This article is Part 1 of a 3 part series looking at the importance of Executive Functions in upper primary student’s academic success. It is the first part of a paper I wrote as an assessment piece for university and therefore is confined in scope to answer the question asked of us within a specific word count.
Academic Research Paper
Over the last two decades, researchers have placed increasing emphasis on the relationship between executive function (EF) and academic success.
Teachers’ professional obligations
As part of a teacher’s professional obligation, the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) explicitly require teachers to meet the needs of the whole child by providing high quality, effective, and inclusive teaching to students to optimise their development and growth (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership [AITSL], 2018a). The complex role of a teacher means they need to be knowledgeable of a child’s stage of physical, social and intellectual development and how they learn (AITSL, 2018b). Using their knowledge of a child’s stage of development, teachers create lesson plans that implement effective teaching and learning (AITSL, 2018c) while maintaining supportive and safe learning environments for their students (AITSL, 2018d). What is evident from these standards is that effective learning can only occur when both the stage of the child’s development and the pedagogy has been considered. To illustrate, this article, together with part 2 and 3, will consider the development of the higher cognitive process of EFs in primary students.
Development of EFs
Teachers need to understand that students are not born with EFs skills (Wood et al., 2018) but with the capability to develop them. EFs are part of our higher order cognitive processes that develop in the prefrontal cortex and its associated connections, (Diamond, 2002; Owens & Garcia, 2019). Development of EFs begin in infancy and continue until it peaks in our late 20s, when myelination and synaptic pruning in the prefrontal cortex has completed (Casey et al., 2000). Although students follow a similar trajectory of development, teachers need to be aware that a host of factors can affect the timing of actual EF development. Delays in EF development can occur in neurotypical children because of biological factors (genetics), cultural background (ethnicity), environmental factors (low socio-economic backgrounds) (Müller et al., 2013), parent teachings (Blair & Raver, 2012) or IQ (Clark et al., 2013). In addition, a more significant lack of skills, or a dysfunction, is often present in neurodivergent children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (inhibition control) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (cognitive inflexibility) (Keenan et al., 2109).
The link to academic success
Longitudinal research suggests that effectively developed EF skills in primary school students, contributes to academic success, not vice versa (Best et al., 2011). This view is supported by a systematic review of academic studies undertaken by Jacob and Parkinson (2015), which indicated that there is a strong correlation between EFs and academic success as future predictors and at a point in time. They also found that research had not yet concentrated on the nature of the relationship between EF skills and academic success or critically examined any causal connection (Jacob & Parkinson, 2015). However, given the strong correlation, the key to understanding the importance of EFs to academic success is to understand how the brain learns (Owens & Garcia, 2019).
Several studies have explored the underlying brain structure of a neurotypical child and determined that the critical period of rapid EF brain development occurs both in the years prior to formative schooling (Walker et al., 2020) and parallel to primary school when the brain is malleable (Keenan et al., 2019). By the time a neurotypical child enters formal schooling, school readiness is guided by the level of developed competencies of self-discipline, visual analysis and working memory (Wagner et.al., 2019; Walker et al., 2020). As the student progresses through lower primary, there is rapid development in their ability to plan; organise themselves, things, and thoughts; regulate behaviour and emotion; and problem solve. During middle and upper primary, effective EFs support student’s cognitive flexibility; complex planning; verbal fluency; and attention control needed for academic success (Owens & Garcia, 2019).
Read Part 2 here.
References
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership Limited. (2018a). Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. https://www.aitsl.edu.au/docs/default-source/national-policy-framework/australian-professional-standards-for-teachers.pdf
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership Limited. (2018b). Know students and how they learn (Standard 1). https://www.aitsl.edu.au/docs/default-source/national-policy-framework/australian-professional-standards-for-teachers.pdf
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership Limited. (2018c). Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning (Standard 3). https://www.aitsl.edu.au/docs/default-source/national-policy-framework/australian-professional-standards-for-teachers.pdf
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership Limited. (2018d). Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments (Standard 4). https://www.aitsl.edu.au/docs/default-source/national-policy-framework/australian-professional-standards-for-teachers.pdf
Best, J., Miller, P.H., & Naglieri, J.A. (2011). Relations between executive function and academic achievement from ages 5 to 17 in a large, representative national sample. Learning and Individual Differences, 21(4), 327–336. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2011.01.007
Blair, C., & Raver, C.C. (2012). Child Development in the Context of Adversity: Experiential Canalization of Brain and Behavior. The American Psychologist, 67(4), 309–318. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027493
Casey, B., Giedd, J.N., & Thomas, K.M. (2000). Structural and functional brain development and its relation to cognitive development. Biological Psychology, 54(1), 241–257.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0301-0511(00)00058-2
Clark, C., Sheffield, T., Chevalier, N., Nelson, J., Wiebe, S., & Espy, K. (2013). Charting Early Trajectories of Executive Control with the Shape School. Developmental Psychology, 49(8), 1481–1493. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030578
Diamond, A. (2002). Normal Development of Prefrontal Cortex from Birth to Young Adulthood: Cognitive Functions, Anatomy, and Biochemistry. In Principles of Frontal Lobe Function. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195134971.003.0029
Jacob, R., & Parkinson, J. (2015). The Potential for School-Based Interventions That Target Executive Function to Improve Academic Achievement: A Review. Review of Educational Research, 85(4), 512–552. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654314561338
Keenan, L., Conroy, S., O’Sullivan, A., & Downes, M. (2019). Executive functioning in the classroom: Primary school teachers’ experiences of neuropsychological issues and reports. Teaching and Teacher Education, 86, 102912–. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2019.102912
Müller, U., Baker, L., & Yeung, E. (2013). A developmental systems approach to executive function. Advances in Child Development and Behavior, 45, 39–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-397946-9.00003-8
Owens, A. & Garcia, B. (2018). Teaching Executive Functions: Modeling Independence From Cradles to College for Success. In Keengwe, J., & Byamukama, R. (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Promoting Higher-Order Skills and Global Competencies in Life and Work (pp. 295–310). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-6331-0.ch018
Wagner, B., Olson, H., Symons, M., Mazzucchelli, T., Jirikowic, T., Latimer, J., Watkins, R., Cross, D., Boulton, J., Wright, E., Carter, M., Bruce, K., Cherel, S., & Fitzpatrick, J. (2019). Improving self-regulation and executive functioning skills in primary school children in a remote Australian Aboriginal community: A pilot study of the Alert Program. The Australian Journal of Education, 63(1), 98–115. https://doi.org/10.1177/0004944119826206
Walker, S., Fleer, M., Veresov, N., & Duhn, I. (2020). Enhancing executive function through imaginary play: A promising new practice principle. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 45(2), 114–126. https://doi.org/10.1177/1836939120918502
Wood, L., Roach, A., Kearney, M., & Zabek, F. (2018). Enhancing executive function skills in preschoolers through a mindfulness-based intervention: A randomized, controlled pilot study. Psychology in the Schools, 55(6), 644-660. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.22136
