David J Purpura
Biographic Data
| ID | 347189 |
|---|---|
| NAME | David J Purpura |
| GIVEN NAMES | David J |
| FAMILY NAME | Purpura |
| SIGNATURE | PURPURA D J |
| AFFILIATIONS | Purdue University West Lafayette |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-9427-914X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 37 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 85 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 37 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2008 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Synergistic Relations of Teacher and Parent Burnout and Preschooler’s Social-Emotional Competence and Behavioral Self-Regulation
Research Findings: This study investigated the synergistic relationships between teacher burnout and parent burnout on preschoolers’ social-emotional competence (SEC) and behavioral self-regulation (BSR). We hypothesized that higher teacher burnout would be associated with lower social skills and BSR and higher problem behaviors in the spring. We expected that higher parent burnout would relate to poorer child outcomes. Guided by the dual risk fr…
Predicting State Testing Proficiency with Preschool Assessments
Many children in the United States fail to meet proficiency benchmarks on mathematics and English Language Arts (ELA) tests in elementary school despite those tests being related to future outcomes. Thus, strategies are needed to identify and support children at risk for failing to reach proficiency in mathematics and ELA that consider multiple school readiness domains. The current study tested predictive relations between preschool skills and pr…
Hidden Bias: How a Language Screener Can Misrepresent Dual Language Learner Performance in Mathematics
Achievement gaps in school readiness between dual language learners (DLLs) and their English-only peers persist, in part because common assessment practices do not fully capture DLLs’ abilities. Using the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey, a nationally representative sample of Head Start children, this study examines whether DLLs’ performance varies by assessment language. Applying a fuzzy regression discontinuity design, we found th…
What is early math
A text message-based home numeracy pilot intervention for parents of preschoolers
Executive function, math, and spatial skills in English learners and English speakers
Differentiation effects in school readiness skills across the transition from preschool to kindergarten
What I say is not what I do: Gender differences in the home mathematics environment
Consistent evidence shows that women are underrepresented across most Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics fields. Research indicates that early attitudes and gendered beliefs about mathematics can predict later achievement and academic choices in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics and that children's attitudes are tied to parents' beliefs and interactions with their children surrounding math. To identify potential ant…
The Factor Structure of Parents' Math-Related Talk and Its Relation to Children's Early Academic Skills
This study, involving 120 children (Mage = 4.25; SD = 0.83; 53% Female, 49% White, 23% multiracial, 16% Black, 9% Asian American, and 3% Latine) and their parents, examined parent talk constructs and their relation to children's early academic skills in 2021. Parents' talk was best represented as a three-factor structure (general, number, and mathematical language), suggesting that mathematical language use is distinct from general and number tal…
The Relations Between Parent–Educator Communication, the Home Environment, and Children’s Outcomes in Preschool
Social–Emotional Competence as a Predictor of Early Numeracy Skills
Research Findings: This study examined the association between preschool children’s social-emotional competence (SEC), defined by their social skills and problem behaviors, and numeracy skills. It also examined if any subdomains of SEC predicted preschool numeracy above and beyond latent social skills or problem behaviors variables. Data came from a state-funded prekindergarten evaluation study (N = 684) and were collected using teacher-reported …
The home numeracy environment of Latine families: A mixed methods measurement development study
Unique and combined effects of quantitative mathematical language and numeracy instruction within a picture book intervention: A registered report
Testing block play as an effective mechanism for promoting early math, executive function, and spatial skills in preschoolers from low-income backgrounds
Stimulating preschoolers’ repeating patterning ability by means of dialogic picture book reading
