Red Light, Purple Light!: A Self-Regulatory Intervention
Problems addressed
Low educational/academic performance
Low social–emotional competences
Effectiveness

Promising

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Promising

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Life periods served
Children (4 to 13 years)
Where the program was applied
Education establishment
Country of application
New Zealand
Description

This is a social and emotional program developed at school for children aged three to five. It aims to improve three executive functions: working memory, attention, and inhibitory control.
Games are played in 15 to 20 minute sessions twice a week for eight weeks to complete 16 games, and are repeated in different sessions, with instructions guided by the teacher. The activities allow the children to practice self-regulation skills in group situations.

Impact evaluations

Impact evaluation studies have shown significant effects in terms of better letter and word identification [1], cognitive and attention flexibility, behavioral self-regulation [2], and improved executive functions at the end of the intervention [3]. However, these latter effects were not observed after the follow-up period of four months.

Bibliographic reference

[1] Tominey, S. L. & McClelland, M. M. (2011). Red Light, Purple Light: Findings From a Randomized Trial Using Circle Time Games to Improve Behavioral Self-Regulation in Preschool. Early Education and Development, 22.

[2] Schmitt, S. A., McClelland, M. M., Tominey, S. L. & Acock, A. C. (2015). Strengthening school readiness for Head Start children: Evaluation of a self-regulation intervention. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 30, 20–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2014.08.001

[3] Keown, L. J., Franke, N. & Triggs, C. M. (2020). An Evaluation of a Classroom-Based Intervention to Improve Executive Functions in 4-Year Old Children in New Zealand. Early Childhood Education Journal, 48(5), 621–631. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-020-01023-x

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