The objectives of this study were to examine (a) differences in figurative language, analogical reasoning, executive functions (EF), theory of mind (ToM), and local/ central coherence (LCC) of children with high-functioning autism (HFA; n 32) and typically developing (TD; n 32) children; (b) improvement of figurative language using dynamic…

In this article, I describe a series of Five Core Competencies that gifted education specialists should consider integrating into their teaching to respond to the many changes that are taking place in technology, work, and career preparation. Although the focus of this theory is on high- level jobs usually pursued by college graduates and advanced…

The present study investigated the longitudinal effects of early exposure to L2-English on L1-Turkish language competence, narrative skills and executive functioning. We asked whether early immersion-like exposure to L2, starting around 3 years of age, would have reflections on L1 competence, L1 narrative skills and gains in cognitive flexibility.…

States have often introduced programs supporting science, technology, engineering and math in the secondary grades. Yet the evidence of STEM's positive impact on young children's development makes a compelling case for engaging learners in pre-K through third grade in consistent, authentic and high-quality STEM experiences. High-quality P-3 STEM…

This study investigated direct and indirect effects of executive functions on reading comprehension in adolescents (N = 87, M = 14.0 years, SD = 1.5) by testing for parallel mediation of effects of working memory, task-switching, and inhibitory control via decoding and text recall/inference. Working memory showed direct and indirect effects on…

A person-oriented approach examined the extent to which patterns of school readiness across social and cognitive domains in 944 typically-developing 54-month-old children forecast academic achievement, social-emotional development, risk taking, and executive functioning at age 15. Prior work identified six distinct profiles of school readiness at…

This study investigated cross-cultural variation in the development of executive functioning (EF) across the preschool period for United States and Chinese children from low and high socioeconomic families using a longitudinal design. Participants included 216 preschool children (n = 125 from the US; n = 91 from Shanghai and Jiangxi, China). On…

Montessori education has a long history, but its recent growth in American public schools has led to increased interest in research efforts, particularly in exploring the potential of the Montessori experience to moderate the effects of poverty and in gathering data to evaluate public investment in Montessori schools. To assist research efforts,…

The primary purpose of the 2017-2018 NC Pre-Kindergarten (NC Pre-K) Evaluation was to examine the effectiveness of the NC Pre-K Program using a randomized controlled trial (RCT) design. The major issue addressed by this type of study is around the benefits of offering children access to enrollment in NC Pre-K. An RCT is considered the…

The primary purpose of the 2017-2018 NC Pre-Kindergarten (NC Pre-K) Evaluation was to examine the effectiveness of the NC Pre-K Program using a randomized controlled trial (RCT) design. Because children are randomly assigned to either receive NC Pre-K (treatment) or not (control) in an RCT, differences in outcomes can be causally attributed to…

This article examines the language and cognitive skills of bidialectal and bilingual children, focusing on African American English bidialectal speakers and Spanish-English bilingual speakers. It contributes to the discussion by considering two themes in the extant literature: (1) linguistic and cognitive strengths can be found in speaking two…

It is unknown whether children with conduct problems (CP) and poor reading (PR) skills exhibit more profound executive function impairments than children with CP only and whether such impairments are explained by coexisting PR. Executive functions were compared in four groups of 7- to 8-year-old children: 26 CP only, 35 PR only, 27 CP-PR, and 31…

Purpose: Acute benefits of aerobic exercise on executive functioning have been reported frequently under laboratory conditions. However, to date, a beneficial effect on long-term memory has been less well supported and no data are available regarding nonlaboratory conditions in young adults. The aim of the current study was to investigate acute…

Multiple cognitive skills support the acquisition of proficient reading skills. Higher order processing abilities allowing the engagement and integration of multiple ideas collectively referred to as executive functions may be particularly important in reading comprehension. In the present study, 39 Danish school age children completed executive…

The objective of the study was to examine the effects of a group-based behavioural, cognitive and skills training intervention (Maltti) provided in schools for elementary school pupils with attention and executive function (EF) deficits. The treatment effects were identified by comparing an intervention group (n = 46) with a waitlist control group…