sponsorship: This study was not preregistered. Anonymized data and study materials are available on request. This research was partially supported by Grant KU Leuven Project C16/16/001 "Development and Stimulation of Core Mathematical Competencies" and Grant DBOF/12/009 "Early Mediators of Number Sense" from the Research Fund KU Leuven, Belgium. (Research Fund KU Leuven, Belgium|C16/16/001, Research Fund KU Leuven, Belgium|DBOF/12/009)
The how many and give-N tasks: Conceptually distinct measures of the cardinality principle
International comparisons of the home mathematics environment and relations with children's mathematical achievement
BackgroundHome mathematics environment (HME) research has focused on parent-child interactions surrounding numerical activities as measured by the frequency of engaging in such activities. However, HME survey questions have been developed from limited perspectives (e.g., Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 27, 2012, 231; Journal of Social Issues, 64, 2008, 95; Early childhood mathematics education research: Learning trajectories for young childre…
Numerical development in preschool: Examining potential mediators of children’s approximate number system and mathematics achievement
There is evidence of a relation between the approximate number system (ANS) and later mathematics achievement. Researchers have proposed various mediators of this relation, including executive functioning (EF), numeral knowledge, and mathematical language. The goal of the present study was to determine which factors mediate the relation between preschoolers’ ANS and the change in their mathematics achievement over a 5-month period. We collected d…
The effects of a high quality state-run preschool program as rated by a Quality Rating and Improvement System on children's school readiness
Characteristics Related to Parent-Child Literacy and Numeracy Practices in Preschool
Despite evidence suggesting that home literacy and numeracy environments are related to children’s school readiness skills, little research has examined the child and family characteristics that relate to the home literacy and numeracy environments within the same sample. These factors are important to investigate in order to determine what may foster or prevent parent-child engagement. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the shared …
Engaging caregivers and children in picture books: A family-implemented mathematical language intervention
Examining transactional relations between behavioral self-regulation and social-emotional functioning during the transition to kindergarten
The present study examined longitudinal associations between behavioral self-regulation and social-emotional functioning across four waves of measurement during the transition from preschool to kindergarten in a low-income sample. Participants included two cohorts of children (N = 558; 51% male). Children in both cohorts were 4 years old (Cohort 1: M = 4.82 years, SD = .31; Cohort 2: M = 4.80 years, SD = .31). Forty-four percent of children were …
Direct numeracy activities and early math skills: Math language as a mediator
Development of the Home Executive Function Environment (Hefe) Scale: Assessing its relation to preschoolers' executive function
Cross-domain development of early academic and cognitive skills
Mathematics and language: Individual and group differences in mathematical language skills in young children
The nonlinear relations of the approximate number system and mathematical language to early mathematics development
Both mathematical language and the approximate number system (ANS) have been identified as strong predictors of early mathematics performance. Yet, these relations may be different depending on a child's developmental level. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relations between these domains across different levels of ability. Participants included 114 children who were assessed in the fall and spring of preschool on a battery of academ…
Why do early mathematics skills predict later reading? The role of mathematical language
A growing body of evidence indicates that the development of mathematics and literacy skills is highly related. The importance of literacy skills-specifically language-for mathematics development has been well rationalized. However, despite several prominent studies indicating that mathematics skills are highly predictive of literacy development, the reason for this relation is not well understood. The purpose of this study was to identify how an…
Using block play to enhance preschool children’s mathematics and executive functioning: A randomized controlled trial
Religiosity, Moral Beliefs, and Delinquency: Does the Effect of Religiosity on Delinquency Depend on Moral Beliefs
