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Gayetal.pdf
Journal article

Shaping minds together: a pilot study of the cooperation council’s impact on 8-year-olds’ executive function

Emotion, apprentissages et bien-être à l'école

  • Gay, Philippe University of Teacher Education, State of Vaud (HEP Vaud), Lausanne, Switzerland
  • Cassaz, Amélie Primary Schools Valais, Saillon, Switzerland
  • Audrin, Catherine University of Teacher Education, State of Vaud (HEP Vaud), Lausanne, Switzerland
  • Urben, Sébastien Divison of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland
  • Lucciarini, Elena Valais University of Teacher Education, St-Maurice, Switzerland
  • Richard, Sylvie Valais University of Teacher Education, St-Maurice, Switzerland
  • Bressoud, Nicolas Valais University of Teacher Education, St-Maurice, Switzerland
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  • 2026
Published in:
  • Cognitive Development. - 2026, no. 78
Self-regulation
Executive function
Cooperative council
Classroom intervention
Child development
Primary education
English Self-regulation, including executive function (EF), refers to essential processes that enable children to regulate their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors in alignment with environmental demands, particularly in school settings. While various interventions exist to enhance EF, there is a need for cost-effective, classroom-based approaches. This pilot study examined whether a nine-week cooperative council intervention could enhance EF performance in 8-year-old children. Seventy-six students from six fourth-grade classes were assigned to either an experimental group, which engaged in weekly structured cooperative councils, or a control group, which followed standard curriculum. EF was measured pre- and post-intervention using an adapted Head–Toes–Knees–Shoulders task. Results revealed a significant greater improvement in EF among the experimental group. We argue that cooperative councils support cognitive development by requiring inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility during social interactions. These low-cost, classroom-based routines may offer a practical avenue to foster self-regulation and learning in everyday school settings. Future work should involve randomized designs, longitudinal follow-up, and exploration of mechanisms underlying EF improvement.
Language
  • English
License
CC BY
Open access status
gold
Identifiers
Persistent URL
https://fredi.hepvs.ch/hepvs/documents/335233
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