SELF-REGULATION, EMOTION EXPRESSION & CLASSROOM ...

when other kids are absent, seeks challenges, is a mature child, enjoys “playing school”;
imitates the teacher, interested in teacher as a person; Miller et al., 2002); (b) on-task
classroom involvement (e.g. The child follows teacher’s directions, uses classroom
materials responsibly, listens carefully to teacher’s instructions and directions, is
interested in classroom activities, responds promptly to teachers requests, if child’s
activity is interrupted, he/she goes back to the activity); and (c) positive orientation to
school activities (e.g. The child is cheerful at school, approaches new activities with
enthusiasm, laughs or smiles easily, is comfortable approaching the teacher, is slow to
warm up to the teacher; Betts & Rotenberg, 2007; Ladd et al., 2000; Valeski & Stipek,
2001; See Appendix 2).
The revised factor structure for the three TRSSA subscales was as follows: On-Task
Classroom Involvement (OTI; α = .88), Maturity (MA; α = .80), and Positive Orientation
(PO; α = .80; Betts & Rotenberg, 2007). For the current investigation, I will utilize these
data to capture preschool children’s OTI at time 2. I was able to replicate the high
reliability for OTI (α = .87) using the data from the current investigation. The primary
purpose for focusing on this one factor stems from the fact that OTI is regarded by many
psychologists as the most relevant to school success; children who are engaged in
classroom-appropriate tasks have been found to demonstrate increased academic
performance (Alexander & Entwistle, 1988).
The Preschool Learning Behavior Scale (PLBS). The previous literature has clearly
established that learning behaviors are observable, teachable and malleable
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