IQ, entrance age, amount of preschool
experience, parental education level, ethnicity, and home literacy environment
were entered in the second step; and work-related skills was entered in the third
step of the regression equation. Results indicated that work-related skills continued to predict some academic skills even after controlling for kindergarten
academic skills and the influence of the other six predictor variables. Work-related
skills predicted unique variance in reading (two percent), and mathematics (one
percent), but not vocabulary or general information at the end of second grade (see
Table 3). Taken together, results from school entry to the end of second grade
revealed that work-related skills continued to predict reading and math skills.
Children with Poor Work-Related Skills
The second goal of the study was to look at characteristics of children with poor
work-related skills. Children in the low WRS group (n ⫽ 82) were compared to
the larger sample of children (n ⫽ 540) on a number of background variables and
academic outcome measures. The descriptive statistics for work-related skills
showed that the overall sample had a mean rating of 5.07 on the WRS subscale
of the Cooper-Farran Behavioral Rating Scales (SD ⫽ 1.23), and the low WRS
group had a mean rating of 3.20 on work-related skills (SD ⫽ 0.71). The mean
rating for the overall sample supports earlier research from a number of samples
showing that the normative mean rating for WRS on the Cooper-Farran Behav-
Children at Risk for Academic Problems
317
Table 2. Hierarchical Regression Analyses Testing the Predictability of WorkRelated Skills to Academic Outcomes at the Beginning of Kindergarten
Step 2 Values
General Information
Variables entered in Step 1
Child IQ
School entrance age
Amount of preschool experience
Parental education level
Ethnicity
Home literacy environment
Variables entered in Step 2
Work-related skills
Mathematics
Variables entered in Step 1
Child IQ
School entrance age
Amount of preschool experience
Parental education level
Ethnicity
Home literacy environment
Variables entered in Step 2
Work-related skills
Vocabulary
Variables entered in Step 1
Child IQ
School entrance age
Amount of preschool experience
Parental education level
Ethnicity
Home literacy environment
Variables entered in Step 2
Work-related skills
Reading recognition
Variables entered in Step 1
Child IQ
School entrance age
Amount of preschool experience
Parental education level
Ethnicity
Home literacy environment
Variables entered in Step 2
Work-related skills
B
SE B
␤
.160
.553
⫺.009
.528
⫺3.27
.470
.031
.093
.022
.203
1.03
.149
.261***
.244***
⫺.017
.135**
⫺.175**
.184**
.729
.364
.091*
.140
.422
.024
.138
⫺.778
.050
.019
.058
.014
.126
.637
.092
.389***
.316***
.077†
.060
⫺.071
.033
.552
.225
.117*
.287
1.01
⫺.015
1.00
⫺9.74
1.01
.058
.175
.041
.382
1.93
.280
.232***
.239***
⫺.014
.126**
⫺.258***
.195***
1.46
.683
.090*
.104
.291
.024
.158
.438
.345
.024
.073
.017
.159
.802
.116
.256***
.193***
.070
.061
.035
.203**
.787
.284
.147**
Continued
318
McClelland, Morrison, and Holmes
Table 2. Continued
Step 2 Values
Alphabet
Variables entered in Step 1
Child IQ
School entrance age
Amount of preschool experience
Parental education level
Ethnicity
Home literacy environment
Variables entered in Step 2
Work-related skills
B
SE B
␤
.251
.238
.334
.895
4.24
1.99
.122
.370
.088
.808
4.10
.593
.123*
.031
.191***
.068
.068
.232**
7.30
1.45
.270***
Note Valid n was 322 due to missing data. For General Information: R2 ⫽ .51 for Step 1; ⌬R2 ⫽ .01 for Step
2 (ps ⬍ .05). For Mathematics: R2 ⫽ .45 for Step 1; ⌬R2 ⫽ .01 for Step 2 (ps ⬍ .05). For Vocabulary: R2 ⫽
.57 for Step 1; ⌬R2 ⫽ .01 for Step 2 (ps ⬍ .05). For Reading Recognition: R2 ⫽ .31 for Step 1; ⌬R2 ⫽ .02 for
Step 2 (ps ⬍ .05). For Alphabet: R2 ⫽ .26 for Step 1; ⌬R2 ⫽ .06 for Step 2 (ps ⬍ .05).
