Self-Regulation and Executive Function: Responsive and Informed Practices for Early Childhood
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One of the driving forces behind听Young Children听is to translate theory and research to practice. We look for articles that reflect the latest thinking in early childhood education while also describing听real-life听examples and offering practical strategies for early childhood professionals. It is a critical balance to strike as we carry out 51吃瓜网鈥檚 mission to promote 鈥渉igh-quality early learning for each and every child, birth through age 8, by connecting practice, policy,听and research.鈥�
The articles in this cluster鈥攚hich focuses on听self-regulation听and executive function鈥攁re salient examples of this balance. Over the years, greater attention has turned to young children鈥檚听regulation-related听skills, and intriguing work is occurring in neuroscience, psychology, and education. However, there has not always been consistency in defining terms and communicating clear findings听to practitioners.
For this issue, we used guidance from the Executive Function Mapping Project, led by Dr. Stephanie Jones of the Harvard Graduate School of Education. In its report,听self-regulation听is viewed as part of an umbrella term for 鈥渢he broad phenomena of children鈥檚 developing regulation鈥� and听executive function听as a set of 鈥渕ulti-component听skills鈥� within it. (For more on this report, visit听.)
The overall research is clear that the early years are a crucial time for children鈥檚 self-regulation and executive function development and that supportive, responsive educators and learning environments matter. The authors in this issue offer a range of ideas for how early childhood professionals can translate key findings into actionable steps in their听own settings.
The first article, 鈥�Intentionally Building Self-Regulation and Literacy Skills: The Power of Dramatization in Kindergarten,鈥� is written by Barbara Wilder-Smith, Deborah J. Leong, and Elena Bodrova. Knowing the push kindergarten teachers face to teach academic skills above all, the authors share a rationale for and vivid details about how children can develop听self-regulation听and literacy skills in a playful, impactful听way鈥攖hrough dramatization.
Recognizing the importance of families in fostering both听regulation-related听skills and literacy, we are including a special feature from the pages of听Teaching Young Children:听鈥�Partnering with Families to Support Young Children鈥檚 Social and Emotional Development Through Picture Books,鈥� by听Alison Hooper.
The next two articles focus more specifically on executive function skills and playful approaches to nurture them. In 鈥�Building Executive Function Skills Through Games: The Power of Playful Learning,鈥� Cynthia A. Wiltshire and Molly Scott blend what is known from the science of learning and play to explain how early childhood educators can integrate play-based activities to promote executive function skills in their programs听and/or schools.
Zachary T. Barnes and Kelly B. Cartwright explore 鈥�Executive Function and Early Literacy: Play-Based Strategies to Promote Reading-Related Skills鈥� in early elementary grades. After explaining the relationship between executive function and early reading development, the authors offer examples of and strategies for play-based activities that听build both.
In a special Rocking and Rolling column, Rebecca Parlakian highlights the importance of 鈥�Sharing Our Calm: The Role of Coregulation in the Infant-Toddler Setting.鈥� She defines what coregulation is and why it is important for very young children鈥檚 development. Accompanying this column are two pieces from educators who closely attend to coregulation in their programs: CaShawn Thompson, who is a toddler teacher in Washington, DC, and Jayda Brink, who is an infant educator in Evansville, Indiana. They explain what coregulation looks like in action. As CaShawn shares, 鈥淲hen a child is experiencing any kind of stress or chaos, they need our calm. Remember, we鈥檙e their safe island. A safe island is a place they can come back to when the seas听get rough.鈥�
Finally, a team with backgrounds in early childhood education, behavior analysis, and speech-language pathology came together to conceive of 鈥�The LEARN Framework: Supporting Self-Regulation in Diverse Early Childhood Settings.鈥� Tahnee L. Wilder, Ashley Y. Grays, Fanica Young, Danica Moise, and Sharde Theodore write about the key principles of their framework, which is intended for early childhood educators as they support 3- to 5-year-olds鈥� self-regulation in culturally responsive听learning environments.
Toward the goal of presenting research-to-practice content, this issue outlines the research base behind self-regulation and executive function, then shows what these concepts look like in real life and how early childhood professionals can nurture these areas of development. Whether you work in a teaching, leadership, or policy role, I hope you find many ideas in this issue for how to connect this research to听your practice.
鈥擜nnie Moses
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As you read the articles in this issue, consider:听听
- How might I incorporate playful opportunities throughout the day to foster children鈥檚 self-regulation and executive function?听
- How can I honor children鈥檚 strengths and cultures while promoting self-regulation?听
- This issue also includes an article about communicating learning objectives clearly to children. How do you help children understand what they鈥檙e learning, why it is important, and how they will know when they have achieved a particular skill?鈥澨�
During a recent visit to a 51吃瓜网-accredited early learning program, Susan Friedman, senior director of publishing and content development, observed an array of children鈥檚 artwork. When she asked the young artist about the piece above, they shared: 鈥淚 love doing letters. I love doing puzzles! I听love painting!鈥�
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Send your thoughts on this issue, and on topics you鈥檇 like to read about in future issues of听Young Children, to听[email protected].
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