Skills for Adaptability in the Global South: Researching Children's Executive Functions in Low-Income Contexts

斯蒂芬·贝利的博士后奖学金将巩固、传播和扩大他对低收入环境下儿童发展的创新和跨学科博士研究的成果。他的博士学位专注于卢旺达学校的学习者如何培养适应能力，如创造力、创新和解决问题。特别是，这项研究研究了儿童的认知灵活性，包括创新思维、从不同角度看待事物以及快速适应环境变化的能力。在卢旺达的实地考察需要对四所公立小学的306名7-11岁的学生进行认知灵活性测试。孩子们还被评估了更广泛的学习结果，如识字，并对教师进行了采访和观察，以探索他们在课堂上的认知、行为和实践。研究结果表明，学习者的认知灵活性预测了他们的非语言推理和更广泛的认知发展，但不能预测他们的阅读技能。这是令人惊讶的，因为在高收入环境下的研究表明，儿童的灵活性和他们的识字能力之间存在着很强的联系。在课堂上，老师通过小组练习和实践活动来培养学生的适应能力，而频繁的语言转换也可能在不经意间帮助孩子们适应。斯蒂芬的工作计划包括在卢旺达和国际上传播他的博士研究成果、建立网络和提高能力的活动。特别是，他将与卢旺达教师和政策制定者一起开展参与性活动，以强调儿童心理学与初等教育的相关性，并就他的研究提出的建议达成一致。此外，他将在高质量的国际期刊上发表至少两篇文章，并创建一个全球研究人员网络，调查全球资源匮乏环境下儿童的认知发展。这将通过一系列至少六次的网络研讨会来实现，对于确定最佳衡量做法、具有实际应用的研究优先事项以及与各国政府和教育政策制定者分享研究结果的有效手段将是重要的。最后，计划的活动将包括为扩大最初的研究做准备，在博士数据收集3-4年后重新访问和重新测试最初的参与者。这将包括准备供资提案，完成关于高级分析和利益攸关方沟通的培训，并与卢旺达大学和中部非洲基督复临安息日会大学的潜在合作伙伴和研究合作者进行联系。

Stephen Bayley's postdoctoral fellowship will consolidate, disseminate and expand on the findings of his innovative and inter-disciplinary doctoral research on child development in low-income settings. His PhD focused on how learners in Rwandan schools develop skills for adaptability, such as creativity, innovation and problem solving. In particular, the study researched children's cognitive flexibility, which comprises the ability to think creatively 'outside the box', see things from different perspectives and adapt quickly to changing circumstances. The fieldwork in Rwanda entailed measuring cognitive flexibility among 306 pupils aged 7-11 attending four public primary schools. The children were also assessed on wider learning outcomes like literacy, and teachers were interviewed and observed to explore their perceptions, behaviours and practices in the classroom. The findings revealed that learners' cognitive flexibility predicted their non-verbal reasoning and wider cognitive development, but not their reading skills. This was surprising because research in higher-income settings has suggested a strong relationship between children's flexibility and their literacy. Within lessons, teachers used group-based exercises and practical activities to nurture pupils' adaptability, while frequent switching between languages might also inadvertently have helped the children to adjust. Stephen's work plan includes activities to disseminate his doctoral findings, build networks and increase capacity both in Rwanda and internationally. In particular, he will conduct participatory events with Rwandan teachers and policymakers to highlight the relevance of child psychology for primary education and to agree recommendations emerging from his research. In addition, he will publish at least two articles in high-quality international journals and create a global network of researchers investigating children's cognitive development in resource-poor settings worldwide. This will be achieved through a series of at least six webinars and will be important to identify best measurement practices, research priorities with real-life application, and effective means for sharing findings with national governments and education policymakers. Finally, planned activities will include making preparations to expand the initial study by revisiting and retesting original participants 3-4 years after the doctoral data collection. This will involve preparing funding proposals, completing trainings on advanced analyses and stakeholder communications, and liaising with potential partners and research collaborators at the University of Rwanda and Adventist University of Central Africa.