†
p ⬍ .10. *p ⬍ .05. **p ⬍ .01. ***p ⬍ .001.
ioral Rating Scales ranged from 4.70 (SD ⫽ 1.40) to 4.90 (SD ⫽ 1.30) (Cooper
& Farran, 1988).
The subsample of children who received low ratings on WRS was compared to
the entire sample by z-tests and ␹2 analyses. These analyses indicated that the low
WRS group differed from the total sample on many child, family and sociocultural measures. Although a number of these differences were anticipated, there
were also some unexpected and surprising results.
Child Factors Eight of the 14 comparisons yielded significant differences
between the low WRS group and the overall sample (see Table 4). As expected,
children low on WRS were more likely to be younger (M ⫽ 62.94 months, SD ⫽
4.21 vs. M ⫽ 64.59 months, SD ⫽ 4.22); have a lower IQ (M ⫽ 86.34, SD ⫽
11.65, vs. M ⫽ 97.05, SD ⫽ 15.27); and have more social/emotional/behavior
problems reported by parents (6.67% vs. 1.40%), compared to the overall sample.
A surprising finding was the failure to find that the low WRS group differed
significantly from the total sample in the proportion of males and females, ␹ 2 (1,
N ⫽ 82) ⫽ 1.81, p ⬎ .05. The low WRS group was 58.54% male and 41.46%
female, while the overall sample was 51.50% male and 48.89% female.
A complex pattern of findings emerged for health and medical problems (see
Table 4). One unexpected finding was that children with poor work-related skills
were rated significantly lower than the larger sample on an overall health rating
by their parents (M ⫽ 4.27, SD ⫽ 0.75) on a 5-point scale (M ⫽ 4.44, SD ⫽
0.71). In addition, intriguing differences emerged in medical problems between
the overall sample and the low WRS group. Data from the background questionnaire completed by parents were available on a number of different types of
medical problems: Convulsions or Seizures, Head Injuries, Hearing Problems,
Children at Risk for Academic Problems
319
Table 3. Hierarchical Regression Analyses Testing the Predictability of WorkRelated Skills to Academic Outcomes at the End of Second Grade
Step 3 Values
B
General Information
Variables entered in Step 1
Fall Kindergarten General Information Score
Variables entered in Step 2
Child IQ
School entrance age
Amount of preschool experience
Parental education level
Ethnicity
Home literacy environment
Variables entered in Step 3
Work-related skills
Mathematics
Variables entered in Step 1
Fall Kindergarten Mathematics Score
Variables entered in Step 2
Child IQ
School entrance age
Amount of preschool experience
Parental education level
Ethnicity
Home literacy environment
Variables entered in Step 3
Work-related skills
Vocabulary
Variables entered in Step 1
Fall Kindergarten Vocabulary Score
Variables entered in Step 2
Child IQ
School entrance age
Amount of preschool experience
Parental education level
Ethnicity
Home literacy environment
Variables entered in Step 3
Work-related skills
Reading Recognition
Variables Entered in Step 1
Fall Kindergarten Reading Score
SE B
␤
.857
.101
.511***
.085
.061
⫺.065
.127
1.49
.779
.059
.172
.038
.351
1.89
.275
.081
.016
⫺.075†
.198***
.047
.175**
.506
.642
.038
.619
.153
.256***
.232
.324
⫺.004
.779
⫺2.38
.205
.058
.172
.037
.333
1.79
.260
.259***
.102†
⫺.005
.141*
⫺.087
.054
1.41
.609
.123*
.411
.056
.499***
.059
⫺.099
⫺.072
.622
⫺5.41
.372
.058
.168
.037
.341
1.86
.271
.059
⫺.028
⫺.087†
.102†
⫺.178**
.088
.076
.614
.006
.568
.136
.259***
Continued
320
McClelland, Morrison, and Holmes
Table 3. Continued
Step 3 Values
Reading Recognition (continued)
Variables entered in Step 2
Child IQ
School entrance age
Amount of preschool experience
Parental education level
Ethnicity
Home literacy environment
Variables entered in Step 3
Work-related skills
B
SE B
␤
.094
⫺.079
.000
1.21
⫺3.40
.324
.066
.189
.043
.389
2.09
.309
.098
⫺.023
.000
.205**
⫺.116
.079
1.98
.717
.161**
Note Valid n was 233 due to missing data. For General Information: R2 ⫽ .53 for Step 1; ⌬R2⫽ .01 for Step
2 (ps ⬍ .05); ⌬R2 ⫽ .00 for Step 3 (p ⬎ .05). For Mathematics: R2 ⫽ .34 for Step 1; ⌬R2 ⫽ .16 for Step 2; ⌬R2
⫽ .01 for Step 3 (ps ⬍ .05). For Vocabulary: R2 ⫽ .54 for Step 1; ⌬R2 ⫽ .06 for Step 2 (ps ⬍ .05); ⌬R2 ⫽ .00
for Step 3 (p ⬎ .05). For Reading Recognition: R2 ⫽ .24 for Step 1; ⌬R2 ⫽ .16 for Step 2; ⌬R2 ⫽ .02 for Step
3 (ps ⬍ .05).
