The Importance of Guided Play in Classrooms to Promote Children’s Executive Functions

Abstract

Executive Functions (EFs) comprise some of the most important mental processes for human thinking. Together, they play an essential role in helping us to regulate our thoughts and actions to achieve our goals. According to key literature, EFs include working memory (holding and manipulating information in one’s mind), inhibitory control (resisting impulses, ignoring distractions, and delaying gratification), and cognitive flexibility (switching between mental sets and seeing things from different perspectives) (Diamond, 2006; Miyake et al., 2000). All these processes are critical for academic achievement, the emotion regulation needed for school adaptation, and a host of valuable later-life outcomes (Moffett & Morrison, 2020; Moffitt et al., 2011).