"Research Findings:" Executive Function (EF) and Early Math (EM) are foundational skills for children's school success. Interventions have shown to foster these skills, but their effectiveness in less developed countries remains unknown. This study examined the initial efficacy of an eight-week EF and an EM skills program for young…

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,…

Research Findings: The present study examined patterns of executive function (EF) development among socio-demographically diverse children in kindergarten, first grade, and second grade. Using nationally representative data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Cohort: 2011, we estimated children's growth in working memory and…

Research Findings: The present study explored connections between participation in structured open-skilled (e.g., soccer, basketball) and closed-skilled sports (e.g., swimming) and executive function (EF) among preschool-aged children. The sample included 197 preschool-aged children (mean age = 4.34 years, female = 48.2%, White = 83.8%). Parents…

Responding to a robust body of literature suggesting that children's early educational experiences are critical, policymakers have implemented and expanded the provision of full-day kindergarten (FDK) in recent decades. Most studies have focused on the effectiveness of FDK on child academic assessments or test scores, but none have examined FDK…

The present study investigated gender differences in social mastery motivation, vocabulary knowledge, behavioral self-regulation, and socioemotional skills and examined the relationships among this knowledge and these skills by gender. Participants were 134 Chinese children (68 boys, M age = 3.80; 66 girls, M age = 3.89) and their parents…

Research Findings: Students experienced a mindfulness program designed to enhance their self-regulation in prekindergarten and kindergarten. At the end of the 1st year of the program, these students showed improvements in teacher-reported executive function skills, specifically related to working memory and planning and organizing, whereas…

Research Findings: The objective of this study was to examine the student-teacher relationship as a potential moderator of the link between executive functioning (EF) and children's early school readiness among a clinical sample of preschoolers with externalizing behavior problems (EBP). Participants for the study included 139 preschool children…