Executive Function: Implications for Education

Executive function (EF) skills are the attention-regulation skills1 that make it possible to sustain attention, keep goals and information in mind, refrain from responding immediately, resist distraction, tolerate frustration, consider the consequences of different behaviors, reflect on past experiences, and plan for the future. In the past two decades, EF skills have become a major focus of research in psychology, neuroscience, and education, and increasingly both teachers and parents are aware that these skills provide an important foundation for learning in school settings. Indeed, EF is central to school readiness and early school achievement (Blair 2002; Blair and Raver 2015). Research has found that EF measured in childhood predicts a wide range of important outcomes, including readiness for school (e.g., McClelland et al. 2007) and the successful transition to kindergarten (e.g., Blair and Razza 2007); school performance and social competence in adolescence (e.g., Mischel, Shoda, and Rodriguez 1989); better physical health; higher socioeconomic status (SES); and fewer drug-related problems and criminal convictions in adulthood (Moffitt et al. 2011). This paper provides a selective overview of recent research on EF and explores the implications of this research for educational research and practice.