Deborah Lowe Vandell

Organized activities, including after-school programs and extracurricular activities, have been touted as settings that promote youth’s academic outcomes. However, no meta-analysis has included both activity types to assess this claim. The purpose of this study was to test associations between activity participation and four academic outcomes. We analyzed the findings of 117 studies released between 2007 and 2024 ( k = 327 effect sizes; N = 332,930; 49% girls; 51% White, 41% Black, 22% Latine, and 22% Asian youth; 16% of studies included only children, 74% only adolescents). Participation was associated with higher grades ( g = 0.33), test scores ( g = 0.19), and educational attainment ( g = 0.39), but not school attendance ( g = 0.13). Effects were stronger for academic grades ( p < 0.05) and test scores ( p = 0.05) for school-based activities than community-based activities; however, effects for grades and test scores did not vary by participant age, family income, activity focus, or activity setting. These findings demonstrate that participating in organized activities is associated with youth’s short- and long-term academic outcomes, supporting the proposition that organized activities are a primary microsystem that warrants continued research to identify under what conditions and for whom organized activities are most effective.

Extending findings from a 26-year longitudinal study of educational opportunity, we examine whether opportunities are related to the educational attainment and earnings of children from lower-income households ( n = 226) as a function of when in a child’s development they occur. We compare the predictive power of opportunities accrued within three key developmental stages—early childhood, middle childhood, or adolescence—with the combined power of opportunities accrued across these stages. Our findings point to the value of educational opportunity in all three stages, particularly for educational attainment.

Though theoretical accounts describe self-regulation as dynamic, empirical studies typically rely on static measures that fail to capture changes in self-regulation from day to day or moment to moment. As a result, little is known about how children’s self-regulation may fluctuate within-person, despite clear relevance for educators. In this paper, we capitalized on repeated observations from wearable devices to test the idea that daily increases in activity (DIA) across the school day could reflect a school-age child’s inability to regulate their physical activity to be appropriate to the school setting. In a national sample followed from birth to age 26 (N = 747; 49% female, 76% White, 13% Black, 6% Hispanic, 5% Other), children showing daily increases in activity (greater DIA) in third grade, objectively measured using actigraphy at school and charted across hourly intervals, were rated as more impulsive and disruptive by teachers and classroom observers and showed lower academic achievement in third grade (β = −0.13), which mediated indirect associations to achievement in high school (β = −0.11) and fewer years of education completed as adults (β = −0.05). Findings suggest that children’s behavioral regulation, proxied by the ability to inhibit motor activity, deteriorates across the school day and that children who can sustain behavioral regulation for longer achieve greater educational success. Findings also reveal temporal patterns of behavior in third grade that motivate future investigations into daily experiences that could restore children’s behavioral regulation.

Longitudinal data were examined to test associations between teacher-student relationships and adult outcomes, as well as mechanisms underlying these associations. Results from the NICHD-SECCYD (N=1364; 52% male; 76% White; 13% Black; 6% Hispanic; 5% other; data collection took place in the U.S. beginning in 1991) revealed a complex set of findings. First, teacher-student conflict and closeness during early elementary school were associated with educational attainment, occupational prestige, arrest record, and risky behavior at age 26 (r=-.21-.17, ps<.01). Next, behavioral dysregulation during middle elementary school, but not executive function, mediated associations between teacher-student conflict and age 26 outcomes. Finally, behavioral dysregulation and end of high school functioning serially mediated associations between teacher-student conflict and adult outcomes. These findings showcase the relevance of teacher-student relationships for outcomes spanning two decades of development.

