EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS IN CHILDREN AFTER REMOTE LEARNING: A COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SCHOOL CONTEXTS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56238/levv17n56-034Keywords:
Executive Functions, Child Development, School Context, LearningAbstract
Executive Functions comprise a set of higher-order cognitive skills that are fundamental to behavioral self-regulation, school learning, and social adaptation, and are highly sensitive to environmental and educational conditions. This study aimed to compare the executive functioning of children aged 9 and 10 years from a public school and a private school, considering the impact of remote education experienced during Early Childhood Education. This is an empirical study with a quantitative approach, conducted through the application of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF), an ecological assessment instrument completed by parents/caregivers and teachers. The sample consisted of 144 valid protocols, and data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, focusing on the instrument’s core indices: the Behavioral Regulation Index (BRI), the Metacognition Index (MI), and the Global Executive Composite (GEC). Results indicated that both groups presented mean scores above the normative range, suggesting mild to moderate executive functioning difficulties. However, children from the public school showed significantly higher mean scores, particularly in domains related to metacognition, working memory, planning, organization, initiation, and monitoring. No significant discrepancies were observed between parents’ and teachers’ perceptions. It is concluded that the development of Executive Functions is influenced by the school context, reinforcing the importance of intentional and preventive pedagogical practices aimed at strengthening these skills, especially in contexts of greater social vulnerability.
Downloads
References
Barkley, R. A. (2001). The executive functions and self-regulation: An evolutionary neuropsychological perspective. Neuropsychology Review, 11(1), 1–29. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009085417776
Best, J. R., & Miller, P. H. (2010). A developmental perspective on executive function. Child Development, 81(6), 1641–1660. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01499.x
Blair, C., & Raver, C. C. (2015). School readiness and self-regulation: A developmental psychobiological approach. Annual Review of Psychology, 66, 711–731. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010814-015221
Bronfenbrenner, U., & Morris, P. A. (2006). The bioecological model of human development. In R. M. Lerner (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology (6th ed., Vol. 1, pp. 793–828). Wiley.
Burgess, P. W., & Stuss, D. T. (2017). Fifty years of prefrontal cortex research: Impact on assessment. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 23(9–10), 755–767. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355617717000704
Diamond, A. (2013). Executive functions. Annual Review of Psychology, 64, 135–168. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-113011-143750
Diamond, A., & Lee, K. (2011). Interventions shown to aid executive function development in children 4 to 12 years old. Science, 333(6045), 959–964. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1204529
Eisenberg, N., Spinrad, T. L., & Eggum, N. D. (2010). Emotion-related self-regulation and its relation to children’s maladjustment. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 6, 495–525. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.clinpsy.121208.131208
Farah, M. J. (2017). The neuroscience of socioeconomic status: Correlates, causes, and consequences. Neuron, 96(1), 56–71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2017.08.034
Frolli, A., Ricci, M. C., Cavallaro, A., Rizzo, A. A., & Ricciardelli, P. (2021). The impact of COVID-19 on cognitive development of children aged 4–6 years: A longitudinal study. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 18(6), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/17405629.2021.1911436
Gioia, G. A., Isquith, P. K., Guy, S. C., & Kenworthy, L. (2000). Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function. Psychological Assessment Resources.
Hackman, D. A., Farah, M. J., & Meaney, M. J. (2010). Socioeconomic status and the brain: Mechanistic insights from human and animal research. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 11(9), 651–659. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2897
Isquith, P. K., Gioia, G. A., & Espy, K. A. (2004). Executive function in preschool children: Examination through everyday behavior. Developmental Neuropsychology, 26(1), 403–422. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15326942dn2601_3
Lynch, J. L., Lee, J. J., & Loeb, S. (2023). COVID-19 learning loss and recovery: Evidence from longitudinal studies. Educational Researcher, 52(1), 5–14. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X221145952
Noble, K. G., Houston, S. M., Brito, N. H., Bartsch, H., Kan, E., Kuperman, J. M., … Sowell, E. R. (2015). Family income, parental education and brain structure in children and adolescents. Nature Neuroscience, 18(5), 773–778. https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.3983
Zelazo, P. D., & Carlson, S. M. (2020). The neurodevelopment of executive function skills: Implications for academic achievement. Annual Review of Developmental Psychology, 2, 259–283. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-devpsych-121318-084912
Zelazo, P. D., Blair, C. B., & Willoughby, M. T. (2016). Executive function: Implications for education. National Center for Education Research.
