Peer-reviewed article
Protocol to investigate teacher-child neural scaffolding in executive functions and school readiness development in preschool children.
Green RL, Wee CSK, Ramanarayanan V, Zhang H, Zheng TL et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This is a research protocol outlining a study to investigate how teachers support the development of executive functions in preschool children using neural imaging techniques. The research will measure brain synchrony between teachers and children during interactive tasks and examine how teaching styles affect children's school readiness. The study aims to better understand the role of teacher-child relationships in preparing children for primary school, which is important given increasing preschool attendance worldwide.
Key points
- Executive functions are regarded as important contributors to school readiness
- Early development of executive functions is strongly moderated by social context, including caregiver relationships
- The role of parent-child relationships on executive function development is well established, but less is known about teachers' roles
- The study will measure behavioural and neural synchrony during interactive tasks using electroencephalography hyperscanning
- The research will examine the relative contribution of teacher and child characteristics to neural synchrony and effects of teacher scaffolding style
Limitations
This document is a protocol describing a planned study, not results from completed research, so it cannot provide evidence of what the study will actually find or confirm the feasibility of the neural measurement methods. The countries where the research will be conducted are not specified in the document.
Abstract
The transition to primary school is a key milestone in a child's life and how ready a child is for this change can affect their later academic success. Executive functions are regarded as an important contributor to school readiness, and the early development of executive functions are strongly moderated by the child's social context, such as caregiver relationships. Whilst the role of parent-child relationships on the development of executive functions is well established, less is known about the role of other caregivers, such as teachers. A series of novel teacher-child electroencephalography hyperscanning interaction tasks have been developed to explore how teachers scaffold preschool children's emerging literacy skills, problem solving and executive functions. Behavioural and neural synchrony will be measured during interactive tasks. Children's school readiness will be measured, as well as teacher and child executive functions and intelligence. The relative contribution of the teacher and child's individual characteristics to behavioural neural synchrony will be explored, as well as the effects teacher scaffolding style. These insights are necessary to ensure the quality of infant care and preschool in a climate where attendance is becoming increasingly popular worldwide.