Abstract
Research Findings: Greater self-regulation has been identified as a protective factor for low-income children’s academic achievement. However, we know less about the long-term protective nature of specific aspects of self-regulation. Data were drawn from predominantly African American and Latino children in low-income communities in Boston, Chicago, and San Antonio during early childhood (mean age = 4.84 years) and middle childhood (mean age = 9.30 years; n = 348). The current investigation found that preschoolers’ overall self-regulation predicted their academic skills in middle childhood, net of child and family characteristics as well as academic competence during preschool. Furthermore, when executive function (EF) and effortful control (EC) in early childhood were examined as simultaneous predictors of quantitative and literacy scores during middle childhood, there were moderate linkages from EF to both academic domains. Practice or Policy: Our findings suggest that the long-term gains of interventions that focus on fostering global self-regulation in preschool may yield more benefits for math than for reading, especially if such programs target young children’s executive function in particular.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1289-1304 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Journal | Early Education and Development |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2023 |
Funding
This work was supported by the Administration for Children and Families; Charles Stewart Mott Foundation; Edna McConnell Clark Foundation; Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation; Hogg Foundation for Mental Health; John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; Joyce Foundation; Kronkosky Charitable Foundation; National Institute of Mental Health; Searle Fund for Policy Research; Woods Fund of Chicago; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation; Administration on Developmental Disabilities; Social Security Administration; Boston Foundation; Lloyd A. Fry Foundation; Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; W. K. Kellogg Foundation; The David and Lucile Packard Foundation; Annie E.Casey Foundation. We gratefully acknowledge support from the following funding agencies and foundations: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (RO1 HD36093 “Welfare Reform and the Well-Being of Children”), Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Administration on Developmental Disabilities, Administration for Children and Families, Social Security Administration, National Institute of Mental Health, Boston Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, Hogg Foundation for Mental Health, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Joyce Foundation, Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, W. K. Kellogg Foundation, Kronkosky Charitable Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Searle Fund for Policy Research, and Woods Fund of Chicago. Also, we thank Laura Pittman, Jenna Shapiro, and the children and families who participated in this study. We gratefully acknowledge support from the following funding agencies and foundations: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (RO1 HD36093 “Welfare Reform and the Well-Being of Children”), Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Administration on Developmental Disabilities, Administration for Children and Families, Social Security Administration, National Institute of Mental Health, Boston Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, Hogg Foundation for Mental Health, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Joyce Foundation, Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, W. K. Kellogg Foundation, Kronkosky Charitable Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Searle Fund for Policy Research, and Woods Fund of Chicago. Also, we thank Laura Pittman, Jenna Shapiro, and the children and families who participated in this study.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Education
- Developmental and Educational Psychology