Using classroom management to improve preschoolers' social and emotional skills: Final impact and implementation findings from the Foundations of Learning Demonstration in Newark and Chicago

Investments in early childhood programs are widely viewed as a promising strategy to improve the future educational achievement of disadvantaged young children. However, it can be difficult for teachers to maintain program quality if children in the classroom display challenging behaviors. For example, when some children act out aggressively or become sad and withdrawn, teachers may be diverted from instructional time to manage these behaviors. Not surprisingly, these diversions have a ripple effect on the entire classroom of children. This report presents the final implementation, impact, and cost findings from the Foundations of Learning (FOL) demonstration. The FOL demonstration was designed to increase productive classroom time by using intensive professional development, including in-classroom consultation with trained practitioners, to improve teachers' classroom management skills and the social and emotional competence of children who exhibit challenging behavior. The demonstration was conducted in two cities--Newark, New Jersey, and Chicago, Illinois--with very different preschool systems. The Newark preschool system was particularly well resourced, while the level of resources in the Chicago preschool system was much lower and more typical of urban districts around the country. The report concludes that the FOL intervention was delivered with relatively high levels of dosage (amount of services) and quality (as rated by teachers) in both cities, with some differences in the focus of in-classroom consultation between Newark and Chicago. The program had a positive impact on teachers' classroom management, increased instructional time, and improved children's social and emotional competence during the year of the intervention's implementation. However, there was no clear evidence of improvements in children's short-term academic achievement, despite the expectation that the benefits to the classrooms and to children's social and emotional outcomes would translate into better academic skills. Moreover, the limited data that were collected showed no evidence of sustained benefits when the children made the transition to kindergarten and first grade. Appended are: (1) Baseline Characteristics of Students; (2) Supplemental Material for Chapters 2 and 3; (3) Supplemental Material for Chapter 4; and (4) Supplemental Table for Cost Analysis. Individual chapters contain footnotes. (Contains 30 tables, 10 figures and 8 boxes.) This report was written with Lynn Karoly.]