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Volume 26, Issue 2 (summer 2024)
Advances in Cognitive Sciences 2024, 26(2): 77-92 |
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Research code: A-10-1821-1
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Sebghati A, Kiamanesh A, Farzad V. Design and validation of an attention and concentration training program and its impact on visual perception in preschool children. Advances in Cognitive Sciences 2024; 26 (2) :77-92
URL: http://icssjournal.ir/article-1-1649-en.html
URL: http://icssjournal.ir/article-1-1649-en.html
1- PhD Student of the Department of Educational Psychology, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
2- Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran
3- Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran
2- Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran
3- Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract: (570 Views)
Introduction
Childhood is considered as a pivotal period for developing fundamental cognitive skills (1). Research indicates that the first five years of a child's life are critical for cognitive skill development (2). Among the essential abilities necessary for learning in preschool children is attention. Attention is conceptualized as an integral component in all cognitive processes (3). Studies suggest that, like other skills, attention can be enhanced through education and practice (9). An example of an approach to improving cognitive structure is attention training using the Sohlberg and Mateer 2001 method (10). These exercises aim to address deficiencies in attention dimensions through specific attention exercises, thereby enhancing attention-related abilities, including visual perception in children (12). Visual perception is the process of integrating sensory-based data from experiences to make accurate judgments about objects’ size, shape, color, and spatial relationships (13). Recognizing the role of education in preventing learning difficulties in preschool children and the importance of providing timely preschool education to prevent such problems, this research aimed to develop an educational package on attention and concentration and assess its effectiveness on the visual perception of preschool children.
Methods
The present study employed an experimental design with pre-test and post-test control groups and a follow-up period. The statistical population included preschool children aged five to six in Tehran, Iran, who were enrolled in preschool centers in the years 2022-2023. Sampling was conducted by randomly selecting District 10 among the educational districts, and two preschools from this district were randomly chosen one as the experimental group and the other as the control group. Twenty students were randomly selected from each preschool, totaling 40 participants in the research. The primary objective was to investigate the validity and reliability of the “Attention and Concentration” educational package developed and its effectiveness on the visual perception of preschool children. The following four stages were undertaken to achieve this:
First Stage: Conducting literature studies and reviewing the research premise.
Second Stage: Designing an educational exercise package to improve visual perception and assess content validity. Content validity was evaluated using the Lawshe method, with supervision from 10 experts in the field of executive functions. Content validity ratio (CVR) and content validity index (CVI) were assessed, and the content was modified based on expert opinions.
Third Stage: Pilot program development
Ten students available at the time participated in a 30-session training program, each lasting 1 hour per day and conducted three days per week. Upon re-evaluation, the session count was adjusted to 20, maintaining the same duration and frequency.
Fourth Stage: Implementation of educational intervention
Before the intervention, both the experimental and control groups underwent a pre-test using the TVPS visual perception test. Subsequently, the educational program was implemented for the experimental group, consisting of 20 sessions lasting 1 hour per day, conducted three days per week. The control group did not receive this educational intervention. After completing the program, the TVPS test was administered again to both groups. A follow-up test was conducted after a 2-month interval from the pre-test, where students from both groups completed the TVPS questionnaire. The collected data was then analyzed.
Results
In the first stage, ten experts assessed the content validity of the attention and concentration educational package, confirming its adequacy through CVR and CVI. Therefore, the validity of the educational package was established. Descriptive statistics, including mean, standard deviation, and skewness, were examined for both the experimental and control groups to describe the average performance and dispersion of participants’ scores in visual perception variables.
In the experimental group, visual perception showed an increasing trend from pre-test (80.8) to post-test (85.11) and follow-up (87.12). However, in the control group, the mean visual perception scores decreased from the pre-test (70.17) to the post-test (60.01), and follow-up showed a mean of 59.95, indicating a decreasing trend.
