scholarly journals Development of self-regulation and academic skills: The role of child factors, socioeconomic status, and cultural context

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ragnhild Lenes
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Maternal Education ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
First Grade ◽  
Academic Skills ◽  
The United States ◽  
Child Gender ◽  
Mathematical Skills

Early childhood is a period of rapid learning and development, and research has made us increasingly aware of how crucial children’s early experiences are both for their current well-being and for their future adjustment, well-being, and academic achievement. The present thesis investigates the role of child gender and self-regulation, family socioeconomic status (SES), and cultural context for predicting children’s academic skills and self-regulation. It includes three studies, which all rely on data from a Norwegian research project. One of them — a comparative study—also relies on data from research conducted in the United States (U.S.). The thesis had four overarching goals across the three studies. The first goal was to investigate the direct and indirect pathways from early selfregulation to fifth-grade academic achievement (Study II). The results showed that Norwegian children’s early self-regulation was foundational for their later reading comprehension and mathematical achievement. The second goal was to investigate the role of child gender for predicting early-childhood academic skills (Study I) and self-regulation (Study III). Results revealed small gender differences (favoring girls) in mathematical skills and self-regulation in the spring of the last year of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) among Norwegian children, but no such differences in vocabulary. There were no gender effects on the change in vocabulary and mathematical skills to the spring of first grade. The third goal was to examine the role of family SES (maternal education) for predicting children’s early-childhood academic skills (Study I) and self-regulation Study III). The results showed SESrelated differences in Norwegian children’s vocabulary and mathematical skills in ECEC but not in their self-regulation. Further, the change seen in academic skills from ECEC to first grade was not affected by SES. Finally, the fourth goal was to study levels of early-childhood self-regulation and the role of maternal education and child gender for predicting self-regulation in Norway and the United States (Study III). Findings showed that children’s average level of self-regulation did not differ significantly across the two samples. Norwegian girls did have higher self-regulation scores than boys while there were no such gender differences in the U.S. sample, but this difference between the samples was not significant. However, maternal education significantly predicted U.S. children’s self-regulation but not that of Norwegian children, and this difference was significant across the samples. The results are interpreted in light of the Bioecological Model of Development, previous evidence, and the social contexts from which the samples derive. Implications, especially for Norwegian ECEC, have been thoroughly discussed. The present thesis highlights the importance of conducting studies across groups and cultural contexts to understand the complexity of child development. Moreover, it emphasizes the importance of bringing self-regulation as a concept into Norwegian ECEC. In research and practice across the world, self-regulation is seen as foundational for early-childhood learning and development, but this concept is not even mentioned in the Norwegian framework plan for ECEC, which may affect pedagogical practices negatively. The international literature on these topics is considerable, but this thesis contributes to our knowledge by investigating self-regulation in a Norwegian cultural and educational context. In addition, it has a longitudinal design that enables examination of long-term direct and indirect associations between early self-regulation and later academic achievement. This thesis also contributes by investigating the role of child gender and SES for predicting academic skills across two different educational contexts, namely the play-based ECEC and the structured first-grade classroom. Finally, this thesis includes a comparative study, which sheds light on the importance of conducting studies across cultural contexts, given that results from one context may not be valid for another.

scholarly journals Reciprocal associations between executive function and academic achievement: A conceptual replication of Schmitt et al. (2017)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexa Ellis ◽  
Sammy F. Ahmed ◽  
Selin Zeytinoglu ◽  
Elif Isbell ◽  
Susan D. Calkins ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Math Achievement ◽  
First Grade ◽  
Academic Skills ◽  
Literacy Achievement ◽  
Developmental Age ◽  
Bidirectional Associations ◽  
Reciprocal Associations

The goal of the current study was to conduct a conceptual replication of the reciprocal associations between executive function (EF) and academic achievement reported in Schmitt et al. (2017). Using two independent samples (N (STAR) = 279, and N (Pathways) = 277), we examined whether the patterns of associations between EF and achievement across preschool and kindergarten reported in Schmitt et al. (2017) replicated using the same model specifications, similar EF and achievement measures, and across a similar developmental age period. Consistent with original findings, EF predicted subsequent math achievement in both samples. Specifically, in the STAR sample, EF predicted math achievement from preschool to kindergarten, and kindergarten to first grade. In the Pathways sample, EF at kindergarten predicted both math and literacy achievement in first grade. However, contrary to the original findings, we were unable to replicate the bidirectional associations between math achievement and EF in either of the replication samples. Overall, the current conceptual replication has revealed that bidirectional associations between EF and academic skills might not be robust to slight differences in EF measures and number of measurement occasions, which has implications for our understanding of the development EF and academic skills across early childhood. The present findings underscore the need for more standardization in both measurement and modeling approaches – without which the inconsistency of findings in published studies may continue across this area of research.

scholarly journals Reciprocal associations between executive function and academic achievement: A conceptual replication of Schmitt et al. (2017)

