Teacher and Child Executive Function Study

In this project, we examine mutual influences between teachers’ executive function and children’s executive function, which informs interventions in support of the executive function of both teachers and children to optimize the quality of early care and education. In this study, we also explore the differential susceptibility theory (Belsky, 1997; Boyce & Ellis, 2005; Ellis et al., 2011) within a school context. The theory suggests that individuals’ susceptibility to their environment differs by how they respond to stressors biologically; specifically, the effects of teachers’ executive function on children’s executive function may differ by the level of children’s physiological stress reactivity.

We also explore the long-term associations between preschool teachers' executive function and children's social, emotional, and behavioral functioning. 

Find more about our study here.

Johns Hopkins University Collaborator: Sara Johnson, Ph.D.