An investigation of the stability and variability in young children's self-regulated learning behaviors in kindergarten

The authors examined the relative stability and variability of self-regulated learning (SRL) in kindergartners across various contexts (teacher-directed activities, small-group work, and independent work). They assessed the role of temperament and context on children's use of SRL while seeking to identify if there are optimal contexts for promoting SRL in particular children. The results revealed that although temperament was not related to SRL, children's regulation strategy usage was heavily dependent on context, contradicting the idea that children are either high or low self-regulators. The relative stability of SRL varied by child, with some children showing more sensitivity to context than did others. Optimal contexts for eliciting SRL also differed by children, with some children exhibiting elevated regulation during small-group activities and others during teacher-directed activities.