Chapter 11 - Implementation of Interventions to Promote School Readiness

Summary

The belief that school readiness is important is supported by longitudinal research indicating that children's skills in various domains at the time of school entry are often predictive of their school adjustment, achievement, and other significant outcomes years later. Among the component skills that comprise school readiness are cognitive, behavioral, and social-emotional competencies. Teacher-child closeness is associated with young children's reading skills, whereas dependency and conflict in the teacher-child relationship are associated with school avoidance and poor achievement. Evidence-based early childhood interventions to promote school readiness are often not adopted in real-world settings because of perceptions that they are ineffective or too costly. School readiness interventions vary somewhat with regard to their particular goals and strategies. Developmental and educational experts continue to seek ways to refine and enhance school readiness interventions so that they provide the maximum benefits to children in poverty and other risk groups.