Dimensionality and the Development of Cognitive Assessments for Children in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Over the past decade, researchers have shown increased interest in examining the cognitive development of children in non-Western countries, often in connection with evaluations of health and educational interventions. However, many studies have used Western-developed measures without proper consideration of contextual validity. Across domains—from language to cognition to non-cognitive skills—this results in varying degrees of bias that call into question the findings of these studies. In this article, we focus in particular on the problem of differences in dimensionality perception between children in sub-Saharan Africa and those in Western countries. Although most Western children are exposed to extensive two-dimensional materials during early childhood, such as picture books and photographs, most rural African children are not. We therefore argue that assessments using two-dimensional stimuli, such as line drawings or patterns, may be inappropriate for capturing cognitive development in settings where such formats are unfamiliar to young children. We also discuss a modified assessment of non-verbal reasoning designed to be contextually appropriate for children in rural Africa—the Object-based Pattern Reasoning Assessment (OPRA). Created during a national study of pre-school child development in Zambia, this new assessment uses local materials such as beans and stones, requires little training to administer, and avoids potential instrument bias related to two-dimensionality among young children living in developing countries.

Can Touch Screen Tablets be Used to Assess Cognitive and Motor Skills in Early Years Primary School Children? A Cross-Cultural Study

“…Yet assessment of core cognitive and motor skills in the early years is important for evaluating health and educational interventions, which can help guide policy and best practice to optimize development in early childhood (Sabanathan et al, 2015; Zuilkowski et al, 2016), and enhance the economic potential for disadvantaged children around the world (Heckman, 2006). Here, we consider if touch screen tablet technology can provide an innovative solution to assessing core cognitive and motor skills in the early years that can be used in both low- and high-income countries to identify children at risk of underachievement.…”

“…Most standardized assessments of cognitive, motor, and language skills require strict administration procedures, which necessitates highly trained assessors (Sabanathan et al, 2015), and in some cases controlled laboratory settings (Zuilkowski et al, 2016), which are frequently unavailable in developing countries (Scherzer et al, 2012). Moreover, these assessments are costly and timely to administer.…”

“…This, in turn, may also impact on item bias, which refers to differences in observed performance despite equal abilities on a particular skill based on participants' cultural or linguistic background. Cross-cultural studies have shown biases in task performance based on different language structures (Jukes and Grigorenko, 2010), and different levels of stimulus familiarity (Callaghan et al, 2012; Zuilkowski et al, 2016). For example, in an attempt to address item bias when adapting a neuropsychological test used in Western cultures to be accessible for the Indonesian population, Prado et al (2010) changed a picture stimulus of a “bunny” to a “chicken.” However, despite these modifications, young children were still unable to complete the assessment successfully (Abubakar et al, 2008).…”

Contextual Responsiveness: An Enduring Challenge for Educational Assessment in Africa

“…An informative example of the challenges faced by such adaptations is presented by Zuilkowski et al [3]. One of the sub-tests of the ZAMCAT is a Pattern Reasoning task that has been widely used in Western tests of cognitive ability (e.g., [30]).…”

“…We describe some challenges of eco-culturally responsive assessment in each of those phases, and discuss how recent or ongoing research has addressed those challenges. Our analysis draws on three bodies of recent research in Zambia: on design and validation of new instruments for assessment of early childhood development [2,3]; on assessment of literacy skills in the early grades of public primary schools [4,5]; and on conceptualization of intelligence among the Lozi people of Western Province and its implications for measures of intelligence in the national secondary school selection examination [6]. In each of these fields, we pay special attention to the interface between conceptual issues and empirical research strategies.…”