This study examined differences in literacy skills and classroom learning opportunities among multilingual learners (MLs) and English-only (EO) students from Preschool through third grade. While prior research highlights reading skill gaps between these groups, fewer studies have simultaneously explored the reading skills and classroom literacy learning opportunities of ML and EO students. Participants included 1009 students (411 MLs, 598 EOs) from 134 classrooms across six sites in the US. Using the Observing Learning Opportunities for Students (OLOS) observational system, the child-level, minute-by-minute literacy learning opportunities across instructional content (code- vs. meaning-focused), management (teacher- vs. child-managed), and context (large group, small group, individual) were documented. Students’ code-focused and meaning-focused skills were assessed using the Letters-2-Meaning (L2M) and Word Match Game (WMG) assessments, respectively. Multilevel models were used to evaluate differences across groups and grades. ML and EO students performed similarly on code-focused assessments, with MLs outperforming EOs in third grade. MLs had lower English semantic (meaning-focused) skills only in Preschool and second grade. Most instructional differences were grade-specific and limited in scope. MLs in first and second grade received more small group instruction. Instructional variability was largely attributed to between-classroom rather than within-classroom differences. MLs generally received similar literacy instruction and demonstrated comparable skills to their EO peers. Differences were small and not consistent across grades. Findings emphasize the importance of examining both learning opportunities and skill development at the child level to inform equitable and responsive literacy instruction.

Regulations and policy in early care and education (ECE) is based largely on the idea that structural elements of ECE, such as child-adult ratio, predict teacher-child interactions that then predict child developmental outcomes. This structure-process-outcome model was initially proposed when many states had minimal ECE quality standards. Our study tested the structure-process-outcome model using four large early childhood data sets that were collected over a 30-year period. Data from the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (n = 606, 24% non-White), the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study's Birth Cohort (n = 1,420, 56% non-White), the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey 2014 Cohort (n = 2,105, 76% non-White), and the University of North Carolina's Early Learning Network (n = 455, 75% non-White) were analyzed. Child-adult ratios and teachers' highest level of education were associated with measures of observed classroom quality during the historical period when there were minimal regulations and classroom ratios were higher and teacher education was lower; relations were not found when regulations required higher levels of structural quality. Notably, we also did not find significant relations between process quality measured by commonly used quality assessments and children's academic and behavioral outcomes in the preschool year. These findings suggest that as policies have improved structural quality, there is a need to refine the structure-process-outcome theoretical model. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Though theoretical accounts describe self-regulation as dynamic, empirical studies typically rely on static measures that fail to capture changes in self-regulation from day to day or moment to moment. As a result, little is known about how or why children’s self-regulation may vary within-person, despite clear relevance for educators. In this paper, we capitalized on repeated observations from wearable devices to test the idea that daily increases in activity (DIA) across the school day could reflect a school-age child’s inability to regulate their physical activity to be appropriate to the school setting. In a national sample followed from birth to age 26 (N = 747; 49% female, 76% White, 13% Black, 6% Hispanic, 5% Other), children showing greater DIA in third grade, objectively measured using actigraphy at school and charted across hourly intervals, were rated as more impulsive and disruptive by teachers and classroom observers, had lower academic achievement in high school (β = -0.11), and completed fewer years of education as adults (β = -0.05). These findings reveal a temporal dimension to children’s behavioral regulation at school. Findings suggest that children’s behavioral regulation, proxied by the ability to inhibit motor activity, deteriorates across the school day and that children who can sustain behavioral regulation for longer go on to greater educational success long-term. Findings also reveal temporal patterns of behavior in third grade that motivate future investigations into daily experiences that could restore children’s behavioral regulation.

In the United States, sport is a common form of youth physical activity (PA) with demonstrated health benefits. However, limited longitudinal dataexists on the psychosocial determinants and consequences of youth sport participation. This study examined grade 6 (11-12-year-old) predictors of high school organized sport participation and effects of high school sport participation on age 26 behavior, mental health and wellbeing. Structural equation models tested relationships using the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD). Half of the sample was male, and played organized sports at ages 15 and 18. Eighty percent of the sample was white. Grade 6 predictors of playing high school sport were: child enjoys PA, parent enjoys PA, parent feels physical education (PE) is important, and vigorous PA minutes/week. Playing sports at ages 15 and 18 was associated with better wellbeing, lower depression, increased sport and fitness activity participation. Enjoyment of PA was directly associated with fitness activities at age 26, more than a decade later. High school sport participation at both age 15 and 18 further mediated relationships between enjoyment with wellbeing and depression at age 26. Sport participation is a common accessible means of PA, and participating in sports in high school is associated with better mental health and PA outcomes at age 26. Fostering enjoyment of PA during childhood helps shape PA in early adulthood and adult mental health benefits derived from high school sport participation.