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Rhythm and Movement Delivered by Teachers Supports Self-Regulation Skills of Preschool-Aged Children in Disadvantaged Communities: A clustered RCT
EdArXiv Preprints, Vol.28 January 2022
Center for Open Science
2022
Abstract
Self-regulation skills are an important predictor of school readiness and early school achievement. Research identifies that experiences of early stress in disadvantaged households can affect young children’s brain architecture, often manifested in poor self-regulatory functioning. While there are documented benefits of coordinated movement activities and music education to improve self-regulation, few interventions have focused exclusively on rhythmic movement activities within a universal preschool setting. This study investigated the effectiveness of a preschool intervention, delivered across eight weeks by generalist preschool teachers, which focused on coordinated rhythmic movement with music to improve self-regulation and executive function. The program is known as RAMSR (Rhythm and Movement for Self-Regulation). The study involved 213 children across eight preschools in disadvantaged communities. The intervention group received 16 to 20 sessions of a rhythm and movement program over eight weeks, while the control group undertook the usual preschool program. Primary outcome measures were executive function and self-regulation with secondary outcomes being school readiness and visual motor integration. Children across the study had baseline measures demonstrating substantial self-regulation and executive function challenges when compared to norms on these measures. Post intervention, significant intervention effects were found for self-regulation and importantly, fidelity and teacher report measures show that it is feasible for educators without any music background to deliver the program. These findings are important given that children from low socioeconomic backgrounds are both more likely to need support for self-regulation to support school transition and have inequitable access to quality music and movement programs. This study confirms that universal access to this beneficial approach can be created through building capacity in early childhood educators. This trial was registered pre-recruitment with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12619001342101.
Details
- Title
- Rhythm and Movement Delivered by Teachers Supports Self-Regulation Skills of Preschool-Aged Children in Disadvantaged Communities: A clustered RCT
- Authors
- Kate Williams (Corresponding Author) - Queensland University of TechnologyLaura Bentley (Author) - Queensland University of TechnologySally Savage (Author) - Queensland University of TechnologyRebecca Eager (Author) - Queensland University of TechnologyCathy Nielson (Author) - Queensland University of Technology
- Publication details
- EdArXiv Preprints, Vol.28 January 2022
- Publisher
- Center for Open Science
- Date published
- 2022
- DOI
- 10.35542/osf.io/px2qu
- Copyright note
- CC-By Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
- Organisation Unit
- School of Education and Tertiary Access
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99989896702621
- Output Type
- Preprint
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