Strengthening school readiness for Head Start children: Evaluation of a self-regulation intervention

doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2014.08.001

Early Childhood Research Quarterly

Volume 30, Part A, 1st Quarter 2015, Pages 20-31

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2014.08.001 Get rights and content

Highlights

•
A classroom-based intervention increases behavioral self-regulation for children.
•
A classroom-based intervention increases cognitive flexibility for children.
•
A classroom-based intervention is beneficial for English language learners’ math.

Abstract

The present study examined the efficacy of a self-regulation intervention for children experiencing demographic risk. Utilizing a randomized controlled design, analyses examined if children (N = 276 children in 14 Head Start classrooms; M age = 51.69, SD = 6.55) who participated in an 8-week self-regulation intervention demonstrated greater gains in self-regulation and academic achievement over the preschool year compared to children in a control group. In addition, indirect intervention effects on achievement outcomes through self-regulation were explored and differential intervention effects for English language learners within a sample of children from low-income families were tested. Results indicated that children in the intervention group demonstrated stronger levels of self-regulation compared to the control group in the spring of the preschool year. Group comparisons also revealed that the intervention was related to significantly higher math skills for children who were English language learners. In other words, English language learners who participated in the intervention demonstrated stronger levels of math in the spring of preschool in comparison to children in the control group and relative to English speakers who also participated in the intervention. The present study provides support for the efficacy of a school readiness intervention in promoting self-regulation and achievement in young children, especially English language learners.

Section snippets

Strengthening school readiness for Head Start children: an evaluation of a self-regulation intervention

In the United States, more than one in five children live in poverty (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011). A great deal of research suggests that poverty adversely affects many aspects of children's development (Bradley and Corwyn, 2002, Duncan and Brooks-Gunn, 2000). Socio-demographic risk can be particularly detrimental for the development of young children's self-regulation skills (Mistry, Benner, Biesanz, Clark, & Howes, 2010), skills that are critical for academic success (Blair and Razza, 2007,

Participants

The current sample consisted of 276 children (49% boys) enrolled in 14 Head Start classrooms across nine sites located in a Pacific Northwest city. Each site was part of a public school district's Head Start program. Across control and intervention classrooms, baseline head teacher education was equivalent (i.e., in both control and intervention groups four teachers had bachelor's degrees and three teachers had master's degrees). Children and families were recruited through letters in an

Results

In the present study, we explored if children in an intervention group demonstrated stronger self-regulation and academic achievement over the preschool year compared to children in a control group. In addition, we explored whether gains in self-regulation mediated the effect of the intervention on spring academic outcomes. Finally, we tested for potential differential intervention effects for children who were ELLs within a low-income sample.

Discussion

In the present study, we expanded upon and evaluated a self-regulation intervention in a sample of children enrolled in Head Start. Findings indicated that intervention participation predicted self-regulation on two assessments in the spring of the preschool year. In addition, direct effects of intervention participation on applied problems (early math scores) were found for a subgroup of children who were ELLs. These findings have potential implications for the inclusion of curricula

Conclusions

The current study supports the initial efficacy of a targeted intervention in improving low-income children's self-regulation through circle-time games. Additionally, intervention participation was particularly beneficial for the early math skills of children who were ELLs. Recent educational policies have focused on improving academic achievement in the United States, and shape the experiences that children have in classroom contexts. The results of the current study suggest that playing fun,

Acknowledgment

This research was supported by grants from the Ford Family Foundation and Oregon State University.

