Abstract
Executive functioning skills (EF) are deemed to be the most powerful predictors of educational and life outcomes for individuals; and neurological studies indicate a critical window of opportunities to build these skills in young children. The majority of EF-enhancing intervention models/add-ons to curricula currently on offer comprise predominantly teacher-led activities with little or no consideration for the children participating in these activities nor alignment with teachers’ current pedagogical principles and practices. Thus far, the literature is slim in the presentation of models supporting EF development in young children aligned with the pedagogy, context and individual children’s capacities and interests in early childhood education (ECE) settings.This embedded mixed method case study aimed to address this gap in the literature. Intentional teaching supporting the development of EF was investigated as a relevant means of supporting EF development in ECE settings. Three key elements of intentional teaching were investigated in this study (Epstein, 2007): 1) defining learning objectives for children; 2) identifying and employing relevant strategies to help children achieve these objectives; and 3) continually assessing progress and adjusting strategies informed by the assessment. The study addressed the following research questions:
1. How can intentional teaching support early childhood educators to develop EF in preschool aged children?
2. To what extent are the child-related variables (EF initial profiles, language, age, gender) and contextual variables (socio-economic background, preschool exposure, extra- curricular activities) associated with differential gains in EF during the observed period of intentional teaching targeting EF?
The qualitative strand of this study, a multiple-site case study, was the primary investigative strand of this research project which addressed research question 1. It examined the practices of three qualified preschool teachers in Australia who have been intentionally teaching to support the development of children’s EF since 2015. The teachers taught in three not-for-profit community preschools located in Queensland, Australia. The preschools provided educational programmes for children aged between 3.5 and 5 years, before their first year at formal school. The pedagogy in each setting was informed by the first version of the Early Years Learning Framework (DEEWR, 2009), Australia’s national framework for ECE, which was current at that time. The preschools were regulated by the Australian Children’s Education and Case Quality Authority and assessed and rated against the seven quality areas of the National Quality Standard (NQS). All three preschools were rated as operating at a standard higher than expected when meeting the NQS.
A deep description of the teachers’ EF-enhancing practices and the thinking underlying these practices was gained through prolonged case study interviews, video-stimulated recall interviews, shorter semi-structured interviews and video-recorded observational data. Data on the three teachers’ EF-enhancing practices was collected in four phases over approximately five months.
The quantitative strand of the study, the supplementary strand, was conducted to examine how participant children with varying profiles appear to have responded to the teachers’ EF-enhancing practices, thereby addressing research question 2. The study was limited to 59 children taught by the case study teachers for whom informed consent from parents was received. A pre-experimental study, data was collected in two phases with approximately a five-month time gap between phases. A parent questionnaire was used to collect data on age, gender, socio-economic background, preschool attendance, children’s bilingual status and extracurricular activities attended by the children. The Early Years Toolbox (Howard & Melhuish, 2017) was used to assess the children’s EF and expressive vocabulary skills.
The results from the multiple site case study revealed that intentionally teaching to support the development of EF provided relevant means to enhance the quality of practice in ECE settings (particularly in Australia), especially as it provided a framework for supporting children’s agency. Findings suggested that intentionally teaching EF increased EC educators’ capacities to support children’s agency by alerting them to more opportunities for children to exercise agency and increasing their responsiveness to children. Though these three teachers’ pedagogies differed in their approaches, strategies supporting EF were primarily facilitated through teacher-child interactions aimed at supporting children’s engagement. The centrality of teacher-child interactions and support of children’s engagement in quality ECE practice, once again, indicates the significance of these findings for ECE practice and, potentially, policy, particularly in the Australian context.
The findings from the quantitative strand indicated that children with the lowest EF at the start of the study demonstrated the highest EF gains over the five-month study period. As these results align with those from other successful intervention studies, they highlighted the potential for intentional teaching of EF to develop EF in ECE settings. Therefore, the findings from the quantitative strand reinforce the significance of the findings from the qualitative study.
This findings from this research project indicate the need to increase awareness amongst EC educators, especially in Australia, of 1) the importance of supporting children’s EF; 2) the alignment between their ECE goals for children and EF objectives for children; and 3) how intentionally teaching to support EF, in the manner shared through this research, enhances critical elements of quality ECE practice. This would ensure a continued commitment amongst ECE educators to support children’s EF and could potentially result in optimal outcomes for children.
| Date of Award | 2024 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Supervisor | Kym SIMONCINI (Supervisor), Deborah PINO PASTERNAK (Supervisor) & Josephine Caffery (Supervisor) |