The aim of this meta-analysis was to provide a systematic review of intervention studies that investigated the effects of physical activity on multiple domains of executive functions, attention and ...academic performance in preadolescent children (6–12 years of age). In addition, a systematic quantification of the effects of physical activity on these domains is provided.
Systematic review and meta-analysis.
Searches of electronic databases and examining relevant reviews between 2000 and April 2017 resulted in 31 intervention studies meeting the inclusion criteria. Four subdomains of executive functions (inhibition, working memory, cognitive flexibility and planning), three subdomains of attention (selective, divided and sustained) and three subdomains of academic performance (mathematics, spelling and reading) were distinguished. Effects for different study designs (acute physical activity or longitudinal physical activity programs), type of physical activity (aerobic or cognitively engaging) and duration of intervention were examined separately.
Acute physical activity has a positive effect on attention (g=0.43; 95% CI=0.09, 0.77; 6 studies), while longitudinal physical activity programs has a positive effect on executive functions (g=0.24; 95% CI=0.09, 0.39; 12 studies), attention (g=0.90; 95% CI=0.56, 1.24; 1 study) and academic performance (g=0.26; 95% CI=0.02, 0.49; 3 studies). The effects did depend on the subdomain.
Positive effects were found for physical activity on executive functions, attention and academic performance in preadolescent children. Largest effects are expected for interventions that aim for continuous regular physical activity over several weeks.
The study examined the effects of learning with the Bee-Bot on young boys' and girls' computational thinking within the context of two scaffolding techniques. The study reports statistically ...significant learning gains between the initial and final assessment of children's computational thinking skills. Also, according to the findings, while both boys and girls benefited from the scaffolding techniques, a statistically significant interaction effect was detected between gender and scaffolding strategy showing that boys benefited more from the individualistic, kinesthetic, spatially-oriented, and manipulative-based activity with the cards, while girls benefited more from the collaborative writing activity. In regards to the children's problem-solving strategies during debugging, the results showed that the majority of them used decomposition as a strategy to deal with the complexity of the task. These results are important, because they show that children at this very young age are able to cope with the complexity of a learning task by decomposing it into a number of subtasks that are easier for them to tackle. The research contributes to the body of knowledge about the teaching of computational thinking. In addition, the study has practical significance for curriculum developers, instructional leaders, and classroom teachers, as they can use the results of this study to design curricula and classroom activities with a focus on the broader set of computational thinking skills, and not only coding.
•The study examined the effects of learning with the Bee-Bot on computational thinking.•A gender-friendly learning environment was designed.•An interaction effect was found between gender and scaffolding strategy.•Young children used decomposition as a problem-solving strategy during debugging.
Computational thinking (CT) and the coding element of it are progressively entering in the primary school curriculum worldwide. Yet, little is known about the effects of these skills on children's ...cognitive development. In a cluster-randomized controlled trial, we examined how 1st-grade children's gains in coding skills that follow instructional intervention transfer to two important executive functions (EFs): planning and response inhibition. One-hundred seventy-nine (179) first graders from 5 schools and 10 class groups, with no prior experience of coding, were randomly assigned to an experimental (coding, 5 classes) or control (standard STEM, 5 classes) instructional condition. The experimental intervention involved 8 h of coding activities (two weekly lessons for 4 weeks), through the Code.org platform. Children in the control group were exposed to standard STEM instruction. Four coding tasks drawn from Code.org, two standardized planning tasks (Elithorn maze test and Tower of London, ToL, test) and two standardized response inhibition tasks (NEPSY-II inhibition subtest and numerical Stroop), were used to assess children's skills at the pretest and posttest (after the instructional intervention). To measure retention, the same skills were also assessed for 44 children from the experimental group 5 weeks from the posttest (follow up). The results show that practice with coding through Code.org not only improved measurably children's ability to solve coding problems, but also their EFs, increasing the time children spent planning, their ability to solve standardized planning tasks, and to inhibit prepotent responses. Such findings add to the still limited literature on the cognitive effects of coding, deepening our understanding of the positive implications of introducing Computational Thinking early in the school curriculum.
•Eight hours practice with Code.org are sufficient to support the development of coding skills in 6-year old children.•Gains in coding skills are transferred to children's executive functions: planning and response inhibition.•Transfer of coding effects is more evident for planning than for response inhibition.•The use of different cognitive tasks to assess the degree of cognitive transfer is important.
Background Children with vision impairment are likely to suffer the consequences throughout their lives. With impaired vision, they grapple to learn to walk, to study, to go to school, and to be able ...to work. Many Children do not complain of defective vision, and may not even be aware of it. Moreover, children in rural areas often do not have access to eye testing facility. In this study we have studied prevalence of refractive error and other ocular problems in primary school children aimed at identifying those children and facilitating their management.
Background Children with vision impairment are likely to suffer the consequences throughout their lives. With impaired vision, they grapple to learn to walk, to study, to go to school, and to be able ...to work. Many Children do not complain of defective vision, and may not even be aware of it. Moreover, children in rural areas often do not have access to eye testing facility. In this study we have studied prevalence of refractive error and other ocular problems in primary school children aimed at identifying those children and facilitating their management.