References (90)

W.S. Barnett et al.
Educational effects of the Tools of the Mind curriculum: A randomized trial
Early Childhood Research Quarterly
(2008)
M.B. Bronson et al.
Relations between teacher and classroom activity variables and the classroom behaviors of prekindergarten children in Chapter 1 funded programs
Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology
(1995)
M.O.B. Caughy et al.
Emergent self-regulation skills among very young ethnic minority children: A confirmatory factor model
Journal of Experimental Child Psychology
(2013)
G.W. Evans et al.
Self-regulation and the income-achievement gap
Early Childhood Research Quarterly
(2008)
D. Frye et al.
Theory of mind and rule-based reasoning
Cognitive Development
(1995)
M.M. McClelland et al.
The emergence of learning-related social skills in preschool children
Early Childhood Research Quarterly
(2003)
M.M. McClelland et al.
Children at risk for early academic problems: The role of learning-related social skills
Early Childhood Research Quarterly
(2000)
M.M. McClelland et al.
The impact of kindergarten learning-related skills on academic trajectories at the end of elementary school
Early Childhood Research Quarterly
(2006)
M.M. McClelland et al.
Relations between preschool attention span-persistence and age 25 educational outcomes
Early Childhood Research Quarterly
(2013)
R.S. Mistry et al.
Family and social risk, and parental investments during the early childhood year as predictors of low-income children's school readiness outcomes
Early Childhood Research Quarterly
(2010)

A.U. Miyake et al.

The unity and diversity of executive functions and their contributions to complex ‘frontal lobe’ tasks: A latent variable analysis

Cognitive Psychology

(2000)

K.C. Pears et al.

Effects of a school readiness intervention for children in foster care on oppositional and aggressive behaviors in kindergarten

Children and Youth Services Review

(2012)

I. Roskam et al.

The development of children's inhibition: Does parenting matter?

Journal of Experimental Child Psychology

(2014)

M. Sektnan et al.

Relations between early family risk, children's behavioral regulation, and academic achievement

Early Childhood Research Quarterly

(2010)

A.V. von Suchodoletz et al.

Behavioral self-regulation and relations to emergent academic skills among children in Germany and Iceland

Early Childhood Research Quarterly

(2013)

A.C. Acock

What to do about missing values

A. Acock

Discovering structural equation modeling using Stata

(2013)

J.R. Best et al.

A developmental perspective on executive function

Child Development

(2010)

E. Bialystok

Levels of bilingualism and levels of linguistic awareness

Developmental Psychology

(1988)

E. Bialystok et al.

Does bilingualism matter for early literacy?

Bilingualism: Language and Cognition

(1999)

K.L. Bierman et al.

Executive functions and school readiness intervention: Impact, moderation, and mediation in the Head Start REDI program

Development and Psychopathology

(2008)

C. Blair et al.

Child development in the context of adversity: Experiential canalization of brain and behavior

American Psychologist

(2012)

C. Blair et al.

Relating effortful control, executive function, and false belief understanding to emerging math and literacy ability in kindergarten

Child Development

(2007)

R.H. Bradley et al.

Socioeconomic status and child development

Annual Review of Psychology

(2002)

R.H. Bradley et al.

Home environment and cognitive development in the first 3 years of life: A collaborative study involving six sites and three ethnic groups in North America

Developmental Psychology

(1989)

J. Breslau et al.

The impact of early behavior disturbances on academic achievement in high school

Pediatrics

(2009)

R. Bull et al.

Short-term memory, working memory, and executive functioning in preschoolers: Longitudinal predictors of mathematical achievement at age 7 years

Developmental Neuropsychology

(2008)

C. Cameron Ponitz et al.

A structured observation of behavioral self-regulation and its contribution to kindergarten outcomes

Developmental Psychology

(2009)

S.M. Carlson et al.

Executive function

A. Diamond et al.

Interventions shown to aid executive function development in children 4 to 12 years old

Science

(2011)

A. Diamond et al.

Preschool program improves cognitive control

Science

(2007)

C.E. Domitrovich et al.

Improving young children's social and emotional competence: A randomized trial of the preschool “PATHS” curriculum

The Journal of Primary Prevention

(2007)

J.T. Downer et al.

Academic and cognitive functioning in first grade: Associations with earlier home and child care predictors and with concurrent home and classroom experiences

School Psychology Review

(2006)

S.M. Dowsett et al.

The development of inhibitory control in preschool children: Effects of “executive skills” training

Developmental Psychobiology

(2000)

G.J. Duncan et al.

