Sara Schmitt

• Ph.D.
• Professor (Associate) at University of Oregon

Mathematical language (i.e., content-specific language used in mathematics) and emergent literacy skills predict children’s broad numeracy development. However, little work has examined whether these domains predict development of individual numeracy skills (e.g., cardinality, number order). Thus, the aim of the current study was to examine longitu...

The current study examined whether sport participation in preschool was related to executive functioning (EF) and academic outcomes (i.e., math, language, literacy) in the fall and spring of kindergarten, as well as whether EF in the fall of kindergarten mediated the relation between sport participation in preschool and academic outcomes in the spr...

Children’s early understanding of mathematics provides a foundation for later success in school. Identifying ways to enhance mathematical instruction is crucial to understanding the ideal ways to promote academic success. Previous work has identified mathematical language (i.e., the words and concepts related to early mathematical development such...

This study examined the extent to which early cumulative risk predicts a range of behavioral and psychological outcomes (i.e., depression, future orientation, risky behavior, educational attainment, and socioeconomic outcomes) measured at ages 15 and 26 and whether executive function (EF) and/or behavioral regulation mediated and/or moderated these...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1014713.].

Introduction School readiness skills are a broad set of abilities that children develop in early childhood that support achievement once they enter formal schooling. Three components of school readiness skills are of focus in the current study: executive function (EF), language/literacy, and mathematics. The current study examines to what extent 13...

Evidence suggests that parents’ math anxiety moderates the association between parents’ help in mathematics homework and first graders’ mathematics skills. Understanding whether similar associations are evident in younger children, in regard to the home numeracy environment (HNE) is essential, given that early math skills are strong predictors of l...

Prior theoretical and empirical studies have linked the first 3 years of children's life with later life outcomes. One primary explanation is the critical role these experiences play in children's early brain development (including their early language and cognitive abilities) and subsequent schooling achievement. The current study is a registered...

Social-emotional competencies are important for school-readiness and can be supported through social-emotional learning (SEL) interventions in the preschool years. However, past research has demonstrated mixed efficacy of early SEL interventions across varied samples, highlighting a need to unpack the black box of which early interventions work, un...

Despite support for the importance of early language environments, little is known about the naturally occurring experiences children have in preschool settings. The current study sample included 91 children (Mage = 4.72 years; 56% male; 67% White) from 23 preschool classrooms and nearly 1500 h of language environment data from three waves througho...

A limited body of work has examined the nature and scope of young children's science-related activities outside of the school context, and thus there is little understanding or consensus regarding what comprises the home science environment (HSE; e.g., interactions, activities, resources) and how specific factors of the HSE relate to children's sci...

The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of attending a state-run preschool program that is rated as “higher quality” on a state's Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) for children's outcomes in prekindergarten and kindergarten. It was expected that children who attended higher QRIS-rated programs would demonstrate greater gains i...

The current study examines the extent to which associations between internalizing problems, body mass index (BMI), and language skills from early (36 months) to late childhood (fifth grade) are due to relatively stable between-child differences, time-specific correlations, or cross-lagged paths. Data from the NICHD study, Early Child Care and Youth...

The goal of the present study was to examine associations among parent perceptions of child care stability during the prekindergarten year and behavioral outcomes (i.e., externalizing and internalizing problems) that same year and during the early elementary grades in a sample of children from low-income households. A second aim was to explore the...

Prior research demonstrates that individuals’ math anxiety may be negatively related to their mathematics performance. However, little research has examined how caregivers’ math anxiety is associated with children’s mathematics performance prior to kindergarten. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relation between parents’ math anxiety...

Self-regulation in early childhood is an important predictor of success across a variety of indicators in life, including health, well-being, and earnings. Although conceptually self-regulation has been defined as multifaceted, previous research has not investigated whether there is conceptual and empirical overlap between the factors that comprise...

There is a growing literature examining the association between parents’ math anxiety and children's mathematics skills. Previous research has considered parents’ math anxiety as a unidimensional construct that primarily focused on parents’ experiences doing mathematics themselves. However, this research did not account for parents’ experiences whe...

The present study examined longitudinal associations between behavioral self-regulation and social-emotional functioning across four waves of measurement during the transition from preschool to kindergarten in a low-income sample. Participants included two cohorts of children (N = 558; 51% male). Children in both cohorts were 4 years old (Cohort 1:...

In the present study, we examined the extent to which teacher-rated self-regulation and directly assessed executive function skills were independently, additively, or synergistically related to academic achievement during the transition to kindergarten. The sample included 126 children (42% female; Mage = 4.73 years) from families with low incomes...

