Greek teachers' knowledge about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Area of Science:

• Neurobiology
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurobiological disorder affecting 5.2% of school-aged children globally.
• Teachers face challenges managing students with ADHD, necessitating accurate information and training.
• Previous studies indicate a need for enhanced ADHD knowledge among Greek teachers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a brief training seminar for teachers on ADHD.
• To compare the effectiveness of half-day versus two-day training formats on teachers' ADHD knowledge.

Main Methods:

• A total of 143 teachers participated in either a 5-hour half-day or an 18-hour two-day seminar.
• Seminar content covered ADHD symptoms, causes, cognitive deficits, interventions, and assessment referrals.
• The ADHD Knowledge Questionnaire (ADHD-KQ) was administered pre- and post-seminar to assess knowledge.

Main Results:

• Both training formats significantly increased teachers' overall ADHD knowledge (p<0.001).
• Teachers demonstrated good initial knowledge of ADHD clinical presentation but gaps in causes and interventions.
• The two-day seminar resulted in significantly greater improvements in understanding ADHD symptoms compared to the half-day format (p<0.01).

Conclusions:

• Brief ADHD training seminars effectively enhance teachers' knowledge.
• A longer training duration (two-day) may be more beneficial for improving specific aspects of ADHD knowledge, particularly symptom understanding.
• Findings suggest implications for curriculum development and in-service teacher training to address ADHD knowledge gaps.