The Effects of a Phonological Awareness Training Program on Attention Efficiency

PORTA, MARÍA ELSA; CARRADA, MARIANA ANDREA; ISON, MIRTA SUSANA

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Congreso; The International Neuropsychological Society, Sociedad de Neuropsicología Argentina. Mid-Year Meeting; 2008

Sociedad de Neuropsicología Argentina

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 children’s 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: Children’s 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