Self-regulation, i.e., the ability to manage attention, emotions and impulses, as well as to pursue individual goals with perseverance, is not a skill that we usually associate with young children. However, studies show that people who demonstrated self-regulation as children go on to have on average higher income, better health and greater life satisfaction.
An international team used a randomized controlled study in elementary schools involving more than 500 first graders. The research team was able to show that even a short training unit led to a significant and sustainable improvement in self-regulation. The training did not just affect self-regulation abilities; the children had significantly improved reading ability and an improved focus on careless mistakes one year after the training, and were also considerably more likely to be admitted to a selective academic secondary school three years after the training.
The training units were based on the MCII （Mental Contrasting with Implementation Intentions）Strategy, which has already been the subject of excellent research studies in adults and older students. The teachers presented the abstract strategy in a playful manner using a picture book and the role model of a hurdle jumper. In the first step, the children imagined the positive effects of reaching a goal. They contrasted them with the obstacles that they might face on the way （Mental Contrasting）. The children then identified specific behaviors to face the obstacles and develop "when-then" plans（Implementation Intentions）.
"The special feature of the study is the long-term ripple effects that this short training unit can have. These effects benefit the child, and they are transferred in many ways to society as a whole over the course of the child's life," says Daniel Schunk, a professor of public and behavioral economics at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. "The fact that early investments in such fundamental skills not only benefit the child alone, but also society, should be given more attention to in education policy."
