Campus Digest

HKBU and Yan Chai Hospital share findings gained from collaborative research on young kids’ self-regulation abilities

20 Jun 2016

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Ms Chai Man-kuen (right), Principal of YCH Choi Pat Tai Kindergarten/Child Care Centre and a parent participant (2nd from right) share their observations on children’s behavioural changes after taking part in the study.
Officiating guests Mr Kok Che-leung (8th from right), Mr Clement Fung (7th from right), Mrs Yim Tsui Yuk-shan (6th from left), Dr Simon Wong (6th from right), Dr Amelia Lee (5th from left) and representatives from the participating kindergartens-cum-child care centres and nursery.

 

The Early Childhood and Elementary Education Division of the School of Continuing Education (SCE) of HKBU collaborated with Yan Chai Hospital (YCH) Social Services Department on a research project from 2014 to 2016 to identify effective strategies for parents and teachers to promote young children’s self-regulation abilities. A sharing seminar held in early June was attended by more than 160 teachers, social workers and parents.

 

The event was officiated by Mr Kok Che-leung, Assistant Director (Subventions) of the Social Welfare Department, HKSAR Government; Mr Clement Fung Cheuk-nang, Chairman, Social Services Committee, YCH Board of Directors; Mrs Yim Tsui Yuk-shan, Vice-chairman, YCH Board of Directors; Mr Nicholas Fong, YCH Board of Directors; Dr Simon Wong, Dean of SCE of HKBU; and Dr Amelia Lee, Head of Early Childhood and Elementary Education of SCE.

 

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Clement Fung said a valuable research outcome from this study was a programme designed by SCE aiming at developing young children’s self-regulation abilities through various inspiring class activities, which was executed by the Preschooler Support Team of YCH Social Services Department. He thanked the participating crèche and kindergarten-cum-child-care centres for their efforts.

 

Dr Simon Wong said that many studies have found that young children’s self-regulation skills have a far-reaching impact on their academic performance and interpersonal relationships. He said findings of this study also demonstrate that parents and teachers play an important role in the early development of young children’s self-regulation. He hopes that this research can enable the public to understand the importance of developing self-regulation in young children at different ages and applying appropriate nurturing strategies.

 

Subsidised by the Social Welfare Development Fund of the Social Welfare Department, HKSAR, the research project consisted of two parts. The first part of the study explored the relationship between parents’ childrearing practices and their young children’s self-regulation abilities. The second part examined the effectiveness of a programme designed by the SCE researchers in promoting young children’s self-regulation skills. The four training components of the programme, acronymed as “TIME”, include these abilities: Take control of attention; Inhibit impulses and delay gratification; Monitor one’s own emotions and behaviors; and Evaluate the actions of self and others. Both parts of the study recruited over 400 participating children from one crèche and four kindergarten-cum-child-care centres. It was found that many components of young children’s self-regulation abilities were positively related to parents’ teaching of conscientiousness in everyday life but negatively related to parents’ use of inconsistent discipline. After participating in the programme designed by SCE for this project, children from the experimental group showed significantly greater improvement than those in the control group in terms of self-regulation abilities and social competence.