Does One Year of Schooling Improve Children’s Cognitive Control and Alter Associated Brain Activation?

Abstract

The "5-to-7-year shift" refers to the remarkable improvements observed in children's cognitive abilities during this age range, particularly in their ability to exert control over their attention and behavior-that is, their executive functioning. As this shift coincides with school entry, the extent to which it is driven by brain maturation or by exposure to formal schooling is unclear. In this longitudinal study, we followed 5-year-olds born close to the official cutoff date for entry into first grade and compared those who subsequently entered first grade that year with those who remained in kindergarten, which is more play oriented. The first graders made larger improvements in accuracy on an executive-function test over the year than did the kindergartners. In an independent functional MRI task, we found that the first graders, compared with the kindergartners, exhibited a greater increase in activation of right posterior parietal cortex, a region previously implicated in sustained attention; increased activation in this region was correlated with the improvement in accuracy. These results reveal how the environmental context of formal schooling shapes brain mechanisms underlying improved focus on cognitively demanding tasks.

The malleability of executive function in early childhood: Effects of schooling and targeted training

“…Furthermore, this difference persisted when comparing the first graders and kindergarten control group over time, with the most pronounced difference observed at follow‐up. This finding corroborates earlier work demonstrating a positive relationship between schooling and cognitive ability (Brod et al., ; Ceci, ; see also Nisbett, ; Nisbett et al., ).…”

“…Given the importance of EF, the question of whether and how we might improve EF has been a hot topic. Researchers have suggested that education and schooling affect performance in cognitive tasks assessing EF (e.g., Baker et al., ; Brod, Bunge, & Shing, ; Ceci, ). In addition, studies have provided evidence that the development of EF might be fostered by specific school‐related requirements in early primary school children (e.g., Blair & Raver, ; Burrage et al., ; Diamond, Barnett, Thomas, & Munro, ; Raver et al., , ).…”

Longitudinal associations between conflict monitoring and emergent academic skills: An event‐related potentials study

“…In our longitudinal study with relatively close time points, we did not find any evidence for developmental change in the amplitude or scalp distribution of the N2 component as children transitioned from preschool to early years of formal schooling. For instance, in the study by Brod et al (2017), average No-Go accuracy at kindergarten was much lower compared to what we observed. Contrary to our findings, in a recent study, increases in neural activation of right posterior parietal cortex were observed in a Go/No-Go task in children who were exposed to a year of formal schooling compared to kindergartners of similar age (Brod, Bunge, & Shing, 2017).…”

Empirical Evidence Supporting Neural Contributions to Episodic Memory Development in Early Childhood: Implications for Childhood Amnesia

“…Only after this initial foundational knowledge is laid down does retaining specific details become important (Newcombe et al, ). Fourth, in many societies, formal schooling is introduced at this age, and schooling affects both cognitive ability and brain development (Brod, Bunge, & Shing, ).…”

“…Only after this initial foundational knowledge is laid down does retaining specific details become important (Newcombe et al, 2007). Fourth, in many societies, formal schooling is introduced at this age, and schooling affects both cognitive ability and brain development (Brod, Bunge, & Shing, 2017). Finally, theories of memory and data from animal models suggest that brain development may contribute to this shift in memory (e.g., Bauer, 2007Bauer, , 2015Lavenex & Banta Lavenex, 2013;Nadel & Zola-Morgan, 1984;Pillemer & White, 1989).…”