Dana Charles McCoy|Maia C. Connors|Pamela Morris|Hirokazu Yoshikawa|Allison H. Friedman?Krauss
Neighborhood economic disadvantage and children's cognitive and social-emotional development: Exploring Head Start classroom quality as a mediating mechanism
Harvard University Press|New York University|New York University|New York University|New York University|New York University
past research shown robust relationships neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage childrens school achievement socialemotional outcomes yet mechanisms explaining relationships poorly understood present study uses data 1904 head start participants enrolled head start impact study examine role classroom structural relational quality play explaining association neighborhood poverty childrens developmental gains preschool year results suggest neighborhood poverty directly related lower levels classroom quality lower gains early literacy math scores indirect relationships also found neighborhood poverty childrens socialemotional outcomes ie approaches learning behavior problems via differences physical resources negative studentteacher relationships within classrooms findings highlight need policy initiatives consider community characteristics potential predictors disparities classroom quality childrens cognitive socialemotional development head start