Executive functions (EF) are crucial to regulating learning and are predictors of emerging mathematics. However, interventions that leverage EF to improve mathematics remain poorly understood. 193 four-year-olds (mean age = 3 years; 11 months pre-intervention; 111 female, 69% White) were assessed 5 months apart, with 103 children randomised to an…

This study evaluates the effectiveness of the "Parent-child Brain Camp," a 4-week video-based executive functions (EFs) training program for children ages 5-6, through a randomized controlled trial with a pre- and post-test design with 173 Hong Kong children (intervention "ni" = 79, 48.7% girls, M[subscript age] = 69.16 months;…

This study aimed to explore the effect of a mindfulness-based curriculum designed especially for preschoolers on facets of executive functions. Fifty-one preschoolers were randomly assigned to either a mindfulness and kindness curriculum (MC) or an active control dialogic reading program (DR). A battery of behavioral and neurophysiological tests…

The current study endeavors to assess the impact of the Preschool Executive Functions Intervention Program (PEFIP) on children's executive functions. A quasi-experimental design was employed, encompassing both pre-test and post-test assessments within a control group, complemented by follow-up evaluations over a 5-week period. The sample comprises…

Research suggests that improving executive function (EF) skills using mindfulness-based interventions is promising, though few studies investigate mindfulness-based interventions for young children. The current study evaluated preliminary data examining EF over the course of a 12-week mindfulness-based curriculum implemented within preschool…

A metacognitive learner acts in a planful way, monitors their progress, flexibly adapts their strategies, and reflects on their learning. Unsurprisingly, a metacognitive approach to learning is an important predictor of children's academic performance and many attempts have been made to promote metacognition in young children. The current…

Executive functions (EFs) play a crucial role in academic performance. In the present study, we aimed to improve EFs through a group-based cognitive training. Thirty-three typically developing children (age mean: 58.80 ± 7.04 months) were recruited in a random clinical trial design in two intervention (n = 18) and active control (n = 15) groups.…

Research has shown that the first few years of a child's life are critical for developing executive functioning and emotional regulatory skills. This study aimed to evaluate how begin to ECSEL (Emotional, Cognitive and Social Early Learning), an intervention designed to promote young children's emotional competence, influenced children's…

This systematic literature review sought to reconcile the evidence of efficacy for interventions and approaches to enhancing self-regulation and/or executive function in preschool settings. Following PRISMA methodology, a comprehensive search of 20 years of intervention research identified 85 studies that met inclusion criteria. Interventions were…

Cognitive interventions that involve executive functions (EF)-demanding activities are effective in changing task-related brain activity in children from homes with low socioeconomic status (SES). However, less is known about the efficiency of EF-based interventions in modifying segregation and integration properties of the functional neural…

The current study examined the contexts in which a preschool teacher professional development intervention was more versus less effective in improving student outcomes. We used a fixed intercept, random coefficient (FIRC) modeling approach to explore the contextual characteristics inside and outside school walls that predicted differential…

Research on young children's development of executive function (EF) and early mathematics has established relationships between the two, but studies have not investigated whether these relations differ for children with different outcomes in mathematics and EF, especially in the context of interventions. To examine the homogeneity of those…

Background: The conversational speech of most children can be understood by people outside the family by the time they reach 4 years. However, for some children, speech sound disorders (SSDs) persist into their early school years, and beyond, despite adequate hearing, oromotor function, and language learning opportunities. One explanation for…

Although much is known about supporting preschoolers' alphabet knowledge, less is known about instructional moves that support preschoolers' narrative comprehension or how preschoolers' developing cognitive skills may support their narrative comprehension development. This school-university partnership project examined relations of preschoolers'…

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,…