Cognition and cognizance in preschool predict school achievement in primary school

Associations between sedentary types, sedentary patterns and cognitive ability in preschool children

The preschool years are a critical period for developing cognitive abilities such as reasoning, memorization, comprehension, quick thinking, and problem-solving. Sedentary behavior (SB) is known to be associated with cognitive development in preschool children. However, limited research has focused on how different types of SB (active, passive) and sedentary patterns (bouts, breaks) affect preschool children's cognitive abilities. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate: (1) the relationship between sedentary types and preschoolers' cognitive abilities; and (2) the relationship between sedentary patterns and preschoolers' cognitive abilities. Preschoolers aged 3 to 6 years (n = 353) were recruited from 5 kindergartens in Changsha, Hunan, China. Sedentary types were reported by parents, sedentary patterns were measured by preschoolers wearing an ActiGraph wGT3X-BT for seven consecutive days, and cognitive abilities were assessed using the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI-IV). The relationships between variables were analyzed using multiple linear regression models. Non-screen-based active SB was associated with higher full-scale IQ and fluid reasoning index in boys and higher visual spatial index in girls. Screen-based active SB was negatively associated with overall cognitive ability. Passive SB potentially had a negative effect on overall cognitive ability, but screen-based passive SB was positively associated with higher fluid reasoning indices in girls. Preschoolers' cognitive ability was positively associated with sedentary breaks, but not with sedentary bouts.

CONCLUSIONS

Not all types of SB are equal when examining optimal cognitive development in preschoolers. Frequent breaks from sedentary time were associated with better cognitive development. Encouraging more frequent breaks to interrupt prolonged SB may be a viable strategy for reducing sedentary time to promote optimal cognitive development. These findings should be further validated in larger prospective studies.

WHAT IS KNOWN

• Sedentary behavior is not advantageous for cognitive development.

WHAT IS NEW

• Not all types of sedentary behavior are harmful. • Active sedentary behaviors are beneficial to overall cognitive development, but screen-based active sedentary behaviors may negatively impact some areas of cognitive performance. • Cognitive abilities in preschoolers are associated with sedentary breaks, but not with sedentary bouts.

Verbal and non-verbal skills in early childhood: dimensionality, developmental trajectories, and gender differences

This study examines the dimensionality of and relationships between two subscales from the British Ability Scales - Third Edition, measuring verbal (expressive vocabulary) and non-verbal (reasoning) cognitive skills for toddlers (age three) and preschoolers (age five), in a Norwegian context across genders. Descriptive statistics revealed item selection criteria that included specific items within each subscale. Subsequently, Confirmatory Factor Analysis established the subscales' dimensionality (Naming Vocabulary and Picture Similarities; N = 1094) and confirmed measurement invariance across genders. Further, the relationships between the verbal and non-verbal factors were investigated using correlation analysis and Structural Equation Modeling. The findings revealed that the verbal factor at age three strongly predicted the verbal factor at age five and significantly influenced the non-verbal factor at age five. The non-verbal factor at age three exhibited a moderate predictive relationship with the non-verbal factor at age five, and did not significantly predict the verbal factor at age five. In terms of gender differences, girls showed higher scores on the verbal factor at age three, and a stronger correlation between the non-verbal factor at age three and the verbal factor at age five. In summary, this research provides valuable insights into cognitive skill measurement and development in a Norwegian context and highlights possible variations across gender. The study's findings, limitations, and implications are discussed.

Exploring the Accuracy and Consistency of a School Readiness Assessment Tool for Preschoolers: Reliability, Validity and Measurement Invariance Analysis

This study focuses on examining the psychometric properties of the DIFER test, a widely used assessment tool for measuring school readiness. DIFER, which stands for Diagnostic Assessment Systems for Development, has gained prominence in Hungary and some European countries as an effective means of evaluating children's readiness for school. By investigating the reliability and validity of the DIFER test, this study aims to enhance the understanding of the suitability of the DIFER test for cross-cultural and longitudinal studies in assessing school readiness. Conducted as a survey study, the research involved 3050 Hungarian students from Slovakia and Hungary. Employing Rasch analysis and multi-group confirmatory factor analysis (MG-CFA) aid in verifying the precision of the DIFER test as a valuable assessment instrument for determining school readiness. The results revealed a strong alignment between the difficulty level of the test and students' actual abilities, demonstrating its reliability and validity. Importantly, the analysis found measurement invariance across various factors, including country, gender, and age. This indicates the consistent performance of the DIFER test in assessing school readiness across diverse groups. However, mean differences in latent abilities were observed among different age groups, indicating that older students exhibited notably higher proficiency in pre-mathematical skills compared to their younger counterparts. The findings offer valuable insights to educators, providing a reliable tool for assessing school readiness and identifying areas for improvement.

