PROMOTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCHOOL
READINESS AND SELF-REGULATION IN CHILDREN:
EMOTION, ATTENTION, AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS
Clancy Blair, PhD
Department of Applied Psychology
Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development
New York University
http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/appsych/phd/psychological_development
Departments of Psychology and Human Ecology and the Community‐University Partnership for the
Study of Children, Youth, and Families at the University of Alberta January 22, 2013
The Science of Early Childhood

Effects of experience on children’s development
 parenting
and family
 neighborhoods, schools, communities

The way in which the context in which child
development takes places shapes children’s
psychological and biological development
Poverty/Income inequality is rising
Reardon, S. (2011). The widening academic achievement gap between the rich and the poor. In Whither
Opportunity? Rising Inequality, Schools, and Children’s Life Chances
Disparity in educational outcomes associated with
income inequality is growing
Reardon, S. (2011). The widening academic achievement gap between the rich and the poor. In Whither
Opportunity? Rising Inequality, Schools, and Children’s Life Chances
Troubling Indicators (U.S.)



Kindergarten teacher survey on readiness
Preschool expulsion
Increase psychotropic medication use under age 5
School Readiness

To what extent are poverty related effects on
school readiness and achievement attributable to
effects on self-regulation as opposed to knowledge
base?
 Complementary
but distinct approaches
Questions

Is self-regulation more (or less) important for later
achievement than early academic ability?
 Differentiation
from general cognitive ability?
 Is early math ability better predictor?

Framing the question frames the analysis
 Not
“either-or” but process and measurement
 How
does self-regulation/executive function in early
childhood contribute to early and later academic ability
Prediction of Math in Kindergarten
β
β
Vocabulary
**.22
.12
Raven
**.25
.13
Teacher EC
**.27
*.18
EF in HS
**.30
EF in K
**.21
Blair & Razza (2007). Child Development
*p < .05, **p < .01
Prediction of Math in Kindergarten
r
β
β
β
Block Design
.46***
.29***
.22***
.24***
Vocabulary
.34***
.03
-.03
-.03
.54***
.33***
.21**
.20**
Beginning Pre-K
.40***
.17*
.02
-.05
End Pre-K
.58***
.42***
.32***
End K
.47***
Early Math Skills
Applied Problems
Executive Function
Welsh et al. (2010). Journal of Educational Psychology
.30***
Math and EF – from preK to K
Welsh et al. (2010). Journal of Educational Psychology
Growth model

Predicting growth in math ability preK to second
grade from self-regulation measured in preK
controlling for demographic covariates and
cognitive ability measured in preK
Growth in Math Ability
Growth Model
Model A
B(S.E.)
Within
Intercept
Age
Age sq
Letter-Word
Between
Black
Male
Household chaos
Caregiver Education
Income to needs ratio
Cortisol
Alpha Amylase
Cortisol * Alpha Amylase
Executive Function
Effortful Control Direct
Effortful Control Teacher
Vocabulary
Processing speed
Model B
E.S.
407.00 (0.56) ***
27.19 (0.56) ***
-1.63 (0.16) ***
-3.62 (1.22)
0.87 (1.04)
-3.63 (1.06)
0.71 (0.28)
0.27 (0.57)
0.18 (1.01)
0.01 (0.22)
-0.17 (0.39)
49.57 (5.45)
1.59 (0.34)
1.22 (0.3)
B(S.E.)
Model C
E.S.
407.28 (0.5) ***
27.11 (0.56) ***
-1.62 (0.16) ***
**
***
*
-0.12
0.09
0.02
***
***
***
0.39
0.14
0.14
-0.25 (1.18)
0.93 (0.95)
-2.68 (0.93)
0.30 (0.26)
-0.43 (0.52)
-0.06 (0.9)
0.14 (0.2)
-0.03 (0.33)
19.86 (4.93)
1.01 (0.31)
0.58 (0.27)
0.61 (0.06)
0.22 (0.06)
**
-0.09
0.04
-0.03
***
***
*
***
***
0.16
0.09
0.07
0.47
0.14
B(S.E.)
E.S.
422.26 (0.96)
13.85 (0.97)
-0.30 (0.18)
0.21 (0.01)
***
***
†
***
-3.25 (1.12)
1.05 (0.86)
-1.47 (0.86)
0.06 (0.23)
-0.54 (0.45)
-0.25 (0.83)
0.04 (0.18)
0.07 (0.3)
19.19 (4.49)
1.03 (0.27)
0.55 (0.24)
0.47 (0.05)
0.09 (0.05)
**
0.29
†
-0.05
0.01
-0.04
***
***
*
***
†
0.15
0.09
0.06
0.36
0.05
Executive function moderates math preK to K
ECLS Math Kindergarten
46
44
42
40
38
36
34
32
30
-1 SD
Mean
+1 SD
ECLS Math Preschool
EF -1 SD
ECLS Math Kindergarten
46
44
42
40
38
36
34
32
30
-1 SD
Mean
+1 SD
ECLS Math Preschool
TCR -1SD
TCR Mean
TCR +1 SD
EF Mean
EF +1 SD
Self-Regulation and School Outcomes
Executive Functions






