Abstract

COSTA, Simone Alves Araujo  and  SOUZA, Mariane Lima de. Homework: Parental support and performance in executive functions. Rev. psicopedag. [online]. 2022, vol.39, n.120, pp. 377-387. ISSN 0103-8486.  http://dx.doi.org/10.51207/2179-4057.20220041.

Executive functions (EFs) are a set of mental abilities that allow the individual to regulate behavior and thinking to achieve goals. In the relationship between parents and children, supportive parenting practices positively impact the development of EFs. Among the activities common to children, homework, when mediated by parental support, may be related to children's executive functioning. The objective of this research was to verify the association between the support offered by parents in the homework and the performance in the core EFs (inhibitory control, working memory and cognitive flexibility) of their child. This is an exploratory study with a quantitative approach. The participants were 62 dyads of parents and their children, aged between 7 and 9 years, students from two private schools. Parents answered the Parental Support Questionnaire while the children's EFs were assessed by three instruments: Free Verbal Fluency Task, Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Digits Subtest, Five Digits Test, and Neupsilin-Inf - Pseudowords Span Subtest. The results of Pearson's Correlation Analysis between parental support and EFs indicate significant and positive correlation, although of low magnitude, between organization and cognitive flexibility and negative correlation between planning and cognitive flexibility. It is discussed the possibility that quality, to the detriment of the frequency of parental support during homework, has a greater impact on children's executive functioning.

Keywords : Executive Functions; Parental Support; Homework; Elementary School.

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