This academic and socioemotional maladjustment can contribute to the likelihood that children will become inactive students in primary school and can even harm their overall well-being by causing additional health and emotional problems. In fact, some children who adapt well to preschool experience a decrease in skill level when they start primary school: they become less active, more easily distracted, less eager to learn and participate in class activities, more dependent, more insecure, and have more problems in their peer relationships ( Veličković, 2013). ![]() Because of these new characteristics and expectations, for many children the transition to primary school is a stressful period characterized by excessive demands and various difficulties ( Veličković, 2013 Harper, 2016). Primary school presents children with a context that is very different from preschool: teacher–student interaction is less emotional greater autonomy is expected of students the curriculum is more oriented toward reading, writing, and mathematics work periods are longer and require more sustained attention and concentration, etc. During preschool, it is possible to take early action to avoid or compensate for situations arising from personal, family, and/or social inequalities that can subsequently have an impact on development and learning throughout childhood and into adulthood ( Kaufman et al., 2015).Īfter finishing preschool, children begin compulsory primary education. In these first years of life, the main neural connections that provide the basis for learning and behavior are established through the constant interaction of neurobiological factors and the stimulation of the child’s surroundings ( Bick and Nelson, 2017). This stage of education can determine children’s later development and learning and, consequently, performance and success at school and work, as well as in their personal and social lives ( Duncan and Magnuson, 2013 Bartik, 2014). Early assessment of EFs may therefore contribute to identifying children who are likely to experience later learning difficulties and guide the design of suitable interventions for the optimization of EFs.Īlthough not generally compulsory, preschool is essential for early childhood development. ![]() Our results are consistent with previous reports that preschool EF abilities may be associated with subsequent literacy and math skills. Therefore, our results are generalizable to the reference population. ![]() The resulting generalizability coefficient showed that our sample of 44 students was sufficient for assessing preschool EFs. To do this, we performed a generalizability analysis. To make this determination, we estimated the optimal sample size for assessing preschool EFs. Another objective was to determine whether our findings were generalizable to the reference population. The results showed that preschool EF level, together with participants and the instrument used to assess academic skills, explained 99% of the variance of subsequent academic performance. General linear modeling was used to estimate the percentage of variability in academic skills in the first year of primary school that was explained by preschool EF abilities. We used a multi-method design, which consisted of systematic observation to observe preschool children during play and selective methodology to assess their reading, writing, and math skills in the first year of compulsory primary education. The main objective of this study was to analyze whether EF levels in 44 Spanish children in the last year of preschool were associated with levels of literacy and math skills the following year, that is, in the first year of compulsory education. ![]() An increasing number of studies have highlighted the role of EFs in building a solid foundation for subsequent development and learning and shown that EFs are associated with good adjustment and academic skills. Executive functions (EFs) are high-level cognitive processes that allow us to coordinate our actions, thoughts, and emotions, enabling us to perform complex tasks.
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