Global Executive Function Initiative

gefi.stanford.edu

This work is part of the Global Executive Function Initiative (GEFI). GEFI is a global network of researchers sharing expertise, tools, and insights to understand how executive functions develop across contexts and to inform evidence‑based programs and policies that support children’s EF skills.

Led by @jelenaobradovic.bsky.social, colleagues and I wrote a response to this claim, emphasizing the importance of accurately measuring EF before drawing conclusions about its universality (or lack thereof).

In a recent PNAS pub, Kroupin et al. (2025) argue that EF reflect skills that develop primarily in school. They conclude that "we must decide between using the term EF to describe 1) universal capacities or 2) the culturally specific skill set reflected in performance on typical tasks."

Executive functions (EF) are higher‑order cognitive processes that support self-regulation and goal-directed behavior. Contemporary perspectives increasingly recognize that EF develops in context, i.e., they are shaped by the cultural, social, and environmental demands children routinely navigate.

Are executive functions culturally constructed?

Read our brief Letter to the Editor in PNAS and let's think about this question in the thread below! 🧵

www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Read it here: authors.elsevier.com/c/1mlvS39HNK...

Read it here: authors.elsevier.com/c/1mlvS39HNK...

#ChildCare #EarlyChildhood #PublicPolicy #Inequality #ChildDevelopment

Using national RAPID survey data (2020–2022) merged with the CCDF Policies Database, we find that higher state income eligibility limits for child care subsidies are associated with greater use of non-parental and center-based care and smaller income-based gaps in access.

In a new study led by Sihong Liu, and co-authored by Philip Fisher and me, we examine how state policy shapes access to early child care across the United States during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Why do some families have much better access to infant and toddler child care than others — even when federal support programs exist?

Please share widely if you can!

These findings have implications for policy and practice, as decision-makers should consider targeting resources to facilitate the search for new arrangements on top of securing the stability of care. And that includes mental health resources for parents and children too!

We also find different latent classes of childcare precarity, meaning there seem to be clusters of families that have specific profiles across the different indicators of precarity. Class membership is also associated with different levels of distress for caregivers and children.

We see associations of commonly used indicators such as recent disruptions and lack of reliability, but we also find that the state of searching for care is itself associated with elevated levels of distress for caregivers and children, especially when it clashes with caregivers' ability to work.

My first lead-author paper, with Phil Fisher and Sihong Liu, reveals interesting patterns in how childcare precarity affects the family system.

We define childcare precarity as multidimensional hardship characterized by unreliable or insecure arrangements while parents work or attend school.

Understanding the Association Between Childcare Precarity and Emotional Distress Background For families with young children, securing reliable childcare may present a significant challenge. Rising costs, limited resources and the COVID-19 pandemic have heightened the precarity ...

Are you or anyone you know struggling to find and maintain an affordable and reliable childcare arrangement? You're not alone!

Read more about it in my newly published paper with Phil Fisher and Sihong Liu! (thread below)

doi.org/10.1111/cch....