A robust association between young children’s early mathematicalproficiency and later academic achievement is well established.Less is known about the mechanisms through which early mathe-matics skills may contribute to later mathematics and especiallyreading achievement. Using a parallel multiple mediator model,the current study investigated wheth...

Objective: This study examines relations between food insecurity, inhibitory control, and body mass index (BMI) in early childhood. Method: The sample comes from an evaluation of a state-funded prekindergarten program and includes 126 children (mean age = 4.73 yrs, female = 42%) from families with low incomes. Parents reported on their child's f...

The goal of this study was to evaluate immediate and delayed effects of a caregiver-implemented picture book intervention to support children’s mathematical language and numeracy skills. Eighty-four 3- to 5-year-olds (Mage = 4.14) were randomly assigned to intervention (n = 40) or active control (n = 44) conditions. Participants in the intervention...

This is a preprint of a study that examined the relations between closeness and conflict in the teacher-child relationship in preschool and children’s behavior problems, social skills, and executive function (EF) in kindergarten, and examined if these relations are moderated by parental education. The study also explored associations between teache...

Despite evidence suggesting that home literacy and numeracy environments are related to children’s school readiness skills, little research has examined the child and family characteristics that relate to the home literacy and numeracy environments within the same sample. These factors are important to investigate in order to determine what may fos...

This study examines whether parent ratings of children's numeracy skills are more related to direct assessments of corresponding skills, broad numeracy, or other cognitive skills, to inform how to best utilize parent ratings in research. Children in the sample (N = 129) ranged from 3.07 to 5.95 years old and 52.3% were male. Most (81%) of the child...

There is little empirical evidence on cross-domain relations with science and other academic domains, which contributes to a limited understanding of the development of early science and how to best support it. The purpose of this study was to examine multiple concurrent predictors of science core knowledge, including executive functioning (EF), vo...

Objective The goal of this study was to develop and evaluate a 5-week intervention that targeted self-regulation and healthy food liking through mindfulness and classroom-based games with exposure to fruits and vegetables. Methods Children (mean age, 3.6 ± 0.05 years) in 1 Head Start center received the classroom-based intervention (n = 24) and ch...

Some evidence suggests that the home numeracy environment (HNE) is related to children’s numeracy. Socioeconomic status (SES) and language minority status can also influence children’s HNE and numeracy. Limited HNE research focuses on dual language learners (DLLs). Using a sample of preschool-aged children ( n = 98) from low socioeconomic status (S...

A growing body of evidence suggests that the ways in which parents and preschool children interact in terms of home-based mathematics activities (i.e., the home mathematics environment; HME) is related to children’s mathematics development (e.g., primarily numeracy skills and spatial skills); however, this body of evidence is mixed with some resear...

Research Findings The present study explored connections between participation in structured open-skilled (e.g., soccer, basketball) and closed-skilled sports (e.g., swimming) and executive function (EF) among preschool-aged children. The sample included 197 preschool-aged children (mean age = 4.34 years, female = 48.2%, White = 83.8%). Parents rep...

The present study utilized a cross-sectional design to assess whether two indicators of the community food environment, parent perceptions of the community food environment (i.e., as assessed by parent reports of access to, availability, and affordability of foods) and limited food access (via census data), were related to executive function in pre...

Despite a growing body of literature in English-speaking contexts documenting associations among children’s early reading, executive function (EF), and early writing development, relatively few studies investigate the development of these skills in young Chinese children. Utilizing a longitudinal research design, this study followed 84 Chinese chil...

In the current study, we utilized latent profile analysis to investigate patterns of heterogeneity within children's executive function (EF) skills – as measured through direct assessments and as rated by teachers – that emerged within a large, national sample of kindergarten children (N = 10,770; Mage = 66.48 months, SD = 4.15). We then investigat...

The current study examines whether parent ratings of children’s numeracy skills are skill- and domain-specific to inform how to best utilize parent ratings in research. Children in the sample (N=129) ranged from 3.07 to 5.95 years old and 52.3% were male. Most (81%) of the children were White. Parents were asked to rate their children’s counting, s...

The number of adult words children hear and conversational turns they experience are key aspects of their language environments. The current study examined variability in language environments throughout 2 prekindergarten days and variability within and between classrooms for 44 children (Mage = 4.77 years) in 11 classrooms in the United States. In...

Research Findings: The purpose of the current study was to investigate direct associations between the home literacy environment (HLE) and preschool children’s executive function (EF), academic readiness, and social-emotional competence and to explore the indirect association between the HLE and academic and social-emotional outcomes working throug...

Background U.S. children are failing to meet the recommended daily 4 cups of fruits and vegetables. New federal guidelines were implemented for healthier school lunches for the National School Lunch Programs (NSLP). Consequently, students waste large amounts of fruits and vegetables. Several organizations advocate implementation of classroom nutrit...

