Self-regulation and early writing: A longitudinal examination from preschool through first grade

Previous research has established the important role of self-regulation in supporting school readiness and academic learning. However, most of the research has not included examinations of the relation between early writing and self-regulation, although writing is an academic skill that also contributes to school readiness. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the associations between self-regulation and early writing as children transitioned from preschool to first grade. Two groups of children were followed longitudinally. Group 1 (n = 171) was followed from preschool to kindergarten to Grade 1, and Group 2 (n = 196) was followed from a first year of preschool (Preschool 1) to a second year of preschool (Preschool 2) to kindergarten. Writing assessments included tasks at the word, sentence, and discourse levels. Self-regulation was measured using the Heads-Toes-Knees-Shoulders task. Writing and self-regulation were stable across the early years. Writing achievement was concurrently related to and significantly predicted later self-regulation. Self-regulation was concurrently associated with writing achievement but did not predict later writing achievement. Structural equation modeling results indicated that writing was a significant predictor of longitudinal change in self-regulation from preschool to kindergarten. The bidirectional relations between self-regulation and writing achievement were not supported by the data. Implications of the findings and future directions are discussed, including the effect of task demands in understanding relations between self-regulation and academic skills.