Family poverty, welfare reform, and child development

Child Development

(2000)

G.J. Duncan et al.

Can family socioeconomic resources account racial and ethnic test score gaps?

The Future of Children

(2005)

Farran, D., Wilson, S.J., & Lipsey, M. (2013). Effects of a curricular attempt to improve self-regulation and...

A. Feingold

Effect sizes for growth-modeling analysis for controlled clinical trials in the same metric as for classical analysis

Psychological Methods

(2009)

L.D. Fisher et al.

Intention to treat in clinical trials

C. Galindo et al.

The social competence of Latino kindergarteners and growth in mathematical understanding

Developmental Psychology

(2010)

P. Gándara et al.

English Learners in California schools: Unequal resources, unequal outcomes

Education Policy Analysis Archives

(2003)

S.E. Gathercole et al.

Working memory skills and educational attainment: Evidence from national curriculum assessments at 7 and 14 years of age

Applied Cognitive Psychology

(2004)

W.J. Han

Bilingualism and academic achievement

Child Development

(2012)

B. Hart et al.

Meaningful differences in the everyday experience of young American children

(1995)

Heckman, J.J. (2011, Spring). The economics and inequality: The value of early childhood education. American Educator....

Cited by (212)

The mediating role of child delay of gratification in the link between early and prolonged poverty exposure and adolescent allostatic load
2024, Psychoneuroendocrinology
Early and prolonged exposure to poverty disrupts biological processes associated with the body’s stress response system, leading to long-term negative health outcomes, including obesity, autoimmune disorders, and cardiovascular disease. Allostatic load (AL), a composite measure of chronic stress on the body, is a robust predictor of subsequent health outcomes. However, developmental research examining the associations of early poverty exposure with AL in adolescence, as well as the underlying mechanisms of influence is limited. Early poverty exposure also impedes healthy development of child self-regulation, which may increase risk for high AL in adolescence, but this mechanistic pathway has not yet been tested. We used data from the national Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD) to examine the longitudinal associations between prolonged poverty exposure in early childhood (0–3 years) and AL in adolescence (age 15). We also tested the mediating role of child delay of gratification, a behavioral measure of self-regulation (at age 54 months), in the potential association between early poverty exposure and adolescent AL. Accounting for model covariates (i.e., child biological sex and race-ethnicity) and individual differences in child delay of gratification, early and prolonged poverty exposure was significantly associated with higher AL at age 15. The indirect effect through child delay of gratification was not significant, but the individual pathways of the indirect effect were significant, and the overall direct association of early poverty exposure with adolescent AL was significant. Our findings show that prolonged exposure to poverty in early childhood (0–3 years) can have significant negative associations with both child delay of gratification (at 54 months) and AL (at age 15). Given that the detrimental impacts of poverty exposure can be detected at an early age, targeted prevention efforts (e.g., anti-poverty programs such as cash assistance programs) may be able to offset some of the risks of early poverty exposure on self-regulation and AL.
The cognitive effects of computational thinking: A systematic review and meta-analytic study
2024, Computers and Education
In this paper, we review and meta-analyze the findings of experimental studies published between 2006 and 2022 that examined the effects of coding and programming interventions on children's core and higher order executive functions (response inhibition, working memory, cognitive flexibility, planning and problem solving). The systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to address three research questions: 1) Which executive functions are most impacted by the teaching of CT? 2) Which instructional modality (educational robotics/virtual coding/unplugged coding) is most effective in enhancing executive function skills in learners aged 4–16 years? and 3) Does the cognitive effectiveness of coding vary with children's age? A total of 19 studies with 1523 participants met the selection criteria for the systematic review. The meta-analysis included 11 of those studies. The results reveal beneficial effects of structured virtual and tangible coding (educational robotics) activities for preschoolers and first graders, and significant effects of more unstructured virtual coding activities (e.g., Scratch-based) for older students. A multivariate fixed-effects model meta-analysis shows that the teaching of coding significantly improves problem-solving with the highest effect (d_ppc2 = 0.89), but also planning (d_ppc2 = 0.36), and inhibition and working memory with lower effects (d_ppc2 = 0.17, d_ppc2 = 0.20).
A conceptual model to understand and address racial disparities in exclusionary discipline through teacher-child relationships
2023, Early Childhood Research Quarterly
