SynthesisPsychological bulletin2021
Relations between executive functions and academic outcomes in elementary school children: A meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Psychological bulletin, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 98 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
98 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 301 citations in OpenAlex.
- The impact of physical activity on children's attention and math performance: A meta-analysis.European journal of pediatrics · 2026Pooled it
- Associations Between Motor Competence and Executive Functions in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2024Pooled it
- Is there sufficient evidence for the association between executive dysfunction and academic performance in adolescents with major depressive disorder?: a systematic review.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Positive Parenting and Early Childhood Cognition: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Clinical child and family psychology review · 2023Pooled it
- A meta-analysis of the validity of the Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders task in predicting young children's academic performance.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Pooled it
- Trial
- Self-directed music play to improve executive function in young children using NIRS.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Daily breath-based mindfulness exercises in a randomized controlled trial improve primary school children's performance in arithmetic.Scientific reports · 2023Trial
- Does preschool children's self-regulation moderate the impacts of instructional activities? Evidence from a randomized intervention study.Journal of experimental child psychology · 2022Trial
- Academic achievement map: a clear cognitive route and a promising motor path.Jornal de pediatria · 2026Article
- Emergent blink rate in early childhood is associated with neural origins of executive function.Communications psychology · 2026Article
- Individual Differences in Learning and Cessation Predict Academic Performance.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Oral Language Skills of Children and Adolescents with Neurofibromatosis Type 1: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Neuropsychology review · 2026Review
- Specific Early Childhood Experiences Predict Executive Function Skills During Later Childhood and Adolescence: Evidence from the ECHO Cohort.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Neurocognitive and behavioral predictors of the simple view of reading in clinically evaluated children with and without ADHD.Neuropsychology · 2026Article
- From microbes to milestones: Gut bacterial abundances and functional pathways associate with neurodevelopment following preterm birth.Gut microbiology · 2026Article
- Relationships between executive functioning and self-concept in children referred for neuropsychological group rehabilitation and typically developing children.Journal of neuropsychology · 2026Article
- The interplay between executive function and learning disabilities: Developmental cognitive neuroscience perspectives on reading, math, and ADHD.Developmental cognitive neuroscience · 2026Review
- Prenatal Alcohol Exposure Predicts Academic Outcomes from Childhood to Adolescence: A Prospective Longitudinal Study Based on Meconium Ethyl Glucuronide.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Contextual Transparency Supports Cognitive Control by Reducing Prefrontal Activation and Enhancing Cue Prioritization in Children.Developmental science · 2026Article
38 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The primary goal of this study was to examine developmental patterns among the relations between components of executive function (EF; working memory [WM], inhibitory control, shifting), and academic outcomes (reading, mathematics, language) in elementary school-age children. These relations were examined within the context of the development of EF and of academic skills utilizing an extension of the unity and diversity, intrinsic cognitive load, and dual process theories. Using meta-analytic methods, we summarized results from 299 studies from 293 articles/dissertations, representing 65,605 elementary school-age children (42-191 months old [M = 101 months, SD = 24.49 months]). Results indicated that accounting for general EF (by including the correlations among EF tasks in meta-analytic path models and accounting for effects between all three EF components and academic outcomes simultaneously) produced weaker relations between EF and academic skills than the bivariate relations which have been reported in prior meta-analytic reviews. However, although reduced, all relations between EF and academic outcomes remained significant throughout elementary school. Whereas WM was consistently moderately associated with reading, math, and oral language across development, the developmental trends for the relations between inhibitory control and shifting with academic outcomes varied based upon the academic skill examined. On the academic side, whereas the relations between reading and language skills with EF components varied throughout elementary school, few developmental changes were found in the relations between EF components and math skills across elementary school. Future directions and implications of findings for the conceptualization of the impact of EF on academics are discussed within the context of relevant theoretical models. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.