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14 - Role of Self-Regulation in the Transition to School

from Part II - Neurobiological and Ecological Markers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 November 2023

By
Frederick J. Morrison ,
Jennie Grammer ,
William J. Gehring ,
Lindsay Bell Weixler  and
Matthew H. Kim
Edited by
Ludo Verhoeven ,
Sonali Nag ,
Charles Perfetti  and
Kenneth Pugh
Ludo Verhoeven
Affiliation:
Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen
Sonali Nag
Affiliation:
University of Oxford
Charles Perfetti
Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh
Kenneth Pugh
Affiliation:
Yale University, Connecticut
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Summary

This chapter goes into the role of children’s self-regulation in their transition from home to school. Over the last two decades, a sizable body of research has documented the importance of the early childhood years as a critical foundation not only for a successful transition to school, but for literacy success in elementary school and beyond. There is evidence that a complex set of factors in the child, family, school, and larger sociocultural context, independently and in interaction, shape the growth of early literacy skills over that crucial time period. Recently, attention has focused on a set of skills called self-regulation (also known as executive function or effortful control), which has been shown to uniquely impact children’s literacy development and academic growth across the school years, as well as success in adult life. This chapter focuses on how self-regulation can be conceptualized. In addition, it examines the extent and nature of individual differences in self-regulation during the transition to school and what unique impact it has on early literacy and later academic achievement. Finally, it is explored to what extent self-regulation can be modified through appropriate environmental stimulation in the home and school environment.

Keywords

self-regulationexecutive functioningeffortful controlliteracydevelopment
Type
Chapter
Information
Global Variation in Literacy Development , pp. 316 - 332
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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References

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