M.A. / Traditional measures often used in the assessment of cognitive functions of individuals, are regarded as unsuitable for two reasons. Firstly, since a particular language is utilized in the test items and instructions of most cognitive tests, the overall lower verbal test scores of culturally diverse individuals often is an indicator of poor verbal knowledge and language proficiency that in effect has a bearing on an invalid lower Full Scale IQ score. The verbal item content fail to provide important information regarding the potential learning and reasoning abilities of a person from a different culture. Secondly, due to past standardization practices in the construction of measuring instruments, important elements regarding the cultural relevance of the content of the measures, have often failed to be included. In order to address such problems, this research examined the suitability of the S.O.N.-R 5 % - 17 according to three objectives: (a) to cognitively assess the non-verbal intelligence of 400 secondary school children from four culturally diverse groups in the Johannesburg metropolitan area, viz. Afrikaans-, English-, Sotho- and Zulu-speaking learners who are in grades 8-10; (b) to determine whether home language, grade level, socio-economic status (SES), gender, handedness and the use of visual aids (spectacles/contact lenses) were important variables in determining subtest total scores; and (c) to determine the appropriateness of the S.O.N.-R 5%- 17 for local use in terms of its psychometric properties, viz. reliability (internal consistency) as well as its construct and predictive validity. Apart from providing the developmental aspects pertaining to the cognitive development of adolescents, other important theoretical aspects of intelligence were discussed from a cross-cultural perspective in reference to various conceptual frameworks from which intelligence was viewed as a function of the internal (innate) psychological processes of the individual and the external (socio-cultural) psychological processes of the individual. An outline based on the psychometric and cultural implications for such theories of intelligence was also delineated in an effort to define the concept of intelligence as related to culture-fair testing.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:2059 |
| Date | 27 February 2012 |
| Creators | Grey, Simone Sylvia |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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