Is it possible to promote executive functions in preschoolers? A case study in Brazil

Abstract

Executive functions (EF) provide top-down control of thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Such abilities are related to learning, emotional control, and adjustment. A promising line of research on EF examines early interventions to promote EF development; however, in developing countries, evidence of EF-related early interventions remains limited. In this study, 70 five-year-old preschool children and their four teachers were divided into an experimental group (EG) and a control group (CG). EG teachers were trained to administer the Intervention Program for Self-regulation and Executive Functions in a classroom context over four and a half months. All children were assessed with tests to measure EF at two time points: before and after the intervention period. EG children exhibited significant gains in attention and inhibition post-intervention. The results suggest that the intervention program is more effective at promoting EF development than the regular curriculum. This finding may have practical relevance to public politics in education, primarily in disadvantaged contexts, as in certain developing countries.

Improving Executive Functions at School in Children With Special Needs by Educational Robotics

“…Different approaches have been proposed to empower the main EF components in typical and atypical development. In the preschoolers, they have been focused mainly on self-regulation by paper and pencil school activities (Dias and Seabra, 2015;Traverso et al, 2015;Duncan et al, 2018;Howard et al, 2018;Diamond et al, 2019), while computerized training has been proposed mainly for school-aged children (Klingberg et al, 2005;Aksayli et al, 2019). Moreover, aerobics, martial arts, yoga, and mindfulness have recently been suggested as efficacious tools to empower EFs (Diamond and Lee, 2011).…”

Leitura de Estudantes com Dislexia do Desenvolvimento: Impactos de uma Intervenção com Método Fônico Associado à Estimulação de Funções Executivas

“…There are few studies that show the advantages of an intervention program also involving EF in dyslexics, especially with Brazilian participants. There is already evidence of the positive effect of interventions involving EF in young children with no learning difficulties (Dias & Seabra, 2015a, 2015b and in children with ADHD (Menezes, Dias, Trevisan, Carreiro, & Seabra, 2015). To this day, the only program found in the Brazilian literature used in dyslexics is the one conducted by .…”

Preschoolers' Executive Function: Importance, Contributors, Research Needs and Assessment Options

“…The researcher conducting this study hypothesized that these gains were due to the Montessori activities' demands on children's working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility (Lillard, ). In a randomized‐control trial set in classrooms serving 5‐year‐olds in Brazil, students exposed to a special curriculum designed to promote the development of their organizational, collaborative, and emotional skills also experienced more improvement in their EF skills as compared to students in the control group (Dias & Seabra, ). In addition, preschoolers who received once‐per‐week lessons promoting mindfulness received better teacher ratings of their working memory in comparison to students who did not receive such lessons.…”