Several programs have been developed worldwide to improve children's executive functions (EFs). Yet, the role played in EF development by learning activities embedded in the school curriculum has ...received scarce attention. With two studies, we recently tested the effects of
(CT)
-a new element of the primary school curriculum-on the development of children's EFs. CT stimulates the ability to define a clear and orderly sequence of simple and well-specified steps to solve a complex problem. We conjecture that CT skills are associated to such EF processes as response inhibition and planning. In a first between-group cluster-randomized controlled trial, we tested the effects of 1-month coding activities on 76 first graders' planning and response inhibition against those of 1-month standard STEM activities of a control group. In a second study, we tested the effects of 1-month coding activities of 17 second graders in two ways: within group (longitudinally), against 7 months of standard activities experienced by the same children (experimental group); and between groups, in comparison to the effects of standard STEM activities in a control group of 19 second graders. The results of the two studies show significant benefits of learning to code: children exposed to coding improved significantly more in planning and inhibition tasks than control children did. The longitudinal data showed that improvements in planning and inhibition skills after 1 month of coding activities (eight lessons) were equivalent to or greater than the improvement attained after 7 months of standard activities. These findings support the hypothesis that learning CT
coding can significantly boost children's spontaneous development of EFs.
HOW TO BE A FRIEND Kos, Jasmina
Multidisciplinarni Pristupi u Edukaciji i Rehabilitaciji,
8/2023, Volume:
5, Issue:
5
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
In Croatia, every twelfth child (0-19 years old) grows up with a developmental disability (CDD), one of seven adults is a person with a disability (PWD). Although the majority of citizens know, and a ...quarter of them often meet CDD and PWD, ignorance and discomfort are noticeable, as well as mistakes in everyday encounters despite good intentions. Every seventh 4th grade elementary school student thinks he/she can or is not sure if he/she can become deaf if he/she plays with a deaf child. More than a quarter of them would do what they assume is helping a blind person, without asking them if and what kind of help they need, and more than half of their parents would not communicate with a blind person in a situation that directly concerns them. The readiness of parents for their children to socialize with children with developmental disabilities decreases as the closeness and intensity of socializing increases. This was shown by the Creative Backbone Center research conducted on 582 respondents - 4th grade elementary school students and their parents, from 11/2022. until 04/2023. Less than a third of parents say that they know how to communicate with PWDs, but more than 90% of them claim that they have explained to their child how to do it. Only half of the children remembered that conversation. Numerous studies confirm that the chances of creating an inclusive society are greatest if the building of attitudes begins at an early stage of education when positive exposure changes negative attitudes in a short time and builds desirable attitudes. Students in the lower grades of elementary schools in Croatia are somewhat informed about PWDs through classes, but the problem is the application of the information obtained, which should be given much more attention.
•A three-wave longitudinal design was applied to examine whether and how family SES affecting children’s academic achievement during school closure times.•Family SES could predict children’ later ...academic achievement above and beyond their prior academic achievement and other demographics.•Family SES influenced children’s later academic achievement through the chain-mediating effects of parental involvement and student engagement.•Neither parent involvement nor student involvement alone mediated the relationship between family SES and subsequent academic achievement.
With a three-wave longitudinal design, the current study examined the impact of family socioeconomic status (SES) on parental involvement and student engagement in promoting children’s academic achievement during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We recruited data from 246 mother–primary school student dyads, and the mean age of children at Wave 1 was 10.57 ± 0.97 years (range = 9–13 years). The academic achievement of these children was measured both before and after school closures. Family SES, parental involvement, and student engagement were assessed during the school closures. The results indicated that family SES could predict children’s later academic achievement after accounting for their prior academic achievement and other demographics (i.e., the significant total effect in the model). Moreover, parental involvement and student engagement played chain-mediating roles in the effect of family SES on children’s later academic achievement. Neither parent involvement nor student involvement alone mediated the relationships between family SES and subsequent academic achievement. Suggestions are provided to minimize the negative impact of low family SES on children’s academic achievement during pandemics.
Background: Schistosomiasis is among the neglected tropical diseases that cause significant morbidity and mortality among the vulnerable population including school-aged children. This study aimed to ...determine the prevalence of urogenital schistosomiasis and risk factors for transmission among primary school children in an endemic urban area of Kinondoni municipality in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted between June and August 2020. A total of 250 urine samples were collected from primary school children, examined for haematuria using urinalysis test strips, and Schistosoma haematobium (S.haematobium) infection and intensity using the urine filtration technique. A structured questionnaire was used to collect information on water, sanitation, and hygiene risk factors that could influence the transmission of urogenital schistosomiasis. Results: Out of 250 primary school children recruited, 13(5.2%) had haematuria, 3(1.2%) had S.haematobium ova, and all were light-intensity infections. Among the assessed risk factors, the following were significantly associated with the transmission of urogenital schistosomiasis; type of latrine used at home (p=0.044), frequency of swimming (p=0.030), the children who never swallowed praziquantel (p < 0.00), experienced side effects (p < 0.00), type of side effects experienced (p=0.037), and reasons for not taking praziquantel in the last round of mass drug administration (p=0.007). Conclusion: The low prevalence of urogenital schistosomiasis indicates the ongoing transmission of the disease among primary school children. Frequency of swimming, type of latrines used at home, and non-uptake of praziquantel are the risk factors for the infection among primary school children.
Given the widespread prevalence of mathematics anxiety (MA) and its detrimental long-term impact on academic performance and professional development, it is essential to develop standardized tools ...capable of identifying MA as early as possible. One of the scales most often used to assess MA is the Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale (AMAS) (Hopko, Mahadevan, Bare, & Hunt, 2003). The first aim of the present study was to validate this tool in a large sample of Italian primary school children, to confirm the factor structure of the AMAS and to develop standardized norms that can be used in the clinical field. Moreover, as the relation between MA and gender has been extensively reported in adult samples, a second goal of the study was to test the invariance of the scale across genders.
•The validation of the AMAS Questionnaire, measuring math anxiety, in Italian primary school children is presented.•1013 primary school students between 8 and 11years-old were tested.•Confirmatory factor analysis showed evidence of the underlying two-factor structure of the Italian version of the AMAS.•Results also demonstrated the invariance of the AMAS across genders.
PDF
