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Classroom Level Effects Of Children’S Prior Participation In Child Care, K. Alison Clarke-Stewart, Rachel Lucas-Thompson, Jennifer M. Weaver, Andrea Karsh

Psychological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Previous research indicates that children who spend many hours in early child care exhibit more externalizing behavior problems than children who spend less time in child care. Concern has been expressed regarding the cumulative effect of these problem behaviors on elementary school classes. We collected information about children’s child-care histories from parents of first through fourth graders (N = 429) and about classroom functioning from their teachers (N = 31). We analyzed associations between the proportion of children in the class who had spent many hours in care prior to school entry and teachers’ reports of the time …