†
p ⬍ .10. *p ⬍ .05. **p ⬍ .01. ***p ⬍ .001.
Language and Speech Problems, and Vision Problems. In addition, a category
labeled Chronic Problems consisted of asthma problems, allergies or ear infections.
Results showed significant differences in hearing problems, and a trend (p ⫽
.06) for differences in language and speech problems between the overall sample
and the low WRS group (see Table 4). Eleven percent of the children in the low
WRS group were reported as having hearing problems compared to only 5% of
the children in the overall sample. In addition, 17.81% of parents in the low WRS
group reported their child having a language or speech problem compared to only
10.50% of parents in the larger sample. No significant differences between the
two groups were found for the frequencies of other medical problems.
A general question of interest was whether children in the low WRS group were
more likely to have more medical risk factors present compared to children in the
overall sample. To test this, a variable called “number of medical risk factors” was
created that measured whether a child had any of the medical problems listed
above except for language and speech problems. Language and speech problems
were excluded because they were considered to be problems more likely to result
from having a medical condition, rather than being a medical condition. Results
revealed that children in the low WRS group had significantly more medical risk
factors present compared to the overall sample (M ⫽ 0.34, SD ⫽ 0.53 vs. M ⫽
0.21, SD ⫽ 0.44; see Table 4). Overall, children in the low WRS group had more
hearing and language and speech problems, as well as more medical risk factors,
as compared to children in the larger sample.
Family and Sociocultural Factors Of the 13 family variables measured, only
three revealed significant differences between the low WRS group and the overall
Children at Risk for Academic Problems
Table 4.
321
Differences in Background Characteristics Between Overall Sample and
Low WRS Group
Overall Sample
(nⴝ540)
Child Variables:
Entrance age (in months)
IQ
Health score
Num. med. risk factorsa
M
SD
nc
M
SD
nc
z value
64.59
97.05
4.44
0.21
(4.22)
(15.27)
(0.71)
(0.44)
540
540
510
477
62.94
86.34
4.27
0.34
(4.21)
(11.65)
(0.75)
(0.53)
82
82
77
73
3.53***
6.34***
2.10*
2.52*
Percentages
nc
Percentages
nc
␹2
5.00%
10.50%
1.40%
51.10%
477
477
503
540
11.00%
17.81%
6.67%
58.54%
73
73
75
82
4.23*
3.51†
14.93***
1.81
Hearing problems
Language/speech probs
Soc/emo/beh probsb
Male
Family variables:
Home literacy score
Number sibling home
M
SD
nc
M
SD
nc
z value
10.57
1.28
(3.62)
(1.04)
403
517
8.60
1.03
(3.26)
(1.14)
50
77
3.85***
2.11*
Percentages
nc
Percentages
nc
␹2
58.80%
518
28.57%
77
29.17***
Both birth parents
Sociocultural Variables:
Maternal occupation
Maternal education
Paternal education
Black
Low WRS Group
(nⴝ82)
c
c
M
SD
n
M
SD
n
z value
41.76
13.63
14.56
(14.20)
(2.39)
(2.72)
425
498
340
36.49
12.48
13.07
(12.99)
(2.04)
(2.53)
57
69
29
2.80**
3.99***
2.95**
Percentages
nc
Percentages
nc
␹2
48.89%
536
75.60%
82
22.77***
Note Valid ns are different because of missing data.
a
Num. Med. Risk Factors refers to the number of medical risk factors and having any of the above medical
problems except language and speech problems.
b
Soc/Emo/Beh Problems refers to social, emotional or behavior problems.
c
n refers to total number of subjects in total sample or WRS sample completing particular items.
