Casa da Mata program: impact on executive functions in preschool children

• Autor(a) principal: Justo, Mariana Carvalho
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10773/39637
• topic: Executive functioning; Nature kindergartens; Self-regulation; Working memory; Cognitive flexibility; Children

The Casa da Mata Program (PCM), an educational program within the Limites Invisíveis Project, is aimed at children aged three to six and seeks to raise awareness of the importance of nature spaces in children's learning, development, and well-being. Participation in the PCM is voluntary, and the participants are children attending three kindergartens in the city of Coimbra. The literature highlights the proliferation of educational institutions that have adopted the methodology of Nature Kindergartens, such as PCM, and reports their tangible benefits, including the development of autonomy, increased confidence, and even enhancement of children's cognitive abilities, among others. The study employs a quasi-experimental design, with the following objectives: i) to analyze the impact of extended and systematic nature experiences on the executive functioning skills of preschool children attending PCM, and consequently, identify the influenced skills; and ii) to provide evidence-based recommendations for educators and parents regarding the potential benefits that nature education may have on the development of executive functioning skills in preschool children. The study included a total of 49 children aged three to six years, with two experimental groups and a control group. Executive functions were assessed using the Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS), Corsi Block-Tapping Task, and Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders Task (HTKS) to measure cognitive flexibility, working memory, and self-regulation, respectively. The statistical analysis was performenad in Excel, Jamovi version 2.3.21 e Jasp version 0.17.2.1. The results revealed significant improvements in self-regulation, cognitive flexibility, and working memory among children in the experimental group. Network analysis, which is a method used to examine the relationships among interconnected entities, such as the dimensions studied, further demonstrated the conditional dependencies among them. The mediation analysis reported self-regulation as a mediator in the relationship between cognitive flexibility and working memory. These findings underscore the potential of nature-based interventions to enhance cognitive skills in early childhood, emphasizing the crucial role of self- regulation. Nevertheless, further research is needed to explore the importance and impact of self-regulation on executive functioning dimensions.