The effect of body-brain-skill management program on children's executive function skills

The general aim of the present study is to investigate the effectiveness of the STEM-based Body-Brain-Skill Management Programme (3B), which was created to improve the executive function skills of preschool children. Executive functions refer to higher-order mental processes and complex cognitive functions, i.e., the ability of a child to maintain attention, control thought processes and generate desired responses. These skills develop rapidly, particularly between three and six years of age, and can be directed by experience as well as by brain development. An early intervention is, therefore, emphasized as being of critical importance, particularly in the case of socio-economically disadvantaged children. The study was conducted under quasi-experimental, pre-test, post-test, retention test, control group design with quantitative orientation. 51 preschool children took part in the study: 18 in Experiment 1, 18 in Experiment 2 and 15 in the control group. Executive Function Skills Scale – Child Form was used to measure the executive function skills of the children in the study. Activities involving science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) in the 3B programme background were employed for experimental groups. ANCOVA and MANCOVA were also utilized in data analysis, with the pre-test data serving as covariance variables to adjust for group differences. Based on these tests, there were also significant differences between post-test scores between experimental groups and the control group (p <.001). Moreover, Repeated Measures ANOVA and Repeated Measures MANOVA tests were used to analyze the stability of performance following the intervention and improvement with time. The tests showed improvement with time, particularly in the case of working memory and inhibitory control. Improvement in the factor of cognitive flexibility was observed, which was of statistical near-significance. Although when the interaction with the time group was nonsignificant, it was found that the program served all groups equally well when total developmental patterns were considered. The results are indicative of the concept that the 3B programme is an effective and valid instrument for enhancing executive function in the pre-school age. It is supposed that interventions of this kind, which are all-embracing and multidisciplinary, would be able to bridge development gaps, especially for those children with disadvantaged socioeconomic status. Key words: Executive functions, working memory, inhibition, cognitive flexibility, STEM