Developing skills for success: Interactions among classroom, child, and activity context on preschoolers' behavioral regulation.

Abstract

Behavioral regulation involves paying attention, remembering directions, and controlling behavior, and is critical for school success. Few studies have considered predictors of behavioral regulation within preschool settings. This investigation examined the structure of whole-group classroom (<italic> N</italic> = 43) organization and transitions, which were then used as predictors of growth in preschoolers' (<italic>N</italic>= 172) behavioral regulation. Increased organization and decreased transitions were hypothesized to predict gains in behavioral regulation. Interactions among gender, fall behavioral regulation, and children's individual activity contexts (structured independent work requiring persistence, scaffolding by an adult, unstructured activity, and off-task, whole-group behavior) were also explored. Fall and spring behavioral regulation assessments were administered in two waves; children's preschool classrooms in a mostly middle-SES school district of a suburban region were videotaped once each year and coded for classroom and child activity. Four main results emerged. First, significant variation in organization and transitions was observed, and two factors represented organization as teachers' explanations about upcoming activities, and transitions as delays and activity switches. Second, hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) revealed greater behavioral regulation gains in classrooms practicing more organization; fewer transitions predicted gains at a level of marginal significance. There was also a gender X skill interaction such that boys with high fall behavioral regulation did not make similar gains compared with peers (boys with low fall skills, and girls of varying skill levels). Third, boys with high initial skills spent relatively less time working independently and more time in scaffolding. Girls with high initial skills spent the most time in structured independent contexts. Boys with low initial skills spent the most time off-task during whole-group, whereas girls with low initial skills spent the least. Fourth, teacher education and experience did not predict either classroom or child indices of functioning. Findings reveal preschool classroom predictors of behavioral regulation and differences in activity contexts requiring varying levels of independence and persistence. Both gender and initial levels of behavioral regulation contributed to children's classroom pursuits. Overall, this study underscores the importance of interactions among child characteristics, skills, and early learning contexts for understanding and promoting skill development.