Promoting self-regulated learning of preschoolers through indirect intervention: a two-level approach

ABSTRACT

Self-regulated learning (SRL) is defined as a substantial competence for lifelong learning, meaning that its promotion seems important in the early years. The present study is of special interest as it aimed to develop and evaluate an intervention to improve SRL in preschool-aged children. Because the support of essential reference persons is crucial for the development of SRL in childhood [Martinez-Pons, M. (2002). Parental influences on children’s academic self-regulatory development. Theory Into Practice, 41(2), 126–131], parents and preschool teachers were involved in the intervention presented below. To asess the chosen variables, a sample of 37 preschool teachers and 16 parents completed questionnaires. In addition, the SRL of 53 preschoolers (47.3% female; M_age = 5.74 years) was recorded using a rating scale. The results of the analyses indicated significant improvements in terms of supportive methods for the adult level, whereas the expected indirect effect of the training on the child level could not be confirmed.

KEYWORDS:

• Self-regulated learning
• preschool age
• training of essential reference persons
• two-level approach
• analyses of variance

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Laura Venitz is graduating in a project of Saarland University on the subject of “The promotion of self-regulated learning in preschool-aged children”. First results of the study have been publicated in “Zeitschrift für Grundschulforschung” (2017). Since August 2017 she works as a research assistant at the Institute for Education in Childhood and Youth of University Koblenz-Landau.

Franziska Perels works as a professor in Educational Science at Saarland University. Her research in the last years is focused on the promotion of self-regulated learning in different age groups (see e.g. Dörrenbächer, L. & Perels, F. (2016). Self-regulated learning profiles in college students: Their relationship to achievement, personality, and the effectiveness of an intervention to foster self-regulated learning. Learning and Individual Differences, 51, 229–241; Leidinger, M. & Perels, F. (2012). Training self-regulated learning in the classroom: Development and evaluation of learning materials to train self-regulated learning during regular mathematics lessons at primary school, Educational Research International, 20; Perels, F., Merget-Kullmann, M., Wende, M., Schmitz, B. & Buchbinder, C. (2009). Improving self-regulated learning of preschool children. Evaluation of training for kindergarten teachers. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 79(2), 311–327).

ORCID

Laura Venitz http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1945-2002

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)).