CHILDREN’S BEHAVIORAL AND LEARNING SELF-REGULATION IN TRANSITION PERIOD: A STUDY OF FIRST GRADE STUDENTS IN TAIWAN
Open Access
- Author:
- Huang, Shou-Chi
- Graduate Program:
- Curriculum and Instruction
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- June 10, 2009
- Committee Members:
- Thomas Daniel Yawkey, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Thomas Daniel Yawkey, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Peggy Noel Van Meter, Committee Member
Ladislaus M Semali, Committee Member
Edgar Paul Yoder, Committee Member - Keywords:
- CHILDREN
FIRST GRADE
SELF-REGULATION - Abstract:
- This study sought to increase teachers’ and parents’ attention to the importance of children’s self-regulation behavior and identify effects on and potential changes to this behavior. Issues relating to children’s self-regulation behavior have become serious concerns in recent years in Taiwan. The effects of head teachers’ and parents’ interactive attitudes toward and involvement in children’s self-regulation behavior received particular emphasis. Study findings should provide further understanding of the factors that influence children’s self-regulation behavior both at school and home. Participants included 50 head teachers and 481 parents, randomly selected from 2 first-grade classes per elementary school, from 6 elementary schools per district, in 4 different school districts in Taipei City, Taiwan. Participants filled out surveys, which was the main data collection method for this study. Five research questions guided this study. The methods used to analyze the data in order to answer the research questions were: descriptive statistics, curve estimation, linear regression, bivariate correlation, one-way ANOVA, and independent samples t-test. Results showed that the parent, as the child’s caregiver, was the only factor to correlate with children’s self-regulation behavior; children’s self-regulation behavior was most correlated by average time spent daily on homework assignments; there was a significant difference between children’s gender and their general, learning, and overall self-regulation behavior; children tended to exhibit self-regulation behavior more frequently at school than at home; the frequency of head teachers’ contact with children’s parents, especially oral contact, was through reports about children’s school work and behavior related to children’s overall self-regulation behavior at school; head teachers’ involvement with students, which included taking extra time to help children with their courses, monitoring children’s behavior, spending a lot of time with children, giving encouragement or prizes to children, and reminding children about certain tasks such as completing homework, had significant effects on children’s overall self-regulation behavior at school; and parents’ interactions with head teachers and frequency of attendance of school activities affected children’s overall self-regulation at home. With regard to parents’ involvement in children’s behavior, making time to help children with homework or courses, monitoring children’s behavior, communicating with children face-to-face, spending lots of time with children, giving encouragement or prizes to children, and reminding children about certain tasks such as completing homework, all affected children’s overall self-regulation behavior at home; in addition, according to responses from both head teachers and parents, monitoring children’s behavior, spending lots of time with children, giving encouragement or prizes to children, and reminding children about certain tasks such as completing homework had the greatest effects on children’s overall self-regulation behavior at home.