Executive Function Skills: The Key to Thriving in School, Work, and Life
May 06, 2025
Authors
Why Executive Function Skills? Why Now?
Over the past year, each of us—Ellen as a researcher, Andrew as a superintendent—have spoken to hundreds of parents, educators, students and school boards—spanning the early childhood and teen years. They’re saying that the crises in learning and thriving among children and youth are becoming more apparent and more urgent.
In their words:
- Technology brings the world into kids’ pockets —but also constant distraction.
- AI is transforming work, learning, and identity—faster than we can keep up.
- Many students feel disengaged and overwhelmed.
- Mental health concerns and the lack of self-regulation in students are unlike anything we’ve seen before
- Schools are microcosms of our nation’s issues—faced with fears for students’ safety and polarization
These aren’t isolated challenges. They intersect and intensify one another. What’s needed is not another one-off program or short-term fix, but a unifying approach that helps children and adults build the skills they need to navigate this reality.
That’s where executive function skills come in.
A Quiet Consensus, a Powerful Opportunity
Across the country—in red states, blue states, and everywhere in between—educators and communities are redefining what it means to prepare students for the future.
Tim Knowles, president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching sees it in Portrait of a Graduate statements from over 20 states.
Despite regional and political differences, he describes a “remarkable American consensus” around the broader skills students need: communication, critical thinking, creativity, persistence, and collaboration.
These aren’t just buzzwords. They’re grounded in the science of brain development—and closely linked to executive function.
We see this as a call-to-action.
It’s a Call-to-Action from Students
When Ellen speaks at schools, she gives students index cards to write down what they want to know about their own development. They write about feeling unready for the uncertainties of life and they yearn for ways to address them.
"How can I develop a better mindset and outlook on life? What will be fulfilling for me as I get older?"
—17-˛â±đ˛ą°ů-´Ç±ô»ĺ
Similarly, a poll conducted by the finds that only 51% of Gen Z’ers feel prepared for their future.
It’s a Call About Younger Children Too
We hear this when educators talk about younger children:
The number one issue for teachers today is challenging behavior. The skills for regulating behavior and for learning how to learn are developing in the early years. We need to help children develop these skills when the time is ripe for developing them.
—Early Childhood Educator
The ability to manage emotions, follow instructions, and shift attention isn’t just about behavior—it’s the foundation for learning.
It's a Call Coming from Employers
In making hiring decisions, show that employers have moved away from grades and toward specific skills and competencies, like problem-solving, ability to work in teams, communication (written and verbal), strong work ethic, and flexibility/adaptability.
It’s a Call for Adults in Their Own Lives, Too
From educators we hear:
I have been in education for years, but it’s never been as difficult as it is today. Now that I am beginning to understand what executive function skills are, I see that I need them in most everything I do.
—School Superintendent
And from parents:
It’s not the world I grew up in.
We Have Talked About Skills for Years. Why is This Different?
Yes, we’ve talked about 21st Century Skills, Durable Skills and the Six Cs, but this call-to-action is different because the skills we’re talking about are based on the science of brain development.
Studies show that brain-based executive function skills underlie success in learning, achievement, and life. Adele Diamond and Daphne Ling of the University of British Columbia have reviewed the impact of interventions to improve executive function skills and found that they are…
“…predictive of achievement, health, wealth, and quality of life throughout life, often more so than IQ or socioeconomic status.”
Both the early childhood years and the adolescent years are periods of , meaning prime time for these essential skills to .
Applying Executive Function: Practical Tools You Can Use
AASA’s newly announced “” includes “The New Basics—Real Skills for Real Life” as one of its five tenets in the action framework.
John Malloy, Assistant Executive Director at Âܲ·AVĘÓƵstates the importance of these skills: "Executive function skills are the glue and the foundation for our student and staff success.”
This bears repeating. Executive functions skills are foundational to both students’ and adults’ success, helping us all take on the challenges and uncertainties of our times.
AASA’s upcoming Real Skills for Real Life Summit (October 8-10 in Washington, DC) will offer practical strategies, tools, and research-based approaches to support the development of executive function skills at all ages. Plus, attendees will have the opportunity to meet the all-star group of researchers and educators behind them.
But We Already Have Too Much To Do. How Can We Add Another Thing to Our To-Do Lists?
We know that! We are educators and we know that we don’t need another “rock in our knapsacks of things to-do”. That’s why this Summit will show you how to look at what you are doing with “skill-building glasses,” so you can promote these skills in everyday ways, in everyday moments with both adults and children.
Change is our only constant in this world, and these skills provide a strong foundation for thriving in an ever-changing environment.
Learn more about the Real Skills for Real Life Summit on Executive Functions here.
