Rythmicités de l’attention des enfants et synchronisation, perspective socioécologique

RésuméLe but de cette recherche était d’évaluer l’incidence des synchronisations issues des aménagements du temps scolaire et de la famille sur les niveaux et les variations de l’attention de l’enfant scolarisé. Deux études ont été réalisées auprès de 498 enfants âgés de 6 à 11 ans. Les résultats montrent que l’attention et ses variations sont sous l’incidence de ces deux synchroniseurs socio-écologiques dont le rôle d’entraînement ou d’altération serait modéré par l’âge de l’enfant. L’aménagement en quatre jours apparaît le plus défavorable pour les deux groupes d’âge. La désynchronisation d’un long week-end est plus marquée chez les enfants les plus âgés et le rôle d’entraînement du mercredi travaillé n’est observé que chez les plus jeunes. Le temps de présence parentale journalier n’affecte pas les performances attentionnelles des plus âgés quand il différencie le niveau et les variations des plus jeunes au détriment des enfants disposant de moins de temps parental.

This study investigates the impact of socioecological synchronization on the level and variations in children's attention at school. The aim was to re-examine previous results and broaden the chronopsychological scope of the research to include new synchronizers originating from proximal ecological niches. Two time-management factors were considered, the organization of the school timetable and the regular and predictable daily time with parents, influenced by work organization and compromises within the family. Two studies were conducted on a total of 498 children between six and 11 years of age. Results confirm a daily attention pattern. The level of performance and the daily pattern are affected by the two time-management factors whose beneficial or adverse influence depends on the child's age. Thus, while the weekly school timetable organized over four days has the strongest negative impact on attention performance for the two age groups, desynchronization due to a longer week-end is greater in the older children. The effects of the two possible four-and-a-half-day timetables also differ according to age. The benefits of working on Wednesdays for younger children appeared less beneficial for the older pupils. Regular and predictable daily time with parents does appear to play a role which also varies according to age, as it has an effect on younger children but has no impact on older children's attention or performance. This study confirms the synchronizing role of temporal messages from school and parental niches in the level and variations in children's attention at school, and is in line with the ecological point of view demonstrated by chronobiological studies. These findings support the importance of research that takes an overall approach to the child's environment. Further work should investigate the prioritization of social synchronizers according to their proximity to the child and how they interact.