Examining Relations Between Executive Functions and Decoding in Children: A Meta-Analytic Investigation

• In Event: Cognition and Motivation in Reading Instruction and Achievement

Abstract

Previous meta-analyses highlight the role of executive functions (EF), encompassing working memory, task-switching, and inhibition, in reading comprehension, but have not demarcated its role in decoding, defined as use of orthographic patterns to access oral pronunciations. According to the dual-route model, decoding involves parallel activation of lexical and non-lexical (grapheme-to-phoneme) routes, which places demands on EF. We used multivariate meta-analyses to examine associations between decoding, assessed via nonword and word reading tasks, and EF across 51 studies involving children (128 effect size estimates, N = 18,699 participants, mean age 10.2 years, range 5.0–14.9). Results indicated significant small–moderate correlations between each EF construct and decoding task (Fisher’s z ranged from .24 to .36), with age moderating some associations.

Authors

• Teresa M. Ober, University of Notre Dame

• Patricia J. Brooks, City College of New York - CUNY

• Bruce Douglas Homer, CUNY Graduate Center