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This study investigates how executive function skills contribute to achievement gaps in South African preschool children based on socio-economic status.

May 24, 2026Open Access

Do preschool cognitive and executive function skills explain the school readiness gap between socioeconomically advantaged and disadvantaged South African children?

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This study investigates how executive function skills contribute to achievement gaps in South African preschool children based on socio-economic status.
Analyzed data from the Thrive by Five Index 2021 (N = 5,222) focused on preschool children grouped by quintile for socio-economic status.
Measured academic outcomes using Early Learning Outcomes Measure (ELOM) emphasizing Numeracy and Mathematics and Cognition and Executive Functioning.
Applied hierarchical regression and multilevel mediation analyses to explore relationships among variables.
Socio-economic status was significantly associated with cognition and executive functioning, and numeracy, indicating strong correlations.
Adding cognition and executive functioning to the models explained 32% of the variance in numeracy outcomes.
Multilevel mediation analysis revealed a significant indirect effect of socio-economic status on numeracy through executive functioning, with no direct effect.

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Implication

Randomized trial shows executive function explains the school readiness gap in socioeconomically disadvantaged children, indicating the need for targeted interventions.

Cite This Study

Human Sciences Research Council (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a12963748a0ea1665672c77 https://doi.org/10.14749/32359482

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Implication

Randomized trial shows executive function explains the school readiness gap in socioeconomically disadvantaged children, indicating the need for targeted interventions.

Do preschool cognitive and executive function skills explain the school readiness gap between socioeconomically advantaged and disadvantaged South African children?

Key Points

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

Do preschool cognitive and executive function skills explain the school readiness gap between socioeconomically advantaged and disadvantaged South African children?

Key Points

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

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