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Executive functions/cognitive control (namely inhibition, working memory and cognitive flexibility) support flexible goal-directed behaviour. Crucially, good executive functions in childhood have been linked with a range of positive social and mental health outcomes. Therefore, the need to understand and improve it, has been of immense interest. Although considerable efforts have been made to improve executive functions in childhood, the literature has shown limited success. The aim of this thesis was to understand and improve executive functions using a gold-standard approach. The first study used a multi-measurement approach to examine the neural underpinnings of executive functions in childhood finding only correlates for factors of working memory and shifting. The second study compared the efficacy of training targeting two different mechanisms to train executive functions; showing that inhibition-based training was more successful at producing improvements in cognitive control than context monitoring training. Using inhibition as a training mechanism, the third study investigated transfer into other executive functions. We found that our training was effective in improving strategic slowing, as indicated by increases in reaction times in the experimental group. In the fourth study, we examined the efficacy of cognitive control training in producing transfer into a real-world outcome. We found improvements in attentional control in the experimental group, and found functional activity in the inhibition network to be an important predictor of such improvements. Finally, in the fifth study, we explored effort-related decision making in children. Specifically, I find that children of all ages are able to avoid effort when effort cues are made explicit. I discuss the theoretical implications of our findings and future directions for the field for training studies.