†
p ⬍ .10. *p ⬍ .05. **p ⬍ .01. ***p ⬍ .001.
sample of children (see Table 4). As predicted, compared to the overall sample,
children with poor work-related skills were more likely to come from homes with
single mothers or homes without both parents (71.43% vs. 41.10%); to come from
homes with a poorer literacy environment (M ⫽ 8.60, SD ⫽ 3.26 vs. M ⫽ 10.57,
SD ⫽ 3.62). Surprisingly, this group of children also had significantly fewer
siblings at home (M ⫽ 1.03, SD ⫽ 1.14 vs. M ⫽ 1.28, SD ⫽ 1.04).
Finally, differences in sociocultural factors were examined between the low
WRS group and children in the overall sample. Of the seven sociocultural
variables measured, four showed significant differences between the two groups
(see Table 4). As expected, children in the low WRS group had mothers who
322
Table 5.
McClelland, Morrison, and Holmes
Differences in Academic Outcomes Between Overall Sample and Low
WRS Group at the Fall of Kindergarten
Overall Sample
(nⴝ540)
Low WRS Group
(nⴝ82)
Outcome Variables: Fall K
M
SD
M
SD
z value
PIAT Reading Recognition
PIAT Math
PIAT General Information
PPVT Receptive Vocabulary
Alphabet
8.08
11.57
13.91
55.89
71.30a
(5.67)
(5.47)
(8.93)
(18.73)
(33.58)
5.57
8.18
9.22
44.17
50.12
(3.79)
(4.22)
(8.19)
(17.48)
(36.46)
3.98***
5.61***
4.79***
5.67***
5.71***
a
Valid n for Alphabet for Overall Sample was 539.
*p ⬍ .05. **p ⬍ .01. ***p ⬍. 001.
reported a lower occupational status (M ⫽ 36.49, SD ⫽ 12.99 vs. M ⫽ 41.76,
SD ⫽ 14.20); and lower education level (M ⫽ 12.48 years, SD ⫽ 2.04 vs. M ⫽
13.63 years, SD ⫽ 2.39); as well as having fathers with significantly lower
education levels (M ⫽ 13.07, SD ⫽ 2.53 vs. M ⫽ 14.56, SD ⫽ 2.72); Finally,
children in the low WRS group were more likely to be Black (75.60% vs.
48.89%), compared to children in the overall sample2.
Differences in Academic Outcomes
Results of hierarchical regressions on the entire sample of children established
the overall predictability of work-related skills on academic achievement at the
beginning of kindergarten and at the end of second grade. However, these
analyses did not definitively establish the source of the predictive relation. It is
possible that the main source of the predictability lay in differences between
children with high and average scores on work-related skills. Since our major
interest was in children with poor work-related skills, we compared academic
outcomes for the at-risk group with the no-risk sample.
For both time points, z-tests were used to test for significant differences
between the low WRS group and the total sample on academic outcome measures.
Results indicated that children with low WRS had significantly lower scores on all
academic measures at the beginning of kindergarten: lower reading recognition
scores (M ⫽ 5.57, SD ⫽ 3.79 vs. M ⫽ 8.08, SD ⫽ 5.67); lower scores on
mathematics (M ⫽ 8.18, SD ⫽ 4.22 vs. M ⫽ 11.57, SD ⫽ 5.47); lower general
information scores (M ⫽ 9.22, SD ⫽ 8.19 vs. M ⫽ 13.91, SD ⫽ 8.93); lower
receptive vocabulary scores (M ⫽ 44.17, SD ⫽ 17.48 vs. M ⫽ 55.89, SD ⫽
18.73); and lower scores on alphabet recognition (M ⫽ 50.12, SD ⫽ 36.46 vs.
