Effect of a Chess Training Program on the Development of the Executive Functions in Primary School

Executive functions are higher cognitive abilities that allow the control of behaviour, cognition, and emotions. The present study analyses if a chess training program helps to develop the executive functions, and if these improvements are transferable to activities in daily life. To accomplish this...

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Main Authors: Marc Baig, Carles Rostan, Carme Saurina
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2025-06-01
Series:Psicología Educativa: Revista de los Psicólogos de la Educación
Subjects:
Online Access: https://journals.copmadrid.org/psed/art/psed2025a10
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author Marc Baig
Carles Rostan
Carme Saurina
author_facet Marc Baig
Carles Rostan
Carme Saurina
author_sort Marc Baig
collection DOAJ
description Executive functions are higher cognitive abilities that allow the control of behaviour, cognition, and emotions. The present study analyses if a chess training program helps to develop the executive functions, and if these improvements are transferable to activities in daily life. To accomplish this purpose a quasi-experimental approach was designed. Two groups of children aged between 8 and 12 years were compared. The experimental group attended a chess workshop. The control group attended another educational workshop with the same frequency and duration as the experimental group. The BRIEF-2 test was applied to both groups, families and teachers of the boys and girls before and after the workshops. The results showed that the children in the experimental group improved in the executive functions evaluated by teacher perception but not by parental perception, and the control group did not present any relevant significant improvement. In the discussion, we comment on these results.
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series Psicología Educativa: Revista de los Psicólogos de la Educación
spelling doaj-art-2d39e269bde64e96a984039e95d189032025-08-20T02:06:48ZengColegio Oficial de Psicólogos de MadridPsicología Educativa: Revista de los Psicólogos de la Educación1135-755X2174-05262025-06-01312839010.5093/psed2025a1011320559Effect of a Chess Training Program on the Development of the Executive Functions in Primary SchoolMarc Baig0Carles Rostan1Carme Saurina2University of Girona, Chess and Education Observatory, Spain, Chess and Education Observatory, University of Girona, Spain;University of Girona, Chess and Education Observatory, Spain, Chess and Education Observatory, University of Girona, Spain;University of Girona, Chess and Education Observatory, Spain, Chess and Education Observatory, University of Girona, Spain;Executive functions are higher cognitive abilities that allow the control of behaviour, cognition, and emotions. The present study analyses if a chess training program helps to develop the executive functions, and if these improvements are transferable to activities in daily life. To accomplish this purpose a quasi-experimental approach was designed. Two groups of children aged between 8 and 12 years were compared. The experimental group attended a chess workshop. The control group attended another educational workshop with the same frequency and duration as the experimental group. The BRIEF-2 test was applied to both groups, families and teachers of the boys and girls before and after the workshops. The results showed that the children in the experimental group improved in the executive functions evaluated by teacher perception but not by parental perception, and the control group did not present any relevant significant improvement. In the discussion, we comment on these results. https://journals.copmadrid.org/psed/art/psed2025a10 executive functionstraining chess programprimary education
spellingShingle Marc Baig
Carles Rostan
Carme Saurina
Effect of a Chess Training Program on the Development of the Executive Functions in Primary School
Psicología Educativa: Revista de los Psicólogos de la Educación
executive functions
training chess program
primary education
title Effect of a Chess Training Program on the Development of the Executive Functions in Primary School
title_full Effect of a Chess Training Program on the Development of the Executive Functions in Primary School
title_fullStr Effect of a Chess Training Program on the Development of the Executive Functions in Primary School
title_full_unstemmed Effect of a Chess Training Program on the Development of the Executive Functions in Primary School
title_short Effect of a Chess Training Program on the Development of the Executive Functions in Primary School
title_sort effect of a chess training program on the development of the executive functions in primary school
topic executive functions
training chess program
primary education
url https://journals.copmadrid.org/psed/art/psed2025a10
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