Self Regulation and

Academic
Achievement
Christina Majcher
EDPS 650
June 2014

Overview of Presentation

What is self regulation?

What influences a persons ability to self-regulate?

Why is self regulation important?

Self regulation and academic achievement

Self regulation assessments

Self regulation information for parents

Self regulation strategies and supports for future

school psychologists

What is Self Regulation?

Baumeister and Voh (2011) describe self regulation as the ability to:

Attain, maintain, and change ones level of energy to match the

demands of a task or situation;

Monitor, evaluate, and modify ones emotions;

Sustain and shift ones attention when necessary and ignore

distractions;

Understand both the meaning of a variety of social interactions

and how to engage in them in a sustained way; and

Connect with and care about what others are thinking and
feeling- to empathize and act accordingly.

What is Self Regulation?

+ The ability to stay calmly focused and alert, which

often involves but cannot be reduced to self-control

+ The better a child can stay calmly focused and alert,

the better he integrates the diverse information

coming in from his different senses, assimilates it,
and sequences his thoughts and actions
+ Self-regulation nurtures the ability to cope with greater

and greater challenges because it involves arousal

states, emotions, behavior, and as the child
grows older thinking skills (Shanker, 2014)

Self Regulation/Ecological
Model
Biological
Emotional
Cognitive
Social
Reflective thinking skills

Self Regulated Learners

Self regulated learning involves:
1. Behaviour- active control of resources available

(time, study environment), use of other

(teachers, peers)
2. Motivation and affect- controlling and changing

motivational beliefs (self-efficacy, goal setting)

so a child can adapt; controlling emotions and
affect (anxiety) to improve learning.
3. Cognition- cognitive strategies for learning (deep

processing strategies)

Self Regulated Learners

Are motivated to learn
Take ownership and control

with their learning

Plan strategies
Reflect on their learning
Use learning strategies
Monitor and regulate their

learning
Believe success and failure

are factors that are in their

control

What Influences a Persons

Ability to Self Regulate?

Rooted in biology and environment

The more that parents understand a child, the lower

their stress

Six stages of arousal

1.

Asleep

2.

Drowsy

3.

Hypo-alert

4.

Calm focused and alert

5.

Hyper-alert

6.

Flooded

Why is Self Regulation Important?

Poor self regulation abilities lead to higher

risk for peer rejection and low academic

achievement
Key components of self regulation predict

academic achievement, before

kindergarten, throughout formal schooling
and into adulthood
Research indicates importance of

development of adaptive self regulation in

early childhood

Self Regulation and

Academic Achievement
The Missing Link
Behaviour
Behaviour

Self
Self
Regulation
Regulation

Academics
Academics

Self Regulation
and Academic Achievement
Effective self regulation provides foundation

for positive classroom behaviour and

academic achievement
Aspects of self regulation predict long-term

school achievement even after taking into

account IQ
Effects sizes vary dependent on assessment

used, but are uniformly positive

Self Regulation Assessment

NIH Toolbox http://www.nihtoolbox.org/Pages/default.aspx

Heads, Shoulders, Knees, Toes

https://my.vanderbilt.edu/toolsofthemindevaluation/files/2013/01/HTKS-without
-statsinfo.pdf

Peg Tapping https

://my.vanderbilt.edu/toolsofthemindevaluation/files/2013/01/HTKS-without-stat
sinfo.pdf

Dimensional Change Card Sort

https://my.vanderbilt.edu/toolsofthemindevaluation/files/2012/09/ DCCS.pdf

Self- Regulation Questionnaire http

://casaa.unm.edu/inst/SelfRegulation%20Questionnaire%20(SRQ). pdf

Creating a self-regulation student profile

http://www.self-regulation.ca/download/pdf_documents/Self-Regulation%20A
ssessment%
20Scale.pdf

Self Regulation Strategies for

Parents

Modelling
Encouragement
Facilitation
Reinforcement through rewarding

Self Regulation Resources for

School Psychologists

Questions? Comments?
HOW IS YOUR ENGINE RUNNING?
Water break
Stretch
Plank
Fold laundry
Chew gum
Cup of tea
Open the
window
- Take notes
- Doodle
- Paint your
nails
-

References
Blair, C., & Razza, R. P. (2007). Relating effortful control, executive function, and false
belief
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Bronfenbrenner, U., & Evans, G. W. (2000). Developmental science in the 21st
century: Emerging questions, theoretical models, research designs and empirical
findings. Social
development, 9(1), 115-125.
Duckworth, A., & Seligman, M. (2005). Self-discipline outdoes IQ in predicting
academic
performance of adolescents. Psychological Science, 16 (12), 939-944
McClelland, M. M., Cameron, C. E., Connor, C. M., Farris, C. L., Jewkes, A. M., &
Morrison, F. J. (2007).
Links between behavioral regulation and preschoolers'
literacy, vocabulary, and math
skills. Developmental psychology, 43(4), 947.
Mischel, W., Shoda, Y., & Rodriguez, M. L. (1989). Delay of gratification in children.
Science, 244, 933-938

References
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predictive
validity of
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Shanker, S. (2010). Self-regulation: calm, alert and learning. Education Canada,
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Vohs, K. D., & Baumeister, R. F. (Eds.). (2011). Handbook of self-regulation:
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References
Von Suchodoletz, A., Trommsdorff, G., Heikamp, T., Wieber, F., & Gollwitzer, P. M.
(2009). Transition to school: The role of kindergarten children's behavior
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