Reconceptualizing early school adjustment: A search for intervening variables.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Research has demonstrated that a combination of academic and social skills lead to school adjustment (Agostin & Bain, 1997; McConnell et al., 1984; Taylor & Machida, 1994). Historically, school adjustment has been defined by psychological correlates or hypothetical constructs (e.g., popularity, self-esteem, attachment) that are difficult to define, measure and link to intervention. In this study, school adjustment was defined as, “the extent to which children are meeting the academic and behavioral (social) demands of school.&rdquo.
The purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) to establish validity for the argument of a skills-based approach to defining school adjustment, and (2) to establish validity of the measures in the study as examples of general outcome measures of school adjustment. Measures designed to evaluate the language, literacy, and social skills of preschool- and kindergarten-aged children were administered to 163 children aged 48 to 83 months in the fall and winter.
Results of the study indicated that language, literacy and social skills are related to school adjustment in preschool and kindergarten, and have common association over time. It was also determined the measures have predictive qualities and show growth over time for children of different ages. The study succeeded in establishing support for the measures as general outcome measures of school adjustment.