Zelfregulatie als mediërende factor in de relatie tussen kwaliteit van voorschoolse voorzieningen en taalvaardigheden

Abstract

Several studies indicated that high quality child care provides an essential contribution to the development of young children. Even more so for children that are more sensitive to the quality of the environment due to developmental concerns of a disadvantaged situation. Early language- and self-regulation skills are important predictors of school readiness and later academic achievement. The aim of the study is to examine whether self-regulation has a mediating role in the relation between the quality of child care and language skills of toddlers with behavioural- or emotional problems. Participants were 234 toddlers between the ages of 26 to 47 months. Quality of child care and self-regulation were measured using standardized observation instruments and language skills was measured using two language tests. The mediating role of self-regulation was examined using PROCESS Macro (Hayes, 2018). Analyses were controlled for the child’s home language and maternal education level. Results show no significant relations between preschool quality and toddler’s language skills or between toddler’s self-regulation and language skills. A small negative correlation was found between the preschool quality and toddler’s under regulation. The mediation model, testing for both over- and under regulation, was not significant. Children attending a high-quality pre-school showed significantly less over regulation (fear, rigidity, reactivity), which leads to further evidence that high quality child care can have an impact on the development of young children. Current findings contribute to clarifying the (contextual) mechanisms at play concerning precursors of school readiness skills.