Executive functions are a number of neurological processes in the brain that work together in leading and coordinating our efforts to achieve a goal. They have a significant impact on learning. In the literature, the term 'executive functions' is understood as follows: “The term executive functions is a catch-all term for the mental processes that play a supervisory role in thinking and behavior. They encompass a number of functions with a neurological basis, which work together in leading and coordinating our efforts to achieve a goal” (Cooper-Khan & Foster, 2014, p. 23). In other words, it is the ability to plan, devise a strategy, respond effectively to changes, etc. Executive functions regulate, for example, starting a task and maintaining attention. It can be compared to the tasks of an entrepreneur of a large company. In the literature, a distinction is made between the following executive functions (Dawson & Guare, 2009): • Response inhibition: The ability to think before you act. • Working memory: The skill to hold information in memory while performing complex tasks. • Emotion regulation: The ability to regulate emotions to complete tasks or control behavior. • Flexibility: The skill to adapt to changing circumstances. • Sustained attention: The skill to maintain attention to a situation or task. • Task initiation: The ability to begin a task on time and in an efficient manner. • Planning/prioritization: The skill to distinguish between main and secondary issues in planning. • Organization: The ability to stay informed about information or necessary materials and maintain an overview. • Time management: The skill to estimate how best to allocate your time to meet a deadline, for example. • Goal-directed behavior: The ability to formulate a goal and achieve it despite conflicting interests. • Metacognition: The ability to self-monitor and self-evaluate. Executive functions vary from person to person. Many students who 'exceed themselves' in education have relatively strong executive functions. Various meta-analyses show that working on individual executive functions has little demonstrable positive impact on learning outcomes. Working on individual executive functions does not visibly translate to related skills such as academic and social skills. However, it does have an effect to work on multiple executive functions simultaneously: “So maybe you can’t train ‘executive functions’, but you can train an executive function” (Kassai, et al. 2019).
Kassai, R., Futo, J., Demetrovics, Z., & Takacs, Z. K. (2019). A meta-analysis of the experimental evidence on the near- and far-transfer effects among children’s executive function skills. Psychological Bulletin, 145(2), 165–188. doi:10.1037/bul0000180