Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) overdiagnosis and overtreatment unnecessarily exposes children to potential harm and contributes to provider and community skepticism toward those with moderate or severe symptoms and significant impairments, resulting in less supportive care. Yet, which sociodemographic groups of children are…

The post-pandemic return to school posed many challenges for educational leaders. Administrative teams had to come up with plans to close achievement gaps created by an extended period of remote learning. One suburban New Jersey high school identified at-risk students and created an Academic Mentoring Support (AMS) program as an intervention. Once…

This dissertation consists of a theoretical review and two empirical studies investigating college students' academic effort beliefs (AEB) and their relationship to academic functioning. The overarching goal of this project was to (a) better understand how college students think about effort as it relates to their academic endeavors, (b) develop a…

The study examines students' skills at kindergarten entry and gains in skills across the kindergarten through first-grade period (pre-COVID-19) for predicting literacy, language, math, inhibitory control, and social-adjustment outcomes in the spring of fourth grade, after schools reopened. In a large US school district, longitudinal data were…

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) characteristically experience academic difficulties. There is growing evidence that the continuum from academic competence to underachievement is partially explained by executive function (EF; neurocognitive attention-regulation processes) and stress. Yet, there is scarce research…

The current paper reports long-term impacts of the Chicago School Readiness Project (CSRP) on measures of achievement, cognitive functioning, and behavioral regulation taken toward the end of students' high school careers. The CSRP was a self-regulation-focused early childhood intervention implemented in Head Start centers serving high-poverty…

The current paper reports long-term impacts of the Chicago School Readiness Project (CSRP) on measures of achievement, cognitive functioning, and behavioral regulation taken toward the end of students' high school careers. The CSRP was a self-regulation-focused early childhood intervention implemented in Head Start centers serving high-poverty…

One method for addressing barriers disabled college students face is by increasing access to academic accommodations. However, for college students with ADHD, little is known about the associations between receipt of accommodations and academic performance, behavioral functioning, and mood status. Considering college students with ADHD are at a…

Cultural contexts influence the development of self-regulation. However, cross-cultural variations and consistencies in different aspects of self-regulation and their academic outcomes within the Asian context are less clear. This study investigated (1) the extent to which the development of hot and cool Executive Function (EF) might differ among…

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) characteristically experience academic difficulties. There is growing evidence that the continuum from academic competence to underachievement is partially explained by executive function (EF; neurocognitive attention-regulation processes) and stress. Yet, there is scarce research…

The study examines students' skills at kindergarten entry and gains in skills across kindergarten through first grade (pre-COVID) predicting literacy, language, math, inhibitory control, and social adjustment in the spring of 4th grade, after schools re-opened. Longitudinal data were collected on students (N=785) who were linguistically diverse…

Background/purpose: This research aims to examine the effect of a Cognitive-Behavioral Coaching (CBC) model on the academic performance of adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and to analyze the relationship between academic performance, self-esteem, and relationship with parents. Materials/methods: The sample comprised…

The linguistic, mathematical, social-emotional, and cognitive precursor competencies are important predictors of learning success already at kindergarten age. A systematic analysis of the state of research on the actual interrelationships of the focused precursor competencies brings together results of a meta-analysis. The literature search…

Intellectual performance is highly heritable and robustly predicts lifelong health and success but the earliest manifestations of genetic effects on this asset are not well understood. This study examined whether early executive function (EF) or verbal performance mediate genetic influences on subsequent intellectual performance, in 561 U.S.-based…

The role of executive function skills and motivation in supporting children's academic achievement is well-documented, but the vast majority of evidence is from high-income countries. Classrooms in sub-Saharan Africa tend to be large, teacher-driven, and lecture-focused, which may provide extra challenges for children to stay engaged in the…