Abstract
Attention—a determinant cognitive function to information selection and inhibition of distracting stimuli—is primordial for learning and has a vast literature about it. Consequently, it’s possible to find a great variety of conceptions and different hypotheses about the fundamental aspects of attention, such as how the brain regulates the flow of information, how attention affects the performance on tasks, and which brain structures are involved in such processes. However, in spite of divergences regarding nomenclatures and classifications, the scientific literature seems to agree that attentional mechanisms are essential for several activities that involve cognitive and motor functions, going from the most basic to the most complex levels. Based on the assumption that academic performance is determined by a variety of factors such as educational opportunities, socioeconomic status, and cognitive abilities, attentional processes are especially relevant in the schooling context since the resolution of complex problems is an important prerequisite for good academic performance. Moreover, even basic attentional skills that are in full development in preschoolers are important for literacy in this school phase. Thus, this chapter will address recent studies that demonstrate the importance of attention for the acquisition of reading, writing, and mathematics, emphasizing the development of attention from early childhood to adolescence and its relationship with academic performance. In view of such importance, we will review some studies that address the WEIRD and non-WEIRD population. Thus, it is expected that teachers and researchers will have the opportunity to appropriate the basic evidence-based foundations so that they can apply such concepts in their teaching and research activities.
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Miranda, M.C., Batistela, S., Alves, M.V. (2022). Attention and Academic Performance: From Early Childhood to Adolescence. In: Alves, M.V., Ekuni, R., Hermida, M.J., Valle-Lisboa, J. (eds) Cognitive Sciences and Education in Non-WEIRD Populations. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06908-6_4
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