Previous studies have found that the development of mathematical abilities, along with the development of executive functions, predict students’ subsequent academic performance. The present study aimed to assess the effectiveness of teaching the concept of area to preschool children with different levels of cognitive processes (CP) including executive functions and short-term memory. The experiment introduced the concept by using three different instructional approaches: traditional, contextual, and modeling. The sample included 100 children aged 6–7 years (M = 6.5 years), of whom 43% were boys. Each experimental condition included children with low, middle, and high levels of CP, as determined based on the NEPSY-II subtests. The children with low CP levels showed higher results in assimilating the notion of area after being taught using the contextual approach. In contrast, children with high CP levels showed a higher mastery of the concept of area following the use of the modeling approach. The results suggest the importance of CP development in building ways of mastering mathematical content. This contributes to choosing the optimal path of teaching mathematics for preschoolers, taking into account the development of their cognitive processes to improve their academic performance.

Cognitive flexibility is considered a trait of human cognition that helps people adapt to new and changing environments by activating cognitive resources; it develops mainly at preschool age, being a predictor of children's future social and academic successes, which emphasizes the importance of diagnosing its formation. The present study is intended to assess the diagnostic capabilities of the digital version of the Dimensional Change Card Sort technique by P.D. Zelazo aimed at diagnosing the cognitive flexibility of preschoolers, compared with the traditional blank version. The digital version of the technique was tested on a sample of 55 children attending two senior kindergarten groups (57.1% of boys) aged 5 to 6 years (M = 64.03, SD = 2.14). An intra-individual scheme with the division of the subjects into two groups was applied. The first group was initially tested using the blank technique, and a month later using the digital one. The second group, on the contrary, was first tested using the digital technique and, a month later, using the blank one. Thus, the transfer effect was controlled. Sufficient indicators of reliability and consistency of the results of both measurements were obtained for the blank and digital versions of technique. No statistically significant differences were found between the mean values of the same indicators measured by digital and blank techniques different methods (Student’s t -test for paired samples). The results of the study show that the digital version of the Dimensional Change Card Sort technique has high indicators of validity and reliability and can be used in diagnostic work. However, these results indicate that the digitalization of techniques cannot always be reduced to a simple translation of them into the form of a software product, and requires additional research when adapting them.

Context and relevance. Digital devices are an integral part of the lives of most modern preschoolers. In this regard, the study of the developmental and educational potential of these devices is becoming an important and urgent task for modern science and practice. Objective. This study was aimed at exploring the possibilities of improving mathematical skills in preschoolers using a digital math application in situations of joint discussion with an adult or independent use of the application. Hypothesis. We assumed that preschoolers who use a digital math app in a situation of joint discussion with an adult will be more successful at completing math tasks for quantity and counting, as well as magnitude, than children who used the app on their own. Methods and materials. The study involved 64 preschoolers (42,1% of boys) aged 5-6 years, pupils of the senior kindergarten groups in Moscow. In the course of the study, preliminary testing of mathematical skills and the level of non-verbal intelligence in preschoolers was conducted; then, based on the diagnostic results, the children were divided into 2 experimental groups, each of which was given a series of six developmental classes. The final stage was the repeated testing of mathematical skills in children who took part in educational activities. Methods for comparing numbers, arithmetic skills, comparing intervals between numbers and a sense of number were used to evaluate mathematical representations of preschoolers about quantity, and tasks for measuring by measure and the ability to find a correspondence between objects in size were used to evaluate representations of magnitude. To diagnose the level of nonverbal intelligence, the technique of “Raven's Color Progressive Matrices" was used. Results. The results showed that more significant improvements in children's performance of counting and magnitude tasks occurred in children who had the opportunity to discuss math tasks performed in the application with an adult. Conclusions. The conducted research allows us to conclude that when using digital educational applications to train mathematical skills in preschoolers, the help and participation of an adult plays an important role.

The results of earlier studies indicate that school maladaptation is associated with a number of negative consequences, including poor academic performance, increased anxiety and unpopularity of the child among peers. However, reliable instruments for timely identification of school adaptation difficulties are not yet available in the Russian-speaking space; the use of foreign instruments is not possible due to cultural differences and peculiarities of the organisation of the educational process in different countries. This study highlights the development of a school adjustment questionnaire, including determining its optimal structure and assessing the feasibility of relying on self-reported information about school adjustment. Two identical versions of the questionnaire were developed, one for children and one for teachers. Sixteen teachers and 232 first-grade pupils participated in the study. Through a combination of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, a four-factor model of the teacher questionnaire was found to have the highest goodness of fit, including scales assessing cognitive activity, behaviour regulation, social inclusion and psycho-emotional stress. Data from children themselves did not prove to be reliable enough for differentiated assessment of aspects of school adaptation. The study has drawn the necessary conclusions for the further development of an instrument to assess school adaptation of children in Russia.

Executive functions (EFs) as a set of cognitive processes play a crucial role in developing children's higher mental functions and academic success. Regardless of the number of studies conducted on EFs, current findings on the structure of cognitive functions as a whole or multifaceted construct are mixed. This study aims to evaluate and compare the latent factor structure of EFs in preschool‐aged children (5–7 years) and school‐aged children (7–9 years) to identify this structure across two age groups. The study involved 500 children divided into four age groups: senior kindergarten groups, preparatory kindergarten groups, first grade groups, and second grade groups. The participants were assessed using the NEPSY‐II neuropsychological battery and the Dimensional Change Card Sort task. The results revealed that a three‐factor model of EFs, comprising inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility, best fits the data across all age groups. This suggests an earlier differentiation of EFs components, starting at the age of 5, which contradicts some previous studies proposing one‐ or two‐factor structures in preschool age. Correlation analysis showed statistically moderate relationships between EFs components, which weakened by the second grade, potentially indicating stabilization in EFs development during early school years. The findings support the unity and diversity model of EFs and emphasize the importance of conducting longitudinal research to clarify the factors influencing EFs development over time.