Chapter 1: What is Self-Regulation?
ECE5J Course Learning Outcomes
- Demonstrate knowledge of educational perspectives in early childhood education.
- Demonstrate an understanding of strategies to support families from a theoretical perspective.
- Provide theoretical and background context on the process of Self-Regulation.
Self-regulation is a term we refer to or think about regularly in our observations of young children.
Reflect
Activity Text
Have you ever really taken the time to think about the definition of self-regulation? How do you define self-regulation?
Do you think your colleague’s definition of self-regulation would be the same as your definition? Why or why not?
What is the Definition of Self-Regulation?
In 2014, Jeremy Burman, Christopher Green and Stuart Shanker took it upon themselves to “disentangle the ambiguity around the meaning of self-regulation” (Hoffman, 2021).
Growing Activity
Activity Text
Guess how many definitions of self-regulation were discovered by Burman, Green and Shanker?
These research results clarify why we need to differentiate between what self-regulation is and what is not to support the development of self-regulation in young children.
Did you know that self-regulation is often confused with self-control?
A basic definition of self-control is the ability to adjust what one does to fit with what is socially acceptable. Self-control involves the ability to wait, go without, be patient and stop yourself from doing something you shouldn’t. Self-control also involves the ability to initiate and carry out a plan over a period of time. It develops through positive and supportive caregiving practices (Gerber, 1993).
The foundational blocks of Dr. Stuart Shanker’s research help us to recognize the difference between self-regulation and self-control. “Self-control is about inhibiting strong impulses. Self-regulation refers to how well we manage stress, how much energy we expend and how well we recover. More specifically, self-regulation makes self-control possible or not needed” (Shanker, 2016).
This foundational definition of self-regulation helps us to understand stress behaviour in young children as well as how to support children in recognizing and responding to their stressors.
Read, Reflect & Reimagine
Take some time to explore the building blocks of Shanker’s self-reg concepts or get to know a little bit more about self-regulation through the articles and video below:
Video: “Self Reg Misconception #20: Self-Reg is Just Another Term for Self-Control” by The MEHRIT Centre [5:19] is licensed under the Standard YouTube License.Transcript and closed captions available on YouTube.
