Attention is doing school: Development and Evaluation of an Advanced Vocational Training for Pedagogical Employees in Open full-time Schools in order to promote Concentrated Working Behavior in Situations of Homework (Aufmerksamkeit)

Within the research project a qualification measurement for pedagogical employees, who work at the homework support service of open full-time schools, was developed and evaluated. The project was subdivided into two parts: “KIDS BASIS” and “KIDS PLUS”. “KIDS Basis” focused on imparting knowledge and strategies for the handling of students with disturbed attention. The project aimed at enabling pedagogical personal to ameliorate the learning time and the working behavior of students by clear working rules and positive consequences of concentrated behavior. “KIDS PLUS” helped to targeted promotion of students with attention problems. In eight sessions the pedagogical employees were trained in the conduction of a specific attention training. Parallel, they carried out the training with small groups of four to six children. The examination of the training effects occurred within three survey waves during one schoolyear. At every measurement time the group leaders received questionnaires to evaluate the behavior of the students which had been identified by them as attention-disturbed. Firstly, in every survey wave information about the behavior change as a consequence of “KIDS Basis” were collected. Moreover, the effects of combining both the basis training and the individualized additional promotion (“KIDS Addition”) on students achievement was evaluated. Ten open full-time schools in Cologne and Düsseldorf (Subproject FH Düsseldorf) took part in the project across one schoolyear. Computer-assisted attention-tests and standardized attention-questionnaires show that the used screening-instrument could reliably identify the target population. The evaluation of “KIDS Basis” and “KIDS Addition” with the sample of 116 attention-disturbed children clearly revealed a reduction of oppositional behavior and of difficulties with obeying rules. (IQB)

• Research Design: Quasi-Experimental Design
• Sample: Students from grade 2 to 4 (N=136); Schools (N=10)
• DOI: 10.5159/IQB_Aufmerksamkeit_v1
• Restrictions: No