The Relationship of Prior Ability and Family Characteristics to School Attendance and School Achievement in Rural Guatemala

Abstract

Data from a longitudinal study in progress were used to investigate the relationships between intellectual ability prior to schooling opportunities and characteristics of family and home environment, and elementary school attendance and performance in 3 rural Guatemalan communities. Pre-school-ing mental test performances, family SES level, and indices of parental values concerning edu-cation were all associated with attending or not attending school. Length of school attendance was predicted by pre schooling mental test scores for girls and by family SES level and parental values for boys. Age at first enrollment was predicted by both pre-schooling mental test scores and family SES level for both sexes. School grades were predicted by pre-schooling mental test scores and intellectual stimulation provided in the home but not by family SES level. It is argued that schooled and nonschooled peers in most semiliterate communities are unlikely to be originally comparable, and that conclusions based on previous studies of the effects of formal schooling on intellectual development must be reconsidered.

Education and Cognitive Development: The Evidence from Experimental Research

“…However, we realize that, insofar as factors like mother's education or father's occupation are acting as surrogates for IQ, and insofar as our test of IQ is unreliable, the evidence is equivocal. In our opinion, the inferential dilemmas these uncertainties pose for us cannot be resolved until and unless extensive longitudinal studies such as those begun by Irwin, Engle, Klein, and Yarbrough (1978) have been completed.…”

“…Turning to the most closely related literature on education and cognitive development, we must consider the studies initiated by Kagan and his associates in neighboring Guatemala (Irwin et al 1978;Kagan & Klein 1973;Kagen, Klein, Finley, & Rogoff 1976). Although concerned with broader cultural comparisons, the Guatemalan studies (which include free recall and recognition memory among other tasks) have been interpreted as evidence that cultural differences in basic cognitive processes are minimal by the time children have reached puberty, although substantial differences may exist in infancy.…”

Infant and Preschool Psychological Development

“…Children's observed behaviours, such as carrying out complex sequences of commands (chores and errands), were also associated with test performance [35]. Finally, performance on the battery was correlated with the child's age at enrolment in school and school achievement [36].…”

Malnutrition and Infection in the Classroom: Summary and Conclusions

“…Note that time-on-task interacts reciprocally with aptitudes. On the one hand, brighter children enrol earlier and stay in school longer [43]; on the other, children who stay in school will perform better than children who drop out early.…”