Poster #42 - "Use Your Words": Social Dimensions of the Preschool Classroom and Children's Speech and Self-Regulated Learning

• In Event: 3-003 - Poster Session 09
  In Poster Session: PS 09 Section - Cognitive Processes

Integrative Statement

Self-regulated learning (SRL) allows children to facilitate their own learning through planning, strategizing, monitoring, and evaluating their classroom performance (Moos & Ringdal, 2012; Zimmerman, 1989). While SRL has been linked to numerous academic outcomes including long-term academic achievement (Ning & Downing, 2015; Zimmerman & Schunk, 2008), evidence suggests that children from low-income backgrounds display lower SRL abilities compared to their middle-class counterparts (Vassallo, 2012; 2013). Understanding what aspects of the dynamic social environment support children’s SRL is essential in promoting optimal development of these emerging skills. Furthermore, examining how language facilitates SRL in the classroom environment can demonstrate what regulation strategies are successful in the classroom.

Data were collected from fifty-seven English-speaking preschoolers from 5 Head Start classrooms. Each child was observed for a total of 2 hours during normal classroom activities. Observations spanned a 7-month period. A structured observational protocol was used to assess children’s engagement in speech (private and social speech), SRL behaviors (independent and social regulation), and proximity to social partners (peers and teachers) during each observation interval. Field notes were taken during and after observations to summarize interactions between the focal child and his/her social partners. Additionally, entries into a research journal were conducted at the end of each day of observation, with the intention of situating children’s use of language and SRL in the social context of the classroom environment.

A mixed-methods analysis was conducted on the data. First, a repeated-measures MANOVA and paired-samples t-test examined the effect of proximity to social partners (peers and teachers) on children’s subsequent speech and SRL behaviors. Findings displayed a negative relationship between children’s use of private speech and the number of peers in close proximity, while children’s use of social speech peaked when proximal to a small number of peers. Proximity to a large number of peers resulted in decreased independent regulation, while children’s social regulation peaked when in proximity to a dyad or small group of peers. Additionally, proximity to a teacher was negatively associated with children’s private speech and independent regulation, while children’s engagement in social speech and social regulation was unrelated to teacher proximity.

A qualitative content analysis was conducted on field notes and research journal entries to identify recurring themes in the classroom interactions. Using Graneheim and Lundman’s (2004) approach of data reduction, distillation, and abstraction, 3 overarching themes were identified: purposes of social speech (e.g. engaging in social exchange, social regulation), purposes of private speech (e.g. self-monitoring, social comparison), and teachers’ encouragement of language (e.g. conflict resolution). Various subthemes will be further discussed in the presentation.

Overall, the findings of the present study revealed that the social dimensions of the classroom context influence preschoolers’ learning behaviors in the classroom. In particular, children’s engagement in speech and SRL was influenced by proximity to peers and teachers. Additionally, a content analysis revealed how children used private speech and social speech to regulate their learning. The findings of the current study yield important implications for future directions and practice to be discussed further in the presentation.

Authors

• Lisa Ann Connor, Carson-Newman University
  Presenting Author

• Mary Jane Moran, The University of Tennessee
  Non-Presenting Author