For many years, researchers studied executive functions (EFs) in the laboratory with a focus on understanding an individual child's development and brain processes in a controlled environment. Building on this foundational research, there is a growing interest in EFs in the context of a child's dynamic, social world, and the contextual and…

We investigated whether the cool and hot executive functions (EFs) exhibited by kindergarteners could predict their academic achievement in the middle grades of elementary school. The study assessed the cool and hot EF of 48 Japanese kindergartners (M = 78.12 months) and then measured these same children's academic achievement in language and…

This paper used a nationally representative sample of children from the United States to examine the extent to which physical activity and sports participation may promote growth in children's executive functions (EFs), attention, and social self-control over time. Using data from the ECLS-K:2011 (N = 18,174), findings indicated that regular…

Executive function (EF) is a term used to describe the processes responsible for purposeful, goal-directed behavior and has been described as the "air traffic controller" or "CEO" of the brain. EFs are an important factor in overall quality of life, including school and job success. EFs are measured predominately through two…

Individual characteristics of neighborhood context, like concentrated socioeconomic disadvantage, are associated with children's cognitive development, including their academic skill development and executive functions. However, questions remain regarding how neighborhood structural, process, and physical features uniquely predict children's…

Nationally representative data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Class of 2011 (n = 14,370) were used to examine the grade-level and cumulative outcomes of school absenteeism between kindergarten and fifth grade for students' school performance in the United States. Students who were more frequently absent in any year of…

Recent research has indicated that science-based achievement gaps open early in children's educational careers and are explained largely by malleable factors. Two potentially important variables to consider include children's executive function (EF) and learning-related behaviors exhibited in the classroom. These variables have been identified as…

The purpose of this study was to examine associations between attendance in Georgia's Pre-K Program and children's academic and social outcomes through third grade. This report includes a sub-study that incorporates a comparison group of children who did not attend any pre-k program. This report focuses on third grade outcomes, but it also…

This report summarizes results from the Georgia's Pre-K Longitudinal Study Third-Grade Report. The study followed a representative sample of children (n=1,169) from their pre-k experience (2013-2014) through the third grade (2017-2018). Study components include: (1) Standardized child assessments that measure skills across learning domains. By…

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to examine teachers' knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about executive functions utilized in reading instruction of kindergarten through third-grade students. This research study used open-ended, semi-structured interview questions to gain a better understanding of what teachers know and…

The purpose of this evaluation study was to examine children's longitudinal academic and social outcomes associated with attendance in Georgia's Pre-K Program and to examine the quality of the classrooms attended. This report covers pre-k to 4th grade outcomes collected between the 2013-2014 and 2018-2019 school years as well as a sub-study…

Executive function skills have a direct link to reading comprehension (Carretti, Borella, Cornoldi, & De Beni, 2009). Specifically, cognitive flexibility and working memory have been shown as a significant contributor to reading comprehension (Cain, Oakhill, & Bryant, 2004; Cartwright, 2002). Understanding the link between cognitive…

Recent studies suggest that the relation between nonsymbolic magnitude processing skills and math competence is mediated by symbolic number processing. However, less is known about whether mapping between nonsymbolic and symbolic magnitude representations also mediates that relation, and whether the mediating role of symbolic number processing is…

This paper presents initial results from a pilot evaluation of the pre-K component of a new school-based intervention strategy (Social, Emotional, and Cognitive Understanding and Regulation in education, SECURe) for pre-kindergarten through 3rd grade that is designed to build skills in social-emotional learning (focusing on executive function and…

In this "FastFacts," a state's Department of Education requests information from the Center on Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes (CEELO) on how the research defines skills in social-emotional development, approaches to learning, and executive function, to inform planned revisions to the early childhood indicators of progress for children…