How children's natural calming (heart) responses relate to preschool readiness and early school success
Early Education, School Readiness, and Early School Success Among Children In Poverty: Exploring the Role of Parasympathetic Function in the Preschool Classroom
This project looks at whether preschoolers' natural calming responses in the classroom link to school readiness and early academic success for children from low-income families.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chapel Hill, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11181181 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Families of preschoolers will be invited to join a short-term longitudinal project that follows about 270 children across roughly 30 classrooms. Researchers will collect classroom observations, teacher reports, and brief heart-related measurements that reflect the body's calming (parasympathetic) responses while children are in their regular preschool setting. The team will combine these classroom and physiological measures with simple tests of social-emotional and early academic skills over time. The goal is to understand how children's body and behavior together relate to getting ready for school and doing well early on.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are preschool-age children (typically ages 3–5) from low-income families who attend participating classrooms or preschools near the study site.
Not a fit: Children outside the preschool age range or those not enrolled in participating classrooms or regions are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help schools and programs tailor supports to children's regulation needs so more low-income preschoolers enter kindergarten ready to learn.
How similar studies have performed: Some prior small studies link physiological regulation to child behavior, but measuring parasympathetic responses in the actual classroom across a diverse preschool sample is a relatively new approach.
Where this research is happening
Chapel Hill, United States
- Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill — Chapel Hill, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Propper, Cathi Barbra — Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill
- Study coordinator: Propper, Cathi Barbra
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.