Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization, University of Padova, Padua, Italy.
Br J Educ Psychol. 2023 Apr;93 Suppl 1:10-25. doi: 10.1111/bjep.12501. Epub 2022 Mar 21.
Self-regulation promotes engagement within the classroom. At a physiological level, a good indicator of the ability of the system to self-regulate is cardiac vagal tone (CVT).
The present study aims to assess children's change over time (1 year) in their parasympathetic regulation (by way of CVT) in response to a social and cognitive stressor. Moreover, it addresses whether, if present, this change over time in regulation influences students' engagement in classroom activities while also accounting for classroom climate.
Forty-nine second graders were assessed at two time points: November 2018 (T1) and 1 year later in 2019 (T2).
Children's CVT was registered at rest and while performing a stressful task during which they were asked to cognitively perform while being socially evaluated. Children were also interviewed on how much they feel engaged in classroom activities and their perceptions of classroom climate.
A repeated measures analysis of variance including 2 Time Points ×2 Phases of CVT Registration (baseline and during the stressful task) revealed a significant decrease in cardiac vagal activity from baseline to the task at T1, indicating that initially most children were not able to self-regulate and gave way to a stress response when facing the stressful task. The pattern changed at T2 when an active regulation took place signalled by an increase in CVT from baseline to the stressful task. Data analysis also revealed that among children who perceived a poorer classroom climate, the display of greater parasympathetic regulation over time was linked with higher active engagement in classroom activities.
Growth in physiological regulation in response to a challenging task is associated with better engagement in classroom activities. Interventions and educational practice promoting the development of self-regulation strategies are recommended.
自我调节促进了课堂参与。在生理层面上，系统自我调节能力的一个很好的指标是心脏迷走神经张力（CVT）。
本研究旨在评估儿童在应对社会和认知应激源时，其自主神经调节（通过 CVT）随时间的变化。此外，它还探讨了这种随时间变化的调节是否会影响学生在课堂活动中的参与度，同时考虑到课堂氛围。
49 名二年级学生在两个时间点进行评估：2018 年 11 月（T1）和 1 年后的 2019 年（T2）。
在休息时和进行有压力的任务时记录儿童的 CVT，在任务中要求他们在受到社会评价的同时进行认知表现。还对儿童在课堂活动中的参与度以及对课堂氛围的看法进行了访谈。
包括 2 个时间点×2 个 CVT 记录阶段（基线和压力任务期间）的重复测量方差分析显示，T1 时从基线到任务时心脏迷走神经活动显著下降，表明最初大多数儿童无法自我调节，在面对压力任务时会产生应激反应。这种模式在 T2 时发生了变化，当时发生了主动调节，表现为 CVT 从基线到压力任务期间增加。数据分析还表明，在感知课堂氛围较差的儿童中，随着时间的推移，迷走神经调节的增加与课堂活动中的积极参与度更高相关。
对挑战性任务的生理调节的增长与课堂活动中的更高参与度有关。建议采取干预措施和教育实践来促进自我调节策略的发展。
