ERIC Number: EJ1138317
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-2331-186X
EISSN: N/A
Quality of Classroom Interactions in Kindergarten and Executive Functions among Five Year-Old Children
Duval, Stéphanie; Bouchard, Caroline; Pagé, Pierre; Hamel, Christine
Cogent Education, v3 n1 Article 1207909 2016
The goal of this study was to examine the relationship between the quality of classroom interactions in kindergarten and executive functions (EFs) among 5-year-old children. The sample consisted of 118 children, with a mean age of 73.34 months (SD = 4.22), from 12 kindergarten classes. The quality of classroom interactions was measured using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS), while the children's EFs (working memory (WM), inhibition, cognitive flexibility, and planning) were measured using various tests conducted on the children (e.g. Forward and Backward Digit Span). The results show that emotional support in the classroom was positively correlated with EF skills among the children, in particular, those related to WM and cognitive inhibition. Moreover, the results indicate that instructional support was negatively correlated with the children's WM. Further analyses demonstrated that gross family income reduced the association between instructional support and WM. These findings attest to the importance of emotional support for the development of EFs, particularly WM, and bring out the potential moderating effect of family characteristics (e.g. gross family income) on executive functioning.
Descriptors: Kindergarten, Classroom Environment, Interaction, Executive Function, Short Term Memory, Inhibition, Cognitive Processes, Cognitive Tests, Early Childhood Education, Interaction Process Analysis, Outcome Measures, Likert Scales, Regression (Statistics), Statistical Analysis
Cogent OA. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Kindergarten; Primary Education; Early Childhood Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Digit Span Test
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A