Young children in the United States, particularly Black boys, are being suspended and expelled from early childhood education programs and primary schools at alarming rates. Teachers describe children's “disruptive” or “challenging” behavior as the most common reason for suspending or expelling a child. For this reason, common efforts to reduce exclusionary discipline target teacher behavior to change child behavior (e.g., improve use of evidence-based practices) or child behavior directly (e.g., learn self-regulation skills). In this paper, we argue that improving the quality of the teacher-child relationship is an alternative mechanism for addressing exclusionary discipline and mitigating racial disparities in the early childhood years. We propose and provide support for a transactional, relational model to account for exclusionary discipline. The proposed conceptual model intentionally names how teachers’ racial bias and children's stereotype threat, resulting from racialized classroom experiences, exacerbate coercive teacher-child interaction cycles for Black children. We apply this model to review and evaluate select teacher-child relationship interventions to identify opportunities and challenges these interventions present to reduce exclusionary discipline and mitigate racial discipline disparities. We end the paper with recommendations for future research to advance relationship-based solutions to the exclusion crisis in early childhood education.
Rhythm and movement delivered by teachers supports self-regulation skills of preschool-aged children in disadvantaged communities: A clustered RCT
2023, Early Childhood Research Quarterly
Self-regulation skills are an important predictor of school readiness and early school achievement. Research identifies that experiences of early stress in disadvantaged households can affect young children's brain architecture, often manifested in poor self-regulatory functioning. While there are documented benefits of coordinated movement activities and music education to improve self-regulation, few interventions have focused exclusively on rhythmic movement activities within a universal preschool setting. This study investigated the effectiveness of a preschool intervention, delivered across eight weeks by generalist preschool teachers, which focused on coordinated rhythmic movement with music to improve self-regulation and executive function. The program is known as Rhythm and Movement for Self-Regulation (RAMSR). The study involved 213 children across eight preschools in disadvantaged communities. The intervention group received 16 to 20 sessions of a rhythm and movement program over eight weeks, while the control group undertook the usual preschool program. Primary outcome measures were executive function and self-regulation with secondary outcomes being school readiness and visual motor integration. Children across the study had baseline measures demonstrating substantial self-regulation and executive function challenges when compared to norms on these measures. Post intervention, significant intervention effects were found for self-regulation and importantly, fidelity and teacher report measures show that it is feasible for educators without any music background to deliver the program. These findings are important given that children from low socioeconomic backgrounds are both more likely to need support for self-regulation to support school transition and have inequitable access to quality music and movement programs. This study confirms that universal access to this beneficial approach can be created through building capacity in early childhood educators. This trial was registered pre-recruitment with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12619001342101.
Executive function and mathematics in preschool children: Training and transfer effects
2023, Journal of Experimental Child Psychology
Identifying the underpinnings of mathematics proficiency is relevant for all societies. A growing literature supports a relation between executive function (EF) and mathematics across a wide age range, but causal links are not well understood. In the current study, typically developing preschool children (N = 104) were randomly assigned to one of four training conditions: EF, Number, EF + Number, or an active Control. They participated in three brief training sessions and pretest and posttest sessions measuring EF and mathematics skills. EF training improved EF skills on a task similar to the training but did not extend to an untrained EF task. In addition, the EF training improved number skills but not general mathematics skills. The EF + Number training improved number and general mathematics skills but not EF skills. The EF + Number training did not yield significantly greater benefits for EF and mathematics beyond other training conditions. Finally, differential training effects emerged, such that children with lower pretest EF skills had greater EF benefits on only the trained EF skill. In addition, children from lower versus higher socioeconomic households had greater gains in numerical skills following EF training. No training condition improved verbal knowledge, suggesting that results were specific to the targeted skills. These results extend prior findings on the effectiveness of improving EF and mathematical skills through short-term trainings during early childhood.
Reducing the gender gap in early learning: Evidence from a field experiment in Norwegian preschools
2023, European Economic Review
Substantial gender differences in key academic skills appear even before children start formal schooling. Although increasing investments in early-childhood programs is motivated by efforts to promote equality of opportunity in education, program attendance seems to have less effect on boys. In this field experiment, we investigate whether a more structured curriculum can help preschools reduce the gender gap in early learning. While girls have higher skills at baseline, we find that the intervention primarily benefits boys, thereby reducing the gender skill gap, with effects persisting into formal schooling.

