Lack of Self-Regulation
Children are not entering preschool and kindergarten with self-regulation.
- There is a growing chorus of concern that young children are not entering school with the self-regulatory skills that they need (Raver & Knitzer, 2002).
- In a nationally representative survey of kindergarten teachers, 46% reported that over half of their children do not have sufficient levels of self-regulation (Rimm-Kaufman, Pianta, & Cox, 2000).
- In a study of Head Start classrooms, teachers reported that problem behaviors related to lack of social-emotional self-regulation, such as kicking or threatening others, occurred once a day for 40% of the children. For 10% of the children, on the other hand, it has been demonstrated that teachers can have a positive effect on children’s self-regulatory capacities (e.g.,Burchinal, Peisner-Feinberg, Bryant, & Clifford, 2000).
- In some centers, there were six or more instances of serious aggressive behavior a day (Kupersmidt, Bryant, & Willoughby, 2000; Willoughby, Kupersmidt, & Bryant, 2001).
- When preschool teachers fail to handle social-emotional problems well, they perpetuate unregulated behaviors in their young pupils (Arnold, McWilliams, & Arnold, 1998).
- Early childhood teachers are struggling with growing numbers of children who need specific support to develop self-regulation at the same time that they feel themselves under pressure to meet national standards in purely academic areas (Yoshikawa & Knitzer, 1997).
- Teachers report that they feel overwhelmed and do not know what to do to support their young students. In an increasing number of cases, children with behavioral problems are simply being expelled from classrooms (Gilliam, 2005, Knitzer, 2002).
- Teacher burn out from dealing with out-of-control children is skyrocketing (Hastings, 2003).
Teachers can impact self-regulation but feel unequipped to do so.
- There is a growing chorus of concern that young children are not entering school with the self-regulatory skills that they need (Raver & Knitzer, 2002).