Executive functioning (EF) and self-regulated learning (SRL) are established predictors of academic achievement, both concurrent and future. Although it has been theorized that EF development enables SRL in early childhood, this directional model remains empirically untested against plausible alternatives. Thus, this study investigated the longitudinal relations between children’s EF and SRL during the transition from kindergarten to Year 1 in an Australian sample to determine the direction and strength of the association between EF and SRL. We compared four directional models and also tested whether EF and SRL can be construed as manifestations of a common factor. Children’s EF was assessed using a battery of tasks tapping working memory, inhibition, and shifting, and their SRL was assessed by teachers using the Checklist of Independent Learning Development. Cross-lagged structural equation modelling analyses were conducted on a longitudinal dataset of 176 children at the end of kindergarten (age M = 5 years, 8 months; SD = 4.02 months), and 1 year later (age M = 6 years, 5 months; SD = 3.65 months). EF predicted SRL longitudinally (β= .58, controlling for kindergarten SRL), consistent with common assumptions, whereas SRL did not predict EF. However, the common factor model also fit the data very well. We concluded that EF and SRL are indeed related concurrently and longitudinally but that further evidence is needed to disambiguate whether EF is best understood as a necessary antecedent of SRL development in early childhood, or whether they reflect the same general construct.

中文翻译：

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澳大利亚儿童执行功能与自我调节学习的关系

执行功能 (EF) 和自我调节学习 (SRL) 是既定的学术成就预测指标，包括同时期和未来。尽管理论上认为 EF 的发展可以在儿童早期实现 SRL，但这种定向模型仍然没有根据可能的替代方案进行实证检验。因此，本研究调查了澳大利亚样本中从幼儿园到 1 年级过渡期间儿童 EF 和 SRL 之间的纵向关系，以确定 EF 和 SRL 之间关联的方向和强度。我们比较了四个方向模型，并测试了 EF 和 SRL 是否可以解释为共同因素的表现。儿童的 EF 是通过一系列利用工作记忆、抑制和转移的任务来评估的，他们的 SRL 由教师使用独立学习发展清单进行评估。在幼儿园结束时（年龄）对 176 名儿童的纵向数据集进行交叉滞后结构方程建模分析M  = 5 年 8 个月；SD = 4.02 个月）和 1 年后（年龄M  = 6 岁 5 个月；SD = 3.65 个月）。EF 纵向预测 SRL（β= .58，控制幼儿园 SRL），与常见假设一致，而 SRL 没有预测 EF。但是，公因子模型也很好地拟合了数据。我们得出的结论是 EF 和 SRL 确实是同时和纵向相关的，但需要进一步的证据来明确是否最好将 EF 理解为儿童早期 SRL 发展的必要前提，或者它们是否反映了相同的一般结构。