This study examined the effects of the Head Start Research-Based, Developmentally Informed (REDI) preschool intervention on growth in children’s executive-function (EF) skills from preschool through third grade. Across 25 Head Start centers, each of 44 classrooms was randomly assigned either to an intervention group, which received enhanced social-emotional and language-literacy components, or to a “usual-practice” control group. Four-year-old children (N = 356; 25% African American, 17% Latino, 58% European American; 54% girls) were followed for 5 years, and EF skills were assessed annually. Latent-class growth analysis identified high, moderate, and low developmental EF trajectories. For children with low EF trajectories, the intervention improved EF scores in third grade significantly more (d = 0.58) than in the control group. Children who received the intervention also demonstrated better academic outcomes in third grade than children who did not. Poverty often delays EF development; enriching the Head Start program with an evidence-based curriculum and teaching strategies can reduce early deficits and thereby facilitate school success.
AdamsM. J.FoormanB. R.LundbergI.BeelerT. (1998). Phonological sensitivity in young children: A classroom curriculum. Baltimore, MD: Brookes.
2.
American Psychological Association. (1994).Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
3.
BernierA.CarlsonS. M.WhippleN. (2010). From external regulation to self-regulation: Early parenting precursors of young children’s executive functioning. Child Development, 81, 326–339. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01397.x
4.
BiermanK. L.HeinrichsB. S.WelshJ. A.NixR. L.GestS. D. (2017). Enriching preschool classrooms and home visits with evidence-based programming: Sustained benefits for low-income children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 58, 129–137. doi:10.1111/jcpp.12618
5.
BiermanK. L.NixR. L.GreenbergM. T.BlairC.DomitrovichC. E. (2008). Executive functions and school readiness intervention: Impact, moderation, and mediation in the Head Start REDI program. Development and Psychopathology, 20, 821–843. doi:10.1017/S0954579408000394
6.
BiermanK. L.TorresM. M. (2016). Promoting the development of executive functions through early education and prevention programs. In GriffinJ. A.McCardleP.FreundL. S. (Eds.), Executive function in preschool-age children: Integrating measurement, neurodevelopment, and translational research (pp. 299–326). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
7.
BlairC.RaverC. C. (2012). Child development in the context of adversity: Experiential canalization of brain and behavior. American Psychologist, 67, 309–318. doi:10.1037/a0027493
BullR.EspyK. A.WiebeS. A.SheffieldT. D.NelsonJ. M. (2011). Using confirmatory factor analysis to understand executive control in preschool children: Sources of variation in emergent mathematic achievement. Developmental Science, 14, 679–692. doi:10.1111/j.1467-7687.2010.01012.x
10.
BullR.ScerifG. (2001). Executive functioning as a predictor of children’s mathematics ability: Inhibition, switching, and working memory. Developmental Neuropsychology, 19, 273–293. doi:10.1207/S15326942DN1903_3
11.
ChapmanJ. W.TunmerW. E. (1999). Reading Self-Concept Scale. In BurdenR. (Ed.), Children’s self-perceptions (pp. 29–34). Windsor, England: NFER-Nelson.
DavisH. L.PrattC. (1995). The development of children’s theory of mind: The working memory explanation. Australian Journal of Psychology, 47, 25–31. doi:10.1080/00049539508258765
14.
Dilworth-BartJ. E. (2012). Does executive function mediate SES and home quality associations with academic readiness?Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 27, 416–425. doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2012.02.002
15.
DiPernaJ. C.ElliottS. N. (2000). Development and validation of the Academic Competence Evaluation Scales. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 17, 207–225. doi:10.1177/073428299901700302
16.
DomitrovichC. E.CortesR.GreenbergM. T. (2007). Improving young children’s social and emotional competence: A randomized trial of the preschool PATHS curriculum. Journal of Primary Prevention, 28, 67–91. doi:10.1007/s10935-007-0081-0
17.
DuPaulG. (1991). Parent and teacher ratings of ADHD symptoms: Psychometric properties in a community-based sample. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 20, 245–253. doi:10.1207/s15374424jccp2003_3
18.
FryeD.ZelazoP. D.PalfaiT. (1995). Theory of mind and rule-based reasoning. Cognitive Development, 10, 483–527. doi:10.1016/0885-2014(95)90024-1
19.
GreenbergM. T. (2006). Promoting resilience in children and youth. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1094, 139–150. doi:10.1196/annals.1376.013
20.
HollingsheadA. B. (1975). Four factor index of social status. Unpublished manuscript, Department of Sociology, Yale University, New Haven, CT.
21.
