The Effects of Using Executive Function Activities to Enhance Life Skills in New Normal Situations for Early Childhood: A Case Study of the Pandemic of Corona Virus

Abstract

This research paper focused on devising and testing a program of brain-skill activities aimed at improving life skills of children in early childhood. The study assessed the impact of these activities across three primary domains: decision-making, establishing interpersonal relationships, and self-awareness. The participants comprised 5-6 year-old kindergarten students, both boys and girls, from two classrooms at Wat Suan Som School (Sukprachanukul), Samutprakarn Province. A total of 36 participants were split into an experimental group of 19 and a control group of 17. The study involved a comprehensive brain-skill activity plan intended to boost life skills in early childhood, a manual outlining the use of this plan, and an observational form to track life skills behavior of the young participants. Statistical analysis using mean, standard deviation, and t-tests revealed that: 1) the brain-skill activity plan was suitable and effective in promoting life skills among early childhood children, 2) After implementing the  brain-skill activities, there was a significant improvement in the overall life skills behavior scores in the experimental group compared to the control group, at the 0.05 level of significance, 3) Prior to the implementation of the brain-skill activities, the mean scores of the life-skill behaviors in the experimental group across all three domains were already significantly lower than those of the control group at the 0.05 level. This significant difference persisted in post-implementation, with the experimental group showing higher mean scores across all three domains at the 0.05 level.