The family context has been identified as an important predictor of the development of children's executive function (EF). An emerging line of research demonstrates that parents' own EF is linked to their caregiving behaviours and their children's EF. However, researchers have yet to explore the extent to which parental EF is related to specific ca...

Considerable research has examined interventions that facilitate school readiness skills in young children. One intervention, Red Light, Purple Light Circle Time Games (RLPL; Tominey and McClelland, 2011; Schmitt et al., 2015), includes music and movement games that aim to foster self-regulation skills. The present study (N = 157) focused on childr...

Background Parent involvement in children’s education has been linked to positive academic and behavioral outcomes. Home-based involvement is especially important for those who may face barriers to being involved at school. Teachers and school directors can encourage home learning activities, but research examining parent–educator communication for...

This study examines associations between stimulating-responsive social interactions with mothers and nonparental childcare providers during the first 3 years of life and children's vocabulary and mathematics skills through age 15 (N = 1,364). Additive relations were found in which more stimulating-responsive interactions with mothers and with careg...

Research Findings: The aim of the current study was to examine the extent to which the effects of preschool classroom quality on children’s mathematics is moderated by executive functioning (EF) during the preschool year. The study sample included 102 children (M age = 53.57 months [SD = 5.42]; 49% male) and one of their parents recruited from 26 H...

The objective of this study was to test if youth effortful control, a general process of self-regulation that is rooted in temperament, uniquely predicts maternal restrictive feeding with Latinx adolescents above and beyond demographic/contextual factors, prior use of restrictive feeding, and common markers of obesity-proneness. The study sample co...

The primary aim of the current study was to identify the predictive relations of both vocabulary and mathematical language to executive functioning (EF) development using a sample of 558 preschool children (Mage = 57.75 months, SD = 3.71). Monthly family income ranged from $0 to $5539 (M = $1508.18, SD = $892.92). Among the sample, 44% of the child...

The current study investigated how Chinese and US children's mathematical language may be related to development of mathematics skills during preschool. Participants included 216 children (n = 125 from the US; n = 91 from China). On average, children were approximately four years old. Slightly over fifty percent were female. The main result was tha...

Executive function (EF) skills are important for the development of children’s school readiness and academic achievement. One important context where children may develop these skills is the home environment, and research has found that broad indicators of the home environment and parenting practices are related to the development of children’s EF....

This opening paper presents the background to a Special Issue devoted to cross-domain development of academic and cognitive skills in young children (birth to 8). A growing body of research over the last decade has indicated that academic and cognitive skills develop in tandem across the early years. The 22 articles included in this Special Issue,...

Objective The main objective of the present study was to develop and evaluate a nutrition education curriculum to enhance young children’s dietary behaviours and nutrition and health knowledge. Design A randomized controlled design was utilized. The intervention was designed to improve children’s nutrition and health knowledge and preferences for...

Understanding of mathematical language is critical for numeracy skill development. However, prior research has focused exclusively on relations between mathematical language and numeracy skills, broadly measured. Thus, the aim of the current study was to explore more targeted relations between preschoolers' mathematical language and specific numera...

This study investigated cross-cultural variation in the development of executive functioning (EF) across the preschool period for United States and Chinese children from low and high socioeconomic families using a longitudinal design. Participants included 216 preschool children (n = 125 from the US; n = 91 from Shanghai and Jiangxi, China). On ave...

The current study explored the extent to which teacher-child closeness during prekindergarten moderates the association between residential mobility and behavior problems in kindergarten for children living in non-parental care. Data were obtained from the Head Start Impact Study. The sample included 260 children (53% male) who were eligible for He...

The current study investigated the extent to which a semi-structured block play intervention supported growth in mathematics and executive functioning for preschool children using a randomized controlled design. A secondary aim was to explore whether differential intervention effects emerged for children from various socioeconomic backgrounds, indi...

This study examined whether classroom quality is related to preschoolers’ social-emotional functioning (social competence and behavior problems) and explored whether urbanicity (variation in geographic region: rural, small city, or large urban living) moderates this relation. Participants included 102 children (51% female) who were approximately 4....

Self-regulation and academic skills in kindergarten are strong predictors of later achievement. However, many children enter kindergarten without adequate levels of these skills, often because of limited participation in early childhood education. The current study examined a kindergarten readiness summer program (Bridge to Kindergarten; B2K) that...

Siblings offer a unique context for practising skills such as executive function (EF). Further, siblings are influential agents in parenting practices, which may, in turn, be related to EF. The current study investigated the extent to which the presence of a sibling is related to parent‐reported EF in preschoolers and whether the presence of a sibl...

