Year

2024

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

School of Education

Abstract

A hallmark of early childhood is a child’s emerging ability to regulate their thoughts, emotions and behaviours. This requires the interplay of two constructs: self-regulation and executive functions. Theory and research point to the susceptibility of these constructs to intentional training from an early age. However, there is limited evidence of the conditions that reliably bring about this change or a unifying theory of change that accounts for these conditions. There has been even less success leveraging the everyday environments and activities of young children to stimulate growth in these abilities and the potential role of carers in influencing development. This program of PhD research sought to contribute to the field of knowledge regarding the development of young children’s self-regulation and executive functioning in early childhood educational settings.

Specifically, this PhD research sought to: (1) undertake a systematic review of self-regulation and executive function interventions in preschool settings, to identify efficacious approaches and the characteristics associated with more effective programs; (2) propose a theory of change for the concurrent enhancement of self-regulation and executive function; and (3) following that theory of change–together with change theories related to professional learning–design, implement and evaluate a program to support children’s self-regulation and executive function growth in preschool settings. The systematic literature review was conducted employing PRISMA methodology, reconciling 85 studies over a 20-year period (2000 – 2020). These were categorised by the approach taken and coded for characteristics, outcome and study quality. The findings were equivocal due to a number of factors that made evidence across studies difficult to compare. However, mindfulness and physical activity demonstrated more robust efficacy than other approaches. The importance of implementation factors over general approaches was highlighted, including: the level of cognitive challenge within learning experiences, the personnel leading the intervention and aligning the approach to the change that is sought. Building on this, a professional learning program for preschool educators was purposefully designed – entitled SOWATT.

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Unless otherwise indicated, the views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the University of Wollongong.