ENGAGE™ Beginnings
Professor Dione Healey is a clinical psychologist with a PhD in Psychology. She trained at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand before heading to the USA to do postdoctoral work in New York at Queens College of the City University of New York. She now works as an academic in the Department of Psychology at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. She has extensive clinical and research experience in the area of self-regulation in young mokopuna. Dione is the lead developer of ENGAGE and is the Director of the ENGAGE Research and Development programme which is based in her research laboratory at the University of Otago.
Key Collaborations
Owned by Otago Innovation, ENGAGE is licensed and trademarked. ENGAGE can only be administered by those who have been trained by an accredited ENGAGE trainer and facilitator.
While ENGAGE was conceived and developed by Professor Dione Healey, it has grown and been adapted in collaboration with many others, including her students, research assistants, and academic collaborators. One of the key collaborators and partners in the development of the early childhood education-based version of ENGAGE has been the ENGAGE staff at the Methodist Mission Southern who have worked very closely with Dione on adaption of the approach within early childhood education settings.
Methodist Mission Southern
Delivering evidence-based support to people of all ages, throughout Aotearoa
Otago Innovation
Helping University of Otago researchers launch their technology to the world
“The importance of developing self-regulation can’t be over-stated.”
Professor Dione Healey
ENGAGE™ Lead Developer & Research Director
What is ENGAGE™
ENGAGE is focused on fostering mokopuna’s skills, attitudes, learning dispositions, and working theories within a fun play-based approach. ENGAGE has a strong focus on relationships, working together, and belonging.
What is Self-Regulation?
Self-regulation is a skill, and skills can be improved with practice. Research shows that people with strong self-regulation skills make better decisions and are able to function effectively in a wide range of situations, leading to more positive outcomes across their lifespan.
Three Key Aspects of Self-regulation
When we breakdown self-regulation, there are three key aspects to work on with our mokopuna: Emotional, Cognitive and Behavioural.
The ENGAGE games are designed to target and strengthen each of these core areas, helping your child build a solid foundation for self-regulation and overall success.
Emotional Skills
Many mokopuna face challenges in understanding and managing their emotions, showing empathy for others, coping with losing, or settling down at mat time (or nap time for younger ones). Relaxation and deep breathing exercises in ENGAGE can help mokopuna learn techniques to calm themselves and control emotional outbursts.
Cognitive/Thinking Skills
Memory and attention are fundamental skills for academic learning and social interactions. The ability to filter out distractions and focus on a task is crucial to build self-regulation skills. Many ENGAGE games encourage mokopuna to persist and repeatedly practice tasks until they succeed.
Behavioural Skills
Effective behavioural regulation is essential for learning new skills, persisting with tasks, controlling impulses, and mastering motor skills. It also plays a key role in interactions with others, such as starting or maintaining conversations, sharing, waiting for a turn, and joining in games. These skills are fundamental for building strong communication and relationships.
The ENGAGE™ Process
ENGAGE focuses on teaching self-regulation skills incrementally through carefully chosen games and exercises. Activities are designed to be slightly above the children’s current ability, gradually increasing in complexity as their skills develop.
ENGAGE™ is owned, trademarked and out-licensed by Otago Innovation Limited. ENGAGE™ can only be administered by those who have been trained by an accredited ENGAGE™ trainer and facilitator.
ENGAGE™ – Strategies and Techniques
ECE kaiako sharing some tips and techniques for supporting children when using ENGAGE.