Abstract

School performance in children and adolescents is an important development task with notable psychosocial correlates, both contemporary and long term. An important neuropsychological construct is attention, which is the basis of any learning. Objectives: the present investigation was oriented to determine if attention performance in children and adolescents was a predictor of school grades. Method: a sample of 82 children from three grades was selected at a private primary school in Paraná, Entre Ríos, Argentina. In addition, a sample of 73 adolescents from two grades was selected at a private secondary school in Paraná, Entre Ríos, Argentina. Participants completed the Brickenkamp d2 Attention Questionnaire and grades for all school subjects were obtained. Results: in the cases of both children and adolescents, their lowest grades were in Mathematics and Language. The total of responses and correct answers were significant predictors of the grades in Mathematics, Language and Basic Sciences in children. In the case of adolescents, total responses and accuracy predicted the Math, Language, English and Biology grades, although in all cases the effect size was small. Higher attentional performance was observed in adolescents, compared to children. Discussion: the findings of the present study suggest that attentional performance is a significant predictor of school performance in children and adolescents.

Keywords: Neurosciences; Attention; Achievement; School; Children; Adolescents