Research Summaries

Ten Years On, High-School Social Skills Predict Better Earnings than Test Scores

“My findings show that the most successful students are those who have not only high achievement test scores but also the kinds of social skills and behaviors that are highly rewarded by employers in the workplace” (Dr. Christy Lleras, a University of Illinois Assistant Professor of Human and Community Development).

News Release October 15, 2008. Used with permission. Study by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Ten Years On, High-School Social Skills Predict Better Earnings than Test Scores.

Effects of Social Development Intervention in Childhood 15 Years Later

Fifteen years after they completed an intervention program designed to help their social development in elementary school, young adults reported better mental health, sexual health, and higher educational and economic achievement than a control group of young adults who didn’t receive the intervention, according to a new study (Seattle Social Development Project).

News Release from University of Washington. Retrieved January 23, 2009, from http://uwnews.org/article.asp?Search=hawkins&articleid=45547. Used with permission. Study by Hawkins, J. D., Kosterman, R., Catalano, R. F., Hill, K. G., & Abbott, R. D. (2008). “Effects of social development intervention in childhood fifteen years later.” Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 162, 1133-1141.

The Cost Burden to Minnesota K-12 when Children are Unprepared for Kindergarten

This study by Wilder Research, commissioned by the Bush Foundation, focuses on the financial costs within the Minnesota K-12 system due to children entering kindergarten unprepared for school success. The report indicates that behavior problems in schools add significantly to the cost of education, and have larger societal implications.

Study by Richard Chase, et al. “The Cost Burden to Minnesota K-12 when Children are Unprepared for Kindergarten.” Wilder Research, St. Paul, MN. December, 2008 (Summary). www.wilder.org/report.html?id=2117. Used with permission.

Promoting Social Competence in Early Childhood: Classroom Curricula and Social Skills Coaching Programs

Bierman and Erath argue that starting in the preschool years, relationships between peers play an important role in socialization. The authors discuss the role of learning the Golden Rule in negotiating, cooperating, and compromising. Interactions with their peers help children develop critical social skills and encourage feelings of social self-worth. Children who do not acquire social skills at the proper time and therefore begin school with poorly developed social competence are at increased risk for difficulty in school. This can worsen during adolescence and contribute to social and emotional problems such as anxiety, depression, substance use, and delinquency.

Study by Karen L. Bierman and Stephen A. Erath. “Promoting Social Competence in Early Childhood: Classroom Curricula and Social Skills Coaching Programs,” #29 in Blackwell Handbook of Early Childhood Development. Edited byKathleen McCartney and Deborah Phillips. eISBN: 9781405120739. Available from BlackwellReference.com.

Preschoolers Benefit from Both Basics and Social Skills

A study funded by the National Institutes of Health and other federal agencies shows that it is possible to teach preschoolers the pre-reading skills they need for later school success, while at the same time fostering the social skills necessary for making friends and avoiding conflicts with their peers. The findings address long-standing concerns on whether preschool education programs should emphasize academic achievement or social and emotional development. Preschoolers who received a curriculum that combined social skills learning with pre-reading skills scored higher on several tests of emotional and social development than did children in the traditional Head Start program, which focuses on pre-reading skills. “If preschools focus just on the facts, they’re really missing the engine that’s going to drive the desire and motivation for learning,” said lead researcher Dr. Karen Bierman, a professor of psychology at Penn State University.

Study by Bierman, K. L., Domitrovich, C. E., Nix, R. L., Gest, S. D., Welsh, J. A., Greenberg, M. T., Blair, C., Nelson, K. E., and Gill, S. “Promoting Academic and Social-Emotional School Readiness: The Head Start REDI Program.” Child Development, Vol. 79, Issue 6. Used with permission.