The effect of metacognitive executive function training on children's executive function, proactive control, and academic skills

Kubota, Maki; Hadley, Lauren V.; Schäffner, Simone; Könend, Tanja; Meaneye, Julie-Anne; Moreyf, Candice C.; Auyeungg, Bonnie; Moriguchih, Yusuke; Karbachi, Julia; Chevalier, Nicolas

Abstract

The current study investigated the effects of metacognitive and executive function (EF) training on childhood EF (inhibition, working memory [WM], cognitive flexibility, and proactive/reactive control) and academic skills (reading, reasoning, and math) among children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Children (N = 134, Mage = 8.70 years) were assigned randomly to the three training groups: (a) metacognitive training of basic EF processes (meta-EF), (b) training of basic EF processes (basic-EF), and (c) active controls (active control). They underwent 16 training sessions over the course of 2 months. No effects of EF and/or metacognitive training were found for academic outcomes. However, both meta-EF and basic-EF groups demonstrated greater gains than the active control group on proactive control engagement and WM, suggesting that EF training promotes a shift to more mature ways of engaging EF. Our findings suggest minimal near- and far-transfer effects of metacognitive training but highlight that proactive engagement of EF can be promoted through EF training in children.

Citation

Kubota, M., Hadley, L. V., Schäffner, S., Könend, T., Meaneye, J.-A., Moreyf, C. C., …Chevalier, N. (2023). The effect of metacognitive executive function training on children's executive function, proactive control, and academic skills. Developmental Psychology, 59(11), 2002-2020. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001626

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 28, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Oct 12, 2023
• Publication Date: Nov 1, 2023
• Deposit Date: Sep 8, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 12, 2023
• Journal: Developmental Psychology
• Print ISSN: 0012-1649
• Electronic ISSN: 1939-0599
• Publisher: American Psychological Association
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 59
• Issue: 11
• Pages: 2002-2020
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001626
• Keywords: Life-span and Life-course Studies; Developmental and Educational Psychology; Demography
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/25073697
• Publisher URL: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2024-16480-001