Child engagement in the transition to school: Contributions of self-regulation, teacher–child relationships and classroom climate

•Inhibitory control was a significant contributor of behavioral engagement in kindergarten.•Teacher–child closeness contributed to behavioral engagement in kindergarten.•Peer–teacher conflict significantly predicted behavioral engagement in kindergarten.•Engagement in kindergarten significantly predicted behavioral engagement in first grade.•Classroom organization in first grade was a significant predictor of behavioral engagement.

Framed by a systemic-ecological model of engagement, this study examined cross-grade patterns of behavioral engagement in learning over kindergarten and first grade and the contributions of child inhibitory control and facets of the classroom context (i.e., teacher–child relationship quality, perceived peer–teacher conflict, and classroom organization) to behavioral engagement over this period. Participants were 145 children. Behavioral engagement was rated by teachers in kindergarten, and it was both observed by independent observers and rated by teachers in first grade. At the beginning of kindergarten, inhibitory control was observed and kindergarten teachers reported on teacher–child relationship quality. In first grade, observers rated the quality of classroom organization. Multilevel analyses indicated that inhibitory control, closer teacher–child relationships and lower levels of perceived peer–teacher conflict contributed to higher levels of behavioral engagement in kindergarten, which in turn combined with the quality of classroom organization in first grade to predict both observed and teacher-reported engagement in first grade. The results suggest that multiple contributors at the individual, dyadic, and classroom-level are relevant for behavioral engagement over the important period of transition to school.