Intervention in executive functions in early childhood education

Main Article Content

Miriam Romero López
Alicia Benavides Nieto
María Fernández Cabezas
Mª Carmen Pichardo Martínez

Abstract

Executive functions defined as the set of higher-order cognitive processes that allow an intentional and directed behavior towards a goal, are vital for success in life, at school, and at work. Improving executive functions in the early stages is very important because problems in executive functioning, in the preschool stage, predict cognitive achievement in later stages and have a central role in school readiness and in the first academic skills acquisition. Recent studies have found positive relationships between executive functioning capacities and math readiness in preschoolers. Likewise, an extensive bibliography suggests an inverse relationship between executive functions and aggressive behavior in humans. For this reason, the objective of this research is to conduct a review of the programs and activities aimed at improving the executive functions in the preschool stage. Various activities and programs have been shown to improve children executive functions, such as computer games, martial arts, yoga, mindfulness and programs included in the school curriculum. The results of studies conducted on the implementation of some of the above activities or programs are promising and suggest that different strategies can be useful in improving executive functions during the preschool years.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Article Details

How to Cite
Romero López, M., Benavides Nieto, A., Fernández Cabezas, M., & Pichardo Martínez, M. C. (2017). Intervention in executive functions in early childhood education. International Journal of Developmental and Educational Psychology. Revista INFAD De Psicología., 3(1), 253–262. https://doi.org/10.17060/ijodaep.2017.n1.v3.994
Section
Articles

References

Aadland, K. N., Moe, V. F., Aadland, E., Anderssen, S. A., Resaland, G. K., y Ommundsen, Y. (2017). Relationships between physical activity, sedentary time, aerobic fitness, motor skills and executive function and academic performance in children. Mental Health and Physical Activity, 12, 10-18.

Baggetta, P., y Alexander, P. A. (2016). Conceptualization and Operationalization of Executive Function. Mind, Brain, and Education, 10(1), 10-33.

Bergman-Nutley, S., Soderqvist, S., Bryde, S., Thorell, L. B., Humphreys, K., y Klingberg, T. (2011). Gains in fluid intelligence after training non-verbal reasoning in 4-year-old children: a controlled, randomized study. Developmental Science, 14, 591–601. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-7687.2010.01022.x

Bierman, K. L., Nix, R. L., Greenberg, M. T., Domitrovich, C. E., y Blair, C. (2008). Executive functions and school readiness intervention: impact, moderation, and mediation in the head start- REDI program. Development and Psychopathology. 20, 821–843. doi: 10.1017/S0954579408000394.

Blair, C. (2002). School readiness: integrating cognition and emotion in a neurobiological conceptualization of child functioning at school entry. American Psychologist, 57, 111–127. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.57.2.111.

Blair, C., y Raver, C. C. (2014). Closing the achievement gap through modification of neurocognitive and neuroendocrine function: Results from a cluster randomized controlled trial of an innovative approach to the education of children in kindergarten. PLoS One, 9, 112-393. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0112393

Bodrova, E., y Leong, D. J. (2007). Tools of the Mind: The Vygotskian Approach to Early Childhood Education. New York: Pearson.

Booth, J. N., Tomporowski, P. D., Boyle, J. M., Ness, A. R., Joinson, C., Leary, S. D., y Reilly, J. J. (2013). Associations between executive attention and objectively measured physical activity in adolescence: findings from ALSPAC, a UK cohort. Mental Health and Physical Activity, 6(3), 212-219.

Chen, T. T., Yue, G. H., Tian, Y. X., y Jiang, C. H. (2016). Baduanjin Mind-Body Intervention Improves the Executive Control Function. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 1-8. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.02015

Davis, J. C., Marra, C. A., Najafzadeh, M., y Lui-Ambrose, T. (2011). The independent contribution of executive functions to health related quality of life in older women. BMC Geriatrics, 10, 16–23.

Diamond, A. (2012). Activities and programs that improve children’s executive functions. Current directions in psychological science, 21(5), 335-341.

Diamond, A. (2013). Executive Functions. Annual Review of Psychology, 64, 135-168. doi: 10.1146/annurev-psych-113011-143750.

Diamond, A. (2014). Want to Optimize Executive Functions and Academic Outcomes?: Simple, Just Nourish the Human Spirit. En Minnesota Symposia on Child Psychology (Vol. 37, p. 205). NIH Public Access.

Diamond, A., Barnett, W. S., Thomas, J., y Munro, S. (2007). Preschool program improves cognitive control. Science, 318, 1387– 1388.

Diamond, A., y Lee, K. (2011). Interventions shown to aid executive function development in children 4 to 12 years old. Science, 333, 959–964.

Dias, N. M., y Seabra, A. G. (2016). Intervention for executive functions development in early elementary school children: effects on learning and behaviour, and follow-up maintenance. Educational Psychology, 1-19.

Di Lieto, M. C., Inguaggiato, E., Castro, E., Cecchi, F., Cioni, G., Dell’Omo, M., ... y Dario, P. (2017). Educational Robotics intervention on Executive Functions in preschool children: A pilot study. Computers in Human Behavior, 71, 16-23.

