Kia Tīmata Pai: Parent- and Teacher-Reported Oral Language and Self-regulation in a Large Diverse Sample of New Zealand Toddlers
Date
Authors
Bakir-Demir, T
Marshall, S
Guiney, H
Moses, LJ
Kokaua, J
Salmon, K
Schaughency, E
Taumoepeau, M
Clifford, A
Edgeler, C
Supervisor
Item type
Journal Article
Degree name
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Abstract
Oral language and self-regulation are both critical for lifelong development. Both skills are developing rapidly in the toddler years, when informant-report measures are often used to assess such development. Yet research comparing parent and teacher reports of these skills in toddlers is limited. The present study compared parent and teacher reports of children’s oral language (gesture, vocabulary, syntax) and self-regulation (effortful control) with a large, ethnically diverse sample of New Zealand toddlers (N = 1481; 688 girls and 737 boys; Mage = 20.60 mo, SD = 3.38, range = 13-30). The sample included primarily New Zealand European, Māori, Asian, and Pacific ethnicities, from low to high socioeconomic status (SES). Parent and teacher reports of oral language were significantly moderately correlated whereas ratings of self-regulation were weakly, yet still significantly, correlated. Parents reported steeper age-related differences in children’s oral language and effortful control than teachers. Both parents and teachers reported greater effortful control for girls than boys. Few differences by ethnicity were noted in multivariable models except for a Māori advantage for gestures and a non-European advantage for effortful control (parent-report only). Teachers reported more differences in both oral language and effortful control as a function of family SES than did parents. These findings highlight that both parent and teacher reports of oral language and self-regulation are important, but parents may be particularly sensitive reporters of children's oral language and teachers of children's self-regulation.Description
Keywords
3901 Curriculum and Pedagogy, 39 Education, 52 Psychology, Basic Behavioral and Social Science, Pediatric Research Initiative, Health Disparities, Health Disparities and Racial or Ethnic Minority Health Research, Behavioral and Social Science, 2.3 Psychological, social and economic factors, 4 Quality Education, 1301 Education Systems, 1701 Psychology, Developmental & Child Psychology, 3903 Education systems, 3904 Specialist studies in education, 5201 Applied and developmental psychology, Oral language, Self-regulation, Parent report, Teacher report, Ethnic differences, Early childhood
Source
Early Childhood Research Quarterly, ISSN: 0885-2006 (Print), Elsevier BV, 76, 378-390. doi: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2026.04.002
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Rights statement
© 2026 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. Note: This article is available under the Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND license and permits non-commercial use of the work as published, without adaptation or alteration provided the work is fully attributed.