Dallas Project on Education Pathways (DPrEP)

Research has shown that African American and Hispanic children have delays in self-regulation development and are outperformed in academics when they are compared to their more advantaged, Caucasian peers. Some of the reason for these differences may be that low-income minority children are more likely to be living in poverty. Growing up in poverty can have a number of challenges.

In a large-scale study of 407 low-income, African American and Hispanic children, the Children and Families Lab has been studying the reasons for the disparities in self-regulation and school readiness. To date, self-regulation, school readiness, and a variety of other data have been collected on the children and families when the children were two and a half, three and a half, in kindergarten, and first grade. Several published studies and dissertations have used these data examining the phenomena that affect the lives of low-income, minority children.

In 2017, the lab successfully secured funding from the NICHD to continue to follow these children and families, as the children transition to middle school. This grant allows us to continue our research to become one of the longest longitudinal projects on childhood self regulation in the US. We are excited to be spending more time with our children and families over the course of the next two years.

NICHD Grant Information

Self Regulation and Race/Ethnic Disparities in School Readiness
9/30/2009 — 8/31/2011, $586,140 UT Dallas subcontract with University of Texas-Houston School of Public Health NIH-National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
(NICHD) R01-HD058643-01A1 Margaret Caughy, PI; Owen, Co-PI

Disparities in Self Regulation and School Readiness: Kindergarten Follow-up
7/1/2013 — 6/31/2016, $1,677,869 total costs
NIH-National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
(NICHD) R01HD075311-01A1 Margaret Caughy, PI; Owen, Co-PI