Interventions supporting early self-regulation: a systematic literature review

This review synthesises international evidence on interventions designed to enhance self-regulation among children from birth to age eight. The review was commissioned to inform the development of effective, evidence-based interventions for early years settings in England, with a parallel focus on interventions targeting children from disadvantaged and ethnically diverse communities. It addresses growing policy interest in self-regulation as a key foundation for children’s academic achievement, emotional wellbeing, and lifelong health, while also recognising inconsistencies in how self-regulation is conceptualised within English early years guidance.  

The review followed a rigorous PRISMA-guided systematic review methodology. Five major education and psychology databases were searched for peer-reviewed studies published between 2000 and 2024. From an initial pool of 8,832 records, duplicate removal and multi-stage screening resulted in 293 papers describing 313 intervention studies. Each study underwent quality assessment using the AXIS tool to evaluate methodological quality and risk of bias. The review included both randomised controlled trials and quasi-experimental studies, providing a broad and ecologically valid evidence base for interventions implemented in real educational settings. 

The review identified 313 intervention studies evaluating a wide range of approaches to promoting early self-regulation. Across the full evidence base, interventions most commonly targeted executive function and were delivered face-to-face in educational settings by teachers. Among the high-efficacy studies, a range of approaches was represented, including social-emotional learning programmes, curriculum-embedded pedagogical approaches and play-based interventions. Two teacher-led, classroom-embedded programmes were highlighted as particularly relevant to the English early years’ context. In a separate synthesis of studies focusing on disadvantaged and ethnically diverse populations, only nine interventions were classified as high in efficacy. All high-efficacy studies used face-to-face, group-based formats, with most interventions delivered by teachers. The review found no high-quality UK studies evaluating interventions specifically with children who were both disadvantaged and ethnically diverse. Consequently, while there is encouraging evidence that self-regulation interventions can be effective overall, there remains insufficient evidence to determine which approaches are most effective and culturally appropriate for these priority populations. 
 
The review concludes that policy should support the development and implementation of evidence-informed, teacher-led approaches that embed opportunities to foster self-regulation within everyday early years practice. However, it also highlights an urgent need for rigorous UK-based evaluations involving disadvantaged and ethnically diverse children, including research examining cultural relevance, implementation, and longer-term outcomes. Strengthening this evidence base is essential for ensuring that interventions are both effective and equitable, and for informing future early years policy, practice, and intervention development.