After ensuring assumptions such as the continuity of the dependent variable, normality of data distribution, homogeneity of covariance among groups, and independence of individuals, a mixed analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted (within-subjects factor and between-subjects factor). The visual perception score variable was analyzed across three levels (pre-test, post-test, and follow-up) and two groups (experimental and control).
Mauchly’s sphericity test was employed to verify the homogeneity of covariances. As the calculated Mauchly’s sphericity value was less than 0.05 (0.008<0.05, χ² (2)=59.9, W=77), indicating a violation of the assumption of covariance homogeneity, the correction methods such as epsilon estimation or multivariate tests were considered.
The summary of within-group ANOVA analysis revealed a significant interaction effect between visual perception and group (P<0.001, F (15.191)=15.191). This interaction implies that different results were obtained from the combination of levels of visual perception (pre-test, post-test, and follow-up) and group levels (control and experimental). The between-group ANOVA analysis showed a significant difference between the two groups (P<0.001, F (38.127)=38.127), indicating a meaningful distinction between the experimental and control groups.
The results of the mixed ANOVA showed that the main effect of time on visual perception is significant (F (2, 37)=71.14, P<0.001, η²=0.64). This result indicates that, regardless of the experimental and control groups, the mean visual perception scores significantly changed from pre-test to post-test and follow-up. Furthermore, the interaction effect between time and group is also significant (F (2, 37)=7.66, P<0.001, η²=0.27). This means that the changes in the mean visual perception scores across the three stages of pre-test, post-test, and follow-up differ significantly between the experimental and control groups. Finally, the main effect of the group is also significant.
Table 4 indicates that the experimental intervention significantly impacted the experimental group. Finally, to determine which two periods among the mean scores of the three test phases differed, the Bonferroni post-hoc test was utilized. The results indicated a significant difference between pre-test scores and both post-test (P<0.001) and follow-up (P<0.001) scores, confirming the second hypothesis of the research regarding the effect of the attention and concentration educational package on the visual perception of children between the pre-test and post-test phases.
Table 4. Result of within-group and between-group analysis of variance
Conclusion
The primary aim of this research was to develop an educational package to enhance attention and concentration and determine its effectiveness on the visual perception of preschool children. As per the studies conducted, the first five years of a child's life mark a crucial developmental stage for cognitive skill growth, laying the foundational groundwork for a child's initial learning experiences during this golden period. One of the most vital and necessary factors influencing education and learning is attention. Attention is the process of directing processing resources toward a particular stimulus, playing a crucial role in advanced mental activities such as planning, problem-solving, and reasoning.
This research focused on the content of an educational program based on Frostig’s perceptual approach and emphasized exercises related to attention, concentration, and visual perception. Exercises such as visual clarity, shape stability, spatial visual perception, shape discrimination against a background, visual completion, and visual-auditory memory sequence were highlighted. The research results distinctly indicate the effectiveness of the educational intervention. Additionally, the content validity of the educational package was confirmed by ten experts in the field of executive functions and learning disabilities. However, what ensures the sustained positive effects of cognitive interventions beyond the continuity of educational exercises is the role of age. Therefore, age plays a crucial role alongside the continuous practice in educational interventions. Ensuring the long-term effects of visual perception-related exercises relies not only on consistent practice post-education but also on adapting exercises according to the increasing age of children.
Ethical Considerations
The conditions of this research were such that no mental or physical damage existed to the study participants. Besides, the current research has followed the ethical principles that include obtaining informed consent and the principle of secrecy of the participants for the confidentiality of their information. Furthermore, in this research, the subjects were given sufficient information about conducting the research, and the participants were free to withdraw from the study.
Authors’ contributions
All authors were involved in topic selection, study design, concept definition, data collection, analysis, writing, and drafting of the article. The article’s final version was also studied and approved by all authors.
Funding
The authors received no financial support for the present research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This research is extracted from the first author’s PhD dissertation at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Tehran Azad University of Science and Research.
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to all participants in the research and all those who have facilitated the re-research’s implementation.
Conflict of interest
The author declared no conflict of interest.
