Preschool Attendance as a Predictor of Self-Regulation in Kindergarteners

Abstract

Research has found that early childhood education positively impacts the academic success and educational achievement of children all the way through early adulthood (Barnett & Frede, 2010; Campbell & Ramey, 1994; Lamy, 2013). Tough (2012) suggested that preschools help children develop self-regulation skills that are necessary for educational success. It was hypothesized that preschool attendance would predict higher self-regulation than nonattendance, and that girls would have higher self-regulation than boys, as measured by behavioral scores and teacher ratings of self-regulation. Participants included 37 kindergartners. Preschool attendees and nonattendees were tested by condition-blind researchers on 2 subtests of the Preschool Self-Regulation Assessment. Additionally, teachers used items from the Children’s Self-Control Scale to rate participants. A 2 x 2 (Condition x Sex) Analysis of Variance was performed on the Balance Beam, the Gift Wrap Scores, and the teacher ratings of behavioral and cognitive self-control. The Balance Beam Scores were higher in the preschool condition than in the nonpreschool condition, F(1, 33) = 6.18, p = .02, η2 = .15. Also, the Gift Wrap Scores were higher in the preschool condition than in the nonpreschool condition, F(1, 33) = 10.69, p = .003, η2 = .24. Teacher’s ratings of behavioral self-control for girls was higher than for boys, F(1, 33) = 6.94, p = .01, η2 = .17. Also teacher’s ratings of cognitive self-control for girls was higher than for boys, F(1, 33) = 7.73, p < .001, η2 = .19. The benefit of preschool education for the acquisition of self-regulation is addressed. Academic performance is about more than good test scores and a high grade point average. The educational system seems designed to teach students how to get along with their peers, follow instructions, and solve problems, among other things. All of these skills depend on self-discipline as demonstrated by numerous studies, which have shown that the most successful students (behaviorally and academically) are those who have high levels of self-discipline (Bear, 2010; Denham et al., 2012; Duckworth & Seligman, 2005; Kuhnle, Hofer, & Kilian, 2012; Rimm-Kaufman, Curby, Grimm, Nathanson, & Brock, 2009). Additionally, children who have higher levels of self-regulation were found to have higher levels of success in the future (Barnett & Frede, 2010; Campbell & Ramey, 1994; Lamy, 2013). Although self-discipline and self-regulation are often closely tied in operational definitions, Rui and Yi-Lung (2015) described self-discipline as the ability to execute a task while suppressing the urge to become engaged in distractors when pursuing a goal. Although slightly different, self-regulation was defined as the extent to which individuals are able to demonstrate control over their own behavior (Baumeister, Bratslavsky, Muraven, & Tice, 1998; Shoda, Mischel, & Peake, 1990). Kopp (1982) traced the development of self-regulation