
Learning and Experiences for All in Preschools

The Learning and Experiences for All in Preschools (LEAPS) project is an NIH study focused on the behavioral and physiological correlates of executive functioning and emotion regulation (two forms of self-regulation that are critical for academic success) in the context of preschool. This study allows for an examination of the interplay between children’s early regulatory abilities and their interactions with teachers, as well as linkages to children’s self-regulation and early school success.

Previous Work from the Learning, Emotion, and Play in Schools (LEAPS) Project
The primary goal of the previous LEAPS study was to bridge the gap between existing literature on self-regulation from emotion and cognitive perspectives. Successful self-regulation in the classroom has been consistently associated with better academic achievement and school performance and thus it is essential that we understand its development. Indeed, we draw upon these two independent but related literatures in order to identify predictors of successful self-regulation in the early classroom context that lead to improved learning.
Research questions posed in this line of work have aimed to explore children’s regulation in the Pre-K classroom
as a function of the interplay between 1) children’s physiological and behavioral self-regulatory capacities related to emotional and cognitive functioning in toddlerhood, 2) parenting behaviors in the home, and 3) teacher behaviors in the classroom. Through our work, we have built on existing studies of self-regulation to better understand the relationship between the underlying physiological processes (vagal regulation) of cognitive and emotional regulation.