ERIC Number: EJ1367689
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023-Apr
Pages: 24
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0033-3085
EISSN: EISSN-1520-6807
Evaluating the Rationale and Evidence Supporting Executive Functions Skills Instruction in the Classroom: A Critical Review
D'Intino, Joseph
Psychology in the Schools, v60 n4 p1125-1148 Apr 2023
Executive functions are widely considered as an umbrella term for the higher order cognitive processes that contribute to goal-directed behavior. In addition, executive functions are highly correlated with positive academic outcomes. To promote the development of executive functions among youth within educational settings, some theorists and clinicians have proposed methods of explicitly instructing executive functioning skills, such as planning, organization, time management, and self-regulation skills. This critical review serves to evaluate the theoretical rationale and the supporting evidence of the six most cited handbooks for improving executive functions skills among elementary and high school students via class-wide instruction. Research that cited these handbooks and that addressed whole-class instruction of executive skills was evaluated and critiqued according to the four levels of the Every Students Succeeds Act. The overall evidence supporting each handbook was then critiqued as lacking, emerging, or sufficient. Although the handbooks are informed by theory and clinical experience, the supporting research is limited to mostly Level 3 and 4 evidence, as defined by the ESSA framework, including only a handful of case studies and small sampled quasi-experimental studies. Overall, the evidence supporting the explicit instruction of executive functioning skills through a class-wide approach is lacking and more rigorous research is still required. Best practices for instructing executive functioning skills to students and directions for future research are discussed.
Descriptors: Executive Function, Skill Development, Literature Reviews, Daily Living Skills, Teaching Methods, Elementary School Students, High School Students, Guides, Instructional Material Evaluation
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2191/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research; Information Analyses
Education Level: Elementary Education; High Schools; Secondary Education; Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Laws, Policies, & Programs: Every Student Succeeds Act 2015
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A