Does the effect of religiosity on delinquent behavior depend on moral beliefs? For example, will religious adolescents refrain from using marijuana, even if they do not believe using marijuana is wrong? We addressed this question using data from the third and fourth waves of the National Youth Survey. The results indicated a significant interaction between religiosity and moral beliefs for marijuana use and getting drunk, but not for hitting or p…
Informal Numeracy Skills: The Structure and Relations Among Numbering, Relations, and Arithmetic Operations in Preschool
Validating the structure of informal numeracy skills is critical to understanding the developmental trajectories of mathematics skills at early ages; however, little research has been devoted to construct evaluation of the Numbering, Relations, and Arithmetic Operations domains. This study was designed to address this knowledge gap by examining the structure of these three numeracy skill domains and examining the relations among these domains. Th…
The effects of a high quality state-run preschool program as rated by a Quality Rating and Improvement System on children's school readiness
Direct numeracy activities and early math skills: Math language as a mediator
Development of the Home Executive Function Environment (Hefe) Scale: Assessing its relation to preschoolers' executive function
Testing block play as an effective mechanism for promoting early math, executive function, and spatial skills in preschoolers from low-income backgrounds
Examining transactional relations between behavioral self-regulation and social-emotional functioning during the transition to kindergarten
The present study examined longitudinal associations between behavioral self-regulation and social-emotional functioning across four waves of measurement during the transition from preschool to kindergarten in a low-income sample. Participants included two cohorts of children (N = 558; 51% male). Children in both cohorts were 4 years old (Cohort 1: M = 4.82 years, SD = .31; Cohort 2: M = 4.80 years, SD = .31). Forty-four percent of children were …
Religiosity, Moral Beliefs, and Delinquency: Does the Effect of Religiosity on Delinquency Depend on Moral Beliefs
Does the effect of religiosity on delinquent behavior depend on moral beliefs? For example, will religious adolescents refrain from using marijuana, even if they do not believe using marijuana is wrong? We addressed this question using data from the third and fourth waves of the National Youth Survey. The results indicated a significant interaction between religiosity and moral beliefs for marijuana use and getting drunk, but not for hitting or p…
Early literacy and early numeracy: The value of including early literacy skills in the prediction of numeracy development
Can Computer-Assisted Discovery Learning Foster First Graders’ Fluency With the Most Basic Addition Combinations
In a 9-month training experiment, 64 first graders with a risk factor were randomly assigned to computer-assisted structured discovery of the add-1 rule (e.g., the sum of 7 + 1 is the number after “seven” when we count), unstructured discovery learning of this regularity, or an active-control group. Planned contrasts revealed that the add-1 conditions were more effective than regular instruction/practice in promoting the learning of the add-1 rul…
Informal Numeracy Skills: The Structure and Relations Among Numbering, Relations, and Arithmetic Operations in Preschool
Validating the structure of informal numeracy skills is critical to understanding the developmental trajectories of mathematics skills at early ages; however, little research has been devoted to construct evaluation of the Numbering, Relations, and Arithmetic Operations domains. This study was designed to address this knowledge gap by examining the structure of these three numeracy skill domains and examining the relations among these domains. Th…
The impact of highly and minimally guided discovery instruction on promoting the learning of reasoning strategies for basic add-1 and doubles combinations
The nonlinear relations of the approximate number system and mathematical language to early mathematics development
Both mathematical language and the approximate number system (ANS) have been identified as strong predictors of early mathematics performance. Yet, these relations may be different depending on a child's developmental level. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relations between these domains across different levels of ability. Participants included 114 children who were assessed in the fall and spring of preschool on a battery of academ…
Mathematics and language: Individual and group differences in mathematical language skills in young children
Examining the relations between executive function, math, and literacy during the transition to kindergarten: A multi-analytic approach.
