Executive Function, Language, Preschool Child
Conditions
Keywords
Executive Function, Language, Preschool child, Development
Brief summary
Background: environmental influences in the first years of life have a great impact on adulthood. Adequate environmental stimulation in the first years of life positively influence cognitive, emotional and neurological development. Studies show that high quality education for 3 to 6 years old children are cost-effective for diverse outcomes, such as socioemotional and cognitive development, as well as school performance. However, it is not clear why specific types of interventions are most effective on school readiness, an important precursor of literacy status and later life outcomes. Objectives: adapt to the Brazilian context two well-known intervention programs: (1) executive functions training developed by Diamond, and (2) oral language skills based on the Nuffield Programme developed by Snowling and colleagues. Methods: a randomized controlled trial involving 720 children (4 to 5 years old) allocated to three groups: (1) adapted school curriculum focusing on executive functions training, (2) adapted school curriculum focusing on oral language skills training, and (3) regular school curriculum.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALExecutive functions training
Daily training of executive functions via activities to develop auto-regulation, attention and memory.
BEHAVIORALLanguage skills training
Daily training of language skills via activities to develop phonological awareness and vocabulary.
Ministry of Education national school curriculum.
Sponsors
Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
University of Sao Paulo
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
3 Years to 6 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Schools interested in the intervention program * Preschool children (4 to 6 years old)
Exclusion criteria
* Presence of any sensory impairment * Intellectual disability
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in school readiness | Beginning of the school year (baseline) and at the end of the school year (post intervention, 7 to 8 months later) | Assessed with a 43 items questionnaire developed by the research staff. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in inhibitory control | Beginning of the school year (baseline) and at the end of the school year (post intervention, 7 to 8 months later) | Inhibitory control assessed via the Flanker e Simon (Dots task) tests. |
| Change in working memory | Beginning of the school year (baseline) and at the end of the school year (post intervention, 7 to 8 months later) | Working memory assessed via the neuropsychological Automated Working Memory Assessment (AWMA). |
| Change in oral language skills | Beginning of the school year (baseline) and at the end of the school year (post intervention, 7 to 8 months later) | Expressive language assessed via the Child Language Test - ABFW. |
Outcome results
None listed