Attentional Factors Involved in Learning in the First Grade

Abstract

Abstract:In the school population, attentional problems are one of the most frequent causes of failure in learning; sometimes these take the form of a specific deficit and in other cases an attention disorder occurs in comorbidity with a learning disorder. It seems crucial to focus on what peculiar characteristics of attention are involved in basic learning in order to contribute to the diagnostic order and to arrange paths of development.This research aims to verify the weight of the different components of attention involved in the outcomes of the first stages of learning.A total of 69 children (34 males and 35 females, aged 6.4±1.1 years and 7.3±1.2 years respectively) in first grade, participated in the study. The results of the correlational analysis carried out show that there are specific significant relationships between the various components of attention and performance in reading, writing and calculation. In particular, visual attention appears to be the aspect most involved in the initial development of the learning of these three abilities.