Greener Journal of Educational Research

Greener Journal of  Educational Research Vol. 3 (6), pp. 249-257, August 2013

 ISSN: 2276-7789 

Research Paper

Manuscript Number: 022613498

 

Exploring the Performance of Zimbabwean Children on Piagetian Formal Operations Tests

 

^*Ganga Emily, Chinyoka K., Hlupo T., Denhere C.

and Kufakunesu M.

 

Great Zimbabwe University, Faculty of Education, Department of Educational Foundations.

 

^*Corresponding Author’s Email: emilyganga @ gmail.com

Abstract:

The case study was designed to examine the performance of 110 form 3 and 4 pupils who participated in a modified Piagetian Formal Operations Test (PFOT). Modification of the PFOT was necessary for more object familiarity on the part of the Zimbabwean learner. The PFOT was designed to find out how local learners would fare on selected cognitive tasks meant to test formal operations thinking. The mean score in the PFOT results was calculated at x ̅ = 39% with a standard deviation of 12, 19. The study revealed that 40, (9%) of the participants obtained a score below the mean whilst 59, (1%) obtained a score above the mean. Test data collected reflected that 82% of local learners rarely reached formal operational criterion in cognitive performance. A number of respondents still operated within the concrete operations of the Piagetian developmental stages of cognition. A number of variables influencing cognition of learners were unveiled, for example, domestic violence, politics, cultural practices and noisy neighbourhoods. The study reminded parents that they are their children’s first and foremost teachers and they should work in collaboration with the schools in order to enhance performance on cognitive tasks among learners.
 
Keywords: cognitive performance, Piagetian, formal-operations, tests.

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