I have studied the individual, social, and demographic factors influencing preschool children’s cognitive outcomes (e.g., executive functions, intelligence, speed processing) in rural and urban poverty contexts across varying levels of deprivation.
Additionally, I have designed and evaluated interdisciplinary educational interventions to mitigate the negative cognitive effects of poverty. These include neuroscience-based approaches like adaptive software for executive function training, coding programs, and methods such as “learning by teaching.” My research has shown the effectiveness of some interventions and how others vary depending on socioeconomic context (e.g., rural vs. urban).
I’ve also applied cognitive science to create cost-effective interventions for improving children’s health education, such as initiatives targeting dengue prevention and hand-washing habits.
Currently, I am investigating how economic unpredictability impacts children’s cognitive development. Using a strength-based approach, we aim to uncover hidden talents in children from deprived and unpredictable environments.
Principaux résultats
One of our key findings is that poverty is not a single, uniform concept but varies significantly in its risks depending on context. Traditionally, poverty has been treated as a single measure tied to socioeconomic status (SES) and its impact on cognitive development. However, our research shows that this approach oversimplifies the issue. For example, rural and urban poverty, even with similar SES risk levels, present very different challenges for learning and cognitive development. Rural poverty, in particular, poses greater obstacles, and interventions effective in urban settings often fail in rural contexts. This is crucial because while most studies focus on urban poverty, extreme poverty is far more common in rural areas.
Another important discovery comes from applying insights from cognitive neuroscience to improve health education. We used the concept that teaching others helps consolidate knowledge. By empowering children to teach their parents about dengue—a major “poverty disease”—we significantly increased awareness in both groups. Remarkably, this simple 10-minute intervention achieved the same results as traditional methods requiring two months of effort.
All my research is interdisciplinary and collaborative, involving educators, NGOs, and researchers from various fields. I conduct my work directly within deprived communities, using a situated approach to collect and interpret data together with local stakeholders. Since much of the science of learning (SoL) is based on Global North contexts, my work contributes valuable insights from the Global South, addressing realities often overlooked in mainstream research.
Liens utiles
- Maria Julia Hermida site web.
- Hermida, M. J., Shalom, D. E., Segretin, M. S., Goldin, A. P., Abril, M. C., Lipina, S. J., & Sigman, M. (2019). Risks for Child Cognitive Development in Rural Contexts. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 2735. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02735
- Hermida MJ, Perez Santangelo A, Calero CI, Goizueta C, Espinosa M, Sigman M. Learning-by-Teaching Approach Improves Dengue Knowledge in Children and Parents. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. 2021;105(6):1536-1543. doi:10.4269/ajtmh.21-0253
- Hermida, M. J., Segretin, M. S., Prats, L. M., Fracchia, C. S., Colombo, J. A., & Lipina, S. J. (2015). Cognitive neuroscience, developmental psychology, and education: Interdisciplinary development of an intervention for low socioeconomic status kindergarten children. Trends in Neuroscience and Education, 4(1–2), 15–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tine.2015.03.003
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