Abstract

Executive functions are the set of high-level cognitive skills that underpin flexible, goal-directed behaviour. Executive functions develop rapidly over childhood and underpin early academic skills and school readiness. In this talk I present data from a series of studies using novel paradigms to study the development and malleability of executive functions in early childhood. The key findings of my research are three-fold: firstly, the widespread claim that early executive function development is marked by a shift from perseveration to flexibility may be misleading. Secondly, inequalities in early mathematical skills between children from lower socioeconomic homes, and children from higher socioeconomic homes, may be mediated by executive function skills. Thirdly, improving early executive functions through cognitive intervention is not an effective way to narrow inequalities in early mathematical skills.

PROFILE I studied Philosophy and Psychology and the University of Sheffield and went on to do a Masters and PhD in the Cognitive Development Lab at the University of Sheffield. My PhD research focused on cognitive flexibility development in toddlers and preschoolers. I was a visiting researcher at the University of Alberta and then went on to do a post-doc at Cardiff University working on children’s time perception and causal beliefs. I returned to the University of Sheffield as a lecturer in 2017. I research how early executive functions develop, particularly during the toddler and preschool years. I am also interested in how executive functions support children’s learning, and how individual differences in these skills arise.