Open AccessBridging the Gap between Advantaged and Disadvantaged Children:
Author(s) -
Caroline Fitzpatrick
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
south african journal of childhood education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.15
H-Index - 2
eISSN - 2223-7682
pISSN - 2223-7674
DOI - 10.4102/sajce.v4i1.66
Subject(s) - disadvantaged , socioeconomic status , psychological intervention , academic achievement , psychology , developmental psychology , executive functions , executive summary , life chances , cognition , social class , economic growth , medicine , political science , population , microbiology and biotechnology , environmental health , neuroscience , psychiatry , economics , biology , law
Reducing the economic and social burden associated with poor academic achievement represents an urgent social concern. Increasingly research suggests that child characteristics in kindergarten play an important role in charting courses towards academic success. Although math and reading skill are important predictors of later achievement, executive function skills which underlie children’s ability to focus attention and become autonomous, self-directed learners are also likely to play a key role in later adjustment to school. Disadvantaged children perform more poorly on tests of achievement and executive functions. Furthermore, executive functions have been found to partially account for the relationship between socioeconomic status and later achievement. It is possible to target executive functions in at-risk children using specific interventions. Not only are these interventions effective, they are also cost effective. It is proposed that increasing efforts towards promoting executive functions in preschool-aged children represents a promising strategy for reducing economically-based disparities in the education and eventual life chances of individuals