Executive function skills and their importance in education: Swedish student teachers’ perceptions

Executive function (EF) skills are crucial for pupils’ learning. Therefore, incorporating well-considered instructional strategies may reduce the EF demands placed on pupils with insufficient EF skills in the classroom. Hence, educators are critically positioned. In the present study, 303 student teachers answered the Mathematics Skills Questionnaire. The aim of the study was to (a) examine how student teachers rated the importance of EF skills and EF-related skills involved in pupils’ learning and (b) investigate whether there were any differences in rating between regular student teachers and special needs student educators. The results of a two-way mixed ANOVA showed a significant main effect of skill in the total sample. Follow-up tests revealed that skills such as reasoning and proof, inhibition, shifting, and creativity were rated as more important when compared to other skills. Follow-up comparison of the significant interaction effect between skill and student teacher group revealed that the special needs student teachers regarded working memory skills as more important, while the regular student teachers rated EF-related skills that are grounded in core EF skills to have higher importance. The science of learning and its educational implications are discussed.