Project Abstract/Summary
Understanding successful transitions to kindergarten is a critical task that has clear implications for children’s well-being. Early adverse experiences appear to interfere with children’s school readiness. However, research has largely ignored a critical environmental context – the peer group – in the development of school readiness during the transition to kindergarten. This project is among the first to examine how both positive and negative peer treatment relate to multiple indicators of school readiness (i.e., academic skills, social skills, planning and controlling behavior), and in turn, later school functioning. In addition, this project is among the first to examine whether children that are more biologically reactive to their environment are more strongly affected by both negative and positive peer experiences. Many children begin kindergarten without the appropriate skills needed to succeed; this project will examine how the peer group may be shaping school readiness during this important transition, and which children are most strongly affected by this critical environmental context.
This study is a multi-method, short-term longitudinal study using psychophysiological and behavioral measures in a sample of 4-5-year-old children attending preschool and making the transition to kindergarten. A diverse sample of 160 children will be assessed at three time points. The key objectives are to examine how peer treatment during preschool impacts school readiness, and in turn, kindergarten school functioning. In addition, the project will investigate whether peer experiences are most impactful among physiologically reactive youth. This work has the potential to highlight factors that promote adaptive school readiness and positive academic and social-emotional outcomes in diverse samples of preschoolers. This project will provide critical training in developmental science for ethnically and racially diverse graduate and undergraduate research assistants; these formative experiences have the potential to shape the next generation of scientists. Moreover, the proposed project has the potential to impact a significant portion of children, families, and schools within society at large.
This award reflects NSF’s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation’s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Principal Investigator
Jamie Ostrov – SUNY at Buffalo located in AMHERST, NY
Co-Principal Investigators
Dianna Murray-Close
Funders
Funding Amount
$426,713.00
Project Start Date
09/15/2020
Project End Date
08/31/2025
Will the project remain active for the next two years?
The project has more than two years remaining
Source: National Science Foundation
Please be advised that recent changes in federal funding schemes may have impacted the project’s scope and status.
Updated: April, 2025