Children from low-income families are at greater risk for poor social–emotional development and physical health and may be in need of intervention. This study examined the extent to which the Positive Action (PA) preschool lessons improved low-income children’s social–emotional competence and health behaviors. Mixed findings emerged with regard to...

The present study examines the extent to which residential mobility during the transition to kindergarten (cumulative moves during prekindergarten and kindergarten) is related to externalizing and internalizing behavior problems for children from low-income families who are living in non-parental care. A second, exploratory aim of this study was to...

The present study explored the bidirectional and longitudinal associations between executive function (EF) and early academic skills (math and literacy) across 4 waves of measurement during the transition from preschool to kindergarten using 2 complementary analytical approaches: cross-lagged panel modeling and latent growth curve modeling (LCGM)....

The primary aim of this study was to examine associations between executive functioning (EF) and child weight status (categorized from body mass index [BMI] percentiles) in a sample of preschool children. Participants included 80 preschool children (mean age = 4.17 years, female = 52%). Hierarchical regression analyses as well as analysis of covari...

Young children who enter school without sufficient social and emotional learning (SEL) skills may have a hard time learning. Yet early childhood educators say they don’t get enough training to effectively help children develop such skills. In this article, Megan McClelland, Shauna Tominey, Sara Schmitt, and Robert Duncan examine the theory and scie...

The present study examines the direct and indirect relations between residential mobility during the year prior to kindergarten and academic skills (math, letter-word identification, and spelling) in the early elementary years for children from low-income families. Data were obtained from the Head Start Impact Study. The sample included 3627 childr...

The current study investigated the relations between the three cognitive processes that comprise executive functioning (EF)-response inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility-and individual components of mathematics and literacy skills in preschool children. Participants were 125 preschool children ranging in age from 3.12 to 5.26years...

Efforts to improve school readiness call for improvements in the professional qualifications of the early childhood workforce. It is critically important that these efforts are inclusive of a diverse workforce. Providers from diverse ethnic and linguistic backgrounds make up a sizable portion of the early childhood workforce, yet diversity continue...

We examined the effect of Head Start on parenting outcomes for children living in nonparental care, or living with someone other than biological, adoptive, or step-parent. Data came from the Head Start Impact Study, a nationally representative and randomized controlled trial of Head Start-eligible children and families. Parenting outcomes included...

Research Findings: The present study investigated the direct effects of residential mobility on children's inhibitory control and academic achievement during the preschool year. It also explored fall inhibitory control and academic skills as mediators linking residential mobility and spring achievement. Participants included 359 preschool children...

The present study examined the efficacy of a self-regulation intervention for children experiencing demographic risk. Utilizing a randomized controlled design, analyses examined if children (N = 276 children in 14 Head Start classrooms; M age = 51.69, SD = 6.55) who participated in an 8-week self-regulation intervention demonstrated greater gains i...

Children’s self-regulation (including cognitive processes of attentional flexibility, working memory, and inhibitory control) is a strong predictor of school readiness and academic achievement throughout childhood and adulthood. In spite of this, many young children enter kindergarten without strong levels of self-regulation and there is limited re...

The current study investigated the predictive utility among teacher-rated, observed, and directly assessed behavioral self-regulation skills to academic achievement in preschoolers. Specifically, this study compared how a teacher report, the Child Behavior Rating Scale, an observer report, the Observed Child Engagement Scale, and a direct assessmen...

There is a definite need for effective intervention programmes that address the social–emotional, character and healthy development of preschool children. Strong social-emotional skills are necessary for successful transitions to formal schooling and for healthy developmental trajectories. The Positive Action (PA) programme has a long history of ef...

There is a definite need for effective intervention programs that address the social-emotional, character and healthy development of preschool children. Strong social-emotional skills are necessary for successful transitions to formal schooling and for healthy developmental trajectories. The Positive Action program has a long history of effectivene...

The current study examines the effects of Head Start on the development of school readiness outcomes for children living in non-parental care. Data were obtained from the Head Start Impact Study, a randomized controlled trial of Head Start conducted with a nationally representative sample of Head Start programs and families. The sample included 253...

This longitudinal assessment concentrated on the relation between the home literacy environment (HLE) and early language acquisition during infancy and toddlerhood. In study 1, after controlling for socio-economic status, a broadly defined HLE predicted language comprehension in 50 infants. In study 2, 27 children returned for further analyses. Fin...

Until recently, the challenges inherent in measuring comprehension have impeded our ability to predict the course of language acquisition. The present research reports on a longitudinal assessment of the convergent and predictive validity of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories: Words and Gestures (CDI: WG; Fenson et al., 1994,...