Funcionamento executivo e teoria da mente de crianças em diferentes contextos de aprendizagem

Abstract

Theoretical Background: Child development can be influenced by a range of factors, from biological to environmental, among which learning contexts stand out. Considering the discussion about pedagogical models considered traditional or alternative, research has explored the hypothesis about what impacts they can have on children's sociocognitive development. In the present study, we aimed to analyze two learning contexts with distinct characteristics, the most typical, designated as traditional, and the alternative, in which Montessori pedagogy was studied, in children aged 3 to 6 years old, focusing on their performance in executive functioning (EF) and theory of mind (ToM) tasks. Method: The sample was selected by convenience sampling and consisted of 34 preschool children, between 3 and 6 years old, with a mean age of 59.76 months (SD=11.36), 52.9% of whom were female. Participants were distributed into two mirror groups according to the learning context: 17 children from the Montessori pedagogy and 17 from the traditional pedagogy. The children were given a previously established neuropsychological assessment protocol, which included Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices, the NEPSY-II Theory of Mind subtest and three tasks from the Early Years Toolbox (namely Mr. Ant, Go/No-Go and Card Sorting) to assess executive functioning. The groups were paired based on the participants' sociodemographic, behavioral and cognitive variables. Results: Significant differences were found in inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility (two out of three EF components) and emotional recognition (one of the three scores of ToM), with children enrolled in Montessori pedagogy presenting superior results than children enrolled in traditional pedagogy. No significant differences were found in working memory and in the global and verbal scores of the theory of mind. Conclusion: The results are not linear in terms of a difference between learning contexts based on the performance of all measures of executive functioning and theory of mind applied, however, they contribute with indicators that demonstrate that Montessori pedagogy favors the sociocognitive development of preschool children in terms of response control and emotion recognition. The findings highlight the need to expand scientific knowledge about Montessori pedagogy in the Portuguese territory.

Date of Award	16 Dec 2024
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Joana Rodrigues Rato (Supervisor)