Is preschool executive function causally related to academic achievement?

Abstract

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 executive function and academic achievement non-significant(rs = .0 –.1).Taken together, these results suggest that the well-replicated association between executive function abilities and academic achievement may be spurious. Results are discussed with respect to the importance of utilizing analytic methods and research designs that facilitate strong causal inferences between executive function and academic achievement in early childhood, as well as the limitations of making curriculum development recommendations and/or public policy decisions based on studies that have failed to do so.

Применение Компьютерных Игровых Технологий Для Развития Регуляторных Функций Дошкольников

“…Введение Одним из самых важных достижений старшего дошкольного возраста и предиктором успешной адаптации и обучения в школе является развитие произвольности или регуляторных функций [1,2,3,4,5]. В связи с этим особое место в психологии дошкольного возраста занимают диагностика и создание различных методов развития когнитивной и поведенческой регуляции детей.…”

“…Как показали классики отечественной и зарубежной психологии, наиболее значимой деятельностью в дошкольном возрасте является именно игровая деятельность [3,19]. Ее важнейшей отличительной характеристикой является то, что в игре ребенок создает мнимую ситуацию, которая заключает в себе определенные правила поведения.…”

Executive Functions And Theory Of Mind In Senior Preschool Age

“…There are data according to which the concept of the mental model and executive functions is served by the single front lobe zone (Olson et al, 2011). Some authors assert in their works that general cognitive abilities are behind the executive functions and theory of mind development (Willoughby et al, 2012). For example, the Dimensional Change Card Sorting Task (Almazova et al, 2016;Olson et al, 2011) and theory of Mind tasks have a common logical structure.…”

“…This cognitive ability underlies children's social skills that along with executive function development provide for a child's successful adaptation to school education (Willoughby et al, 2012). …”

Diagnosis Of The Level Of Development Of Executive Functions In Preschool Age

“…Development of voluntariness or executive functions is a major important achievement in the senior preschool age and a predictor of successful school adaptation and education (Blair, 2002;Welsch et al, 2010;Willoughby et al, 2012;Yeniad et al, 2013, etc.). Although there are methodological differences between the concepts of voluntariness (in the cultural and historical sense) and "executive functions" (neuroscience), the underlying processes are similar in both of them (Almazova et al, 2016).…”