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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2008 Summer;20(3):821-43.
doi: 10.1017/S0954579408000394.

Executive functions and school readiness intervention: impact, moderation, and mediation in the Head Start REDI program

Karen L Bierman  1 , Robert L Nix, Mark T Greenberg, Clancy Blair, Celene E Domitrovich
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Executive functions and school readiness intervention: impact, moderation, and mediation in the Head Start REDI program

Karen L Bierman et al. Dev Psychopathol. 2008 Summer.

Abstract

Despite their potentially central role in fostering school readiness, executive function (EF) skills have received little explicit attention in the design and evaluation of school readiness interventions for socioeconomically disadvantaged children. The present study examined a set of five EF measures in the context of a randomized-controlled trial of a research-based intervention integrated into Head Start programs (Head Start REDI). Three hundred fifty-six 4-year-old children (17% Hispanic, 25% African American; 54% girls) were followed over the course of the prekindergarten year. Initial EF predicted gains in cognitive and social-emotional skills and moderated the impact of the Head Start REDI intervention on some outcomes. The REDI intervention promoted gains on two EF measures, which partially mediated intervention effects on school readiness. We discuss the importance of further study of the neurobiological bases of school readiness, the implications for intervention design, and the value of incorporating markers of neurobiological processes into school readiness interventions.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The initial performance on walk-a-line slowly moderates the intervention effect on print awareness.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The initial task orientation moderates the intervention effect on teacher-rated social competence.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The initial performance on walk-a-line slowly moderates the intervention effect on observer-rated social competence.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The initial performance on walk-a-line slowly and task orientation moderate the intervention effect on observer-rated aggression.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. Bierman KL, Domitrovich CE, Nix RL, Gest SD, Welsh JA, Greenberg MT, et al. Promoting academic and social–emotional school readiness: The Head Start REDI Program. 2007. Manuscript submitted for publication. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Blair C. School readiness: Integrating cognition and emotion in a neurobiological conceptualization of children’s functioning at school entry. American Psychologist. 2002;57:111–127. - PubMed

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