Executive Function Mediates the Relationship Between Conscious Discipline Fidelity and Kindergarten Readiness

Area of Science:

• Early Childhood Education
• Educational Psychology
• Classroom Management

Background:

• Conscious Discipline is a classroom management program focused on social-emotional learning and relationships.
• Previous research on its effectiveness has produced mixed results.
• There is a need to understand how teacher fidelity to the program impacts student outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between preschool teachers' fidelity to Conscious Discipline and students' kindergarten readiness.
• To examine the relationship between Conscious Discipline fidelity and students' social skill development.
• To explore the mediating role of executive function (EF) skills in this relationship.

Main Methods:

• A study involving 873 preschool students across 146 classrooms utilizing the Conscious Discipline program.
• Data collection focused on measuring teachers' fidelity to Conscious Discipline implementation.
• Student outcomes were assessed through measures of kindergarten readiness, social skills, and executive function (EF).

Main Results:

• Conscious Discipline fidelity was significantly linked to improvements in students' executive function (EF) skills.
• Gains in EF skills predicted higher kindergarten readiness scores.
• EF skill development was found to mediate the relationship between teacher fidelity and student readiness.

Conclusions:

• Preschool teachers' adherence to Conscious Discipline positively influences students' executive function (EF) development.
• Enhanced EF skills are crucial for improving overall kindergarten readiness.
• The findings highlight the importance of teacher fidelity in maximizing the benefits of social-emotional learning programs.