Premium
A developmental analysis of certain Piagetian concepts among some Nigerian children
Author(s) -
Ehindero O. J.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
journal of research in science teaching
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.067
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1098-2736
pISSN - 0022-4308
DOI - 10.1002/tea.3660190107
Subject(s) - relation (database) , psychology , piaget's theory of cognitive development , cognitive development , mathematics education , developmental psychology , task (project management) , cognition , computer science , management , database , neuroscience , economics
The concepts of distance, area, and the coordinate reference systems were investigated in relation to the displacement volume task among 300 randomly selected primary and high school children in Nigeria. Piaget and Inhelder (1971) theorized a developmental progression in the acquisition of these concepts among Genevan children, and a number of studies have confirmed pancultural stability in the acquisition of these concepts. Four tasks were used to investigate the acquistion of these concepts developmentally, and the data obtained were analyzed by the chi‐square, Pearson correlation coefficient and the 50% success criterion suggested by Laurendea and Pinard (1962, 1970). The data confirmed Piaget's theorizing but when compared with similar studies in Europe and America (Lovell (1971), Dasen (1972), & Karplus et al. (1977), a “developmental lag” of about two years was observed among the Nigerian Ss. The concept of horizontal decalages was discussed in relation to the data including some implications for science teaching particularly in developing countries.