Poster #8 - Relations Between Behavioural Attention and Student Engagement in Grade 1

• In Event: 3-003 - Poster Session 09
  In Poster Session: PS 09 Section - Attention, Learning, Memory

Integrative Statement

Background: Children with ADHD, a common neurodevelopmental disorder, are at-risk for academic difficulties across subjects (Frazier, Youngstrom, Glutting, & Watkins, 2007), with evidence for academic impairment arising as early as the preschool years (DuPaul, McGoey, Eckert & VanBrakle, 2001). Previous research has identified inattention, a symptom of ADHD, as a factor related to these academic difficulties, more so than hyperactive and impulsive symptoms (Rodriguez et al., 2007). Even in non-clinical community samples, attentional abilities have been found to be related academic performance (Polderman, Boomsma, Bartels, Verhulst & Huizink, 2010). Additionally, a lack of engagement has also been identified as a factor related to lower academic achievement in children with and without ADHD (DuPaul & Stoner, 2003; Skinner, Furrer, Marchand & Kinderman, 2008). However, possible relations between attention and school engagement in the early elementary school years are not yet well understood. Aim: To investigate preliminary relations between behavioural attention and student engagement in a community sample of early elementary school students. Methods and Procedures: 66 children (33 male) were recruited in the spring of Grade 1. Participants completed a battery of cognitive and academic tasks, and questionnaires on their attitudes towards school, behavioural and emotional engagement, and their classroom environment. Their teachers and parents completed behavioural rating scales. Outcomes and Results: (1) Teacher-reported behavioural attention was significantly positively correlated with teacher-reported and student-reported behavioural engagement, but not student-reported emotional engagement. (2) Student-reported engagement and teacher-reported engagement were not significantly correlated. Conclusions and Implications: Results suggest that teacher-reported attention is related to how children act engaged in the classroom, but not how they feel emotionally engaged. Secondly, it appears as though Grade 1 students and their teachers do not similarly perceive their levels of engagement. Educators and clinicians working with children with elevated symptoms of inattention should consider how children act engaged in the classroom and how it may affect their academic performance. However, they must also consider that their perceptions of student engagement may not be consistent with how their students feel and believe themselves to act. Future research is needed to more closely examine these relations and to extend the findings to include other relevant factors such as academic achievement.

Authors

• Elizabeth McEwen, University of Toronto
  Presenting Author

• Rhonda L Martinussen, University of Toronto
  Non-Presenting Author