Abstract
Zusammenfassung. Die Bedeutung der Exekutiven Funktionen im Vorschulalter rückt zunehmend in den Fokus entwicklungspsychologischer Forschungsliteratur. Diese exekutiven Kontrollprozesse sind nicht nur zentral für die kognitive, soziale und motorische Entwicklung der Kinder im späten Vorschulalter, sondern gelten ebenso als bedeutsame Prädiktoren für den Schulerfolg. Die vorliegende Studie versucht auf der Grundlage der Daten von insgesamt 410 Kindern (61–88 Monate) die Frage von Entwicklungsveränderungen und Beziehungsmuster verschiedener Prozesse Exekutiver Funktionen zu klären. Die Befunde sprechen für eine wichtige Entwicklungsphase der Exekutiven Funktionen im späten Vorschulalter und bedeutsame Zusammenhänge zwischen den Exekutiven Funktionen und den Individualfaktoren Sprache, Intelligenz, Motorik und Selbstregulation sowie dem Umweltfaktor sozioökonomischer Status. Kein Zusammenhang wurde allerdings zwischen den Exekutiven Funktionen und der elterlichen Unterstützung bzw. Förderung gefunden. Die Ergebnisse werden bezüglich der Struktur des Konstrukts der Exekutiven Funktionen und hinsichtlich der Relevanz der Exekutiven Funktionen im Rahmen der Entwicklungsvoraussetzungen für die Schulbereitschaft diskutiert.
Abstract. In the developmental literature, there is a growing interest in executive functioning, especially of preschool children. Executive control processes are now widely recognized to play an essential role not only for children’s cognitive, social, and motor development, but have also been shown to constitute significant predictors for later school success. The present study addresses developmental progression in executive functions, its internal structure, and well as associations with other central developmental constructs. A total of N = 410 children (61–88 months) participated in this study. Results speak for pronounced developmental progression in the late preschool years and for significant interrelations between executive function and the individual characteristics such as language, intelligence, motor coordination skills, self-regulation, as well as parents’ socioeconomic background. However, no significant relationship between children’s executive functioning and parental fostering was found. Results are discussed with regard to the theoretical framework of executive function and in the context of the discussion about preschoolers’ school readiness.
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