Variables sociodemográficas según turno escolar, en un grupo de estudiantes de educación básica: un estudio comparativo.

This research is part of the Ecological Approach to Human Development (Bronfenbrenner, 1987) and it includes the school shift variable within its context. This is a comparative, descriptive, fieldresearch with a non-experimental cross-sectional design. The purpose was to contrast a set of sociodemographic variables (maternal education level, socioeconomic level and nutritional status) in 301 students of the first stage of Basic Education in a public school in the State of Miranda, Venezuela. For this purpose, a comparison between two groups from the same cohort (academic year 2005-2006) but from two different school shifts (morning and afternoon shift), was made. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).A comparative study between the groups was made (t-test for related samples and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test). The results analysis revealed statistically significant descriptive differences between the groups in relation to the anthropometric variables of weight and Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC), maternal schooling and socioeconomic status. To conclude, the contexts for psychological development in the morning and afternoon shifts are different. The school shift system must be considered a sociodemographic, exosystemicvariable for development and it is advisable to include it in educational research in the Venezuelan context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]