Data from: Closing the achievement gap through modification of neurocognitive and neuroendocrine function: results from a cluster randomized controlled trial of an innovative approach to the education of children in kindergarten

Effective early education is essential for academic achievement and positive life outcomes, particularly for children in poverty. Advances in neuroscience suggest that a focus on self-regulation in education can enhance children’s engagement in learning and establish beneficial academic trajectories in the early elementary grades. Here, we experimentally evaluate an innovative approach to the education of children in kindergarten that embeds support for self-regulation, particularly executive functions, into literacy, mathematics, and science learning activities. Results from a cluster randomized controlled trial involving 29 schools, 79 classrooms, and 759 children indicated positive effects on executive functions, reasoning ability, the control of attention, and levels of salivary cortisol and alpha amylase. Results also demonstrated improvements in reading, vocabulary, and mathematics at the end of kindergarten that increased into the first grade. A number of effects were specific to high-poverty schools, suggesting that a focus on executive functions and associated aspects of self-regulation in early elementary education holds promise for closing the achievement gap.

有效的早期教育对学业成就与积极人生发展成果至关重要，尤其针对贫困家庭儿童。神经科学领域的研究进展表明，在教育过程中聚焦自我调节（self-regulation），不仅能够提升儿童的学习参与度，还能在小学低年级阶段奠定有益的学业发展路径。本研究通过实验评估了一种面向幼儿园儿童的创新教育模式，该模式将针对自我调节（尤其是执行功能（executive functions））的支持融入识字、数学与科学学习活动之中。一项涵盖29所学校、79个班级与759名儿童的整群随机对照试验（cluster randomized controlled trial）结果显示，该模式对执行功能、推理能力、注意力控制以及唾液皮质醇（cortisol）与α-淀粉酶（alpha amylase）水平均产生了积极影响。研究结果还表明，幼儿园期末阶段的阅读、词汇与数学能力均得到显著提升，且该优势在一年级阶段持续强化。多项干预效应仅在高贫困率学校中显著存在，这表明在小学低年级教育中聚焦执行功能及相关的自我调节维度，有望缩小学业差距（achievement gap）。