Given the critical importance of
behavioral engagement, it seems important to identify processes
that promote it during the school transition. However, there is relatively
little research on the potential antecedents of behavioral
engagement across both the kindergarten and first-grade years.
Available evidence has examined engagement antecedents within
one school year and little is known about how behavioral engagement
evolves from kindergarten to first grade and what fosters
behavioral engagement in this cross-grade period. In view of these
limitations, the purpose of this study is to examine how individual
child characteristics