For this reason, promoting these skills should be a guiding principle in the German education system, according to the statement “Promoting self-regulation skills in children and adolescents in day care centres and schools”, published today by the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina.
“The consistent and long-term promotion of self-regulation skills can play a decisive role in improving the life-long development and opportunities for self-realisation on the part of individual children and adolescents – with great benefits for our future society,” says Leopoldina member Herta Flor from the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim, and spokesperson of the working group that wrote the statement. Johannes Buchmann from the Technical University of Darmstadt, and also spokesperson of the working group, adds: “The government and society have to act quickly in this regard. Research has shown that there are demonstrably effective approaches to promote self-regulation skills.”
The authors of the statement stress that many systemic changes are also required to guarantee the well-being and development opportunities of children and adolescents. These include providing appropriate support for families and single parents, improvement in day care centres and schools, and protecting children and adolescents from problematic internet use and advertising. The statement concentrates on the promotion of self-regulation due to its great importance, without however in any way wishing to underplay the need for systemic changes.
In the statement, the authors take account of the well-being and development opportunities of children and adolescents in Germany on the basis of empirical studies. They describe common mental disorders as well as the causes of physical problems, examine the considerable educational deficits among young people and their opportunities to participate in society. Significant risk factors include low socio-economic status, a refugee or immigrant background, experiences of violence and bullying, and – notwithstanding all the benefits – digital media and technology.
The ability to self-regulate is, however, an important protective factor. The authors explain the psychological and neuroscientific foundations of self-regulation, including the role of genetic disposition and environmental factors. They recommend making the promotion of self-regulatory skills a further guiding principle of the German education system. They present many science-based strategies that could be used in day care centres and schools. On the one hand, these strategies focus on the continued improvement of environments for learning and development in the form of effective classroom management, cognitive activation, and constructive support. On the other hand, they comprise specific programmes based on various approaches: promoting knowledge about mental health, methods of behavioural therapy and cognitive behavioural therapy, mindfulness, compassion, and physical exercises. Digital technologies can also provide support.
The statement stresses that developing the German education system in this way requires cooperation from all stakeholders, including pupils, parents, education institutions, providers of initial and continuing education and training for educational staff, advisory committees, policy-makers, associations, trade unions, and research institutions. Such development processes must be data-driven. The statement also recommends significantly improving the self-regulation skills of children and adolescents, for example by using smartphones to collect data in an innovative way, and to record certain indicators of self-regulation skills during health screening carried out when children start school.
The statement was created by the interdisciplinary working group “Promoting self-regulation skills in children and adolescents”. Researchers from the fields of psychology, psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry, paediatric and adolescent medicine, education research, philosophy of the mind, ethics, sports science, computer science, and statistics were involved. While creating the statement the working group also obtained input from experts including representatives for pupils and parents, teachers, representatives from the area of teaching training, as well as from school administrative bodies and cultural ministries.