INCIHUSA   20883
INSTITUTO DE CIENCIAS HUMANAS, SOCIALES Y AMBIENTALES
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
The Effects of a Phonological Awareness Training Program on Attention Efficiency
Autor/es:
PORTA, MARÍA ELSA; CARRADA, MARIANA ANDREA; ISON, MIRTA SUSANA
Lugar:
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Reunión:
Congreso; The International Neuropsychological Society, Sociedad de Neuropsicología Argentina. Mid-Year Meeting; 2008
Institución organizadora:
Sociedad de Neuropsicología Argentina
Resumen:
M.E. PORTA, M.A. CARRADA & M.S. ISON. The Effects of a
Phonological Awareness Training Program on Attention Efficiency
in Children Growing Up in At-Risk Conditions of Social Vulnerability.
Objective: Using a pretest-posttest group comparison design, this 20-
week study investigated the effects of a phonological awareness training
program (PATP) on attention efficiency (AE) in first-grade children.
Participants and Methods: Fifty seven first graders (Age=5 to 6 years)
from Mendoza, growing up in at-risk conditions of social vulnerability,
participated in this quasi-experimental study. We administered the PATP
(Porta, 2005)to the experimental group (n=28). The program consisted
of 3 20-min lessons each week and included metalinguistic games. The
control group (n=29) received a shorter alternative program focused
on grammar development. Using the Magallanes Scales for Visual Attention
(García Pérez & Magaz Lago, 2000), we obtained pretest and
posttest measures of childrens attention efficiency.
Results: ANOVA showed significant effects of the PATP(p < 0.017)and
of time(p < 0.0001) on AE. For both groups, posttestAEscore means were
higher than pretest score means. Pretest measures showed that theAEscore
mean for the EG was lower than that for the CG. However, after administering
the PATP to the EG, posttest data showed no between-group differences
in AE, indicating that the EG had matched the CG in AE. Then,
we contrasted the differences between pre- and post-AE score means for
the 2 groups:We found that the EG gained greater AE than the CG.
Conclusions: Childrens attention efficiency not only improves as they
develop, but also increases by means of a structured PATP. Our findings
verify the effect of the PATP we developed on AE, and are relevant
to studies assessing the relationship between reading acquisition and attention
efficiency.
Correspondence: Mirta S. Ison, PhD, Unidad de Psicologia Evolutivay Educacional,
Instituto de Ciencias Humanas, Sociales y Ambientales-CCT-CONICET, Mendoza-
Av. Adrian Ruiz Leal s/n. Pque Gral San Martin.
Ciudad., Mendoza 5500, Argentina. E-mail: mison@lab.cricyt.edu.ar