The Contribution of Executive Functions to Emergent Mathematic Skills in Preschool Children

Espy, Kimberly Andrews; McDiarmid, Melanie M.; Cwik, Mary; Stalets, Melissa Meade; Hamby, Arlena; Senn, Theresa E.

doi:10.1207/s15326942dn2601_6

Cited by 568 publications

(401 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Previous studies have failed to find a relationship between shifting and math in preschool children (e.g., Espy et al, 2004). Measuring cognitive flexibility in preschool children has proven to be challenging, as reversal task performance (as used in many previous studies) may discriminate only those with severe disturbances in flexibly shifting between response sets, such as children diagnosed with severe disorders .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many studies now also report a direct association between executive functioning and children's early emerging and developing mathematical skills across a wide age range (e.g., Bull, Johnston, & Roy, 1999;Bull & Scerif, 2001;Espy, McDiarmid, Cwik, Stalets, Hamby, & Senn, 2004;Gathercole & Pickering, 2000;Gathercole et al, 2004;McLean & Hitch, 1999;Passolunghi & Siegel, 2001). Many of these studies choose to focus on span tasks thought to measure updating within working memory.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Short-Term Memory, Working Memory, and Executive Functioning in Preschoolers: Longitudinal Predictors of Mathematical Achievement at Age 7 Years

Bull

Espy

Wiebe

2008

Developmental Neuropsychology

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Short-Term Memory, Working Memory, and Executive Functioning in Preschoolers: Longitudinal Predictors of Mathematical Achievement at Age 7 Years

Bull

Espy

Wiebe

2008

Developmental Neuropsychology

Self Cite

1,326

990

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Although defi cits in executive function likely contribute to learning problems (Assel et al .,), less is known about the relationships between specifi c executive skills and children's academic competencies. For example, some studies report an association between inhibitory abilities and mathematics skills in young children (Espy et al, 2004 ). However, these relationships are less clear in older children (Bull, Espy, & Wiebe, 2008 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attentional networks efficiency in preterm children

Pizzo

Urben

Linden

et al. 2009

J Int Neuropsychol Soc

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Recent studies have reported specifi c executive and attentional defi cits in preterm children. However, the majority of this research has used multidetermined tasks to assess these abilities, and the interpretation of the results lacks an explicit theoretical backdrop to better understand the origin of the diffi culties observed. In the present study, we used the Child Attention Network Task (Child ANT; Rueda et al. 2004 ) to assess the effi ciency of the alerting, orienting and executive control networks. We compared the performance of 25 preterm children (gestational age ≤ 32 weeks) to 25 full-term children, all between 5½ and 6½ years of age. Results showed that, as compared to full-term children, preterm children were slower on all conditions of the Child ANT and had a specifi c defi cit in executive control abilities. We also observed a signifi cantly higher correlation between the orienting and executive control networks in the preterm group, suggesting less differentiation of these two networks in this population. ( JINS , 2010, 16, 130-137.)

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“…Conceptually, the EF skills associated with the ability to hold ideas in working memory, demonstrate inhibitory control, and flexibly deploy attention should all have high relevance for academic and behavioral adaptation at school (Diamond, 2002). This may be particularly true for early mathematical ability, as several studies have shown predictive relations between working memory, inhibitory control, and attention shifting measures of EF and math skill acquisition in preschool and the early elementary grades (Blair & Razza, 2007;Bull & Scerif, 2001;Espy et al, 2004). Several studies also suggest, however, that EF skills assessed via behavioral measures may relate particularly well to behavioral measures of school readiness.…”

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confidence: 99%

Executive functions and school readiness intervention: Impact, moderation, and mediation in the Head Start REDI program

et al. 2008

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Despite their potentially central role in fostering school readiness, executive function (EF) skills have received little explicit attention in the design and evaluation of school readiness interventions for socioeconomically disadvantaged children. The present study examined a set of five EF measures in the context of a randomized-controlled trial of a research-based intervention integrated into Head Start programs (Head Start REDI). Three hundred fifty-six 4-year-old children (17% Hispanic, 25% African American; 54% girls) were followed over the course of the prekindergarten year. Initial EF predicted gains in cognitive and social-emotional skills and moderated the impact of the Head Start REDI intervention on some outcomes. The REDI intervention promoted gains on two EF measures, which partially mediated intervention effects on school readiness. We discuss the importance of further study of the neurobiological bases of school readiness, the implications for intervention design, and the value of incorporating markers of neurobiological processes into school readiness interventions.Growing up in poverty significantly increases the likelihood that children will start school well behind their advantaged peers in key areas of language development and emergent literacy skills (Zill et al., 2003). Perhaps even more critically, many will start school without the social-emotional maturity and classroom behaviors that foster "readiness to learn," impeding their rate of progress once in school, and contributing to gaping disparities in school performance, high school graduation rates, and long-term employment potential (Campbell & von Stauffenberg, 2008;McClelland, Acock, & Morrison, 2006;Ryan, Fauth, & Brooks-Gunn, 2006). Rates of child poverty are on the rise in the United States, now affecting nearly one out of five children (Children's Defense Fund, 2005), making the problem of understanding and promoting school readiness a national priority.Recent efforts to promote school readiness for children growing up in poverty have focused on improving the instructional content of preschool programs, particularly Head Start programs, to enhance children's acquisition of key emergent literacy skills (such as letter identification and phonemic sensitivity) that are strong predictors of later achievement (Lonigan, Burgess, & Anthony, 2000). Although important, instructional strategies that focus narrowly on promoting the memorization of discrete content may "miss the mark" developmentally. The long-term impact of preschool interventions may depend on the degree to which they foster the development of mental systems that support learning and adaptive learning behaviors (Blair, 2002). For this reason, the Committee on Integrating the Science of Early Childhood Development (Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000) and others have underscored the importance of promoting self-regulation and social competence in preschool Copyright ©2008 Cambridge University Press Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Karen Bierman, Pennsylvania ...

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The Contribution of Executive Functions to Emergent Mathematic Skills in Preschool Children

Cited by 568 publications

References 48 publications

Short-Term Memory, Working Memory, and Executive Functioning in Preschoolers: Longitudinal Predictors of Mathematical Achievement at Age 7 Years

Short-Term Memory, Working Memory, and Executive Functioning in Preschoolers: Longitudinal Predictors of Mathematical Achievement at Age 7 Years

Attentional networks efficiency in preterm children

Executive functions and school readiness intervention: Impact, moderation, and mediation in the Head Start REDI program

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