scholarly journals Which Factors Influence Attentional Functions? Attention Assessed by KiTAP in 105 6- to 10-Year-Old Children

Author(s):  
Marta Tremolada ◽  
Livia Taverna ◽  
Sabrina Bonichini

This research revealed the children with difficulties in attentional functions in healthy children attending primary school and aimed to identify the possible socio-demographic factors such as child’s age, gender and school’s grade that could influence attentive performance. The participants were 105 children aged 6-10 years (M age=8.6; SD=1.04), 57 females, attending primary schools. Family economic condition attested mostly at a medium level (63.5%) and parents had more frequently 13 years of schooling. The computerized test KiTAP was administered to children to assess attentional functions. Results showed higher frequency of omissions and false alarms and a reduced speed in Alertness, Go/No go and Sustained Attention tasks comparing to Italian norms. A series of hierarchical regression analyses were run with school grade, gender and current age as independent variables and mean reaction times (and standard deviation), number of omissions and of false alarms as dependent ones. Results showed male gender and attending a lower primary school grade impacting on lower attentional performance in several subtests. Females showed the best performances in distractibility and impulsive reaction tendencies tests, while higher school grade positively influenced the divided and sustained attention. These results could be useful to identify children with major attentional difficulties and some recommendations for futures studies and implement attention empowerment programmes were proposed.

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Tremolada ◽  
Livia Taverna ◽  
Sabrina Bonichini

This research revealed the children with difficulties in attentional functions among healthy children attending primary school and aimed to identify the possible sociodemographic factors, such as the child’s age, gender, and school grade, that could influence attentive performance. The participants were 105 children aged 6–10 years (M age = 8.6; SD = 1.04), attending primary schools. Family economic condition was mostly at a medium level (63.5%), and parents most frequently had 13 years of schooling. The computerized test KiTAP was administered to children to assess their attentional functions. Results showed a higher frequency of omissions and false alarms and a reduced speed in alertness, go/no-go, and sustained attention tasks compared to Italian norms. Hierarchical regression analyses were run with school grade, gender, and current age as independent variables and mean reaction times (and standard deviation), number of omissions, and false alarms as dependent ones. The results showed that male gender and attending a lower grade impacted on lower attentional performance in several subtests. Girls showed the best performances in tests of distractibility and impulsive reaction tendencies, while higher school grade positively influenced divided and sustained attention. These results could be useful to identify children with major attentional difficulties, and some recommendations for future studies and the implementation of attention empowerment programmes are proposed.


2008 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 207-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith Sinzig ◽  
Nicole Bruning ◽  
Dagmar Morsch ◽  
Gerd Lehmkuhl

Objective:Psychopathological, neuropsychological and genetic findings indicate an association between ASD Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The goal of this study was to compare the neuropsychological profiles of attention functions in children with ADHD and with ASD and without comorbid ADHD. The hypothesis was that either ADHD and autistic children with comorbid ADHD symptoms were more impaired in inhibition and sustained attention performance and that all individuals with ASD show more deficits in divided attention.Method:Children aged 6 to 18 years old with ADHD (n = 30) or ASD with (n = 21) and without comorbid ADHD (n = 20) and 30 healthy children were included consecutively. Psychopathology was evaluated using the KIDDIE-SADS and symptom checklists for ADHD and ASD according to DSM-IV. Assessed neuropsychological functioning included inhibition, sustained as well as divided attention and alertness tasks.Results:Age and IQ-corrected z-scores were used. Statistically significant group effects were found for the variables sustained attention median (F = 3.2, = .02), hits (F = 3.3, p = .02) and false alarms (F = 3.9, p = .01), divided attention hits (F = 3.3, p = .02), errors (F = 3.1, p = .03) and false alarms (F = 3.3, p = .03) and alertness false alarms (F = 2.9, p = .04). Pearson Correlations revealed associations between ADHD symptoms and sustained attention in the ADHD group and between ADHD symptoms and inhibition in the ASD+ group.Conclusion:Our hypothesis was partly confirmed as ADHD children showed more deficits in sustained attention and ASD children in divided attention tasks. However there was no evidence that children with ASD and comorbid ADHD symptoms have a specific profile in comparison to pure ASD children.


Author(s):  
Patrick Severine Kavenuke ◽  
Joel Jonathan Kayombo ◽  
Mjege Kinyota

Teachers enter the profession with enthusiasm for the new adventure. Unfortunately, when they start working, they encounter circumstances that give rise to stress. The present study, which used a sample of 550 participants from 50 primary schools selected from the Kisarawe district in the Coastal Region of Tanzania, examines the extent of stress among primary school teachers and the factors influencing stress. Overall, the results indicate that teachers’ levels of stress range from low to moderate. Moreover, the results from hierarchical regression analysis indicate that factors such as sex, class size, age, career intentions and teaching subject significantly predict teachers’ stress. The study concludes that there is a need for the government, policymakers and school administrators to reduce teachers’ workload. Furthermore, school administrators in particular should be supportive and should design mechanisms that could develop a sense of collegiality among teachers in order to improve teacher-to-teacher relationships.