View all citing articles on Scopus

¹: School of Social and Behavioral Health Sciences, Hallie Ford Center, 2631 SW Campus Way, Corvallis, OR 97331-8687, United States.

²: Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, Yale University, 340 Edwards St., New Haven, CT 06520-8376, United States.

³: School of Social and Behavioral Health Sciences, 219 Bates Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331-8687, United States.

View full text

Strengthening school readiness for Head Start children: Evaluation of a self-regulation intervention

Highlights

Abstract

Section snippets

Strengthening school readiness for Head Start children: an evaluation of a self-regulation intervention

Participants

Results

Discussion

Conclusions

Acknowledgment

Early Childhood Research Quarterly

Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology

Journal of Experimental Child Psychology

Early Childhood Research Quarterly

Cognitive Development

Early Childhood Research Quarterly

Early Childhood Research Quarterly

Early Childhood Research Quarterly

Early Childhood Research Quarterly

Early Childhood Research Quarterly

Cognitive Psychology

Children and Youth Services Review

Journal of Experimental Child Psychology

Early Childhood Research Quarterly

Early Childhood Research Quarterly

What to do about missing values

Discovering structural equation modeling using Stata

A developmental perspective on executive function

Child Development

Levels of bilingualism and levels of linguistic awareness

Developmental Psychology

Does bilingualism matter for early literacy?

Bilingualism: Language and Cognition

Executive functions and school readiness intervention: Impact, moderation, and mediation in the Head Start REDI program

Development and Psychopathology

Child development in the context of adversity: Experiential canalization of brain and behavior

American Psychologist

Relating effortful control, executive function, and false belief understanding to emerging math and literacy ability in kindergarten

Child Development

Socioeconomic status and child development

Annual Review of Psychology

Home environment and cognitive development in the first 3 years of life: A collaborative study involving six sites and three ethnic groups in North America

Developmental Psychology

The impact of early behavior disturbances on academic achievement in high school

Pediatrics

Short-term memory, working memory, and executive functioning in preschoolers: Longitudinal predictors of mathematical achievement at age 7 years

Developmental Neuropsychology

A structured observation of behavioral self-regulation and its contribution to kindergarten outcomes

Developmental Psychology

Executive function

Interventions shown to aid executive function development in children 4 to 12 years old

Science

Preschool program improves cognitive control

Science

Improving young children's social and emotional competence: A randomized trial of the preschool “PATHS” curriculum

The Journal of Primary Prevention

Academic and cognitive functioning in first grade: Associations with earlier home and child care predictors and with concurrent home and classroom experiences

School Psychology Review

The development of inhibitory control in preschool children: Effects of “executive skills” training

Developmental Psychobiology

Family poverty, welfare reform, and child development

Child Development

Can family socioeconomic resources account racial and ethnic test score gaps?

The Future of Children

Effect sizes for growth-modeling analysis for controlled clinical trials in the same metric as for classical analysis

Psychological Methods

Intention to treat in clinical trials

The social competence of Latino kindergarteners and growth in mathematical understanding

Developmental Psychology

English Learners in California schools: Unequal resources, unequal outcomes

Education Policy Analysis Archives

Working memory skills and educational attainment: Evidence from national curriculum assessments at 7 and 14 years of age

Applied Cognitive Psychology

Bilingualism and academic achievement

Child Development

Meaningful differences in the everyday experience of young American children