This recently published research investigated how the different dimensions of temperament influence a child's readiness for school.

The main findings of this study clarified the importance of temperamental self-regulation (effortful control) in predicting successful kindergarten transitions in the sample.

A key finding of this research indicated that, for all desirable outcomes, the more children are able to regulate their behavior at 54 months, the more likely they are to be successful in Kindergarten in terms of attaining key academic skills and establishing positive relationships with teachers and successful interactions with peers.

Here, regulation refers to effortful control, the complementary traits of attentional focusing and inhibitory control. These findings were not surprising, as the impact of a child’s regulatory abilities on school achievement has been well-documented (e.g., [4,9,96]).

The main findings of this study clarified the importance of temperamental self-regulation (effortful control) in predicting successful kindergarten transitions in the sample.

School Readiness

School readiness is a broad, multidimensional construct that explains children’s characteristics, present before school entry, that are predictive of positive outcomes in academic settings [8].

School readiness may be conceptualized via academic and social-emotional lenses.

•  Academic readiness comprises emergent academic skills (i.e., literacy, math) that provide necessary foundations for academic achievement.
• Social-emotional readiness encompasses the social and behavioral competencies that facilitate children’s success in academic settings.

Temperament

Temperament represents biologically based individual differences in children’s emotional or behavioral reactions to environmental stimuli (e.g., activity level, anger, fear), as well as differences in their ability to regulate those reactions (e.g., effortful control)

Temperament theory aligns with the theoretical framework of goodness-of-fit ], or the extent to which a child’s parent or caregiver consistently provides appropriate developmental support for a child based on their temperamental needs.

• Good fit enhances children’s psychological development by providing positive support for the growth of regulatory capacities that help children manage their natural reactions in adaptive ways [. Thus, while the general blueprint of children’s reactive and regulatory tendencies is present at birth, environmental interactions and experiences will increasingly moderate how temperament is expressed.

Children’s temperament is frequently measured using the Children’s Behavior Questionnaire, a parent and teacher-report questionnaire of 15 temperament traits, or dimensions, which comprise three factors:

• Surgency (activity level, impulsivity, high-intensity pleasure, and shyness),
• Negative affect (anger/frustration, discomfort, fear, sadness, and soothability), and
• Effortful control (attentional focusing, inhibitory control, low-intensity pleasure, and perceptual sensitivity).

Each factor presents implications for children’s school readiness.

Surgency

Surgency comprises dimensions of temperament that align with children’s tendencies to approach or withdraw from given stimuli, and includes activity level, impulsivity, high-intensity pleasure, and shyness.

Children high in surgency exhibit a high activity level, positive affect, and approach tendencies, especially when faced with new or potentially rewarding experiences.

High Surgency is also characterized by low shyness and high sociability.

The positive affect and reward-seeking approach tendencies of highly surgent children offer robust support for the development of social skills, emotional resilience, and the ability to focus on desired outcomes.

However, surgency may become a risk factor for children if they cannot regulate their strong approach tendencies. High surgency and impulsivity in combination have been linked to externalizing behavior problems. Children with this temperament combination may quickly become angry or aggressive if a reward is blocked, disregard rules or instructions, or struggle with reflection of their own behavior. Socially, they may experience more conflict with peers and, in rare cases, be at risk for peer rejection.

Negative Affect

Negative affect (anger/frustration, discomfort, fear, sadness, soothability) refers to temperamental dimensions indicative of children’s negative responses to environmental stressors.

For example, some children become easily frustrated when interrupted during a desirable activity (e.g., being asked to put down a toy) or experience more fear in the anticipation of future distress (e.g., announcement of a substitute teacher), whereas other children are able to move on to another activity or distract themselves from a stressful upcoming event.

Children with more negative affect tend to be less adaptable; thus, change is stressful and more difficult to manage. Given the stresses of the transition to Kindergarten, children entering the classroom with low adaptability may be at particular risk. Extant research has historically demonstrated a relationship between negative affect and children’s problem behaviors (e.g., [67,68]) implicated in early academic achievement [69].

Effortful Control

Effortful control comprises those predispositions that enable children to regulate their natural reactions to the environment.

Effortful control is the extent to which a child can either activate or inhibit an inappropriate response and act appropriately in a given situation; it also includes the child’s ability to focus his or her attention, as needed.

Research on school readiness underscores the importance of nurturing the development of effortful control for children during the preschool years to prepare for the transition to kindergarten.

Children’s effortful control in preschool is positively related to gains in academic skills through the school year.

More about temperament and effortful control

Effortful control and motor learning 

School for bravery 

Behavioral inhibition, anxious temperament and physical therapy

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