Childhood is considered as a pivotal period for developing fundamental cognitive skills (1). Research indicates that the first five years of a child's life are critical for cognitive skill development (2). Among the essential abilities necessary for learning in preschool children is attention. Attention is conceptualized as an integral component in all cognitive processes (3). Studies suggest that, like other skills, attention can be enhanced through education and practice (9). An example of an approach to improving cognitive structure is attention training using the Sohlberg and Mateer 2001 method (10). These exercises aim to address deficiencies in attention dimensions through specific attention exercises, thereby enhancing attention-related abilities, including visual perception in children (12). Visual perception is the process of integrating sensory-based data from experiences to make accurate judgments about objects’ size, shape, color, and spatial relationships (13). Recognizing the role of education in preventing learning difficulties in preschool children and the importance of providing timely preschool education to prevent such problems, this research aimed to develop an educational package on attention and concentration and assess its effectiveness on the visual perception of preschool children.
Methods
The present study employed an experimental design with pre-test and post-test control groups and a follow-up period. The statistical population included preschool children aged five to six in Tehran, Iran, who were enrolled in preschool centers in the years 2022-2023. Sampling was conducted by randomly selecting District 10 among the educational districts, and two preschools from this district were randomly chosen one as the experimental group and the other as the control group. Twenty students were randomly selected from each preschool, totaling 40 participants in the research. The primary objective was to investigate the validity and reliability of the “Attention and Concentration” educational package developed and its effectiveness on the visual perception of preschool children. The following four stages were undertaken to achieve this:
First Stage: Conducting literature studies and reviewing the research premise.
Second Stage: Designing an educational exercise package to improve visual perception and assess content validity. Content validity was evaluated using the Lawshe method, with supervision from 10 experts in the field of executive functions. Content validity ratio (CVR) and content validity index (CVI) were assessed, and the content was modified based on expert opinions.
Third Stage: Pilot program development
Ten students available at the time participated in a 30-session training program, each lasting 1 hour per day and conducted three days per week. Upon re-evaluation, the session count was adjusted to 20, maintaining the same duration and frequency.
Fourth Stage: Implementation of educational intervention
Before the intervention, both the experimental and control groups underwent a pre-test using the TVPS visual perception test. Subsequently, the educational program was implemented for the experimental group, consisting of 20 sessions lasting 1 hour per day, conducted three days per week. The control group did not receive this educational intervention. After completing the program, the TVPS test was administered again to both groups. A follow-up test was conducted after a 2-month interval from the pre-test, where students from both groups completed the TVPS questionnaire. The collected data was then analyzed.
Results
In the first stage, ten experts assessed the content validity of the attention and concentration educational package, confirming its adequacy through CVR and CVI. Therefore, the validity of the educational package was established. Descriptive statistics, including mean, standard deviation, and skewness, were examined for both the experimental and control groups to describe the average performance and dispersion of participants’ scores in visual perception variables.
In the experimental group, visual perception showed an increasing trend from pre-test (80.8) to post-test (85.11) and follow-up (87.12). However, in the control group, the mean visual perception scores decreased from the pre-test (70.17) to the post-test (60.01), and follow-up showed a mean of 59.95, indicating a decreasing trend.
After ensuring assumptions such as the continuity of the dependent variable, normality of data distribution, homogeneity of covariance among groups, and independence of individuals, a mixed analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted (within-subjects factor and between-subjects factor). The visual perception score variable was analyzed across three levels (pre-test, post-test, and follow-up) and two groups (experimental and control).
Mauchly’s sphericity test was employed to verify the homogeneity of covariances. As the calculated Mauchly’s sphericity value was less than 0.05 (0.008<0.05, χ² (2)=59.9, W=77), indicating a violation of the assumption of covariance homogeneity, the correction methods such as epsilon estimation or multivariate tests were considered.
