Dataset Information

Boy-Girl Differences in Pictorial Verbal Learning in Students Aged 8-12 Years and the Influence of Parental Education.

ABSTRACT: This large-scale cross-sectional study of schoolchildren aged 8-12 years (N = 152) evaluates two factors which potentially determine individual differences in intentional learning: the child's sex and parental education. Intentional learning was assessed with a newly constructed Pictorial Verbal Learning Task (PVLT). This task presents line drawings of concrete objects as to-be-remembered information instead of written or auditory presented words. The PVLT has the advantage that performance is not confounded by individual differences in reading or hearing abilities. Results revealed clear sex differences in performance: Girls outperformed boys. Parental education also contributed to individual differences in performance since children of higher educated parents outperformed children of lower educated parents. The results therefore suggest that both sex and parental education could be potent contributors to individual differences in learning performance at school. The findings more specifically imply that children of less educated parents and boys need additional guidance and support in intentional learning when new information and procedures are presented for the first time.

SUBMITTER: van Tetering MAJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6092633 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Boy-Girl Differences in Pictorial Verbal Learning in Students Aged 8-12 Years and the Influence of Parental Education.

van Tetering Marleen A J MAJ de Groot Renate H M RHM Jolles Jelle J

Frontiers in psychology 20180808

This large-scale cross-sectional study of schoolchildren aged 8-12 years (<i>N</i> = 152) evaluates two factors which potentially determine individual differences in intentional learning: the child's sex and parental education. Intentional learning was assessed with a newly constructed Pictorial Verbal Learning Task (PVLT). This task presents line drawings of concrete objects as to-be-remembered information instead of written or auditory presented words. The PVLT has the advantage that performan ...[more]

PMID: 30135667

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Project description:Executive functions (EFs) develop over the period of early childhood and adolescence up until young adulthood. Individual children differ substantially in the pace at which their EFs develop, and characteristics such as sex and the level of parental education (LPE) are thought to contribute to these differences. In the present study, we assessed age-related changes in EFs as perceived and evaluated by teachers and parents as well as the influence of sex and LPE on their evaluations. We used a newly developed observer-report questionnaire, the Amsterdam Executive Function Inventory (AEFI). The AEFI assesses three important components of the executive aspects of daily life behavior in 13 questions: Attention; Self-control and Self-monitoring; and Planning and Initiative taking. Teachers and parents evaluated these aspects of executive functioning in 186 schoolchildren in grades 3-6 (age: 9-12 years). Age effects within grades and differences in social economic status between the four participating schools were controlled. Results showed a significant increase in teacher-perceived EFs from third to fourth grades and from fifth to sixth grades. This development was influenced both by the sex of the child and by the LPE. As perceived by teachers, the component self-control and self-monitoring was higher for girls than for boys, and planning abilities were higher for children from families with a higher LPE. Additional analyses showed that there is a systematic and statistically significant difference between the evaluations of the teachers and that of parents. Parents reported higher scores for planning, whereas teachers reported higher scores for self-control and self-monitoring. Evaluations by parents and teachers were different for girls, but not for boys. These findings are important because they imply that the development of EFs as perceived by parents and teachers is influenced by child-related factors. Second, there are clear differences in evaluations between teachers and parents. The AEFI appears to be a tool that is easily used by parents and teachers and shows potential for monitoring the development of EFs as perceived by significant others during young adolescence.

Project description:The sustainability of education focused on improving the dietary and lifestyle behaviours of teenagers has not been extensively studied. The aim of this study was to determine the sustainability of diet-related and lifestyle-related school-based education on sedentary and active lifestyle, diet quality and body composition of Polish pre-teenagers in a medium-term follow-up study. An education-based intervention study was carried out on 464 students aged 11⁻12 years (educated/control group: 319/145). Anthropometric measurements were taken and body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-height ratios (WHtR) were calculated, both at the baseline and after nine months. Dietary data from a short-form food frequency questionnaire (SF-FFQ4PolishChildren) were collected. Two measures of lifestyle (screen time, physical activity) and two diet quality scores (pro-healthy, pHDI, and non-healthy, nHDI) were established. After nine months, in the educated group (vs. control) a significantly higher increase was found in nutrition knowledge score (mean difference of the change: 1.8 points) with a significantly higher decrease in physical activity (mean difference of the change: -0.20 points), nHDI (-2.3% points), the z-WHtR (-0.18 SD), and the z-waist circumference (-0.13 SD). Logistic regression modelling with an adjustment for confounders revealed that after nine months in the educated group (referent: control), the chance of adherence to a nutrition knowledge score of at least the median was over 2 times higher, and that of the nHDI category of at least the median was significantly lower (by 35%). In conclusion, diet-related and lifestyle-related school-based education from an almost one-year perspective can reduce central adiposity in pre-teenagers, despite a decrease in physical activity and the tendency to increase screen time. Central adiposity reduction can be attributed to the improvement of nutrition knowledge in pre-teenagers subjected to the provided education and to stopping the increase in unhealthy dietary habits.

Dataset Information

Boy-Girl Differences in Pictorial Verbal Learning in Students Aged 8-12 Years and the Influence of Parental Education.

Publications

Boy-Girl Differences in Pictorial Verbal Learning in Students Aged 8-12 Years and the Influence of Parental Education.

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