Measurement of School Engagement in Elementary School Students: A Scoping Review.

IMPORTANCE: School engagement is the extent to which students commit to and participate in school activities, including internal thoughts, emotions, and observable behaviors. It is critical to children's academic outcomes and mental health. Occupational therapy practitioners support children at school to maintain mental well-being and meet their school outcomes. However, how occupational therapy practitioners should measure school engagement among elementary school students remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: To identify and characterize how elementary school students' school engagement is currently measured. DATA SOURCES: PsycINFO, Eric, CINAHL, and A+ Education databases. Two reviewers screened titles and abstracts, and one reviewer completed full-text screening and data extraction using Excel. STUDY SELECTION: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews guided this review. Studies published between 2015 and 2021 were included if full text was available, written in English, and used a measure designed for elementary school-age students. Studies were excluded if they used no school engagement measurement; used only infant, adolescent, or adult scales; were not available for review; and did not meet the inclusion criteria. FINDINGS: The review included 125 studies. A range of self-report, observational, teacher-report, and caregiver-report measures of school engagement were identified. Behavioral school engagement was most commonly measured. Included studies were primarily published in education and psychology fields, with none published in occupational therapy journals. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: A range of school engagement measurements can be found in the literature, but no consensus exists on a validated school engagement measurement for occupational therapy practice. What This Article Adds: This review provides occupational therapy practitioners with a comprehensive understanding of (1) the importance of school engagement to mental health and (2) the range of behavioral, cognitive, and emotional engagement measures currently available for use with elementary school-age children, thereby enhancing the profession's knowledge and scope of practice in school engagement.

Measurement of Self-regulation in Preschool and Elementary Children: A Scoping Review.

AIMS: This scoping review sought to identify and characterize measurement of self-regulation in preschool and elementary aged children. METHODS: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses-Scoping Review (ScR) guidelines were applied. Databases from the fields of allied health, education, medicine, and social sciences were searched including: CINAHL, Education Database (ProQuest), Education Research Complete, EMBASE, ERIC, iNFORMIT Combined, Medline, PsychINFO, Social Sciences (ProQuest), Teacher Reference Center, and Web of Science. Articles published between 2015 and 2020 were included. Dual review was utilized at all stages and a third reviewer resolved any conflicts. RESULTS: Sixty-seven studies were included in this review. A range of observational, self-report, teacher report, caregiver report, and observational measures of self-regulation were identified. Included studies were primarily published in education and psychology disciplines, with no studies by occupational therapists identified. CONCLUSIONS: Although a range of measures were identified in this scoping review, the results highlight the lack of consensus regarding self-regulation measurement that occupational therapists use to design and implement therapy programs to address child emotional and behavioral needs.

Sensory Features of Toddlers at Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder.

OBJECTIVE: We observed sensory features in toddlers ages 12-24 mo with risk factors for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and explored their relationship to general development and early signs of ASD. METHOD: Participants (N = 46) included toddlers with higher risk for ASD. All participants were administered standardized assessments of sensory features, early signs of ASD, and general development at a single study visit. RESULTS: Sensory features in toddlers were characterized as either adaptive or reactive. Toddlers with more difficulties in oral sensory processing displayed more early signs of ASD. Typical oral and auditory processing were associated with higher cognitive function, and toddlers with fewer sensory features overall had more mature language skills. CONCLUSION: Specific sensory features were associated with both early signs of ASD and less mature general development. Replication of this preliminary study is required.