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A randomized controlled trial of HighScope's teacher professional learning on preschoolers' executive function skills.

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Title: A randomized controlled trial of HighScope's teacher professional learning on preschoolers' executive function skills.
Authors: Ahmed, Sammy F.1 (AUTHOR) sammyahmed@uri.edu, Waters, Nicholas E.2 (AUTHOR), Skibbe, Lori E.3 (AUTHOR)
Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly. 2026 3rd Quarter, Vol. 76, p230-239. 10p.
Subject Terms: *Teacher training, *Teacher development, *Child development, *Preschool children, *Early childhood education, Executive function, Randomized controlled trials
Abstract: • A RCT was used to test the effects of teacher PL on preschoolers' EF skills. • Teacher PL led to growth in preschoolers' EF skills across preschool. • HighScope's PL package shows promise for supporting children's EF development. Teacher professional learning has been shown to promote children's language, literacy, and social-emotional functioning - however, less is known about its impact on children's executive function. In the present study, we employed a randomized controlled trial to understand whether HighScope's teacher professional learning workshops and coaching can promote children's executive function development during preschool. Teachers in the treatment group (n = 22) participated in 5 training workshops and received coaching on curricular implementation strategies, whereas teachers in the control group (n = 20) did not receive any training or coaching. Results from a sample of 317 children enrolled in publicly funded preschools (M age =49.8 months; 55% Female; 38% White, 36.8% Black, 14.4% multiracial, 4.4% Asian/Pacific Islander, 6.4% "other;" 6% Latine) revealed a positive effect (ß =0.140, p =0.019) of teacher professional learning on growth in children's executive function from the fall to spring of preschool. Despite being statistically significant, the relatively small effect size might limit the practical impact on children's executive function skills during preschool. Overall, the HighScope professional learning package shows promise for supporting children's executive function development, yet the modest effect size underscores the need to better understand the ways that supporting teachers can promote children's executive function development in early classroom settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Early Childhood Research Quarterly is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
FullText Text:
  Availability: 0
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DbLabel: Education Research Complete
An: 194296339
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PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
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  Label: Title
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  Data: A randomized controlled trial of HighScope's teacher professional learning on preschoolers' executive function skills.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ahmed%2C+Sammy+F%2E%22">Ahmed, Sammy F.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> sammyahmed@uri.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Waters%2C+Nicholas+E%2E%22">Waters, Nicholas E.</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Skibbe%2C+Lori+E%2E%22">Skibbe, Lori E.</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Early+Childhood+Research+Quarterly%22">Early Childhood Research Quarterly</searchLink>. 2026 3rd Quarter, Vol. 76, p230-239. 10p.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teacher+training%22">Teacher training</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teacher+development%22">Teacher development</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Child+development%22">Child development</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Preschool+children%22">Preschool children</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Early+childhood+education%22">Early childhood education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Executive+function%22">Executive function</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Randomized+controlled+trials%22">Randomized controlled trials</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: • A RCT was used to test the effects of teacher PL on preschoolers' EF skills. • Teacher PL led to growth in preschoolers' EF skills across preschool. • HighScope's PL package shows promise for supporting children's EF development. Teacher professional learning has been shown to promote children's language, literacy, and social-emotional functioning - however, less is known about its impact on children's executive function. In the present study, we employed a randomized controlled trial to understand whether HighScope's teacher professional learning workshops and coaching can promote children's executive function development during preschool. Teachers in the treatment group (n = 22) participated in 5 training workshops and received coaching on curricular implementation strategies, whereas teachers in the control group (n = 20) did not receive any training or coaching. Results from a sample of 317 children enrolled in publicly funded preschools (M age =49.8 months; 55% Female; 38% White, 36.8% Black, 14.4% multiracial, 4.4% Asian/Pacific Islander, 6.4% "other;" 6% Latine) revealed a positive effect (ß =0.140, p =0.019) of teacher professional learning on growth in children's executive function from the fall to spring of preschool. Despite being statistically significant, the relatively small effect size might limit the practical impact on children's executive function skills during preschool. Overall, the HighScope professional learning package shows promise for supporting children's executive function development, yet the modest effect size underscores the need to better understand the ways that supporting teachers can promote children's executive function development in early classroom settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Early Childhood Research Quarterly is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2026.03.012
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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      – SubjectFull: Teacher training
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Teacher development
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Child development
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Preschool children
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Early childhood education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Executive function
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Randomized controlled trials
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: A randomized controlled trial of HighScope's teacher professional learning on preschoolers' executive function skills.
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            NameFull: Ahmed, Sammy F.
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            NameFull: Waters, Nicholas E.
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            NameFull: Skibbe, Lori E.
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            – D: 01
              M: 07
              Text: 2026 3rd Quarter
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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