We all need somebody to lean on

About the Project

The transition to formal schooling is one of the most exciting yet challenging periods in young children’s lives. A critical factor related to success in school is a child’s ability to regulate emotions and behaviors. Attachment theory postulates how children develop regulation skills in a process of dyadic regulation — in interaction with their caregiver. Once self-regulation skills are developed, a child’s individual ability to self-regulate is considered a key indicator of adaptation. This contrasts with adult regulation studies from a social baseline theory perspective, convincingly demonstrating that adults rely heavily on interactive partners to share the load of regulation in a process of social regulation. By integrating these various perspectives on regulation from different research disciplines and thus increasing the regulation construct’s ecological validity, I aim to better predict children’s successful transition to formal schooling. With the new insights from this project, I aim to inform parents and educators on how to create better convergence between the school and home environment and policymakers on improving preschool education programs that prepare children for formal schooling.

CATEGORY:

Self-regulation

DATE:

2017-present

ROLE:

Principal Investigator

FUNDED BY:

EUR Fellowship Grant, Erasmus University Rotterdam

PARTNERS:

Dr. Dana Charles McCoy (Harvard Graduate School of Education)

Publications

Project Updates