{"title":"Methodological Overlap in Early Childhood Education Self-Regulation Research: An Interdisciplinary Systematic Review","authors":"Robbie A. Ross, Kate E. Ascetta","doi":"10.1007/s10643-024-01715-8","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>Young children’s self-regulation (SR) skills are linked to many important outcomes across the lifespan and school stakeholders widely agree that these skills should be prioritized in schools. Despite broad agreement about the importance of these skills, the diverse field of SR research is rife with a lack of clarity in both conceptual definitions and measurement with many different terms and definitions used interchangeably. With a systematic review of early childhood SR research in schools, we aimed to add to these efforts by cataloguing which SR variables researchers measure and the specific methodological choices made to capture such variables. Coders identified 319 peer-reviewed articles published between 2010–2020 that included a school-based measurement of self-regulation related constructs among children between 3- and 8-years. This revealed 11 distinct variable terms used widely in the literature to refer to SR related skills or characteristics and <i>behavior problems</i> was overwhelmingly the most frequent. Studies of many of these variables relied heavily on adult reports, usually teachers, and the use of multiple informants to measure variables was uncommon. Findings further highlight the conceptual clutter in SR research, point to possible points of empirical weaknesses in the measurement of these skills, and identify some methodological overlap in how variables are being operationalized in the literature.</p>","PeriodicalId":47818,"journal":{"name":"Early Childhood Education Journal","volume":"19 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3000,"publicationDate":"2024-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Early Childhood Education Journal","FirstCategoryId":"95","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-024-01715-8","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Young children’s self-regulation (SR) skills are linked to many important outcomes across the lifespan and school stakeholders widely agree that these skills should be prioritized in schools. Despite broad agreement about the importance of these skills, the diverse field of SR research is rife with a lack of clarity in both conceptual definitions and measurement with many different terms and definitions used interchangeably. With a systematic review of early childhood SR research in schools, we aimed to add to these efforts by cataloguing which SR variables researchers measure and the specific methodological choices made to capture such variables. Coders identified 319 peer-reviewed articles published between 2010–2020 that included a school-based measurement of self-regulation related constructs among children between 3- and 8-years. This revealed 11 distinct variable terms used widely in the literature to refer to SR related skills or characteristics and behavior problems was overwhelmingly the most frequent. Studies of many of these variables relied heavily on adult reports, usually teachers, and the use of multiple informants to measure variables was uncommon. Findings further highlight the conceptual clutter in SR research, point to possible points of empirical weaknesses in the measurement of these skills, and identify some methodological overlap in how variables are being operationalized in the literature.
期刊介绍:
Early Childhood Education Journal is a professional publication of original peer-reviewed articles that reflect exemplary practices in the field of contemporary early childhood education. Articles cover the social, physical, emotional, and intellectual development of children age birth through 8, analyzing issues, trends, and practices from an educational perspective. The journal publishes feature-length articles that skillfully blend 1) theory, research, and practice, 2) descriptions of outstanding early childhood programs worldwide, and 3) quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods research. Early Childhood Education Journal is of interest not only to classroom teachers, child care providers, college and university faculty, and administrators, but also to other professionals in psychology, health care, family relations, and social services dedicated to the care of young children.
Areas of Emphasis:
International studies;
Educational programs in diverse settings;
Early learning across multiple domains;
Projects demonstrating inter-professional collaboration;
Qualitative and quantitative research and case studies;
Best practices in early childhood teacher education;
Theory, research, and practice relating to professional development;
Family, school, and community relationships;
Investigations related to curriculum and instruction;
Articles that link theory and best practices;
Reviews of research with well-articulated connections to the field