{"title":"Behavioral regulation and approaches to learning: Moderators of the association between extracurricular involvement and academic readiness","authors":"Lixin Ren , Huiping Wu , Jieqiong Fan , Lin Li","doi":"10.1016/j.jsp.2023.101250","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Participation in organized extracurricular activities (EAs) has become increasingly common among preschool-aged children. Prior studies have shown inconsistent findings on the association between young children's involvement in EAs and their subsequent developmental outcomes. Moving beyond examining the main effects of EA participation, this study focused on whether children's behavioral regulation and approaches to learning—two important domain-general skills closely linked to learning—would moderate the association between EA participation and academic readiness. Participants included 317 Chinese preschoolers residing in Shanghai. The breadth of EA participation positively predicted children's early math skills, but only for those demonstrating relatively lower behavioral regulation or less positive approaches to learning. The findings provide support for the compensatory hypothesis that participation in EAs is more beneficial for children at greater developmental risk. Unexpectedly, the intensity of EA participation negatively predicted receptive vocabulary beyond certain thresholds among children with relatively poor behavioral regulation or approaches to learning (<em>B</em> = −2.272, <em>p</em> = .032, effect size (<em>ES</em>) = 0.423), but this relationship was not significant for children with better learning behaviors (<em>B</em> = 0.111, <em>p</em> = .712, <em>ES</em> = 0.021). According to the findings, children with worse behavioral regulation and approaches to learning were actually more vulnerable to the negative effects of intensive participation in EAs (<em>B</em> = −15.698, <em>p</em> = .022, <em>ES</em> = 1.797). EA participation did not predict children's Chinese word reading (<em>p</em>s > 0.05). The findings revealed a complex pattern of relationships between preschoolers' EA participation and academic readiness and have highlighted the importance of considering child characteristics when examining the developmental effects of EA involvement.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48232,"journal":{"name":"Journal of School Psychology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.8000,"publicationDate":"2023-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of School Psychology","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002244052300078X","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, SOCIAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Participation in organized extracurricular activities (EAs) has become increasingly common among preschool-aged children. Prior studies have shown inconsistent findings on the association between young children's involvement in EAs and their subsequent developmental outcomes. Moving beyond examining the main effects of EA participation, this study focused on whether children's behavioral regulation and approaches to learning—two important domain-general skills closely linked to learning—would moderate the association between EA participation and academic readiness. Participants included 317 Chinese preschoolers residing in Shanghai. The breadth of EA participation positively predicted children's early math skills, but only for those demonstrating relatively lower behavioral regulation or less positive approaches to learning. The findings provide support for the compensatory hypothesis that participation in EAs is more beneficial for children at greater developmental risk. Unexpectedly, the intensity of EA participation negatively predicted receptive vocabulary beyond certain thresholds among children with relatively poor behavioral regulation or approaches to learning (B = −2.272, p = .032, effect size (ES) = 0.423), but this relationship was not significant for children with better learning behaviors (B = 0.111, p = .712, ES = 0.021). According to the findings, children with worse behavioral regulation and approaches to learning were actually more vulnerable to the negative effects of intensive participation in EAs (B = −15.698, p = .022, ES = 1.797). EA participation did not predict children's Chinese word reading (ps > 0.05). The findings revealed a complex pattern of relationships between preschoolers' EA participation and academic readiness and have highlighted the importance of considering child characteristics when examining the developmental effects of EA involvement.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of School Psychology publishes original empirical articles and critical reviews of the literature on research and practices relevant to psychological and behavioral processes in school settings. JSP presents research on intervention mechanisms and approaches; schooling effects on the development of social, cognitive, mental-health, and achievement-related outcomes; assessment; and consultation. Submissions from a variety of disciplines are encouraged. All manuscripts are read by the Editor and one or more editorial consultants with the intent of providing appropriate and constructive written reviews.