Developing an educational package for improving executive functions and evaluate its effectiveness in increasing self-regulation with emphasis on the mediating role of inhibition

Self-regulation enables individuals to direct their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in a purposeful way. The main purpose of the present research was to improve the level of self-regulation through the training of executive functions, which emphasizes the role of inhibition because inhibition is a kind of self-conscious that can lead to self-regulation. The statistical population of this study was all students in the fifth, sixth and seventh grade in the academic year of 2018-19. The sampling method is convenience sampling. The research was a semi-experimental design with a pretest-posttest and 45 days follow up with a control group. In the experimental group, 20 students received 8 sessions of 90 minutes of training base on an educational researcher-made package, while the members of the control group received no training. The research tool was The Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function. For analysis of data, structural models with partial least squares approach were used in the form of a MIMIC model. From significant findings of this study, we can mention the fitting of the conceptual model as well as the direct and indirect effect of executive functions education on self-regulation. These effects persisted in the follow-up phase. Therefore, considering the importance of self-regulation in the academic and non-academic life of students, it can be concluded that a researcher-made educational package can be used to improve this concept.