Poster #41 - Self-report and teacher-report ratings for assessing students’ executive functions in learning environment

• In Event: Poster Session 06

Abstract

Background and Aims
Executive functions (EFs) refer to a set of top-down mental processes that support goal-directed activities. Childhood EF skills, including inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility, provide important foundations for mental health and academic achievement in adolescence. In addition to the laboratory tests, self-report and teacher-report ratings have been used increasingly to estimate individuals’ EF. Both measures could provide ecological validity of measuring EFs in learning environment. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the gender and educational stage differences in students’ executive functions through the assessments of self-report and teacher-report, and further examine the associations between individuals’ EF and self-management and academic achievement.

Methods
Participants were 894 students from three educational stages, including elementary school (G5-6, n =337, male=165, female=172), junior high school (G7-8, n =308, male=162 , female =146), and senior high school (G10-11, n =249, male=148, female= 101) in north Taiwan. We collected the rating data of individual students’ EF by him/herself and his/her teacher. For self-report rating, the Behavioral Rating Scale for Executive Function (BRSEF, Chen & Chen, 2015), a composite of 7 subdomains of EF scale (Working memory, Self-initiation, Goal-orientation/Planning, Flexibility, Inhibition, Self-awareness, and Self-checking) was used. The teacher-report EF scale was adapted from BRSEF and adjusted for teacher ratings. Both instruments used the 5-point Likert scale and exhibited good reliabilities and validities. In addition, we asked teachers to evaluate individual students’ overall performances of self-management and academic achievement in school settings.

Results
For the self-report rating results, the 2-way ANOVA for gender and educational stage in overall EF indicated only a significant main effect of educational stage, F(2, 888) = 7.09, p < .01, η2 = .016. Neither the main effect of gender, F(1, 888) = 1.29, p = .257, η2 < .01 nor its interaction with educational stage, F(2,888) = 0.37, p = .692, η2 < .01, was significant. As shown in figure 1, students in elementary school was significantly greater than in junior high school (mean p <.01) and senior high school (p <.001).

For the teacher-report rating results, the 2-way ANOVA for gender and educational stage in EF revealed a significant main effect of gender, F(1, 884) = 33.74, p < .001, η2= .037, and educational stage, F(2, 884) = 3.82, p < .05, η2 < .01. However, the interaction was non-significant, F(2, 884) = 2.90, p > .05. As shown in figure 2, senior high school students performed significantly greater than in elementary school (p < .05) and junior high school (p < .05), also the females performed significantly higher than males (M = 3.77, SD = 0.91).

Consistent correlations (r = .153 to .356) of subscales and overall performance were found between the self-report and teacher-report ratings. Specifically, the stronger correlations were shown among the teacher-reported EF and students’ self-management and academic achievement in school (r = .371 to .795).

In conclusion, both self-report and teacher-report ratings suggest reasonable reliability the erotological validity for assessing students’ EF in the learning environment.

Authors

• Huei-Mei Liu, National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU)
  Presenting Author

• Chung-Lun Tsai