The summary of within-group ANOVA analysis revealed a significant interaction effect between visual perception and group (P<0.001, F (15.191)=15.191). This interaction implies that different results were obtained from the combination of levels of visual perception (pre-test, post-test, and follow-up) and group levels (control and experimental). The between-group ANOVA analysis showed a significant difference between the two groups (P<0.001, F (38.127)=38.127), indicating a meaningful distinction between the experimental and control groups.
The results of the mixed ANOVA showed that the main effect of time on visual perception is significant (F (2, 37)=71.14, P<0.001, η²=0.64). This result indicates that, regardless of the experimental and control groups, the mean visual perception scores significantly changed from pre-test to post-test and follow-up. Furthermore, the interaction effect between time and group is also significant (F (2, 37)=7.66, P<0.001, η²=0.27). This means that the changes in the mean visual perception scores across the three stages of pre-test, post-test, and follow-up differ significantly between the experimental and control groups. Finally, the main effect of the group is also significant.
Table 4 indicates that the experimental intervention significantly impacted the experimental group. Finally, to determine which two periods among the mean scores of the three test phases differed, the Bonferroni post-hoc test was utilized. The results indicated a significant difference between pre-test scores and both post-test (P<0.001) and follow-up (P<0.001) scores, confirming the second hypothesis of the research regarding the effect of the attention and concentration educational package on the visual perception of children between the pre-test and post-test phases.
Table 4. Result of within-group and between-group analysis of variance
| Change of sources | Sum of Squares | DF | Mean Squared | F | P | |
| Between-group | Visual Perception | 153.63 | 1.736 | 88.51 | 205.10 | 0.001 |
| Visual Perception Group | 143.18 | 1.736 | 82.49 | 191.15 | 0.001 | |
| Error | 28.64 | 65.95 | 0.43 | |||
| Group | 21.27 | 1 | 21.27 | 27.33 | 0.001 | |
| Error | 29.56 | 38 | 0.77 | |||
Conclusion
The primary aim of this research was to develop an educational package to enhance attention and concentration and determine its effectiveness on the visual perception of preschool children. As per the studies conducted, the first five years of a child's life mark a crucial developmental stage for cognitive skill growth, laying the foundational groundwork for a child's initial learning experiences during this golden period. One of the most vital and necessary factors influencing education and learning is attention. Attention is the process of directing processing resources toward a particular stimulus, playing a crucial role in advanced mental activities such as planning, problem-solving, and reasoning.
This research focused on the content of an educational program based on Frostig’s perceptual approach and emphasized exercises related to attention, concentration, and visual perception. Exercises such as visual clarity, shape stability, spatial visual perception, shape discrimination against a background, visual completion, and visual-auditory memory sequence were highlighted. The research results distinctly indicate the effectiveness of the educational intervention. Additionally, the content validity of the educational package was confirmed by ten experts in the field of executive functions and learning disabilities. However, what ensures the sustained positive effects of cognitive interventions beyond the continuity of educational exercises is the role of age. Therefore, age plays a crucial role alongside the continuous practice in educational interventions. Ensuring the long-term effects of visual perception-related exercises relies not only on consistent practice post-education but also on adapting exercises according to the increasing age of children.
Ethical Considerations
The conditions of this research were such that no mental or physical damage existed to the study participants. Besides, the current research has followed the ethical principles that include obtaining informed consent and the principle of secrecy of the participants for the confidentiality of their information. Furthermore, in this research, the subjects were given sufficient information about conducting the research, and the participants were free to withdraw from the study.
Authors’ contributions
All authors were involved in topic selection, study design, concept definition, data collection, analysis, writing, and drafting of the article. The article’s final version was also studied and approved by all authors.
Funding
The authors received no financial support for the present research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This research is extracted from the first author’s PhD dissertation at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Tehran Azad University of Science and Research.
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to all participants in the research and all those who have facilitated the re-research’s implementation.
Conflict of interest
The author declared no conflict of interest.
Type of Study: Research |
Received: 2024/01/3 | Accepted: 2024/09/1 | Published: 2024/11/3
Received: 2024/01/3 | Accepted: 2024/09/1 | Published: 2024/11/3
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