M ⫽ 71.30, SD ⫽ 33.58; see Table 5).
For the second grade comparison, sample sizes for both the low WRS group
and the overall sample decreased due to attrition, making data available for only
33 children in the low WRS group, and 295 children in the overall sample at the
end of second grade (see Table 6). Nevertheless, similar results were obtained for
Children at Risk for Academic Problems
Table 6.
323
Differences in Academic Outcomes Between Overall Sample and Low
WRS Group in the Spring of Second Grade
Overall Sample
(nⴝ295)
Outcome Variables: Spring 2nd
PIAT Reading Recognition
PIAT Math
PIAT General Information
PPVT Receptive Vocabulary
Low WRS Group
(nⴝ33)
M
SD
M
SD
z value
47.14
37.94
40.35
93.69
(14.79)
(13.03)
(15.97)
(14.88)
35.15
27.64
31.33
84.36
(14.57)
(11.51)
(16.15)
(15.63)
4.65***
4.54***
3.24**
3.60***
*p ⬍ .05. **p ⬍ .01. ***p ⬍ .001.
the spring of second grade as for the fall of kindergarten. Compared to the overall
sample, children in the low WRS group performed significantly worse on all
academic outcomes (see Table 6): lower scores on reading recognition (M ⫽
35.15, SD ⫽ 14.57 vs. M ⫽ 47.14, SD ⫽ 14.79); lower scores on mathematics
(M ⫽ 27.64, SD ⫽ 11.51 vs. M ⫽ 37.94, SD ⫽ 13.03); lower scores on general
information (M ⫽ 31.33, SD ⫽ 16.15 vs. M ⫽ 40.35, SD ⫽ 15.97); and lower
scores on receptive vocabulary (M ⫽ 84.36, SD ⫽ 15.63 vs. M ⫽ 93.69, SD ⫽
14.88). Taken together, results from the beginning of kindergarten and the end of
second grade demonstrated that children with poor work-related skills began
school performing worse on academic measures and continued to lag three years
later compared to children in the overall sample.
DISCUSSION
The present study had three central goals: to examine the predictability of
work-related skills to academic outcomes at the beginning of kindergarten and at
the end of second grade; to identify characteristics of children with low workrelated skills; and to investigate the relationship between poor work-related skills
and academic achievement at school entry and at the end of second grade.
Findings unearthed a broad array of characteristics linked to children with poor
work-related skills and demonstrated the importance of work-related skills to
academic achievement at school entry and beyond.
Predictability of Work-Related Skills to Academic Outcomes
At the beginning of kindergarten, work-related skills contributed to children’s
reading, mathematics, vocabulary, general information and alphabet skills, beyond the influence of other important child, social, and family and sociocultural
variables such as a child’s IQ, entrance age, amount of preschool experience,
ethnicity, parental education level, and home literacy environment. This finding
has also been replicated in other analyses in our laboratory (Morrison et al., in
preparation), and in previous research examining the importance of a child’s
324
McClelland, Morrison, and Holmes
work-related skills (Cooper & Farran, 1988; Cooper & Speece, 1988; Speece &
Cooper, 1990).
Moreover, work-related skills continued to be predictive of academic achievement at the end of second grade. Regression analyses demonstrated that workrelated skills remained stable in predicting children’s reading and mathematics
skills at the end of second grade, after the influence of kindergarten reading and
mathematics skills had been controlled as well as the six child, social, and family
and sociocultural variables. In contrast, work-related skills did not continue to
predict a child’s receptive vocabulary or general information skills at the end of
second grade. This may be because vocabulary and general information skills are
not specifically emphasized in early elementary school classrooms while more
instructional time is spent on reading and mathematics skills.
Although the actual variance accounted for by work-related skills at kindergarten and at the end of second grade is small, it is both educationally and
practically significant, especially given the conservative nature of the regressions
conducted at both time points (Ecols, West, Stanovich, & Zehr, 1996). Workrelated skills predicted all academic outcomes at the beginning of kindergarten
after partialing out the influence of powerful background variables such as child’s
IQ, entrance age, amount of preschool experience, ethnicity, parental education
level, and home literacy environment. Moreover, at the end of second grade, the
relationship between work-related skills and reading and mathematics skills
remained strong even after accounting for kindergarten reading and mathematics
scores and the six background variables. This demonstrates that work-related
skills predict academic skills at school entry and also predict the gains made in
math and reading skills between kindergarten and second grade after controlling
for fall kindergarten scores.
