Executive Functioning Skills for Kids and the Role of Educational Therapists
For success in school, students should learn skills in disciplines such as reading, math, and science. For success in life, they should also learn executive functioning skills.
Research published in the Psychological Bulletin in 2024 shows that strong executive functioning skills lead to better peer acceptance. They also lead to better behavior in class and stronger social skills throughout life.
Executive functioning skills help people manage their daily tasks. Like academic knowledge, people aren’t born with these skills; nearly everyone can learn them.
For kids with executive functioning skills difficulties, an educational therapist can be a resource for strengthening these valuable skills. Many of these professionals have advanced education, such as a master’s degree in Educational Therapy. This education helps them build expertise in working directly with students who have issues that affect their academic success.
What Are Executive Functioning Skills?
Executive functioning skills are cognitive abilities that are vital for setting and pursuing goals, meaning that they guide actions such as problem-solving or managing emotions. The brain's frontal lobe manages executive functioning, which helps people handle different experiences in their lives.
Childhood is a critical time for developing these skills, which continue to strengthen until a person is in their 20s. Executive functioning skills greatly affect people's daily activities. They are important in education from preschool to high school and beyond.
3 Main Executive Functions
There are three main areas of executive function. Skills in these areas can boost a person’s academic and career achievement and social connections. These executive functions are as follows:
- Cognitive Flexibility: Adapting to change
- Inhibition Control: Managing emotions
- Working Memory: Building on prior knowledge
Examples of Executive Functioning Skills
Various skills are associated with executive function, helping guide behavior and decision-making:
- Staying focused on a task
- Managing time
- Remembering detailed information
- Prioritizing responsibilities and goals
- Reflecting on events or behavior
- Setting goals
- Beginning a task
- Juggling multiple tasks
- Maintaining a routine
- Emotional regulation
- Organizing thoughts, actions, and materials
Signs of Executive Functioning Disorder
People with executive functioning disorder may have underlying health concerns. Conditions such as depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and cognitive issues can lead to executive functioning challenges, including the following:
- Difficulty managing time
- Restless behavior
- Making careless mistakes
- Struggling with processing new information
- Engaging in socially inappropriate behavior
Benefits of Executive Functioning Skills for Students
Executive functioning skills play a crucial role in helping students succeed academically, socially, and emotionally. These skills support a student’s ability to stay organized, manage time effectively, regulate emotions, and remain focused on learning tasks.
When executive functioning skills are well developed, students are better able to complete assignments, prepare for tests, follow classroom routines, and cope with academic challenges.
Strong executive functioning also helps students build confidence and independence, allowing them to take greater ownership of their learning and respond more positively to feedback and change.
Examples of Executive Functioning in School
Students use executive functioning skills in many daily activities. These include interacting with peers and learning new information and skills. Examples of executive functioning skills for kids at work in educational settings include the following:
- Interacting With Students and Teachers: Students must have the emotional flexibility to accept differing points of view and emotional regulation skills to manage their emotions when they work with others.
- Learning New Material: Students must rely on their skills in focus, working memory, and emotional regulation to engage in activities, synthesize new information, and overcome frustration.
- Completing Assignments: Students must begin each task and manage their time and materials to complete their work.
Indicators of Poor Executive Functioning in Students
Many signs related to school and schoolwork can show that students need to improve their executive functioning skills.
A holistic approach to education looks at a student’s social, emotional, and ethical needs. It also considers their academic growth. This approach can help identify and address these behaviors when they happen often. These behaviors can include the following:
- Not understanding directions with multiple steps
- Difficulty with complex problems or projects
- Losing personal belongings and homework
- Forgetting information required to perform well on tests or assignments
Role of Educational Therapists in Developing Executive Functioning Skills in Kids
Educational therapists are trained professionals who evaluate and address students’ learning needs. They help children overcome challenges, including those related to poor executive functioning skills, by identifying root causes and developing personalized strategies for success.
What Is Educational Therapy?
Educational Therapy combines elements of education and psychology to support students who struggle with learning or attention difficulties. Educational therapy is different from traditional tutoring. While tutoring focuses on specific subjects, educational therapy looks at the whole person. It considers how emotions, behavior, and thinking affect learning.
What Educational Therapists Do
Educational therapists help students build the tools they need to succeed in school and beyond. They use formal and informal assessments to see a student’s strengths and challenges. They often work one-on-one in a personalized setting.
Therapists design individualized learning plans tailored to each child’s unique profile. By breaking tasks into smaller steps, they make complex problems easier to handle. This also helps children learn to follow directions better. This process boosts confidence and fosters a sense of accomplishment.
Building on Strengths and Addressing Challenges
Once a student’s learning profile is clear, educational therapists help them use their strengths and work on their weaknesses. They teach practical strategies that improve organization, time management, working memory, and other executive functioning skills critical for independent learning.
Through consistent support, students learn how to plan ahead, prioritize tasks, and monitor their own progress. These skills extend far beyond the classroom.
Collaboration with Parents and Teachers
Collaboration is a cornerstone of educational therapy. Therapists work closely with teachers and parents to ensure consistent reinforcement of strategies at school and at home. This team-based approach creates a supportive learning environment that helps children generalize new skills to multiple settings.
Educational Therapy and Executive Functioning Skills
Executive functioning difficulty is one of the many areas of concern that educational therapists can address in students. Because they focus on individualized assistance, these professionals can adjust their support to the needs of those who face this specific challenge.
Educational therapists use teaching and therapy methods. They act as role models for mastering executive functions. They also help students become aware of their own thoughts and behaviors. By recognizing potential issues before they arise, students can overcome those behaviors and improve their executive functioning.
Educational therapists help students develop various skills that can enhance their performance in the classroom. With the help of these professionals, children can improve their ability to do the following:
- Think critically
- Study wisely
- Solve problems
Empowering Students for Lifelong Success
Ultimately, the goal of educational therapy is empowerment. By focusing on the development of executive functioning skills, educational therapists help children become more self-sufficient learners. This holistic approach not only addresses immediate academic challenges but also lays the groundwork for lifelong confidence, adaptability, and success.
Help Strengthen Executive Functioning Skills for Kids
If you’re interested in mastering the knowledge and practices required to help children develop executive functioning skills, explore the online Master of Arts (MA) in Educational Therapy at Notre Dame de Namur University (NDNU).
NDNU’s School of Education program caters to working professionals. It offers a flexible format and schedule while also providing opportunities for workplace experience in local schools and clinics. Additionally, the program offers an accelerated degree option for those who already have a special education credential and three years of experience.
Discover how NDNU can help you achieve your career goals. Get in touch with their Admissions team by filling out the form below.
Recommended Readings
Master of Arts vs. Master of Science: What’s the Difference?
What Does an Educational Therapist Do?
Sources:
Cleveland Clinic, Executive Function
Edutopia, “A Strategy for Flexible Thinking”
Mental Health Center Kids, “Executive Function Skills by Age”
Psychological Bulletin, “Early Childhood Executive Function Predicts Concurrent and Later Social and Behavioral Outcomes: A Review and Meta-Analysis”
Psychology Today, Executive Function
Your Kids Table, “23 Critical Executive Functioning Skills by Age”
Zippia, What Is an Educational Therapist and How to Become One