Elise Cappella

Teaching through interactions: Testing a developmental framework of teacher effectiveness in over 4,000 classrooms

This is a copy of an article published in the Elementary School Journal

Turning around Reading Achievement: Predictors of High School Students' Academic Resilience.

In a national, longitudinal database, factors were examined that enabled public school students on a path toward failure to significantly improve reading achievement by high school graduation. Youths who faced the proximal risk of low achievement during the transition to high school were vulnerable to continued low achievement or failure; yet, a small number improved reading proficiency from failing the basic level to passing the intermediate or advanced levels. Being Caucasian, being female, having an internal locus of control, and taking an academic curriculum in high school independently predicted academic resilience. The role of student socioeconomic status in predicting resilience was explained by psychological and school environment variables. The path between locus of control and resilience was partly mediated by high school curriculum; the path between 8th-grade educational aspirations and resilience was fully mediated by curriculum.

Enhancing Schools’ Capacity to Support Children in Poverty: An Ecological Model of School-Based Mental Health Services

School based mental health services for children in poverty can capitalize on schools’ inherent capacity to support development and bridge home and neighborhood ecologies. We propose an ecological model informed by public health and organizational theories to refocus school based services in poor communities on the core function of schools to promote learning. We describe how coalescing mental health resources around school goals includes a focus on universal programming, mobilizing indigenous school and community resources, and supporting core teaching technologies. We suggest an iterative research–practice approach to program adaptation and implementation as a means toward advancing science and developing healthy children.

Teacher Consultation and Coaching within Mental Health Practice: Classroom and Child Effects in Urban Elementary Schools

OBJECTIVE To examine effects of a teacher consultation and coaching program delivered by school and community mental health professionals on change in observed classroom interactions and child functioning across one school year. METHOD Thirty-six classrooms within 5 urban elementary schools (87% Latino, 11% Black) were randomly assigned to intervention (training + consultation/coaching) and control (training only) conditions. Classroom and child outcomes (n = 364; 43% girls) were assessed in the fall and spring. RESULTS Random effects regression models showed main effects of intervention on teacher-student relationship closeness, academic self-concept, and peer victimization. Results of multiple regression models showed levels of observed teacher emotional support in the fall moderated intervention impact on emotional support at the end of the school year. CONCLUSIONS Results suggest teacher consultation and coaching can be integrated within existing mental health activities in urban schools and impact classroom effectiveness and child adaptation across multiple domains.

Teacher-child relationships and academic achievement: A multilevel propensity score model approach☆

A robust body of research finds positive cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between teacher-child relationships and childrens academic achievement in elementary school. Estimating the causal effect of teacher-child relationships on childrens academic achievement, however, is challenged by selection bias at the individual and school level. To address these issues, we used two multilevel propensity score matching approaches to estimate the effect of high-quality teacher-child relationships in kindergarten on math and reading achievement during childrens transition to first grade. Multi-informant data were collected on 324 low-income, Black and Hispanic students, and 112 kindergarten and first-grade teachers. Results revealed significant effects of high-quality teacher-child relationships in kindergarten on math achievement in first grade. No significant effects of teacher-child relationships were detected for reading achievement. Implications for intervention development and public policy are discussed.

Linking Mental Health and After School Systems for Children in Urban Poverty: Preventing Problems, Promoting Possibilities

The current mental health system is failing to meet the extensive needs of children living in urban poverty. After school programs, whose mission includes children’s socialization, peer relations, and adaptive functioning, are uniquely positioned to support and promote children’s healthy development. We propose that public sector mental health resources can be reallocated to support after school settings, and we offer specific examples and recommendations from an ongoing federally funded program of research to illustrate how mental health consultation can support publicly funded after school programs. In light of the increase in resources of urban, poor communities, consultation to publicly funded after school programs can contribute to the mental health goals of keeping children safe and supervised, promoting their healthy development through academically and socially enriching activities, and identifying children in need of more intensive mental health services.

An examination of network position and childhood relational aggression: integrating resource control and social exchange theories.

