Education

Studies Connect Behavior, Reading

By Linda Jacobson — February 21, 2006 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Reading skills and social development in young children are so closely connected that problems in one of those areas can lead to problems in the other, according to two studies published in the January-February issue of Child Development.

In the first paper, Sarah Miles, a doctoral student at Stanford University, found that children who had a lot of friends in 1st grade were likely to display strong reading skills in 3rd grade. Children with low reading skills in 1st and 3rd grades, she found, were likely to exhibit aggressive behavior in 3rd and 5th grades.

Her research focuses on a sample of 400 disadvantaged children who were part of the federal government’s School Transitions Study, a multisite longitudinal study. Ms. Miles collected data at the end of each school year, from 1996 to 2000. She examined literacy skills by viewing the results of reading and comprehension tests given to each child. She used a teacher questionnaire to determine social skills.

The findings, Ms. Miles suggests, highlight the importance of strong reading instruction in early grades and of interventions for children who are struggling.

“Children do not develop in particular domains independently of other domains,” she writes. “To the contrary, social development and academic development are inextricably connected.”

The second study, by researchers at King’s College London and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, shows that Ms. Miles’ finding is especially salient for boys.

Led by Kali H. Trzesniewski, a psychologist at King’s College, the researchers found that reading problems and behavior problems cause each other—but only in boys. While behavior problems did lead to reading difficulties for girls, reading problems did not cause behavior problems for girls, they found. The team used the Environmental Risk Longitudinal Twin Study, a national sample of 15,905 twin pairs from Britain born in 1994 and 1995.

“These findings may help guide interventions by showing that targeting either reading problems or behavior problems during the preschool and early primary school years is likely to produce changes in both behaviors,” says the study.

A version of this article appeared in the February 22, 2006 edition of Education Week

Events

Teaching Profession K-12 Essentials Forum New Insights Into the Teaching Profession
Join this free virtual event to get exclusive insights from Education Week's State of Teaching project.
Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and K-12 education jubs at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Mathematics K-12 Essentials Forum Helping Students Succeed in Math

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Quiz What is a Project 2025 Author Doing at the Education Department? Take This Weekly Quiz
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
Education Briefly Stated: June 11, 2025
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
5 min read
Education Quiz What Is the #1 Factor Boosting Students' STEM Motivation? Take This Weekly Quiz
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
Education Briefly Stated: June 4, 2025
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read