Jan 25, 2023, FE News: 39% parents don’t think their child can can focus for the duration of a lesson https://www.fenews.co.uk/education/39-parents-dont-think-their-child-can-can-focus-for-the-duration-of-a-lesson/
With the new school term well underway, new research released today shows widespread concern among parents around their children’s attention in school. The data, released by Nuance Hearing, a leader in audio technology, shares the concerns of parents about the concentration ability of school-aged children, while pointing to a wider problem around the role of background noise in busy classrooms.
Four in ten (41%) parents say they are concerned about their child’s focus in school while a similar percentage (38%) say their children get bored easily at school. Two-fifths (39%) of UK parents don’t think their children can focus for the duration of a full school lesson.
The research shows that parents believe that the struggle to focus may be affecting the child’s grades (48%). The parents of children who already struggle to focus at school also notice that this leads to higher anxiety levels for their offspring (51%).
The research also found two in five (43%) parents are concerned their child has additional needs, for example autism, ADHD or dyslexia. Conditions such as these can make it harder for children to focus in a classroom setting. …
The data released today is frustrating to see, but unfortunately not surprising. We know that across the globe, children have struggled with focus since returning to busier classroom environments after adjusting to the relative quiet of learning from home during the pandemic.
“It is my hope that the advance of technology can close ‘the learning gap’ and enable children to focus properly while alleviating parents’ concerns.”
According to the charity ADHD UK, ADHD is estimated to affect about 5% of children in the UK. ADHD students typically have a short attention span and so can find it hard to concentrate and learn, especially in group situations. This can impact their education leading to underachievement at school.