Social-Emotional Competence
Blair & Razza (2007). Child Development

Bull & Scerif (2001). Developmental
Neuropsychology

Espy, McDiarmid, Cwik, et al. (2004).
Developmental Neuropsychology

McClelland, Cameron, Connor, et al.
(2007). Developmental Psychology

Bull, Espy, Wiebe, Sheffield, & Nelson
(2011) Developmental Science
Gathercole & Pickering (2000). Br
Journal of Ed Psych


Brock, Rimm-Kaufmann, et al. (2009).
Early Childhood Research Quarterly
Kochanska, Murray, & Harlan (2000).
Developmental Psychology
Ponitz, McClelland, Matthews & Morrison
(2009) Developmental Psychology
Rhoades, Greenberg, & Domitrovich
(2009). Journal of Applied Developmental
Psychology
Raver (2002). SRCD Social Policy Report
Rimm-Kaufmann, Curby, Grimm et al.
(2009) Developmental Psychology
Executive Functions and School Readiness

Limited experimental data available

Educational interventions





These studies demonstrated some mediation of effects on school readiness
through effects on executive functions
No studies have directly addressed enhancement of executive functions as a
means to promote school readiness
Tools of the Mind



Chicago School Readiness Project – Raver, Jones, Li-Grining et al.
(2011) Child Development
Project REDI – Bierman, Nix, Greenberg, et al. (2008). Development
and Psychopathology
Diamond et al. (2007) Science
Trials currently in TN/NC, NYC/Tampa FL, and MA
Chicago School Readiness Project


Teacher training and coaching by a mental health
consultant to improve the emotional climate of the
classroom, lower children’s level of conflict with
peers, and lower teacher stress
Changing the climate should reduce self-regulation
challenges for children and teachers, increase
attention focus and executive function, and increase
learning outcomes
Effect Size
CSRP: Impacts on Children’s Self-Regulation and
Pre-Academic Skills
1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
-0.2
-0.4
-0.6
-0.8
-1.0
***
**
Executive Effortful
Functioning Control
**
**
Attention/
Impulsivity
PPVT
SOURCE: Raver, Jones, Li-Grining, Zhai, Bub, & Pressler, 2008
NOTES: Significance levels are indicated as * p < 0.10; ** p < 0.05; *** p < 0.01.
***
Letter Early Math
Naming
Skills
CSRP Mediation
Raver et al. (2011). Child Development.
Tools of the Mind



Program based on the work of
Lev Vygotsky developed by
Deborah Leong and Elena
Bodrova
Designed to impact both selfregulation and to teach content
skills in literacy and mathematics
An approach to teaching children
that changes the way children
learn
Tools of the Mind, EF, and academic ability
from Diamond et al. (2007). Science
Tools of the Mind Kindergarten




79 kindergarten classrooms in 29 schools in MA
Cluster RCT
Data collection in fall and spring of K and fall of
first grade
Measures of math, reading, vocabulary, executive
function, control of attention, speed of processing,
stress physiology
Make-Believe Play
Mature Make Believe Play:
 Deep
engagement
 Planned in advance
 Roles with rules
 Scenarios that change
and adapt
 Symbolic props
 Language used to plan
the play
Children Plan Their Play in PreK
Learning Plan in Kindergarten


Children play
games based on
fictional
narratives
Children follow a
learning plan,
complete a work
product, and set
learning goals
Play based on fictional narrative
Cognitive Self-Regulation

Children act as a
checker for another
child, practicing a
version of “reflection
on action”
Effects of Tools K on CLASS organization
Effects of Tools K
0.35
0.3
0.25
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
-0.05
Math
Reading
Working Memory
-0.1
1.8
1.6
1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
-0.2
-0.4
vocabulary
attention
reasoning
Effects on reading growth
400
390
Reading score
380
370
360
350
340
330
320
310
300
Fall K
Spring K
First grade
Conclusions

Early promise of model preK programs (Perry,
Abecedarian) without clear mechanism



Self-regulation development from the prenatal period
through school entry might be one relevant lever through
which to counteract effects of poverty
Opportunities for measurement and partnership with
schools on questions relating to educational
effectiveness
Opportunity for meaningful advancement of the science
of learning and promotion of educational opportunity
Collaborators and Funders
Penn State University
Mark Greenberg, PhD
Doug Granger, PhD
Cynthia Stifter, PhD
Leah Hibel, PhD
Katie Kivlighan, PhD
Kristine Voegtline, PhD
UNC Chapel Hill
Lynne Vernon-Feagans, PhD
Martha Cox, PhD
Margaret Burchinal, PhD
Mike Willoughby, PhD
Patricia Garrett-Peters, PhD
Roger Mills-Koonce, PhD
Eloise Neebe, MA
Laura Kuhn, MA
New York University
Cybele Raver, PhD,
Daniel Berry, PhD
Alexandra Ursache, MA
Eric Finegood
Alyssa Pintar
Rachel McKinnon
Tools of the Mind
Deborah Leong, PhD,
Elena Bodrova, PhD
Amy Hornbeck
Barbara Wilder-Smith
Funding
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
R03 HD39750 , P01 HD39667, R01 HD51502 (ARRA)
Institute of Education Sciences R305A100058