Applying resource control theory and social exchange theory, we examined the social network conditions under which elementary age children were likely to engage in relational aggression. Data on classroom peer networks and peer-nominated behaviors were collected on 671 second- through fourth-grade children in 34 urban, low-income classrooms. Nested regression models with robust cluster standard errors demonstrated that the association between childrens number of relationships and their levels of relational aggression was moderated by the number of relationships that their affiliates had. Children with more peer relationships (i.e., higher network centrality) exhibited higher levels of relational aggression, but only when these relationships were with peers who had fewer connections themselves (i.e., poorly connected peers). This finding remained significant even when controlling for common predictors of relational aggression including gender, overt aggression, prosocial behavior, victimization, social preference, and perceived popularity. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for advancing the literature on childhood relational aggression and their practical applications for identifying children at risk for these behaviors.

Children's Agreement on Classroom Social Networks: Cross-Level Predictors in Urban Elementary Schools

Informed by research on interpersonal perception, peer relationships, and classroom climate, this study examines predictors of children’s agreement with classmates on their classroom social networks. Social network data, peer nominations of positive behavior, and classroom observations were collected from 418 second-grade to fourth-grade children (99% African American) and 33 teachers and classrooms in low-income, urban schools. Children’s perceptions of their classroom social networks varied from minimal overlap to complete congruence with the consensus of their peers. Multilevel modeling with hypothesized predictors indicated that agreement on social relationships was predicted by factors at the level of the individual child (network centrality) and classroom context (grade level, class size, network density, teacher network perception, emotional climate). Findings are discussed in terms of advances in understanding of children’s interpersonal perception, as well as implications of network agreement for children’s ability to navigate the classroom social and academic learning context.

Navigating Middle Grades: Role of Social Contexts in Middle Grade School Climate

During early adolescence, most public school students undergo school transitions, and many students experience declines in academic performance and social-emotional well-being. Theories and empirical research have highlighted the importance of supportive school environments in promoting positive youth development during this period of transition. Despite this, little is known about the proximal social and developmental contexts of the range of middle grade public schools US students attend. Using a cross-sectional dataset from the eighth grade wave of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study—Kindergarten Cohort 1998–1999, the current study examines the middle grade school social context from the perspectives of administrators and teachers in public schools with typical grade configurations (k–8 schools, middle schools, and junior high schools) and how it relates to students’ perceptions of school climate. We find that administrators and teachers in k–8 schools perceive a more positive school social context, controlling for school structural and demographic characteristics. This school social context, in turn, is associated with students’ perceptions of their schools’ social and academic climate. Implications for educational policy and practice are discussed.

Redesigning community mental health services for urban children: Supporting schooling to promote mental health

OBJECTIVE This study examined a school- and home-based mental health service model, Links to Learning, focused on empirical predictors of learning as primary goals for services in high-poverty urban communities. METHOD Teacher key opinion leaders were identified through sociometric surveys and trained, with mental health providers and parent advocates, on evidence-based practices to enhance childrens learning. Teacher key opinion leaders and mental health providers cofacilitated professional development sessions for classroom teachers to disseminate 2 universal (Good Behavior Game, peer-assisted learning) and 2 targeted (Good News Notes, Daily Report Card) interventions. Group-based and home-based family education and support were delivered by mental health providers and parent advocates for children in kindergarten through 4th grade diagnosed with 1 or more disruptive behavior disorders. Services were Medicaid-funded through 4 social service agencies (N = 17 providers) in 7 schools (N = 136 teachers, 171 children) in a 2 (Links to Learning vs. services as usual) × 6 (pre- and posttests for 3 years) longitudinal design with random assignment of schools to conditions. Services as usual consisted of supported referral to a nearby social service agency. RESULTS Mixed effects regression models indicated significant positive effects of Links to Learning on mental health service use, classroom observations of academic engagement, teacher report of academic competence and social skills, and parent report of social skills. Nonsignificant between-groups effects were found on teacher and parent report of problem behaviors, daily hassles, and curriculum-based measures. Effects were strongest for young children, girls, and children with fewer symptoms. CONCLUSION Community mental health services targeting empirical predictors of learning can improve school and home behavior for children living in high-poverty urban communities.