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PUBERTY, FAMILY SIZE AND THE EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS OF GIRLS
Author(s) -
POPPLETON PAMELA K.
Publication year - 1968
Publication title -
british journal of educational psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.557
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 2044-8279
pISSN - 0007-0998
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8279.1968.tb02021.x
Subject(s) - psychology , developmental psychology , educational attainment , demography , sociology , economics , economic growth
S ummary . The aim of this study was to examine the influence of two variables: rate of physical maturation and family size on the intelligence and attainments of girls between the ages of 11 1/2 and 15 1/2 attending schools in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Differences in performance on Test AH4 and attainment in English and Mathematics were shown to exist between groups classified according to age at puberty but most differences were not statistically significant and could be accounted for by the fact that early maturing girls came from smaller families than late maturing girls. Correlations were calculated between the educational measures and four social and developmental variables and the results submitted to factor analysis. Two factors were identified: a social‐educational factor and a developmental factor. Family size contributed to both factors but contributed more to the educational variance than did age at puberty. It is suggested that rate of physical maturation and family size are related and act jointly to produce the effects formerly attributed to age at puberty alone.