The present study explored the bidirectional and longitudinal associations between executive function (EF) and early academic skills (math and literacy) across 4 waves of measurement during the transition from preschool to kindergarten using 2 complementary analytical approaches: cross-lagged panel modeling and latent growth curve modeling (LCGM). Participants included 424 children (49% female). On average, children were approximately 4.5 years o…
Foundations of mathematics and literacy: The role of executive functioning components
Causal Connections Between Mathematical Language and Mathematical Knowledge: A Dialogic Reading Intervention
The acquisition of early mathematical knowledge is critical for successful long-term academic development. Mathematical language is one of the strongest predictors of children's early mathematical success. Findings from previous studies have provided correlational evidence supporting the importance of mathematical language to the development of children's mathematics skills, but there is limited causal evidence supporting this link. To address th…
Why do early mathematics skills predict later reading? The role of mathematical language
A growing body of evidence indicates that the development of mathematics and literacy skills is highly related. The importance of literacy skills-specifically language-for mathematics development has been well rationalized. However, despite several prominent studies indicating that mathematics skills are highly predictive of literacy development, the reason for this relation is not well understood. The purpose of this study was to identify how an…
Development of the Home Executive Function Environment (Hefe) Scale: Assessing its relation to preschoolers' executive function
Cross-domain development of early academic and cognitive skills
Using block play to enhance preschool children’s mathematics and executive functioning: A randomized controlled trial
Direct numeracy activities and early math skills: Math language as a mediator
Characteristics Related to Parent-Child Literacy and Numeracy Practices in Preschool
Despite evidence suggesting that home literacy and numeracy environments are related to children’s school readiness skills, little research has examined the child and family characteristics that relate to the home literacy and numeracy environments within the same sample. These factors are important to investigate in order to determine what may foster or prevent parent-child engagement. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the shared …
Engaging caregivers and children in picture books: A family-implemented mathematical language intervention
Examining transactional relations between behavioral self-regulation and social-emotional functioning during the transition to kindergarten
The present study examined longitudinal associations between behavioral self-regulation and social-emotional functioning across four waves of measurement during the transition from preschool to kindergarten in a low-income sample. Participants included two cohorts of children (N = 558; 51% male). Children in both cohorts were 4 years old (Cohort 1: M = 4.82 years, SD = .31; Cohort 2: M = 4.80 years, SD = .31). Forty-four percent of children were …
Numerical development in preschool: Examining potential mediators of children’s approximate number system and mathematics achievement
There is evidence of a relation between the approximate number system (ANS) and later mathematics achievement. Researchers have proposed various mediators of this relation, including executive functioning (EF), numeral knowledge, and mathematical language. The goal of the present study was to determine which factors mediate the relation between preschoolers’ ANS and the change in their mathematics achievement over a 5-month period. We collected d…
The effects of a high quality state-run preschool program as rated by a Quality Rating and Improvement System on children's school readiness
Stimulating preschoolers’ repeating patterning ability by means of dialogic picture book reading
sponsorship: This study was not preregistered. Anonymized data and study materials are available on request. This research was partially supported by Grant KU Leuven Project C16/16/001 "Development and Stimulation of Core Mathematical Competencies" and Grant DBOF/12/009 "Early Mediators of Number Sense" from the Research Fund KU Leuven, Belgium. (Research Fund KU Leuven, Belgium|C16/16/001, Research Fund KU Leuven, Belgium|DBOF/12/009)
The how many and give-N tasks: Conceptually distinct measures of the cardinality principle
International comparisons of the home mathematics environment and relations with children's mathematical achievement
BackgroundHome mathematics environment (HME) research has focused on parent-child interactions surrounding numerical activities as measured by the frequency of engaging in such activities. However, HME survey questions have been developed from limited perspectives (e.g., Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 27, 2012, 231; Journal of Social Issues, 64, 2008, 95; Early childhood mathematics education research: Learning trajectories for young childre…
The Relations Between Parent–Educator Communication, the Home Environment, and Children’s Outcomes in Preschool
Social–Emotional Competence as a Predictor of Early Numeracy Skills
Research Findings: This study examined the association between preschool children’s social-emotional competence (SEC), defined by their social skills and problem behaviors, and numeracy skills. It also examined if any subdomains of SEC predicted preschool numeracy above and beyond latent social skills or problem behaviors variables. Data came from a state-funded prekindergarten evaluation study (N = 684) and were collected using teacher-reported …
Psychology (31 works) · Developmental psychology (28 works) · Cognitive and developmental aspects of mathematical skills (22 works) · Mathematics education (19 works) · Pedagogy (18 works) · Early Childhood Education and Development (17 works) · Literacy (16 works) · Numeracy (13 works) · Cognition (11 works) · Mathematics Education and Teaching Techniques (11 works)