2011 ◽  
Vol 219 (2) ◽  
pp. 92-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Babett Voigt ◽  
Ingo Aberle ◽  
Judith Schönfeld ◽  
Matthias Kliegel

The present study examined age differences in time-based prospective memory (TBPM) in primary school age children and tested the role of self-initiated memory retrieval and strategic time monitoring (TM) as possible developmental mechanisms. Fifty-four children were recruited from local primary schools (27 younger children, mean age = 7.2 ± 0.55 years, and 27 older children, mean age = 9.61 ± 0.71 years). The task was a driving game scenario in which children had to drive a vehicle (ongoing task) and to remember to refuel before the vehicle runs out of gas (TBPM task, i.e., the fuel gauge served as child-appropriate time equivalent). Fuel gauge was either displayed permanently (low level of self-initiation) or could only be viewed on demand by hitting a button (high level of self-initiation). The results revealed age-dependent TBPM differences with better performance in older children. In contrast, level of self-initiated memory retrieval did not affect TBPM performance. However, strategies of TM influenced TBPM, as more frequent time checking was related to better performance. Patterns of time checking frequency differed according to children’s age and course of the game, suggesting difficulties in maintaining initial strategic TM in younger children. Taken together, the study revealed ongoing development of TBPM across primary school age. Observed age differences seemed to be associated with the ability to maintain strategic monitoring.


The aim of this study was to identify the factors associated with school refusal behavior in primary school students. Student’s self-report and teacher’s measures were implemented; and students were recruited from 20 primary schools in six districts in Selangor, Malaysia. The survey was conducted at the end of school term in 2016, with a total of 915 students from Year 4 and Year 5 participating. The sample of students had been absent from school for more than 15% of school days in the current year. Pearson correlation shows a significant relationship between academic achievement and school satisfaction toward school refusal behavior. The findings of this study suggest that academic difficulties and dissatisfaction towards school environment could be the important risk factors for school refusal behavior. The present study underscores the importance of early detection and intervention as measures to reduce school refusal. Finally, the findings imply that the role of school factors should always be taken into account in connection with school refusal behaviour.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 544
Author(s):  
Ermaida Dewi

The background of this research is an instrument of learning for reading comprehension which in general is still dominated by an instrument in the form of print out which makes the students’ interest to read is reduced. In addition, this instrument is usually done manually or handwritten so that the students’ work must be corrected manually and require some time to get the results. This study aims to develop instruments or measuring devices for reading comprehension in the Primary School in Pekanbaru and find out the feasibility of measuring devices for reading comprehension skills. This product is Macromedia Flash 8 based namely "MaCaMi" which stands forMari Membaca dan Memahami. The research method used was the 4D model with four stages, such as the define stage, the design phase, the develop phase, and the dessiminate stage which is limited to the third stage. The data of this study were obtained from product design expert validation questionnaire, questionnaire validated by linguists, teacher response questionnaire and students response questionnaire. The data were generated quantitatively and analyzed by using the assessment criteria to determine the product quality. The results of this study showed the assessment of product design experts in draft 1 had an average percentage of 69.61% with the appropriate category then had increased in draft 2 to 90.56% with the very feasible category. The results of  the feasibility test by linguists in draft 1 with had average percentage of 95.30% with the very feasible category then increased in draft 2 to 97.20% withn the very feasible category. The results of the teacher's response to the reading comprehension measuring instrument in the Primary School in Pekanbaru developed by researchers obtained an average percentage of 93.50% with a very good category and the results of students' responses to the measuring instrument obtained an average percentage of 89.90% with a category very good. Based on these results, it can be concluded that the product developed by researchers is feasible to be used as a measure of reading comprehension ability of primary school students.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 447
Author(s):  
Sulmi Sulmi