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 453-472 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexa Ellis ◽  
Sammy F. Ahmed ◽  
Selin Zeytinoglu ◽  
Elif Isbell ◽  
Susan D. Calkins ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Math Achievement ◽  
First Grade ◽  
Academic Skills ◽  
Literacy Achievement ◽  
Developmental Age ◽  
Bidirectional Associations ◽  
Reciprocal Associations

The goal of the current study was to conduct a conceptual replication of the reciprocal associations between executive function (EF) and academic achievement reported in Schmitt et al. (2017, https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000193). Using two independent samples (N (STAR) = 279, and N (Pathways) = 277), we examined whether the patterns of associations between EF and achievement across preschool and kindergarten reported in Schmitt et al. (2017) replicated using the same model specifications, similar EF and achievement measures, and across a similar developmental age period. Consistent with original findings, EF predicted subsequent math achievement in both samples. Specifically, in the STAR sample, EF predicted math achievement from preschool to kindergarten, and kindergarten to first grade. In the Pathways sample, EF at kindergarten predicted both math and literacy achievement in first grade. However, contrary to the original findings, we were unable to replicate the bidirectional associations between math achievement and EF in either of the replication samples. Overall, the current conceptual replication has revealed that bidirectional associations between EF and academic skills might not be robust to slight differences in EF measures and number of measurement occasions, which has implications for our understanding of the development EF and academic skills across early childhood. The present findings underscore the need for more standardization in both measurement and modeling approaches – without which the inconsistency of findings in published studies may continue across this area of research.

Nonparental Caregivers, Parents, and Early Academic Achievement Among Children from Latino/a Immigrant Households

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (6) ◽  
pp. 884-906
Author(s):  
Lilla K. Pivnick
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Social Capital ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Birth Cohort ◽  
Math Achievement ◽  
Academic Skills ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Early Academic Achievement

Drawing on ecological systems and social capital perspectives, this study uses the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Birth Cohort to investigate links between early nonparental caregiver beliefs about early academic skills and children’s math and reading achievement in kindergarten with special attention to the children from Latino/a immigrant households. Regression analyses revealed that nonparental caregiver beliefs were associated with academic achievement at kindergarten entry and that types of alignment or misalignment between nonparental caregiver and parental beliefs were differentially associated with math achievement but not reading. Notably, the association between nonparental caregiver beliefs and children’s academic achievement was more consequential for children from Latino/a immigrant households. Results suggest that having nonparental caregivers with low early academic skills beliefs may be especially detrimental for children from Latino/a immigrant households.

Word Awareness, Reading and Development

1977 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 203-206
Author(s):  
Marjorie H. Holden
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
First Grade ◽  
Conscious Awareness ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Cognitive Changes ◽  
Developmental Factors ◽  
Language Structure ◽  
Early School ◽  
Discrete Responses

Research on young children's word awareness, the ability to identify the lexical constituents of a meaningful utterance, has received different interpretations: Either word awareness is related to linguistic and cognitive changes associated with the early school years or is a concept that children can learn when appropriate techniques are employed. This study was devised to clarify the nature of variables influencing word awareness during early childhood by analyzing responses of 26 kindergarten and 24 first-grade children to the Homophones Test of Word Awareness. Responses were assigned to seven categories representing a continuum characterized as ranging from discrete to global. Older children made fewer errors, and they gave a higher proportion of discrete responses. Younger children gave more global responses. Memory was evidently not the source of the younger children's inability to perform as well as the older ones. Rather, the difficulty appeared to stem from the younger children's inability to divorce sound from meaning in spoken messages. The role of developmental factors in children's conscious awareness of language structure and lexical units is supported by these findings.

scholarly journals Maternal Education, Changing Family Circumstances, and Children’s Skill Development in the United States and UK

2017 ◽  
Vol 674 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margot I. Jackson ◽  
Kathleen Kiernan ◽  
Sara McLanahan
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Cognitive Development ◽  
Maternal Education ◽  
Latent Class ◽  
Educational Inequality ◽  
Good Deal ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
National Analysis

Maternal education influences families’ socioeconomic status. It is strongly associated with children’s cognitive development and a key predictor of other resources within the family that strongly predict children’s well-being: economic insecurity, family structure, and maternal depression. Most studies examine the effects of these variables in isolation at particular points in time, and very little research examines whether findings observed among children in the United States can be generalized to children of a similar age in other countries. We use latent class analysis and data from two nationally representative birth cohort studies that follow children from birth to age five to answer two questions: (1) How do children’s family circumstances evolve throughout early childhood? and (2) To what extent do these trajectories account for differences in children’s cognitive development? Cross-national analysis reveals a good deal of similarity between the United States and UK in patterns of family life during early childhood, and in the degree to which those patterns contribute to educational inequality.

