Children's early approaches to learning and academic trajectories through fifth grade.

Abstract

Children's early approaches to learning (ATL) enhance their adaptation to the demands they experience with the start of formal schooling. The current study uses individual growth modeling to investigate whether children's early ATL, which includes persistence, emotion regulation, and attentiveness, explain individual differences in their academic trajectories during elementary school. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study - Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K), the present investigation examined the association between ATL at kindergarten entry and trajectories of reading and math achievement across 6 waves of data from kindergarten, 1st, 3rd, and 5th grade (n = 10,666). The current study found a positive link between early ATL and individual trajectories of reading and math performance. Overall, children's early ATL was equally beneficial for children regardless of their race/ethnicity and dimensions of their socioeconomic background. However, links between early ATL and academic trajectories differed by their gender and initial levels of math and reading achievement.

Gender differences in behavioral regulation in four societies: The United States, Taiwan, South Korea, and China

“…Specifically, this construct also tapped children's eagerness to learn, creativity, level of interest, and their emotion regulation particularly during interactions with peers (Li-Grining, et al, 2010). Based on LiGrining and colleagues' study, however, it seems possible that behavioral regulation may be more beneficial for boys' early literacy and girls' math school readiness skills in the United States.…”

“…Previous research has found moderate correlations between direct assessments of individual behavioral regulation and teacher-ratings of classroom behavioral regulation of about r = .30, suggesting a degree of shared variance . Further, an examination of the items that teachers rate to assess classroom behavioral regulation suggests that in addition to tapping individual behavioral regulation, they may also reflect a broader construct, akin to "approaches to learning" and "learningrelated skills," including skills such as independence (Li-Grining, Votruba-Drzal, Maldonado-Carreno, & Haas, 2010). The unshared variance may reflect these differences, as well as differences in measurement sources (direct assessment versus teacher rating).…”

How affective-motivational variables and approaches to learning predict mathematics achievement in upper elementary levels

“…However, most previous research examining these relationships has been conducted in adolescent samples (Baeten et al, 2010;Pennebaker, Gosling, & Ferrell, 2013;Sengodan & Zanaton, 2012). This is even more evident in the case of approaches to learning, where the very few studies that have been conducted in younger samples have commonly described these components as an indeterminate set of predispositions such as persistence, emotion regulation, or attentiveness, rather than emphasize the strategic nature of this construct (Bodovski & Youn, 2011;Li-Grining, Votruba-Drzal, Maldonado-Carreño, & Haas, 2010;Malmberg, Järvernoja, & Järvelä, 2013). Thus, further research is needed with younger students that extends this line of research.…”

Multiple Dimensions of Biological Development: Implications for Kindergarten Readiness Among Young Children in Poverty

“…Approaches to learning includes being open to and curious about tasks and challenges, being persistent, flexible, imaginative, and attentive. Research has found that children's early approaches to learning enhance their ability to adapt to the demands they experience with the start of formal schooling (Li-Grining et al, 2010) such as completing work independently, adhering to strict time schedules, and acquiring basic skills. Language development is the fourth dimension of school readiness.…”

“…In another area of research on school readiness, researchers have investigated the relationship between dimensions of readiness and later school achievement (Classens, Duncan, & Engel, 2009;Hair, Halle, Terry-Humen, Lavelle, & Calkins, 2006;Li-Grining, Votruba-Drzal, Maldonado-Carreño, & Haas, 2010;Romano et al, 2010). In these studies, children who enter kindergarten with a particular set of academic and social skills are more likely to be academically and economically successful in the future as compared to children who lack these attributes.…”