"Research Findings:" Executive Function (EF) and Early Math (EM) are foundational skills for children's school success. Interventions have shown to foster these skills, but their effectiveness in less developed countries remains unknown. This study examined the initial efficacy of an eight-week EF and an EM skills program for young…

Recent research has provided mixed evidence on the promise of classroom-based interventions for supporting young children's development of executive functions (EF). To advance intervention efforts, it is necessary to identify specific types of interactions that might support the development of EF in early childhood. Through a correlational design,…

Research Findings: Early childhood is a critical period for the development of eating behaviors and novel approaches are needed to promote healthy food acceptance among preschoolers. This pilot study examined the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of a 6-week mindful eating and yoga intervention targeting children's self-regulation of…

The current randomized control trial evaluated the effectiveness of a new social-emotional learning (SEL) program, I Can Succeed for Preschools (ICS-PS). ICS-PS aims to improve preschoolers' social/interpersonal, emotional, and academic skills in an integrative way, focusing on children's core executive functions (EFs). The various components of…

Research Findings: The study investigated whether preschool code-related home literacy experiences had direct associations with regular and irregular word reading in the first year of primary school as well as exploring whether there were indirect associations between these experiences and later word reading via children's language skills or…

Primary education is compulsory around the world. This means that around age 5 or 6, millions of children worldwide transition from home or preschool/kindergarten settings into primary school, with the success of this transition shaping school and life trajectories for years to come. Both developmental and environmental factors during early…

The current study used a dyadic and coconstructive approach to examine how to embed exercises that support executive functioning into early literacy instruction to empower its effects. Using a randomized controlled trial design with 100 children, we examined the effects of dyadic activities in which children scaffolded each other's learning and…

Research Findings: This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of linguistic training based on the use of the Drežancic method in educational settings. It is hypothesized that characteristics of this method, based on the typical stages of linguistic and cognitive development, could influence both language competence and executive function (EF). A…