Do Friends Help or Hinder? Examining Kindergartners' Co-Regulating Behaviors During a Paired Problem-Solving Task

• In Event: Roundtable Session 21
  In Roundtable Session: Young Children's Peer Interactions and Social Behaviors

Abstract

Research has established the importance of self-regulation skills for young children’s academic success (e.g., McClelland et al., 2007), but more recent work has focused on co-regulation, or ways in which children’s interactions impact their development (e.g., Whitebread et al., 2007; McCaslin, 2009). The current study examined how successful pairs of kindergarteners were on a collaborative problem-solving task. Children were paired based on two factors: 1) whether they were close friends, according to the classroom teacher, and 2) their individual regulatory abilities (e.g., pairing a ‘high-regulated’ child with a ‘low-regulated’ child) Results showed that pairs were less successful on the task if they were identified as close friends by the teacher. Implications for researchers and educators regarding classroom interactions are discussed.

Author

• Noah Neidlinger, Eastern Kentucky University