Executive Functions and Writing

Executive functions are a set of cognitive processes we use to act on information, manage resources, and plan and monitor our own behaviour, all with the aim of achieving an end goal. These are skills that develop from infancy. While 'reading' has been extensively studied in psychology literature, 'writing' has been somewhat neglected, despite a lack of capability in this area being linked to poverty and social exclusion.This book is the first comprehensive and state-of-the-art review of the relationship between executive function skills and writing. It explores its role across the lifespan, addressing all groups of writers, from children and those with learning and language difficulties, to adults and elders. It considers theoretical viewpoints, assessment and methodological issues, and developmental disorders, and closes with insightful commentary chapters that draw future directions for investigating executive functions.Written by internationally recognized scholars in the field, this is a new and innovative contribution which will provide essential reading among researchers, educators, and graduate students interested in understanding the cognitive underpinnings of writing throughout the lifespan

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction 1: Teresa Limpo and Thierry Olive: Why should we be looking at the relationship between executive functions and writing? 2. Models of executive functions and writing 2: Michael Willoughby and Kesha Hudson: Current issues in the conceptualization and measurement of executive function skills 3: Steve Graham: Executive control and the Writer(s)-Within-Community model 3. Methods for assessing executive functions and writing 4: Helen St Clair-Thompson and Yunhong Wen: Assessment of executive functions in children 5: Julie E. Dockrell and Vincent Connelly: Capturing the challenges in assessing writing: Development and writing dimensions 4. Executive functions and writing across the lifespan 6: Stephen R. Hooper, Lara Costa, Edmund Fernandez, Alexandra Barker, Courtney Valdes, Stephanie Catlett and Melissa Green: Executive functions and writing skills in children and adolescents: Developmental associations and dissociations 7: Marisa Filipe: How do executive functions issues affect writing in students with neurodevelopmental disorders? 8: Linda Mason and Stacie Brady: Promoting executive functions during the writing process 9: Thierry Olive: Executive functions in skilled writers 10: São Luís Castro and Regina Abreu: The aging writer 5. Conclusions and future directions 11: George McCLoskey: Broader approaches to defining, assessing, and strengthening executive control in writing 12: George Georgiou: Executive functions: Rediscovering their roots with the help of writing 13: Sam Goldstein and Keith D. McGoldrick: The future role of executive functions in education: From acquisition to knowledge and effective application

About the Author :
Teresa Limpo is Assistant Professor at the University of Porto, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences (Portugal). Her main research interest focuses on the study of the cognitive and non-cognitive factors involved in youngsters' acquisition and development of academic competences. She is author of several articles examining the cognitive and motivational processes involved in the academic skill of writing. Thierry Olive is senior Research Scientist at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS, France). He carries out research in experimental psychology to understand the capacity of individuals to produce written language. His research investigates the cognitive underpinnings of writing in skilled adult and in children learning to write. He also studies digital writing tools. He has published numerous articles, chapters, books, and special issues on cognition and writing.

Review :
Limpo and Olive (2021) have gathered experts on the writing process and executive functions to produce an informative and welcome volume of current research ... Executive Functions and Writing will be essential reading for writing researchers and writing educators ... A. R. Luria's insight that written composition provides a window on executive functioning -- the pinnacle of the brain's capabilities -- merits the full attention of cognitive scientists today.