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About
Executive function (EF) is a term used in developmental psychology and neuroscience to describe a set of cognitive processes that support self-regulation. These include working memory, cognitive flexibility, and inhibitory control. In early childhood, these skills are just beginning to emerge—and they form the foundation for later learning, behavior, and emotional regulation.
Children aren’t born with executive function—they build it through play, relationships, and repeated practice navigating the world. When a child waits for a turn, remembers a multi-step direction, adapts to a change in routine, or resists the impulse to grab—they’re using executive function. These moments are not minor—they are the architecture of future decision-making, learning, and self-awareness.
Neuroscientists often describe EF as being housed in the prefrontal cortex, a part of the brain that develops well into adulthood. In early years, the development of EF is uneven, nonlinear, and highly sensitive to environment. Stress, trauma, and disconnection can impair it. Trust, play, and co-regulation can support it.
How It’s Understood (and Used)
Executive function has become a popular term in early childhood education, often promoted as a “readiness” skill for school. Some programs explicitly teach EF strategies—like breathing techniques, games that require impulse control, or visual tools to support transitions. Others embed EF development more organically, through open-ended play, social negotiation, and rhythms of the day that offer both structure and flexibility.
Research shows that dramatic play, outdoor free play, and guided social experiences are especially rich for developing EF. Activities like building block structures, creating rules for a game, or solving social conflicts engage memory, flexibility, and impulse control all at once.
A caution: when EF becomes another checklist of expectations, it risks pathologizing normal developmental variability. Not all children develop these skills on the same timeline—and expecting full self-regulation too early can lead to shame, labeling, or exclusion.
How It Relates to My Approach
Executive function is not something I teach directly—but I create the conditions for it to grow. In child-led, play-rich, relational environments, children are constantly practicing EF: holding ideas in mind, revising plans, waiting, negotiating, remembering, and adapting.
In Reggio Emilia–inspired settings, we don’t frame these as skills to be trained, but as natural outgrowths of meaningful engagement. In play-based and nature-based learning, EF shows up in long games, group projects, and explorations that require patience and persistence. And from contemplative education, I borrow the reminder that attention is not just cognitive—it is ethical.
Rather than rushing to get children to "self-regulate," I focus on co-regulation—creating steady, responsive relationships that help children feel safe enough to try.
References
- Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University (2011). Building the Brain’s “Air Traffic Control” System
- Zelazo, P. D. et al. (2016). “Executive Function: Implications for Education.” Review of Educational Research
- Bodrova, E. & Leong, D. J. (2007). Tools of the Mind
- Gopnik, A. (2009). The Philosophical Baby
- Diamond, A. (2013). “Executive Functions.” Annual Review of Psychology
Glossary
- Executive Function (EF) – A set of brain-based skills that support planning, focus, memory, impulse control, and flexible thinking.
- Working Memory – The ability to hold and manipulate information in mind over short periods.
- Cognitive Flexibility – The capacity to switch perspectives or adapt to changing rules, routines, or expectations.
- Inhibitory Control – The skill of pausing before acting—essential for turn-taking, focus, and managing frustration.
- Co-Regulation – The process by which children learn to manage emotions and impulses through steady, attuned support from adults.
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