Protocol for a Systematic Review: The Tools of the Mind Curriculum for Improving Self‐Regulation in Early Childhood: A Systematic Review

Abstract

[...]a Washington DC report (Office of the State Superintendent of Education, 2013) revealed that students aged three and four received 181 suspensions during the 2012-2013 school year, most of which went to students in low-income schools. [...]many children in the United States and worldwide have chronic regulatory deficits such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and conduct disorder (CD). Other research indicates that educators across Europe and Asia ( Ben-Ari, 1995; Kwon, 2003) have reported rising levels of chronic self-regulatory deficits among young children. [...]the current state of students' self-regulation has emerged as a pressing problem confronting education systems in countries around the world. [...]the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Educational Sciences (IES) funded a randomized controlled trial (RCT) that assessed 14 preschool curricula; the results indicated that none of the curricula significantly improved children's self-regulation skills beyond traditional comparator curricula (Preschool Curriculum Evaluation Research Consortium, 2008). [...]none of the 14 programs identified self-regulation development as their primary curricular focus, despite abundant research indicating the benefits of self-regulation for young children. Given proper execution, Buddy Reading simultaneously targets literacy and self-regulation. Since self-regulation is defined as the ability to autonomously control attention and behavior, Buddy Reading should theoretically hone children's self-regulation because children must 1) use working memory to remember and act out their roles, 2) demonstrate attentional flexibility by switching across roles, and 3) exhibit inhibitory control to suppress desires to switch roles at inappropriate times (e.g., the listener should not attempt to become the reader before his or her turn).