This research was motivated by the weakness of teachers in compiling learning devices in the Primary school of Sungai Majo and Teluk Nilap, Kubu Babussalam District, Rokan Hilir Regency. The purpose of this study is to improve the ability of teachers to develop learning tools in Primary schools. The purpose of this study is to improve the ability of teachers to develop learning tools in Primary schools. The action to be taken is to provide a workshop on the formulation of learning devices in Primary schools. The results of the study show, in the assessment of the first cycle syllabus, The average value obtained by the Sungai Majo Elementary School 006 teacher is 67 with sufficient categories. While teachers at Elementary School 002 Teluk Nilap get an average score of 69 in the good category. cycle II, the average syllabus for teachers in Sungai Majo Primary School 006 was 89 with very good categories. While the teachers of Elementary School 002 in the Teluk Nilap amounted to 90 with very good categories. Whereas the assessment in the RPP of the first cycle, teachers in Elementary School 006 Sungai Majo and SDN 002 Teluk Nilap received the same score, which amounted to 67.14 with sufficient categories. After the second cycle, Sungai Majo Primary School 006 got an average score of 90 with a very good category, while the teachers of Elementary School 002 Teluk Nilap scored 91.42 with a very good category. With the results of this study, it can be concluded that with the help of workshops, it can improve the ability of teachers to develop learning tools in the Sungai Majo and Teluk Nilap, Kubu Babussalam District, Rokan Hilir Regency. 


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
Syazwani Hassan ◽  
Nur Nabila Zulkifly ◽  
Annapurny Venkiteswaran ◽  
Rohaida Abdul Halim

To ascertain the level of knowledge among primary school teachers towards the management of traumatic dental injuries (TDIs) in school and to determine the preference among teachers regarding the education tools that can be used to increase awareness and knowledge among them. A total of 150 teachers from primary schools in three different districts were included in the study and they were given self-administered questionnaires to be filled. The validated questionnaire was distributed randomly in the selected schools. The questionnaire included two scenarios comprising of tooth fracture and avulsion. Questions regarding awareness and management of these scenarios were asked. All 150 participants answered the questionnaire; of these 74% were females 26% were males. 64% of the participants had received tertiary education. Although 70% of teachers had obtained first aid training, only 9.3% of them had received training regrading dental injuries. About 53% of participants knew the correct answer for the appropriate response to fractured tooth and only 35.3% managed to correctly answer the question related to appropriate response to an avulsed tooth. Only 38.7% knew about appropriate rinsing solution and a mere 4.7% were familiar with proper storage media. Even though the teachers have poor knowledge regarding management of dental injuries, it is reassuring to know that 93% of them are keen on further training and awareness. More educational programmes need to be introduced to empower the teachers with the relevant knowledge required to deal with dental emergencies.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlina - Marlina

This research is aimed at investigating a model of social skills training for children with special needs in inclusive primary school. The study is used at research and development. The training model involves the normal children as training mediators, the so-called peer-mediated social skills intervention (PMSSI), PMSSI model is developed into seven steps. The results of the development are: (1) PMSSI model is appropriate to meet the needs of children with special needs and normal children as social skills training; (2) PMSSI model has the steps description of social skills training which are organized, hierarchical, and clear; (3) PMSSI model is useful for classroom teachers and special educator teachers in inclusive primary school; and (4) PMSSI model is efficient in terms of cost but not of time. Based on the results of the development, there are two suggestions: (1) the need for training the trainers on the use of PMSSI model before being applied in inclusive primary school, and (2) the implementation of social skills training should be done integratedly in academic activities or in a playgroup setting.


2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 17-34
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Hamer ◽  
Katarzyna RAYWER ◽  
Elżbieta Monika Zięba

Based on Paul Ekman’s typology of motives of lying, authors wanted to investigate how oftenthey motivate pupils and students to lie. Two studies were conducted: 1) in primary schools anda high school, 2) on different universities. In the second study we also measured the level of needfor approval and agency/communion (the Big Two). Both studies gave similar results, revealing thatpupils and students declared higher frequency of lying motivated by avoiding any inconveniencethan by gaining some kind of profit. Detailed analyses showed that the highest frequency oflying was motivated by two reasons: to protect oneself or someone else from danger and to avoiduncomfortable, awkward situations. Next in frequencies were motives driven by willingness toavoid any nuisance (e.g. punishment, embarrassment or to protect one’s privacy). In both studieslying driven by willingness to gain some kind of profit (e.g. reward, being liked, admired or togain power) was declared as rather rare. Analyses showed that the latter result was not free frominfluence of need for approval. Both age and sex played a certain role in these declarations. In thefirst study, boys significantly more often than girls declared to lie to protect oneself or someoneelse from danger, to secure one’s privacy and to gain power. There were no such differences in thesecond study (among students). As to age, primary school pupils declared lying to be liked (girls)and admired (boys) more often than teenagers in high school, while the latter declared lying togain power and to protect oneself or someone else from danger more often than primary schoolpupils. In turn, students declared, significantly more often than younger subjects, to lie for allreasons. The Big Two turned out to be of little significance – only lower level of communion was, asexpected, connected to higher frequency of both categories of lies (to gain / to avoid), especially incertain reasons of lying (e.g. to gain power or admiration). The results are discussed in the contextof further studies on bigger and more varied groups, Polish cultural specificity and possible biasinginfluence of need for approval in studies of lying.


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