Developing Self-Regulation: 10 Reasons Why Teaching Self-Control is Essential for Student Learning

Posted In Teaching On April 21, 2025

Developing self-regulation is one of the most important steps teachers can take to improve student learning, behavior, and social success. Whether you teach 1st-grade or high school seniors, helping students develop self-regulation equips them with the executive function tools they need to thrive in and beyond the classroom. In fact, developing self-regulation is foundational for academic success, emotional resilience, and positive peer relationships.

At its core, self-control is the ability to manage impulses, emotions, and behaviors in order to reach goals. It’s a critical piece of the executive function system—a set of mental skills that help students plan, focus attention, remember instructions, and juggle multiple tasks successfully. Teaching executive function skills like self-control builds student confidence, improves academic performance, and helps meet individual student learning needs.

Below are 10 essential reasons why teaching self-control should be a priority in every classroom:

1. Help Students Recognize When Their Actions Need to Stop

Students often act before thinking. Developing self-regulation helps students pause and recognize when a behavior is not appropriate. Through executive function lessons, students can learn to check in with themselves and notice when they’re going off-track.

2. Help Students Stop Unwanted Actions

Recognizing an inappropriate behavior is one thing—stopping it is another. Executive function strategies support students in replacing unwanted actions with more productive ones. These strategies can be especially powerful for solving executive function challenges related to impulsivity or hyperactivity.

3. Help Students Understand How to Keep Their Undesirable Thoughts to Themselves

Students may blurt out thoughts that are disruptive, inappropriate, or hurtful. Teaching self-control as part of an executive function curriculum helps students learn to filter these thoughts. This strengthens student social skills and classroom culture.

4. Help Students Wait Their Turn to Speak

Taking turns in conversations is a learned skill. Developing self-regulation supports the ability to delay speaking until the appropriate moment. This not only improves communication but also fosters a respectful learning environment and student engagement strategies.

5. Help Students Keep Calm Using Coping Skills

Big emotions can interfere with learning. By embedding coping strategies into executive function instruction, you empower students to manage stress and frustration. These self-regulation tools reduce classroom disruptions and improve student behavior management.

6. Help Students Think Before Acting

Thinking before acting is one of the clearest signs of executive function growth. Through executive function instruction, students learn to anticipate the impact of their actions and make thoughtful choices. This supports student empowerment and fosters independent decision-making.

7. Help Students Consider the Consequences of Their Actions

Students with strong self-control consider how their actions affect themselves and others. Developing self-regulation trains students to think ahead, weigh their options, and make choices that align with long-term goals—key aspects of any effective executive function system.

8. Help Students Maintain Composure When They Are Triggered

Triggers—whether emotional, social, or academic—can lead to outbursts or shutdowns. Developing self-regulation equips students with executive functioning tools to stay composed and respond, not react. This kind of resilience is essential for improving students’ performance.

9. Help Students Take Responsibility for Themselves

Self-control leads to accountability. Students who regulate their actions can own their behavior and accept consequences with maturity. This growth mindset supports student confidence building and helps them become more independent learners.

10. Help Students Develop Self-Discipline

Self-discipline is the ability to stay focused on goals despite distractions or difficulties. Teaching executive function skills helps students persist through challenges and manage their time, attention, and energy wisely—skills essential for lifelong success.

Developing Self-Regulation by teaching Self-Control

To integrate these skills into your classroom, begin by incorporating explicit executive function instruction into your daily routines. Use executive function lessons to teach students what self-control looks like, sounds like, and feels like. Model self-regulation, practice it together, and celebrate growth.

Not sure where to start?

Check out our blog post, “What is Self-Control?” And if you’d like even more tips and resources on executive function learning, sign up for our newsletter.

Teaching self-control isn’t just a behavioral intervention—it’s a crucial academic and life skill. When students have access to a strong executive function curriculum, they gain the tools to stay focused, act responsibly, and reach their potential.

Let’s give students what they need to succeed—not just now, but for the rest of their lives.