Italian adaptation of the Japanese START Program for enhancing self-regulation in kindergarteners: a pilot study

Transitioning from kindergarten to primary school is crucial for children's development and often challenges their adaptation to classroom rules. To ensure well-being and success, children need behavioural self-regulation skills. To our knowledge, few intervention programs focus on activities supporting self-regulation related to classroom rules. This pilot study aims to validate the START Program by testing its six academic readiness lessons in Italy, comparing the Italian and Japanese samples to assess the program's effectiveness across countries. The total sample consisted of 47 children (24 Italian and 23 Japanese) attending the final year of kindergarten, aged 62 to 72 months (M = 66.87, SD = 2.24). The Italian sub-sample consisted of 24 children (15 boys and 9 girls), while the Japanese sub-sample consisted of 23 children (11 boys and 12 girls). Repeated-measures ANOVA results showed significant between-subjects effects of nationality on auditory working memory (F1,42 = 8.32, p = 0.006, η2 = 0.17). A significant effect of the group (F1,43 = 4.21, p = 0.046, η2 = 0.09) was found on inhibitory control. Furthermore, results on self-regulation showed significant effects of time (F1,43 = 17.03, p <.001, η2 = 0.28) and nationality (F1,43 = 5.45, p = 0.024, η2 = 0.11). Significant effects of time (F1,42 = 16.05, p <.001, η2 = 0.28) and the interaction of nationality-per-group (F1,42 = 4.21, p = 0.046, η2 = 0.09) were found on auditory working memory. No significant between-subjects effects were found on visuospatial working memory. Findings provide a preliminary support of the Italian adaptation of the START Program as a feasible class-based approach supporting children’s self-regulation, in particular their inhibitory control.