The Effect Of Executive Function Training On Cognitive Development And Academic Achievement In Early Childhood

Executive function(EF)refers to the cognitive processes responsible for controlling cognition,emotion and responses when individuals have to engage in goal-directed behavior.There is general agreement that EF includes a number of interrelated processes,such as working memory(WM),inhibitory control(IC),cognitive flexibility,planning,problem-solving and so on.WM and IC are two of the most fundamental functions,and can predict individual's cognitive development and academic achievement.According to the related theories of brain plasticity,both schooling and cognitive training can promote the development of EF.However,it is unknown whether EF training could be a supplement of schooling to improve the cognitive abilities and academic achievement of children in disadvantage and to narrow the gap between them and their normal peers?The present paper tries to answer these questions by three studies including 5 experiments in total.The first study includes two experiments and aims at exploring the effect of EF training on children's cognitive development.In Experiment 1,we compared the difference of cognitive performance in WM,IC and fluid intelligence(Gf)between two groups of children who were from families with different socioeconomic status(SES)and validated that children from low-SES families had worse cognitive performance in WM and Gf than children from the relative high-SES families,suggesting that low SES is a risk factor for children's cognitive develoment.In Experiment 2,we implemented EF training to low-SES children,and found that the difference between the low-SES children and the relative high-SES children tended to decrease,suggesting EF training might improve children's cognitive abilities and compensate for the cognitive impairments caused by adverse environment.The second study also consists of two experiemnts and the aim of the study is to compare the effects of EF training and schooling.In Experiment 3,we compared two groups of children who were of the same age but learned in kindgarten and primary school respectively by employing a school-cutoff design and observed that the cognitive performance of praimary school children in Gf was better than that of the kindergarten children,indicating schooling is a positive factor for children's cognitive develoment.In Experiemnt 4,we implemented EF training to kindgerten children,and found the gap between the kindgerten group and the schooling group was narrowed,providing the evidence that EF training could be a supplement of schooling and contribute to children's development.The third study includes one experiment and aims at exploring the effect of EF training on children's academic achievement.In Experiment 5,by implementing EF training to low-achi eving children and comparing them with normal-achieving children,we found a reduction of the achievement gap of Chinese language between the two groups,suggesting EF training could help children who lag behind in their regular school environment catch up with their peers.To conclude,EF training could play as a supplement of schooling to improve the cognitive abilities and academic achievement of children in disadvantage and narrow the gap between these children and their normal peers.These findings enrich the relative theories of brain plasticity,and have a significant meaning of guidance to education practice.