{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T01:17:47Z","timestamp":1760059067000,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,23]],"date-time":"2025-05-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1747958400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Fundo Mackenzie de Pesquisa e Inova\u00e7\u00e3o\u2014MackPesquisa, Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie","award":["12\/2021"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["12\/2021"]}]},{"name":"Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient\u00edfico e Tecnol\u00f3gico CNPq","award":["12\/2021"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["12\/2021"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Brain Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Educational neuroscience has made important contributions to show how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted schooling. In countries like Brazil, with significant educational inequality, the suspension of in-person classes worsened these disparities, as low-income families faced difficulties accessing remote learning. Methods: This study evaluated executive functions (EF) and academic skills in reading, writing, and maths for 178 public school students from the first to ninth grades in S\u00e3o Paulo, Brazil, comparing them with pre-pandemic norms to assess possible differences. EF were assessed using the Hayling Test, Digit Span Task, and Verbal Fluency, while academic skills were measured by the School Performance Test II. To analyse differences between the sample of this study and the pre-pandemic normative samples, one-sample t-tests were performed. Due to the small sample size, segmented by school grade and age, the bootstrapping resampling method was used, and the effect size was measured with Cohen\u2019s d. Results: A one-sample t-test showed significant differences between times, with lower post-pandemic performance in verbal fluency (9\u201314 years old), working memory (10\u201314 years old), and inhibitory control across all age groups. Writing skills were lower from the fifth to eighth grades and reading from the fourth to eight grades. Maths skills were lower in the fourth, eighth, and ninth grades. Better post-pandemic performance was seen in working memory (6 and 7 years old). Conclusions: Students in the upper grades of elementary school during the pandemic were most impacted by the suspension of in-person teaching, highlighting the importance of schooling and the need for recovery efforts at these levels.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/brainsci15060548","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,23]],"date-time":"2025-05-23T06:16:03Z","timestamp":1747980963000},"page":"548","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The Impact of COVID-19 in Brazil Through an Educational Neuroscience Lens: A Preliminary Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6536-4145","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Camila G.","family":"Fonseca","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Post-Graduation Program in Human Development Sciences, CCBS\u2014Mackenzie Presbyterian University, Rua da Consola\u00e7\u00e3o, n\u00ba 930, S\u00e3o Paulo 01302-907, SP, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Camila L. L.","family":"Dias","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Post-Graduation Program in Human Development Sciences, CCBS\u2014Mackenzie Presbyterian University, Rua da Consola\u00e7\u00e3o, n\u00ba 930, S\u00e3o Paulo 01302-907, SP, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5413-8695","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marcus L. L.","family":"Barbosa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Post-Graduation Program in Cultural Diversity and Social Inclusion, Feevale University, ERS-239, 2755, Novo Hamburgo 93525-075, RS, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6835-7864","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maria Julia","family":"Hermida","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto de Educaci\u00f3n, Universidad Nacional de Hurlingham, Vergara 2222, Villa Tesei B1688, Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8249-1832","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Luiz Renato R.","family":"Carreiro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Post-Graduation Program in Human Development Sciences, CCBS\u2014Mackenzie Presbyterian University, Rua da Consola\u00e7\u00e3o, n\u00ba 930, S\u00e3o Paulo 01302-907, SP, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8373-7897","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alessandra G.","family":"Seabra","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Post-Graduation Program in Human Development Sciences, CCBS\u2014Mackenzie Presbyterian University, Rua da Consola\u00e7\u00e3o, n\u00ba 930, S\u00e3o Paulo 01302-907, SP, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"United Nations Children\u2019s Fund\u2014UNICEF (2025, March 08). 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