PRESCHOOLERS WITH TYPICAL DEVELOPMENT OR SPECIAL EDUCATION NEEDS IN A LOW SES CONTEXT: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EARLY ACHIEVEMENT AND THEIR COGNITIVE UNDERPINNINGS

In recent years, the relationship between early literacy, math and cognitive abilities has emerged as an area of increasingly significant investigation. Accordingly, numerous interventions have been proposed with the purpose of preventing possible future difficulties in this area. In this regard, Executive Functions (EFs) and Working Memory (WM) seem to play an important role in the development of early literacy and math abilities. In addition, it should be recognized that school readiness and early school achievements seem to be negatively influenced by low Socioeconomic Status (SES). Some studies have highlighted that children who experience poverty in preschool age subsequently attain low school achievements and perform poorly in WM and EF tasks in school age. In the case of low SES, the situation is even more critical for children with Special Educational Needs (SEN), who require exceptional educational and teaching strategies to overcome their personal difficulties. Many children with SEN have impaired cognitive processes, including EFs and WM. As a consequence, their learning abilities are also compromised. However, given the predictive role of EFs and WM on academic achievement, specific training devoted to these factors could be useful for improving academic skills and school attendance, as well as quality of life and social functioning. For this reason, in the current study we investigate the relationships between early literacy and math and their cognitive underpinnings, EFs and WM, in a sample of 71 five-year-olds (49.3% female), attending the last year of kindergarten in a low SES context. The cohort included 67 typically developing children and four pupils certified with SEN: two with language impairment, one with cognitive impairment and one with neuro-motor disabilities. A battery of EFs and WM measures was individually administered to the 71 children. In addition, two school readiness measures were included: the teachers filled out the IPDA observational questionnaire, and we considered Early Literacy and Early Mathematic Skills Subtests. The results indicated that, in preschoolers from a disadvantaged socio-economic background, early Literacy and Math skills are associated with Working Memory and Executive Functions, irrespective of whether the children have typical development or SEN. Furthermore, given that the performance of children with SEN was shown to be below average compared to their typically developing peers, the results seem to confirm that children with SEN from low SES backgrounds show EF impairment, which is likely to influence their learning abilities. As well as being of theoretical interest, these findings could also have practical implications. Knowing the strength of the association between early achievement and cognitive abilities, it would be possible to design and deploy specific training interventions in the educational context to strengthen working memory and executive functions, thus potentially improving learning abilities. This kind of training would be beneficial for both children with typical development and those with SEN, especially those from a disadvantaged socio-economic context: as we have previously seen, children from such contexts face a higher risk of academic failure. Therefore, the findings presented in this study could to daily educational practice that enhance school inclusion and better satisfy children's individual needs.