Best JR and Miller PH (2010) ‘A developmental perspective on executive function’, Child Development, 81(6):1641-1660.
This article presents a synthesis of the literature on the development of executive function in childhood and adolescence. It discusses the different aspects of inhibition, working memory and shifting (between tasks, rules or mental states). It finds that although executive function emerges during the first few years of life, it continues to strengthen throughout childhood and adolescence and can be influenced at a variety of levels.
Diamond A (2012) ‘Activities and programs that improve children’s executive functions’ Current Directions in Psychological Science: A Journal of the American Psychological Society, 21(5):335-341.
This monograph presents a literature synthesis on empirically supported activities and programs that improve children’s executive function, including reasoning, working memory and self-control at a variety of ages. It finds that various activities improve children’s executive functions, including transitional martial arts, aerobics, yoga, mindfulness and school curricula. It also finds that interventions which combine aerobic activity with elements that address children’s emotional, social and character development (such as martial arts and yoga) are more effective than focusing on physical activity alone.
Diamond A (2013) ‘Executive functions’, Annual review of psychology, 64:135-168.
This seminal paper presents an overview of executive functions, describing each concept and how they relate to everyday life. The authors discuss the developmental progression and representative measures, explaining that executive functions are trainable and can be improved with practice.
Jian-Bin L, Shan-Shan B, Willems YE and Finkenauer C (2021) ‘The association between school discipline and self-control from preschoolers to high school students: A three-level meta-analysis’, Review of Educational Research, 91(1):73-111.
A meta-analysis of 68 studies published up until the end of October 2018. To be included in the review, each article had to examine the association between a component of school discipline and self-control. The studies focused on community-based samples and included children aged 3 to 16 years. The authors analysed these papers to explore the association between school structure, support and teacher-student relationship, and self-control. This paper identifies five key conclusions:
- school discipline is positively related to self-control
- the relation between school discipline and self-control became stronger as children grew older
- teachers can be viewed as critical attachment figures and play a role in students’ self-control
- some aspects of self-control (such as attentional control) have already mainly developed in infancy and childhood, but others (such as impulsive control) aren’t fully developed until late adolescence.
- ways to foster socio-emotional learning include policies and practices which strengthen the structure in school (classroom management, positive behavioural interventions, supports), teachers with strong social skills (caring, emotional responsiveness, granting autonomy, provision of emotional support), and strengthening teachers’ relationships with students.
Pandey A, Hale D, Das S, Goddings AL, Blakemore SJ and Viner RM (2018) ‘Effectiveness of universal self-regulation–based interventions in children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis’, JAMA Pediatrics, 172(6):566-575.
A meta-analysis and systematic review of 49 studies, published up until the end of July 2016. To be included in the review, studies had to report cluster randomised trials or randomised clinical trials and evaluate interventions designed to improve self-regulation in children and adolescents aged 0 to 19 years. The authors analysed these papers to determine which interventions improved self-regulation skills. This paper identifies a wide range of interventions that were successful at enhancing self-regulation and finds that:
- the interventions could be classified into five categories: curriculum interventions, physical activity and exercise interventions, mindfulness and yoga interventions, parenting and family-focused interventions, and other skills-based training
- curriculum-based interventions were the most commonly used interventions for preschool-aged children
- the strategies used in the preschool (the year before formal schooling) and kindergarten (first year of school) age group included circle-time games, storytelling, book reading, and self-talk
- mindfulness and yoga, and exercise-based interventions were evaluated and found effective, especially for the preadolescent and adolescent age groups.
Vandenbroucke L, Spilt J, Verschueren K, Piccinin and Baeyens D (2018) ‘The classroom as a developmental context for cognitive development: A meta-analysis on the importance of teacher-student interactions for children’s executive functions’, Review of Educational Research, 88(1):125-164.
A systematic review and meta-analyses of 23 studies on teacher-student interactions and children’s executive functions. To be included in the review, studies had to be based on a sample of children between the ages of 2 and 12 years, comprise a community sample, measure teacher-child interactions, and measure executive functions such as working memory, inhibition or cognitive flexibility. This paper found that:
- teacher-child interactions are related to general executive functioning, working memory and inhibition but not cognitive flexibility
- teachers can promote the cognitive processes by changing their behaviour to create an emotionally positive, structured and cognitively stimulating classroom environment
- teacher-child interactions are particularly important for executive functions of children in the year before they start school, and the beginning of formal education.