‘Rhythm and Movement for Self-Regulation' (RAMSR) in Hong Kong Kindergartens from Low Socio-Economic Backgrounds: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Funding Scheme
General Research Fund (RGC)
Funding Amount
HK$1,134,700
Awarded Year
2021
An innovative programme to promote self-regulation in kindergarteners
Childhood self-regulation is a crucial foundation for school readiness, academic achievement, and lifelong well-being (Bull & Lee, 2014; Diamond, 2016). It is vital to identify effective interventions that facilitate early self-regulation. ‘Rhythm And Movement for Self-Regulation’ (RAMSR), an innovative classroom intervention, has been shown to affect children’s self-regulatory skills positively (Williams & Berthelsen, 2019).
We conducted a cluster Randomized Controlled Trial with 14 kindergartens that serve children of low socio-economic status to investigate:
- The effectiveness of the online training programme for teachers to implement RAMSR;
- Factors associated with different implementation fidelity levels;
- The impact of RAMSR on K1 children’s self-regulation, immediately and six months post-intervention.
Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. The research team contributes towards the following SDG(s):
(Dr Alfredo Bautista, the principal investigator conducted a presentation related to the project at the 1st International Research Conference on Early Childhood Education and Development (InCRECE) at The Education University of Hong Kong, June 2, 2024)
This research fills a knowledge gap regarding the effectiveness of online professional development (PD) focusing on early self-regulation. It introduces a low-cost, scalable, and sustainable online PD to train kindergarten teachers in the RAMSR intervention, to assess the effectiveness of this PD on their ability to implement RAMSR, to analyse factors related to how faithfully it is implemented, to examine its impact on self-regulation among Kindergarten 1 children in Hong Kong, and to disseminate the RAMSR online PD across all Hong Kong kindergartens while providing policy recommendations to sustain this effort.
（Ng Siu-Ping, a team member investigator conducted a presentation related to the project at the the 36th World Conference for the International Society for Music Education (ISME), Helsinki, Finland, July 2024）
Educationally, this project fosters learning by both teachers and children. Socially, it emphasizes the importance of nurturing early self-regulation, particularly for vulnerable children. Politically, its findings inform the design of system-wide teacher training initiatives that are viable and realistic within the Hong Kong kindergarten landscape, with the goal of reducing socio-economic disparities and societal costs.
In the short term (1-3 years), the beneficiaries will include teachers, children, and parents in participating kindergartens (an estimated 140 teachers), potentially improving the self-regulation skills of approximately 2,240 children. In the medium term (4-10 years), the number of beneficiaries will expand to include kindergarten teachers, children, parents, and educational policymakers, as the online PD will be disseminated across all Hong Kong kindergartens using territory-wide online platforms. This will benefit children from all social strata. In the long term (10+ years), the ultimate beneficiary will be Hong Kong society at large, as young children systematically exposed to these activities achieve better academic and non-academic outcomes.
Selected Publications
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