Donnelly, J. E., Hillman, C. H., Castelli, D., Etnier, J. L., Lee, S., Tomporowski, P., ... y Szabo-Reed, A. N. (2016). Physical activity, fitness, cognitive function, and academic achievement in children: A systematic review. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 48(6), 1197e1222. http://dx.doi.org/10.1249/ mss.0000000000000901.

Domitrovich, C. E., Cortes, R., y Greenberg, M. T. (2007). Improving young children’s social and emotional competence: a randomized trial of the preschool PATHS program. The Journal of Primary Prevention, 28, 67–91. doi: 10.1007/s10935-007- 0081-0.

Flook, L., Smalley, S. L., Kitil, M. J., Galla, B. M., Kaiser-Greenland, S., Locke, J., ... y Kasari, C. (2010). Effects of mindful awareness practices on executive functions in elementary school children. Journal of Applied School Psychology, 26(1), 70-95.

Holmes, J., y Gathercole, S. E. (2014). Taking working memory training from the laboratory into schools. Educational Psychology, 34(4), 440-450.

Holmes, J., Gathercole, S. E., y Dunning, D. L. (2009). Adaptive training leads to sustained enhancement of poor working memory in children. Developmental science, 12(4), 9-15.

Karbach, J., y Kray, J. (2009). How useful is executive control training? Age differences in near and far transfer of task switching training. Developmental science, 12(6), 978-990.

Khan, N. A., y Hillman, C. H. (2014). The relation of childhood physical activity and aerobic fitness to brain function and cognition: A review. Pediatric Exercise Science, 26(2), 138e146. http://dx.doi.org/10.1123/pes.2013-0125.

Kloo, D., y Perner, J. (2003). Training transfer between card sorting and false belief understanding: helping children apply conflicting descriptions. Child Development, 74, 1823–1839. doi: 10.1046/j.1467-8624.2003.00640.x.

Kohl, H. W., Craig, C. L., Lambert, E. V., Inoue, S., Alkandari, J. R., Leetongin, G., ... y Kahlmeier, S. (2012). The pandemic of physical inactivity: global action for public health. The Lancet, 380(9838), 294-305.

Lakes, K. D., y Hoyt, W. T. (2004). Promoting self-regulation through school-based martial arts training. Applied Developmental Psychology, 25, 283–302.

Li-Grining, C. P., Raver, C. C., y Pess, R. A. (2011). Academic impacts of the Chicago School Readiness Project: Testing for evidence in elementary school. Paper presented at the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Montreal, QC, Canada.

Lillard, A., y Else-Quest, N. (2006). Evaluating montessori education. Science, 313, 1893–1894. doi: 10.1126/science.1132362.

Manjunath, N. K., y Telles, S. (2001). Improved performance in the Tower of London test following yoga. Indian Journal of Physiological Pharmacology, 45, 351–354.

Melby-Lervag, M., y Hulme, C. (2013). Is working memory training effective? A meta-analytic review. Developmental Psychology. 49, 270–291. doi: 10.1037/a0028228.

Raver, C. C., Jones, S. M., Li-Grining, C., Zhai, F., Bubb, K., y Pressler, E. (2011). CSRP’s impact on low-income preschoolers’ preacademic skills: self-regulation as a mediating mechanism. Child Development. 82, 362–378. doi: 10.1111/j.1467- 8624.2010.01561.x.

Riggs, N. R., Greenberg, M. T., Kusché, C. A., y Pentz, M. A. (2006). The mediational role of neurocognition in the behavioral outcomes of a social-emotional prevention program in elementary school students: Effects of the PATHS curriculum. Prevention Science, 7, 91–102.

Rueda, M. R., Rothbart, M. K., McCandliss, B. D., Saccomanno, L., y Posner, M. I. (2005). Training, maturation, and genetic influ- ences on the development of executive attention. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, 102, 14931–14935.

Shipstead, Z., Redick, T. S., y Engle, R. W. (2012). Is working memory training effective? Psychological Bulletin. 138, 628–654. doi: 10.1037/a0027473.

Sonuga-Barke, E. J. S., y Halperin, J. M. (2011). Developmental phenotypes and causal pathways in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: potential targets for early intervention? Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 51, 368–389. doi: 10.1111/j.1469- 7610.2009.02195.x.

Traverso, L., Viterbori, P., y Usai, M. C. (2015). Improving executive function in childhood: evaluation of a training intervention for 5-year-old children. Frontiers in psychology, 6, 525-539. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00525.

Thorell, L. B., Lindqvist, S., Bergman Nutley, S., Bohlin, G., y Klingberg, T. (2009). Training and transfer effects of executive functions in preschool children. Developmental Science, 12, 106–113. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-7687.2008.00745.x.

Tomporowski, P. D., McCullick, B., Pendleton, D. M., y Pesce, C. (2015). Exercise and children’s cognition: The role of exercise characteristics and a place for metacognition. Journal of Sport and

Health Science, 4(1), 47e55. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1016/j.jshs.2014.09.003.

van Lier, P. A., y Deater-Deckard, K. (2016). Children’s Elementary School Social Experience and Executive Functions Development: Introduction to a Special Section. Journal of abnormal child psychology, 44(1), 1-6.

Volckaert, A. M. S., y Noël, M. P. (2015). Training executive function in preschoolers reduce externalizing behaviors. Trends in Neuroscience and Education, 4(1), 37-47.