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Project

Teacher-student Interactions and executive functions in children: a cross-cultural investigation

Executive function (EF) refers to a collection of several interrelated but separated processes including working memory/updating, inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility/shifting, that aim for goal-directed behaviours (Friedman & Miyake, 2017; Huizinga et al., 2006). EF is a cornerstone for an individual’s adaptive function in learning and social interactions. In order to help children to develop their EF appropriately, especially for the children with EF problems (e.g., children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, ADHD), interventions in classroom are widely recommended. These interventions are aiming to set the most optimal learning environment, in general, and to improve the quality of teacher-student interaction (TSI), in particular (for review, see Evans, Owens, & Bunford, 2014; Evans, Owens, Wymbs, & Ray, 2018; Fabiano et al., 2009). Herein, the exploration of the bidirectional relations between TSI, children's EF performance and EF-related problematic behaviours such as ADHD symptoms, aiming to better understand how these factors interact with each other, is needed. Moreover, given the differences in the social norms and values between individualistic Western and collectivistic Eastern cultures, evidence on the relationship between TSI, EF and EF-related problematic behaviours of children should be considered with caution for research predominantly relies on North-American and European samples from single country contexts, whereby different affective meanings of TSI across cultures have been largely overlooked (Lam & Chan, 2012). As such, whether the impact of TSI on the development of EF and EF-related problematic behaviours such as ADHD symptoms can be generalised across cultures is worth investigating.
If we want to determine the universality of the effect of TSI on the development of EF and EF-related problematic behaviours, a proper cross-cultural examination of this relationship (i.e., the combination of qualitative and quantitative methods) is called for (Ewe, 2019). This approach will, on the one hand, advance current understanding regarding which TSI factors/behaviours contribute to these effects in Western countries while, on the other hand, inform the international scientific community in general and Eastern cultures in particular, about the cross-cultural validity of such findings. Taken together, this project drives the existing research forward by investigating the relationship between TSI, EF performance and EF-related problematic behaviours from a cultural perspective. More specifically, our first study (work package 1) took the first step to explore the potential influence of culture on children’s EF performance. In the following studies, including work package 2 and 3, we will further (1) determine meanings of TSI across cultures and (2) explore the bidirectional link between TSI, EF performance and EF-related problematic behaviours through a cultural lens.

Date:1 Feb 2021 →  Today
Keywords:Executive Functions, Teacher Student Interaction, ADHD
Disciplines:Special needs education, Orthopedagogical interventions
Project type:PhD project