The Impact of Learning-Experience Activities Based on Trisikkha Principle and EF Guideline on Preschoolers’ Self-Regulation Skills

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the impact of the learning-experience activities based on the Trisikkha principle and the EF Guideline on preschoolers' self-regulation (SR). The research design was quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest research. The population was 75 preschoolers aged 3 to 6 years old studying in the third semester, the academic year 2020 where the preschool teachers created the activities and environment based on the Trisikkha principle and the EF Guideline. The instruments for promoting the SR included 1) EF Guideline; a tool for guiding the teachers to create the activities and environment to promote the children's EF skills, 2) a tool for assessing the quality of the learning-experience activities, and 3) learning-experience activity plans. Moreover, the instruments for assessing the children’s SR skills included 1) the assessment of Executive Function in Early Childhood (MU-EF 101) and 2) the SR behaviour checklist. A paired sample t-test was utilized to investigate the changes in the preschoolers' pretest and post-test mean scores on self-regulation skills. There were significant differences between the pretest and posttest mean scores on the MU-EF.101 related to SR skills (p < .05). The preschoolers significantly had the higher post-test mean scores on all components of the SR skills compared with their pretest. The results showed that most preschoolers were rated their school performance based on the SR skills as excellent in all four aspects at the end of the semester. The results indicated that the learning experience positively impacted the preschoolers' SR skills.