Comparison of Neuropsychological Performance between Students from Public and Private Brazilian Schools

Abstract

Neuropsychological assessment reveals that certain cognitive changes that take place during the neural development process may be associated with biopsychosocial issues. A substantial body of research has focused on cognitive development in children and adults, but few such studies have been carried out on adolescents. Therefore, research into the processing of neuropsychological functions in adolescents, taking into account the role of major socio-cultural factors such as school type (public vs. private), is highly relevant. The present study sought to assess whether differences in neuropsychological development exist between adolescent students of public (government-funded) and private schools. A total of 373 grade-matched students between the ages of 12 and 18, 190 from public schools and 183 from private schools, took part in the study. All subjects had no self-reported neurologic or psychiatric conditions and sensory disorders. The NEUPSILIN Brazilian Brief Neuropsychological Assessment Battery was administered to this sample. Comparison of mean scores (one-way ANCOVA with socioeconomic score and age as covariates) showed that adolescents attending private schools generally outperformed their public-school peers in tasks involving sustained attention, memory (working and visual), dictated writing, and constructional and reflective abilities. We conclude that school type should be taken into account during standardization of neuropsychological assessment instruments for adolescent and, probably, child populations.

Are “cool” executive function impairments more salient in ADHD symptoms than in reading disability?

“…These differences may be related to the schooling process. 44 Children from Porto Alegre had better performance on phoneme elision, t(204) = 4.37, p < .001, whereas children from Belo Horizonte were faster in RAN of letters and figures, t(213) = 3.58, p < .001 and t(213) = 3.39, p = .001, respectively. Also, in RAN of figures, children from Belo Horizonte made fewer errors than those from Porto Alegre, t(213) = 2.28, p = .05.…”

Normas de Desempenho em Compreensão de Leitura Textual para Crianças de 1º Ano a 6ª Série

“…Os resultados deste estudo evidenciam diferenças de desempenho nos recontos das histórias em relação ao tipo de escola que a criança frequenta. Diferenças de desempenho em leitura, avaliações cognitivas e desempenho escolar em relação ao tipo de escola têm sido encontradas por outros autores (Casarin, Wong, Parente, Salles, & Fonseca, 2012;Castillo et al, 2011;Phillips & Lonigan, 2010;Villaseñor, Martín, Díaz, Rosselli, & Ardila, 2009). Provavelmente, a variável tipo de escola está relacionada a outros fatores que determinam a qualidade do ambiente em que a criança vive, como o nível socioeconômico, a oferta de materiais e atividades de lazer, o método de ensino da escola, a quantidade e qualidade de estimulação e da relação que a criança possui com pais, colegas e professores (Engel, Santos, & Gathercole, 2008;Gardinal & Marturano, 2007;Piccolo et al, 2012).…”

Stressful Events and Executive Functioning, Working Memory and Academic Performance in Adolescents

“…It is suggested that further studies compare the effect of stressful events in adolescence on academic performance in public and private school students, as the literature suggests the presence of differences between these individuals (Casarin, Wong, Parente, Salles, & Fonseca, 2012). Furthermore, studies that examine the interaction between the frequency and intensity of stressful events and variables such as the age of exposure to maltreatment, sex, socioeconomic status, and parental education level may also produce interesting findings regarding the relationship between biological and sociocultural variables and exposure to stressful situations in childhood.…”