Approaches to Learning and Hispanic Children’s Math Scores

Abstract

Accumulating evidence suggests that children’s approaches to learning (ATL) at kindergarten entry predict their academic achievement years later. However, the gains associated with ATL may be diminished for Hispanic immigrant children, many of whom are English language learners (ELLs). We tested whether ATL predicted math scores in a sample of first- and second-generation Hispanic immigrants drawn from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study—Kindergarten cohort. We further tested whether English proficiency moderated this association. Separate models by study wave (kindergarten, first grade, and third grade) were run to examine whether associations among English proficiency, ATL, and math changed over time. Results indicated that ATL, measured at the previous wave, predicted math scores in first and third grade, but not kindergarten. Moreover, in third grade, ATL predicted math only for children who were proficient in English. The implications for Hispanic immigrant children are discussed.