The neurodevelopment of executive function skills: Implications for academic achievement gaps.

Abstract

Introduction: Executive function (EF) skills emerge in infancy and typically become more effective and efficient throughout childhood and adolescence and into early adulthood. Objective: This article presents an overview of the development of EF skills from the perspective of developmental social–cognitive neuroscience, briefly reviewing the influence of experience on the typical and atypical development of neural systems supporting these skills. Results: Research indicates that EF skills provide a foundation for academic achievement, playing a particularly important role in math learning and math problem solving. Research also indicates that EF skills can be cultivated through scaffolded training, and that intervention efficacy can be enhanced by mitigating disruptive bottom-up influences such as stress, training both hot (more emotional) and cool (more cognitive) EF skills, and adding a reflective, metacognitive component to promote far transfer of trained skills. Conclusion: This research has important practical implications for children at risk for school difficulty, raising the possibility that interventions targeting EF skills in the context of math education may help reduce socioeconomic gaps in school success.

Examining the Acute Effects of Classroom-Based Physical Activity Breaks on Executive Functioning in 11- to 14-Year-Old Children: Single and Additive Moderation Effects of Physical Fitness

“…Executive functions can be divided into three core processes including "inhibition" which refers to the ability to suppress (or resist) automatic responses such as urges and distractions, "shifting" which refers to the ability to switch one's attention back and forth between multiple rules, mental sets, or tasks, and "updating" which refers to the maintenance of relevant information in working memory and the ability to process that information further. In turn, executive functions are related to many adaptive health outcomes across the life span (13,14), including regular participation in physical activity (15,16) as well as academic achievement and learning across a range of subjects (17)(18)(19)(20). With regards to the acute effects of physical activity on executive functioning, ample research suggests relatively short bouts (e.g., a single 10-20-min bout) of various forms of physical activity and exercise (e.g., jogging, cycling, and circuit-based activities) can lead to short-term improvements on measures of executive functions (9,10).…”

A Game-Based Online Tool to Measure Cognitive Functions in Students

“…Executive functions (EFs) are a set of interrelated cognitive skills that enable us to successfully navigate daily challenges, and have repeatedly been shown to predict success across the life span [2,14,[17][18][19]. These regulatory skills are necessary to remember and manipulate the information we receive (working memory), inhibit irrelevant thoughts and behavior (inhibition control), and flexibly apply rules to the right context (cognitive flexibility).…”

“…These regulatory skills are necessary to remember and manipulate the information we receive (working memory), inhibit irrelevant thoughts and behavior (inhibition control), and flexibly apply rules to the right context (cognitive flexibility). Collectively they enable us to solve tasks and reach goals and as such are duly recognized as an important factor in educational success [14,15,17,20,21]. Thus, improving executive function assessment tools in educational contexts is a crucial first step to support students' cognitive development and create a foundation for learning.…”

Strengthening Executive Function and Self-Regulation Through Teacher-Student Interaction in Preschool and Primary School Children: A Systematic Review

“…However, in general, EF/SR fail to develop to their full potential if the contextual stimulation is not adequately presented (e.g., Fay-Stammbach et al, 2014 ; Moriguchi, 2014 ; van Lier and Deater-Deckard, 2015 ; Helm et al, 2019 ). Taken into account results from both behavioural and brain imaging studies, early and middle childhood appears to be a period of high plasticity sensitive to developmental and environmental influences (McEwen and Morrison, 2013 ; Buttelmann and Karbach, 2017 ; Zelazo and Carlson, 2020 ).…”