Examining additive and synergistic relations between preschool self-regulation and executive function skills: Predictions to kindergarten academic outcomes

• In Event: Poster Session 08
  In Poster Session: PS 08 Topic - School Readiness/Childcare

Abstract

Research suggests that teacher reported self-regulation and individually assessed executive function skills differentially relate to academic achievement (Finders et al., 2020; Fuhs et al., 2015; Schmitt et al., 2014). Further, recent evidence indicates that subgroups of children may demonstrate discordance between their available executive function capacities and their ability to call upon self-regulatory skills in the classroom context (Litkowski et al., 2020). While some researchers describe executive function skills as a set of underlying cognitive processes that enable self-regulation to occur within context (Zelazo & Cunningham, 2007), others have adopted the perspective that these skills work independently from one another (Toplak et al., 2013). Moreover, their combined role in children’s academic performance could change based on the timing of the measurement of such skills in preschool (Lipsey et al., 2017). Therefore, the present study examines 1) whether teacher reported self-regulation skills and directly assessed executive function abilities measured across the preschool year are additively and/or synergistically related to kindergarten academic achievement, and 2) the extent to which these additive and/or synergistic associations change over the preschool year. Teachers rated preschool children (n = 126; 42% female) on their self-regulation (i.e., self-control and cooperation) in the fall and spring of preschool. Children completed direct assessments of executive functioning (inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility) and academic achievement (math, literacy, and vocabulary) in the fall of preschool and kindergarten. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the self-control and cooperation indicators mapped onto a single latent factor of self-regulation with excellent fit in the fall (χ2(37) = 40.30, p = .33; CFI = .996, RMSEA = .028) and acceptable fit in the spring (χ2(32) = 47.61, p < .05; CFI = .975, RMSEA = .066), after the removal of low-performing items and the addition of correlated error terms as determined by the modification indices (Acock, 2013). Standardized factor loadings ranged from .48-.79 (fall) and .47-.83 (spring). Results from the full structural equation model with children clustered in their preschool classrooms indicated that fall self-regulation significantly predicted kindergarten math (B = .20, SE = .08, p = .01) and literacy (B = .20, SE = .06, p = .002), controlling for prior academic skills and child characteristics (e.g., gender, age, income). Likewise, spring self-regulation significantly predicted kindergarten math (B = .19, SE = .07, p = .006) and literacy (B = .22, SE = .07, p = .001), when including the same controls. Moreover, fall inhibitory control significantly predicted kindergarten literacy (B = .12, SE = .05, p = .023) and spring cognitive flexibility significantly predicted kindergarten vocabulary (B = .15, SE = .07, p = .024). The interactions between latent self-regulation and observed executive function skills at both time points were not statistically significant. Results support additive, but not synergistic, relations between self-regulation and executive function skills during preschool with respect to kindergarten achievement. This study contributes to the field’s understanding of the nature of these skills during a critical period in development and suggests that both processes may be important components of school readiness.

Authors

• Jennifer Kristine Finders, Purdue University, West Lafayette
  Presenting Author

• Irem Korucu, Yale University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Lindsey Bryant, Purdue University, West Lafayette
  Non-Presenting Author

• Robert Duncan, Purdue University, West Lafayette
  Non-Presenting Author

• David James Purpura, Purdue University, West Lafayette
  Non-Presenting Author

• Sara Anne Schmitt, University of Oregon
  Non-Presenting Author