Elian Jamil Hernández Cueva, María Angélica Idrobo Gutiérrez, María Gabriela Gutiérrez Sánchez, Consuelo Marisol Gualán Rueda, Palmira de Jesús Gualán Rueda, Cristina Del Toro Pérez, Diego Andrés Pardo Merino
The central purpose of this research was to evaluate the impact of a neuroeducational intervention program on cognitive aptitudes and academic performance of tenth-grade students in the Loja canton, Ecuador. An experimental design with pretest-posttest measurement and control group was implemented, involving 136 students distributed across three religiously affiliated educational units: Calasanz (experimental group 1, n = 44), La Dolorosa (experimental group 2, n = 48), and Daniel Álvarez Burneo (control group, n = 44). The intervention consisted of the systematic application of 20 sessions grounded in educational neuroscience principles—spaced retrieval practice, dual coding, elaborative interrogation, metacognitive regulation, and attentional training—during the 2025 academic period. The Factorial Assessment of Intellectual Aptitudes (EFAI-3) was used as a measurement instrument, administered before and after the intervention, supplemented by consolidated academic averages for 2024 and 2025. One-way ANOVA results revealed statistically significant differences between experimental groups and the control group in the posttest (p < .001) across all six cognitive dimensions. Paired-samples t-tests confirmed substantial increases in experimental groups (Calasanz: dz = 1.74 in verbal aptitude; La Dolorosa: dz = 1.89), while the control group showed no relevant variation. These findings corroborate that incorporating evidence-based neuroeducational strategies constitutes a verifiable catalyst for cognitive development and school performance in adolescents.