Curriculum add-ons PATHS and CSRP improve children's EFs and related outcomes in regular classrooms, with CSRP's academic gains mediated largely via EF improvement¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · review r2 · q2–q3
Currency · newest study 2011 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 2 of 2 entries) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? After a year of PATHS, 7–9 year-olds showed better inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility than control children, and greater post-test inhibitory control predicted fewer behavior problems one year later. → Diamond Adele 2011 q3 i? EFs of 4-year-olds in CSRP Head Start classrooms improved over the year significantly more than controls', and CSRP's academic improvement was mediated largely via its EF improvement. → Diamond Adele 2011 (2)

Evidence¶

Diamond Adele 2011¶

Diamond Adele, Lee Kathleen. (2011). Interventions shown to Aid Executive Function Development in Children 4–12 Years Old. Science. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1204529

q2 · i? · review · r2

The review reports PATHS trains teachers to build children's self-control, emotion recognition, and interpersonal problem-solving, and teaches teachers techniques intended to generalize skills learned in PATHS lessons to other contexts during the school day.

"After a year of PATHS, 7–9 year-olds showed better inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility than control children (43). Children who showed greater inhibitory control at post-test showed fewer internalizing or externalizing behavior problems one year later."

Diamond Adele 2011 (2)¶

Diamond Adele, Lee Kathleen. (2011). Interventions shown to Aid Executive Function Development in Children 4–12 Years Old. Science. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1204529

q3 · i? · review · r2

The review reports a randomized-control trial with 18 of 35 Head Start classrooms assigned to CSRP, which provided teacher behavior-management training and stress-reduction workshops but no academic curricula.

"EFs (attention, inhibition, and experimenter-rated impulsivity) of 4-year-olds in CSRP classes improved over the year and significantly more so than did EFs of controls. CSRP didn’t affect delay of gratification, however. CSRP children improved in vocabulary, letter-naming, and math, and significantly more than controls. CSRP’s improvement of academic skills was mediated largely via its improvement of EFs."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Mindfulness training improves EFs most in 7–9 year-olds with initially poorer EFs, and yoga improves EFs where physical training alone does not — related
• Tools of the Mind and Montessori curricula improve children's EFs, with Tools children outperforming controls especially on more EF-demanding conditions — a broader claim this one bears on
• Sleep education at school improves cognitive functioning in children — related
• Sustained aerobic exercise improves children's EFs, with dose-response benefits for the most EF-demanding task and math in the high-dose group only — related
• Contact with nature is generally tied to better impulse control and self-discipline in children, though effects are not always statistically significant — related
• Teachers rated PATHS intervention children as less socially withdrawn than controls at year end — related
• The Chicago School Readiness Project, a classroom-based RCT, improved low-income children's executive function and academic skills with effect sizes of 0.34 to 0.63 — related
• The classroom training improves inhibitory control as measured by the Tongue Task — related
• A combined inhibition and social cognition classroom training improves selective visual attention in 5- and 6-year-olds — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• SEL programs with explicit skill teaching and regular practice can promote preschool EF, possibly including inhibitory control — related