Children with Poor Work-Related Skills
An interesting pattern of results emerged for child, family, and sociocultural
factors. Work-related skills were significantly associated with a number of important child variables. As expected, children with low WRS tended to be
younger, have lower IQ’s, and have more behavior problems.
Significant differences in the proportion of males and females were not obtained between the low WRS group and the total sample, although the actual
number of males was somewhat higher in the low WRS group. This lack of a
significant finding was unexpected, based on earlier research showing that, in
general, boys have lower WRS than girls do (Cooper & Farran, 1988; Cooper &
Speece, 1990). However, analyses of the overall sample in this study supported
and replicated earlier research in that boys had significantly lower WRS (M ⫽
4.89, SD ⫽ 1.25) than girls (M ⫽ 5.25, SD ⫽ 1.18). In contrast, the low WRS
group did not contain significantly more boys than girls and there were not
significant differences in work-related skills scores between girls (M ⫽ 3.32,
SD ⫽ 0.55) and boys (M ⫽3.11, SD ⫽ 0.80) in the low WRS group. Taken
together, the results suggest that boys overall had poorer work-related skills, but
Children at Risk for Academic Problems
325
in the high risk sample the extent and nature of gender differences was not entirely
clear.
An intriguing set of findings was obtained regarding medical and health
variables. Children low on WRS were rated significantly lower by their parents on
ratings of overall health, and also had more hearing problems and somewhat more
language and speech problems compared to the overall sample. In addition,
children low in work-related skills had significantly more medical risk factors
present than did children in the larger sample. These results tentatively suggest
that having specific medical problems such as hearing and language problems
may be a risk factor for low work-related skills and a precursor to later learning
problems.
In fact, a number of studies have linked language problems and attentional
difficulties (Beitchman, Hood, Rochon, & Peterson, 1988; Beitchman et al., 1996;
Cantwell & Baker, 1987; Humphries, Koltun, Malone, & Roberts, 1994), while
other research (e.g.,Vaughn, Hogan, Kouzekanani & Shapiro, 1990) has revealed
a relation between attentional difficulties and both lower social skills and poorer
academic achievement. A meta-analysis (Horn & Packard, 1985) on the early
identification of learning problems found that the best predictors of later school
achievement were ratings on attention/distractibility, internalizing behavioral
problems, language variables, and overall cognitive functioning. Sensory measures including auditory-perceptual abilities were somewhat weaker predictors.
In addition, recent analyses based on the results of the current study found that
work-related skills mediated the relationship between a child’s language problems
and academic outcomes at the beginning of kindergarten. This supports the notion
that language problems may lead to poor work-related skills which then lead to
poor academic achievement early in school (McClelland, 1999). Overall, these
studies suggest that children low on work-related skills who have language
problems or possibly hearing problems, may be especially at risk for later learning
problems.
Children with poor work-related skills also demonstrated differences on a host
of family variables compared to children in the overall sample: poorer home
environments as measured by a lower home literacy environment, and more single
mother households. There were also significantly fewer siblings at home in the
low WRS group, which was surprising because they did not have significantly
fewer numbers of children overall in the family. The meaning of this pattern is not
entirely clear, however, one possibility is that it indexes more family disruption
and instability in the low WRS group.
Additional differences also emerged on sociocultural factors between the two
groups. As expected, children in the low WRS group were more likely to have
mothers and fathers who reported lower education levels. While no predictions
were made about occupational status and ethnicity, both were found to be relevant
factors. The low WRS group had more mothers reporting a lower occupational
status, and more children with poor work-related skills were Black. Notably, these
differences in ethnicity between the low WRS group and the overall sample were
found even after additional analyses controlled for parental education.