Change in Computer Access and the Academic Achievement of Immigrant Children

2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Ui Jeong Moon ◽  
Sandra L. Hofferth
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Digital Divide ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Immigrant Families ◽  
First Grade ◽  
The United States ◽  
Computer Access ◽  
Mathematics Test ◽  
At Home

Background/Context Increased interest in the correlates of media devices available to children has led to research indicating that access to and use of technology are positively associated with children's academic achievement. However, the digital divide remains; not all children have access to digital technologies, and not all children can acquire technological literacy. Specifically, immigrant families are known to be slow to adopt new technologies in the increasingly digital society of the United States. Purpose/Objective This study examined whether the benefits of computer access observed in the general U.S. population were also applicable to children from immigrant families in the early 2000s. Research Design Using data on 2,139 children in immigrant families from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten cohort, this study examined the association between children's gaining access to a computer at home and their reading and mathematics test scores between the late 1990s and the early 2000s. Findings/Results We found that if children had access to a computer during the early elementary school years, they demonstrated increased mathematics test scores later on. Conclusions/Recommendations Three characteristics of computer access are discussed in terms of implications for media popular today, including type of media (old vs. new), featured functions of technology, and timing of availability to children. In particular, the computer's spatial and virtual functions may be likely to translate into improved mathematics skills, especially when access occurs early in kindergarten and first grade. Extra effort is needed to inform immigrant and minority parents about the benefits of new technologies so that their children can access them at home as much as children from nonimmigrant and nonminority families. To lessen the digital divide in children's education, timely financial support and educational information should be provided to parents to encourage early adoption of new media technologies, thus ensuring that immigrant and minority children are not left behind in the digital age.

The Role of Executive Function and Self-Regulation in the Development of Computational Thinking

2021 ◽  
pp. 64-83
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Kazakoff Myers
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
School Readiness ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Computational Thinking ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Early Childhood Curriculum ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter summarizes theoretical connections between computational thinking through learning to code, self-regulation, and executive function and discusses why it is important to continue exploring the intersection of executive function, self-regulation, and computational thinking, including the need to revisit the socio-cultural underpinnings of foundational self-regulation, executive function, and school readiness research. As an example, findings from a 2014 study that explored the relationship between self-regulation and computational thinking when learning to code are shared. Research supports the idea of teaching computational thinking skills within an integrated early childhood curriculum to support the development of well-prepared citizens for the 21st century by drawing on the connections between executive function, self-regulation, and computational thinking.

Educational Resilience and Academic Achievement of Immigrant Students From Ghana in an Urban School Environment

2016 ◽  
Vol 55 (5) ◽  
pp. 753-782 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Kumi-Yeboah
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Parental Support ◽  
School Environment ◽  
Immigrant Students ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Religious Faith ◽  
The United States ◽  
Black Immigrants ◽  
Educational Resilience ◽  
Safety Issues

Educational resilience is often linked to educational success of various immigrant youth including Black immigrants despite the challenges they face. However, few studies have explored the factors that promote and/or constrain educational resilience and academic achievement of Black immigrants. To address this gap, the current article focuses on the educational resilience and academic achievement of Ghanaian-born immigrants ( N = 60) attending urban high schools in the United States. Results indicate that self-regulation, technology, religious faith, past experiences, parental support, resources, and safety issues played an important role. Implications and recommendations for educators and policymakers are discussed.

scholarly journals Dominant Goal Orientations Predict Differences in Academic Achievement during Adolescence through Metacognitive Self-Regulation

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanne Dekker ◽  
Lydia Krabbendam ◽  
Nikki Lee ◽  
Annemarie Boschloo ◽  
Renate De Groot ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Goal Orientation ◽  
Parental Education ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Goal Orientations ◽  
Learning Behaviour ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Work Avoidance ◽  
And Performance

<p>This study investigated whether academic achievement was predicted by the goal which generally drives a student’s learning behaviour. Secondly, the role of metacognitive self-regulation was examined. The dominant goal orientation was assessed using a new method. 735 adolescents aged 10-19 years read vignettes of students that reflect four goal orientations. Participants indicated which student they resembled most, which revealed their dominant goal orientation. Age, sex and level of parental education were controlled for. Results showed that students with motivation goals of the mastery and performance-approach types obtained higher grades than students characterized by the performance-avoidance and work-avoidance goal type. A mediation analysis showed that goal orientations predicted achievement through the level of metacognitive self-regulation. Intrinsically motivated students showed the best metacognitive self-regulation skills of all students, whereas work-avoidant students had the lowest level of self-regulation skills. The scores of students with performance goals fell in-between. The research showed that the higher grades obtained by performance-approach students, compared to performance-avoidant and work-avoidant students, can partially be explained by their higher levels of metacognitive self-regulation. Thus, goal orientation predicted achievement differences through metacognitive self-regulation skills. This suggests that intrinsic motivation and self-regulation skills should ideally be supported in the classroom. Furthermore, it suggests that teachers could use vignettes to distinguish different types of students in order to identify students who are vulnerable to lower academic achievement.</p>

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