An fNIRS Study of Applicability of the Unity-Diversity Model of Executive Functions in Preschoolers

Executive function (EF) includes a set of higher-order abilities that control one's actions and thoughts consciously and has a protracted developmental trajectory that parallels the maturation of the frontal lobes, which develop speedily over the preschool period. To fully understand the development of EF in preschoolers, this study examined the relationship among the three domains of executive function (cognitive shifting, inhibitory control, and working memory) to test the applicability of the unity-diversity model in preschoolers using both behavioral and fNIRS approaches. Altogether, 58 Chinese preschoolers (34 boys, 24 girls, M_age = 5.86 years, SD = 0.53, age range = 4.83-6.67 years) were administered the Dimensional Card Change Sort (DCCS), go/no-go, and missing scan task. Their brain activations in the prefrontal cortex during the tasks were examined using fNIRS. First, the behavioral results indicated that the missing scan task scores (working memory) correlated with the DCCS (cognitive shifting) and go/no-go tasks (inhibitory control). However, the latter two did not correlate with each other. Second, the fNIRS results demonstrated that the prefrontal activations during the working memory task correlated with those in the same regions during the cognitive shifting and inhibitory control tasks. However, the latter two still did not correlate. The behavioral and neuroimaging evidence jointly indicates that the unity-diversity model of EF does apply to Chinese preschoolers.

Are Dietary Patterns Related to Cognitive Performance in 7-Year-Old Children? Evidence from a Birth Cohort in Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy

Research from different sources supports a link between nutrition and neurodevelopment, but evidence is still sparse regarding the relationship between a posteriori dietary patterns (DPs) and cognitive performance in school-aged children. Within the Northern Adriatic Cohort II, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy, 379 7-year-old children were cross-sectionally evaluated. Dietary patterns were identified through a principal component factor analysis based on 37 nutrients from children’s 3-day dietary records. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale of Children (WISC-IV) test provided measures of cognitive performance, including the full-scale intelligence quotient (FSIQ) and single index scores. Each DP was related to FSIQ or single index scores through multiple robust linear regression models. We identified five DPs named “Dairy Products”, “Plant-based Foods”, “Fats”, “Meat and Potatoes”, and “Seafood” (63% of variance explained). After adjustment, no significant relationship was observed with the FSIQ score; positive associations were found between the “Seafood” DP and Verbal Comprehension Index or Perceptual Reasoning Index. The “Meat and Potatoes” and “Dairy Products” DPs were inversely associated with the Verbal Comprehension Index and Processing Speed Index scores, respectively. In the absence of a relation with the overall FSIQ score, single DPs might influence specific cognitive functions, including verbal and reasoning abilities, as targeted by single indexes, in the expected direction.

Changing priorities in the development of cognitive competence and school learning: A general theory

This paper summarizes a theory of cognitive development and elaborates on its educational implications. The theory postulates that development occurs in cycles along multiple fronts. Cognitive competence in each cycle comprises a different profile of executive, inferential, and awareness processes, reflecting changes in developmental priorities in each cycle. Changes reflect varying needs in representing, understanding, and interacting with the world. Interaction control dominates episodic representation in infancy; attention control and perceptual awareness dominate in realistic representations in preschool; inferential control and awareness dominate rule-based representation in primary school; truth and validity control and precise self-evaluation dominate in principle-based thought in adolescence. We demonstrate that the best predictors of school learning in each cycle are the cycle's cognitive priorities. Also learning in different domains, e.g., language and mathematics, depends on an interaction between the general cognitive processes dominating in each cycle and the state of the representational systems associated with each domain. When a representational system is deficient, specific learning difficulties may emerge, e.g., dyslexia and dyscalculia. We also discuss the educational implications for evaluation and learning at school.

How Wisdom Emerges from Intellectual Development: A Developmental/Historical Theory for Raising Mandelas

This paper invokes cognitive developmental theory as a means for preparing citizens to deal with and resolve conflicts within or across nations. We take the centuries-old Greek–Turkish dispute as an example. We first outline a theory of intellectual development postulating that mental changes emerge in response to changing developmental priorities in successive life periods, namely, interaction control in infancy, attention control and representational awareness in preschool, inferential control and cognitive management in primary school, and advanced forms of reasoning and self-evaluation in adolescence. Based on this model, we outline a control theory of wisdom postulating that different aspects of wisdom emerge during development as different levels of control of relations with others: trust and care for others in infancy, taking the other’s perspective, reflectivity, and empathy in preschool, rationality and understanding the rules underlying individual and group interactions in primary school, and understanding the general principles of societal operation explaining the differences in approach and interest between groups in adolescence and early adulthood. We also outline the educational implications of this theory for the education of citizens by capitalizing on intellectual strengths at successive developmental periods to comprehensively understand the world and to act prudently when dealing with interpersonal and social or national conflict. Finally, the paper discusses the political constraints and implications of this theory. This is the first attempt to derive wisdom from the development of cognitive and personality processes from infancy through early adulthood and to connect it to serious world problems.