Executive function and learning behaviors: associations with academic skills among preschoolers (original) (raw)
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Early Child Development and Care, 2020
Executive function and learning behaviour play an important role in children's academic outcomes by helping them maintain attention, work cooperatively, and stay focused, especially for those from lower family socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds. This study explored whether these learning-related skills were associated with children's concurrent math and literacy skills and whether they moderated the associations of family SES with math and literacy skills. Preschool children (n = 179) from early childhood education settings were directly assessed on executive function, math, and literacy skills. Executive function and learning behaviour were significantly correlated with children's math and literacy outcomes. Learning behavior moderated the association between family SES and child math outcomes. Teachers may support learning behaviour by teaching active listening and frustration management techniques, thus motivating children to actively participate in learning. This serves to buffer the negative impacts of family SES on children's academic outcomes, specifically math skills.
Developmental Psychology, 2015
Although research suggests associations between children's executive function skills and their academic achievement, the specific mechanisms that may help explain these associations in early childhood are unclear. This study examined whether children's (N ϭ 1,103; M age ϭ 54.5 months) executive function skills at the beginning of prekindergarten (pre-K) predict their learning-related behaviors in the classroom and whether these behaviors then mediate associations between children's executive function skills and their pre-K literacy, language, and mathematic gains. Learning-related behaviors were quantified in terms of (a) higher levels of involvement in learning opportunities; (b) greater frequency of participation in activities that require sequential steps; (c) more participation in social-learning interactions; and (d) less instances of being unoccupied, disruptive, or in time out. Results indicated that children's learningrelated behaviors mediated associations between executive function skills and literacy and mathematics gains through children's level of involvement, sequential learning behaviors, and disengagement from the classroom. The implications of the findings for early childhood education are discussed.
Is preschool executive function causally related to academic achievement?
Child Neuropsychology, 2012
The primary objective of this study was to re-evaluate the well-established result that preschoolers' performance on executive function tasks are positively associated with their performance on academic achievement tests. The current study replicated the previously established concurrent associations between children's performance on EF tasks and academic achievement tests. Specifically, children's performance on measures of inhibitory and motor control were positively associated with their performance on tests of reading, writing, and mathematics achievement (rs = .2-.5); moreover, although diminished in magnitude, most of these associations held up even after including an earlier measure of academic achievement as a covariate (rs = .1-.3). However, the application of an alternative analytic method, fixed effects analysis, a method which capitalizes on repeated measures data to control for all time stable measured and unmeasured covariates, rendered the apparent positive associations between
Psychological Bulletin, 2021
The primary goal of this study was to examine developmental patterns among the relations between components of EF (working memory [WM], inhibitory control, shifting), and academic outcomes (reading, mathematics, language) in elementary-school-age children. These relations were examined within the context of the development of EF and of academic skills utilizing an extension of the unity and diversity, intrinsic cognitive load, and dual process theories. Using meta-analytic methods, we summarized results from 305 studies with 292 independent samples, representing 64,167 elementary-school-age children (42-191 months old [M=101 months, SD=24.49 months]). Results indicated that accounting for general EF (by including the correlations among EF tasks in meta-analytic path models and accounting for effects between all three EF components and academic outcomes simultaneously) produced weaker relations between EF and academic skills than the bivariate relations which have been reported in prior meta-analytic reviews. However, although reduced, all relations between EF and academic outcomes remained significant throughout elementary school. Whereas WM was consistently moderately associated with reading, math, and oral language across development, the developmental trends for the relations between inhibitory control and shifting with academic outcomes varied based upon the academic skill examined. On the academic side, whereas the relations between reading and language skills with EF components varied throughout elementary school, few developmental changes were found in the relations between EF components and math skills across elementary school. Future directions and implications of findings for the conceptualization of the impact of EF on academics are discussed within the context of relevant theoretical models.
Preschool Executive Function Profiles: Implications for Math Achievement in Grades 1 and 3
Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 2018
This longitudinal study aimed to identify specific executive function (EF) profiles in 5-year-old children and to examine the association between these profiles and later math achievement. Six EF measures were administered to 175 children who were then tested in Grades 1 and 3 on math tasks. Using a cluster analysis, four EF profiles were identified: an optimal EF profile, a typical EF profile, a weak working memory (WM)-shifting profile, and a general EF deficit profile. These groups performed differently in math. In particular, the group with a weak WM-shifting profile, whose performance was equivalent to that of the group with a typical EF profile in arithmetic facts and in math problems in Grade 1, showed difficulties similar to the group, with general EF deficits in Grade 3. The association of minor difficulties in WM at preschool ages with later math achievement and the implications for educational practices are discussed.
