Early Childhood Profiles of Executive Functions and Socio-Emotional Competencies: Cross-Jurisdictional Differences and Associations with Emerging Literacy and Numeracy

Examining how executive functions co-occur with socio-emotional competencies can clarify how their distinct configurations are associated with emerging literacy and numeracy. Using data from 18,875 children (mean age = 5.52 years; 49.30% female) who participated in the International Early Learning and Child Well-being Study 2025, the current study examines latent profiles of executive and socio-emotional competencies in early childhood and their association with emerging numeracy and literacy. Latent profile analyses yielded five distinct profiles that were differently associated with emerging literacy and numeracy. The first globally low functioning profile (12.9%) displayed the lowest literacy and numeracy scores. The second profile comprised children with comparatively low social-behavioural functioning (24%), whereas the third reflected broadly average, balanced functioning (28.5%). The second and third profiles did not differ significantly in their literacy and numeracy scores. The fourth profile comprised children with pronounced executive and emotional strengths and broadly average social-behavioural functioning (20.4%) and exhibited the highest literacy and numeracy scores. The fifth profile showed pronounced social-behavioural strengths alongside above-average executive and emotional competencies (14.3%) and exhibited the second-highest scores in both academic outcomes. Significant cross-jurisdictional differences were found in profile membership. These differences may reflect broader contextual, cultural, or educational conditions, although the mechanisms underlying them require further investigation. The findings suggest that executive and socio-emotional strengths do not necessarily align in early childhood, and that their distinct configurations are associated with differences in emerging literacy and numeracy.