Self-Regulation Skills of Children within the Context of the Meanings that Mothers Attribute to the Concept of Child

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the meanings that mothers attribute to the concept of child and examine the self-regulation skill levels of their children within the context of the meaning attributed to the child. The research was carried out with a mixed method design entitled “Completely Mixed Sequential Equal Status Design”. The study group of the research, which was determined by using the maximum variation sampling method, was composed of 297 mothers with 60-72 months-old children studying in private and public kindergartens in Efeler District of Aydın province in the 2020-2021 academic year. As the data collection tools in the study, Self-regulation Skills Scale for the Children Aged Between 4-6 (Mother Form) and structured interview questions were used. The qualitative data on the meaning that parents attributed to the concept of child were analyzed by using descriptive analysis. The quantitative data on the self-regulation skills of their children and the analysis of these variables within the context of the meanings attributed to the concept of child were performed by using SPSS 21 package program. As a result of the research, it was determined that the children were interpreted as investment tool, development, property, individual with rights, and innocent, respectively; and it was also revealed that little adult, sinner, God-given, and reflective categories present in the literature were not among the meanings attributed to children. When the self-regulation skills of children within the context of the meaning attributed to the child were examined, it was found out that the self-regulation skills of the children who were only interpreted as investment tool were high, and those of the children who were interpreted as development, property, individual and innocent were at a moderate level.