Preschool Executive Functioning and Child Behavior: Association with Learning Prerequisites?
Children
Preschool age is a golden period for the emergence of executive functions (EFs) that, in turn, predict learning and adaptive behavior throughout all life. The study was aimed to identify which EFs measures significantly explained the learning prerequisites and the mediation role of self-regulatory and executive behavior recorded in structured or free settings. One hundred and twenty-seven preschoolers were remotely assessed by standardized tests of response inhibition, working memory, control of interference, and cognitive flexibility. Teachers provided a global measure of learning prerequisites by an observational questionnaire. Self-regulatory behavior during the assessment was evaluated by a rating scale filled by the examiners. Executive function behavior in daily life was measured by a questionnaire filled by parents. Accuracy in tasks of response inhibition and working memory explained about 48% of the variability in learning prerequisites while response speed and accuracy in ...
The role of the executive functions in school readiness among preschool-age children
Reading and Writing, 2013
The aim of this study was to identify the specific contribution of executive functions to pre-academic skills (emergent literacy, phonological awareness and orthographic knowledge, and emergent mathematic knowledge) over and above cognitive and linguistic underpinning abilities such as naming, short-term memory and vocabulary. The study was designed to examine the following questions: (1) Are executive functions related to pre-academics skills in general or are they related to specific pre-academic skills? (2) Does the magnitude of the relationship between executive functions and pre-academics skills change with the progress in pre-school age? 54 children between the ages of 5 and 6 years old from 4 different kindergartens participated in the project. A wide range of pre-academic skills, cognitive, linguistic and executive functions tasks were administered. The results demonstrated that executive functions contributed significantly to both emergent literacy and emergent mathematic knowledge. In addition, the current study also suggests that the role of executive functions increases with the growth of child's pre-academic development. Finally, the strongest contribution of executive functions was found to orthographic knowledge.
Data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care (N = 1273) were analyzed to assess the longitudinal relations among executive function (EF) components in early childhood (54 months) and adolescence (15 years) and their prediction of academic achievement. We found that after controlling for early achievement, demographic and home environment variables, only working memory at 54 months significantly predicted working memory at 15 years and that working memory was the only significant EF predictor of achievement at age 15. In contrast, all early achievement measures were significant predictors of later achievement. Further, no demographic or home environment variables at 54 months significantly predicted EF at 15, and only maternal education significantly explained variance in adolescent math and literacy achievement. These findings demonstrate the predictability of working memory and highlight its importance for academic outcomes across development. However, the lack of associations of ...
Executive functioning and learning in primary school students
Electronic Journal of Research in Educational Psychology, 2019
Introduction. Executive functions involve cognitive and metacognitive abilities that make up a sophisticated system that monitors and reviews conduct involved in decision-making. These functions are critical for carrying out tasks and adaptive behavior. Among its compo-nents are inhibitory and attentional control, planning, self-regulation and cognitive flexibility, all relating directly to academic performance. This study examines how variables linked to executive functions and learning are related to mathematics achievement in primary school students. Method. A total of 519 boys and girls participated in the study, with a mean age of 10.74 years (SD =. 66). Students were classified into three groups (low, medium and high) accord-ing to their math achievement. Results. The results show significant, negative relations between math performance and at-tention deficit, hyperactivity and impulsivity; as well as positive relations with learning strat-egies, attitude towards study and academic self-concept. Differences between the math achievement groups are significant in practically all the variables studied. Discussion and conclusions. School interventions that address both executive functions and intentional training in learning strategies are needed in order to encourage better academic performance.
Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), 2016
Academic preparedness, executive function abilities, and positive relationships with teachers have each been shown to be uniquely important for school readiness and success in the early elementary grades. Few studies, however, have examined the joint influence of these readiness variables on early school outcomes. Using data from a prospective longitudinal sample of 1292 children and families in predominantly low-income and rural communities, we found that executive function at child age 48 months and a higher quality relationship with the kindergarten teacher each uniquely moderated the effect of math ability in preschool on math ability at the end of kindergarten. This effect was seen for math ability as measured by the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten (ECLS-K) mathematics assessment battery but not the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement Applied Problems subtest. For children with lower math ability in preschool as assessed by the ECLS-K Math battery, higher executive function abilities and a more positive relationship with the kindergarten teacher were each associated with a higher than expected level of math ability in kindergarten. Conversely, lowest levels of math ability in kindergarten were observed among children with low math ability in preschool and poor executive function or a less positive relationship with the kindergarten teacher.