It is possible however, that teacher ethnicity may contribute to whether or not
326
McClelland, Morrison, and Holmes
children are viewed as having poor work-related skills since the ratings were done
by teachers. Recent research by Rimm-Kaufman, Pianta, and Cox (in press)
suggests that minority children may be seen by non-minority teachers as having
more problems with some important skills needed for kindergarten, than when
minority children are rated by minority teachers. Since the ethnicity of teachers in
the present study was not recorded, it is not clear to what extent the differences
observed here are a function of teacher/child ethnicity differences.
Differences in Academic Outcomes
Children with poor work-related skills performed significantly worse on all
academic measures compared to children in the overall sample at the fall of
kindergarten and at the end of second grade. This pattern of results suggests that
poor work-related skills are a risk factor for low academic achievement at the
beginning of school and continuing into the early school years.
The Profile of the At-Risk Child
Taken together, from the pattern of findings it is possible to construct the
following profile of the child with poor work-related skills:
This child is either a boy or girl who is younger than his/her classmates, has a
lower IQ, has behavior problems, has more medical risk factors present, and more
medical problems such as hearing and language problems. In addition, this child
comes from a disruptive and poor home environment classified by living with
only one parent and whose parents have lower levels of education and occupational status. This child is also more likely to be Black. Finally, this child performs
worse academically at school entry and continues to perform at low levels at the
end of second grade compared to his/her classmates. The extent of this child’s
difficulties in reading and mathematics are likely to increase as he or she moves
through the school system, at least out to second grade.
Implications for Educational Policy and Intervention
There are important implications for policy and intervention based on this
study. The findings presented here indicate that the early acquisition of social
skills and particularly work-related skills prior to school entry is very important.
Therefore, families and child-care providers should be educated about the need for
socialization in this area. It is also important for families to be aware of teacher
expectations and that social, ethnic, or cultural differences may create a mismatch
between children and what teachers may expect, which could influence a child’s
development of positive work-related skills (Rimm-Kaufman et al., in press). In
the classroom, teachers can emphasize the domains of work-related skills to
improve a child’s ability to be independent, responsible, cooperative and selfregulated. This includes teaching children to complete tasks, work independently,
comply with teacher instructions, and remember instructions (Cooper & Farran,
1991). In addition, it may be that children with poor work-related skills are
especially disadvantaged in those areas where development is based on direct
Children at Risk for Academic Problems
327
instruction (such as learning to read) as opposed to more indirect learning (such
as general information knowledge). The findings here demonstrate that areas of
instructional emphases, such as reading and mathematics, rely on having strong
academic and work-related skills, and teachers can help promote work-related
skills in these areas.
Moreover, the present findings suggest that identification of children with poor
work-related skills should be as important as identification of children with poor
academic skills. More systematic evaluation for social skills and early screening
programs to target children who may be at risk for developing poor work-related
skills would greatly enhance a child’s chance for early school success. Once these
children are targeted, intervention efforts in schools should include emphasis on
social skills as well as academic skills. On a broader scale, incorporating workrelated skills into the teaching curriculum highlights the importance of developing
positive work-related classroom social behavior as well as strong academic skills
for school success.
In conclusion, findings from the present study highlight the important contribution that learning-related social skills make to successful school transition and
to later academic success. Greater attention to a child’s early work-related skills
will be important for understanding and improving the academic achievement of
American children.
NOTES
1.
Although previous research has suggested that interpersonal skills are not related to academic
outcomes (e.g., Cooper & Farran, 1988), we ran a series of hierarchical regressions at
kindergarten and at the end of second grade to independently evaluate this claim. Results
indicated that interpersonal skills did not predict unique variance in any of the academic
outcomes at kindergarten (although there was a trend toward predicting 1% of the variance in
reading skills, B ⫽ 0.58, p ⫽ .06). At the end of second grade, interpersonal skills did not
predict general information, math or vocabulary skills, although it did predict 2% of the
variance in reading scores (B ⫽ 2.06, p ⫽ .01). Therefore, although the two scales are related,
they demonstrate distinct patterns of predictability, with work-related skills more strongly
predicting academic outcomes than interpersonal skills.
2. We are grateful to a suggestion by a reviewer who questioned whether the higher percentage
of Black children in the low WRS group was confounded with parent education level. We
conducted an ANCOVA to partial out parent education level when comparing the low WRS
group with the overall sample and still found significant differences between the groups.
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