The Participatory Action Research of Learning Management for Executive Function Development in Preschool Children

Abstract

This participatory action research aimed to study the participation in learning management and to determine the effects of the learning management for executive function development in preschool children. The participants were composed of ten personnel of Child Development Center, Phrapokklao Nursing College, Chanthaburi, 60 parents, and 60 children aged 3 to 5 years old. The research instruments included the child’s data record form, the executive function in preschool children assessment form with reliability as .90, the problematic behaviors regarding executive function in preschool children assessment form with reliability as .98, and the focus group guide. Two cycles of this research (each cycle comprised 4 steps including plan, do, check, and act) were conducted from January to August, 2020. Data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, paired t-test, independent t-test, and content analysis.

The research results revealed that 1) the guideline of learning management for executive function development in preschool children should focus on activity-based instruction including individual and group activities; 2) after receiving the instruction that promoted executive function, the preschool children had statistically significant higher mean scores of three domains of executive function (inhibit, shift, and emotional control) than those of before receiving the instruction (p < .001); and 3) after the experiment, the preschool children who received the instruction that promoted executive function had statistically significant higher mean score of problematic behaviors regarding executive function than the preschool children who received the Montessori instruction (t = 2.047, p < .05).

This research suggests that the Child Development Center, Phrapokklao Nursing College, Chanthaburi should further develop the learning activities that promote all domains of executive function in preschool children as well as promote the learning activities that reduce the problematic behaviors regarding executive function.