Program to Reduce Behavior Problems Boosts Math, Reading Among Low-income Kindergartners, First Graders, NYU Steinhardt Study Shows

May 20, 2014

A program aimed at reducing behavior problems in order to boost academic achievement has improved performance in math and reading among low-income kindergartners and first graders, according to a study by researchers at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.

Their findings, which appear in the Journal of Educational Psychology, point to the value of well-designed interventions to improve education, the study’s authors say.

“Supporting young low-income children so they can reach their potential in the classroom and beyond is of vital importance,” says Sandee McClowry, a professor in NYU Steinhardt’s Department of Applied Psychology and the study’s senior author. “Our findings show that learning is enhanced when it also addresses the social and emotional development of children.”