Task persistence in kindergarten children: Disentangling age from schooling effects

The aim of the present study was to examine age effects and schooling effects on task persistence. Four- and 5-year-old (N = 120) kindergarten children were observed while working on a persistence task. Since children attend kindergarten for 2 years in Switzerland, age and schooling effects could be examined in a cut-off research design. To examine age effects, task performance was compared between 4- and 5-year-olds, all enrolled in their first kindergarten year. To address schooling effects, performance between 5-year-olds enrolled in their first vs. 5-year-olds enrolled in their second kindergarten year was compared. Age differences were found for two different persistence measures. No effect was found for schooling. Overall, the present results suggest that 1 year of formal kindergarten schooling, as a structuring environmental factor, does not affect the ability to persist. Age and inhibitory skills, however, do.