HughesC.EnsorR.WilsonA.GrahamA. (2010). Tracking executive function across the transition to school: A latent variable approach. Developmental Neuropsychology, 35, 20–36. doi:10.1080/87565640903325691
22.
KochanskaG.MurrayK.JacquesT. Y.KoenigA. L.VandegeestK. A. (1996). Inhibitory control in young children and its role in emerging internalization. Child Development, 67, 490–507. doi:10.2307/1131828
23.
LanzaS. T.RhoadesB. L. (2013). Latent class analysis: An alternative perspective on subgroup analysis in prevention and treatment. Prevention Science, 14, 157–168. doi:10.1007/s11121-011-0201-1
24.
LoniganC. J. (2006). Development, assessment, and promotion of preliteracy skills. Early Education and Development, 17, 91–114. doi:10.1207/s15566935eed1701_5
25.
Melby-LervågM.HulmeC. (2013). Is working memory training effective? A meta-analytic review. Developmental Psychology, 49, 270–291. doi:10.1037/a0028228
26.
MorrisP.LloydC. M.MillenkyM.LeacockN.RaverC. C.BangserM.KarolyL. (2013). Using classroom management to improve preschoolers’ social and emotional skills: Final impact and implementation findings from the Foundations of Learning demonstration in Newark and Chicago. New York, NY: MDRC. Retrieved from http://www.mdrc.org/sites/default/files/using_classroom_management_full_report_for%20web_rev2-11.pdf
27.
NaginD. S. (2005). Group-based modeling of development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. doi:10.4159/9780674041318
28.
NixR. L.BiermanK. L.HeinrichsB. S.GestS. D.WelshJ. A.DomitrovichC. E. (2016). The randomized controlled trial of Head Start REDI: Sustained effects on developmental trajectories of social-emotional functioning. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 84, 310–322. doi:10.1037/a0039937
29.
NobleK. G.McCandlissB. D.FarahM. J. (2007). Socioeconomic gradients predict individual differences in neurocognitive abilities. Developmental Science, 10, 464–480. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2007.10.015
30.
PetrasH.KellamS. G.BrownC. H.MuthénB. O.IalongoN. S.PoduskaJ. M. (2008). Developmental epidemiological courses leading to antisocial personality disorder and violent and criminal behavior: Effects by young adulthood of a universal preventive intervention in first- and second-grade classrooms. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 95, S45–S59. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2007.10.015
31.
RaverC. C.JonesS. M.Li-GriningC.ZhaiF.BubK.PresslerE. (2011). CSRP’s impact on low-income preschoolers’ preacademic skills: Self-regulation as a mediating mechanism. Child Development, 82, 362–378. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01561.x
32.
RaverC. C.McCoyD. C.LowensteinA. E.PessR. (2013). Predicting individual differences in low-income children’s executive control from early to middle childhood. Developmental Science, 16, 394–408. doi:10.1111/desc.12027
33.
RiggsN. R.GreenbergM. T.KuscheC. A.PentzM. A. (2006). The mediational role of neurocognition in the behavioral outcomes of a social-emotional prevention program in elementary school students: Effects of the PATHS curriculum. Prevention Science, 7, 91–102. doi:10.1007/s11121-005-0022-1
34.
TomineyS. L.McClellandM. M. (2011). Red light, purple light: Findings from a randomized trial using circle time games to improve behavioral self-regulation in preschool. Early Education and Development, 22, 489–519. doi:10.1080/10409289.2011.574258
35.
TorgesenJ. K.WagnerR. K.RashotteC. A. (1999). Test of Word Reading Efficiency. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.
36.
WasikB. A.BondM. A.HindmanA. (2006). The effects of a language and literacy intervention on Head Start children and teachers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98, 63–74. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.98.1.63
37.
WechslerD. (2002). Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence–Third edition. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.
38.
WechslerD. (2003). Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children–Fourth edition. San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation.
39.
Werthamer-LarssonL.KellamS.WheelerL. (1991). Effect of first-grade classroom environment on shy behavior, aggressive behavior, and concentration problems. American Journal of Community Psychology, 19, 585–602. doi:10.1007/BF00937993
40.
WiebeS. A.EspyK. A.CharakD. (2008). Using confirmatory factor analysis to understand executive control in preschool children: I. Latent structure. Developmental Psychology, 44, 575–587. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.44.2.575
41.
WilloughbyM. T.BlairC. B.WirthR. J.GreenbergM. (2010). The measurement of executive function at age 3 years: Psychometric properties and criterion validity of a new battery of tasks. Psychological Assessment, 22, 306–317. doi:10.1037/a0018708
42.
ZelazoP. D. (2006). The Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS): A method of assessing executive function in children. Nature Protocols, 1, 297–301. doi:10.1038/nprot.2006.46
