TY - JOUR
T1 - Closing the achievement gap through modification of neurocognitive and neuroendocrine function
T2 - Results from a cluster randomized controlled trial of an innovative approach to the education of children in kindergarten
AU - Blair, Clancy
AU - Raver, C. Cybele
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
©2014 Blair Raver. Support for this research was provided by Institute of Education Sciences grant R305A100058. http://ies.ed.gov/. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
PY - 2014/11/12
Y1 - 2014/11/12
N2 - Effective early education is essential for academic achievement and positive life outcomes, particularly for children in poverty. Advances in neuroscience suggest that a focus on self-regulation in education can enhance children's engagement in learning and establish beneficial academic trajectories in the early elementary grades. Here, we experimentally evaluate an innovative approach to the education of children in kindergarten that embeds support for self-regulation, particularly executive functions, into literacy, mathematics, and science learning activities. Results from a cluster randomized controlled trial involving 29 schools, 79 classrooms, and 759 children indicated positive effects on executive functions, reasoning ability, the control of attention, and levels of salivary cortisol and alpha amylase. Results also demonstrated improvements in reading, vocabulary, and mathematics at the end of kindergarten that increased into the first grade. A number of effects were specific to high-poverty schools, suggesting that a focus on executive functions and associated aspects of selfregulation in early elementary education holds promise for closing the achievement gap.
AB - Effective early education is essential for academic achievement and positive life outcomes, particularly for children in poverty. Advances in neuroscience suggest that a focus on self-regulation in education can enhance children's engagement in learning and establish beneficial academic trajectories in the early elementary grades. Here, we experimentally evaluate an innovative approach to the education of children in kindergarten that embeds support for self-regulation, particularly executive functions, into literacy, mathematics, and science learning activities. Results from a cluster randomized controlled trial involving 29 schools, 79 classrooms, and 759 children indicated positive effects on executive functions, reasoning ability, the control of attention, and levels of salivary cortisol and alpha amylase. Results also demonstrated improvements in reading, vocabulary, and mathematics at the end of kindergarten that increased into the first grade. A number of effects were specific to high-poverty schools, suggesting that a focus on executive functions and associated aspects of selfregulation in early elementary education holds promise for closing the achievement gap.
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U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0112393
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0112393
M3 - Article
C2 - 25389751
AN - SCOPUS:84911488546
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 9
JO - PloS one
JF - PloS one
IS - 11
M1 - e112393
ER -