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Original Articles • Dement. neuropsychol. 2 (1) • Jan-Mar 2008 • https://doi.org/10.1590/S1980-57642009DN20100006   copy

Planning abilities of children aged 4 years and 9 months to 8 1/2 years: Effects of age, fluid intelligence and school type on performance in the Tower of London test

Habilidades de planejamento em crianças com idade entre 4 anos e nove meses e 8 anos e meio: efeitos da idade, inteligência fluida, tipo de escola na performance do teste da Torre de Londres.

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Abstract

The present study investigated the relationship between age and one type of environmental factor, namely, type of school (i.e., private vs. public), and the development of mental planning ability, as measured by the Tower of London (TOL) test. Methods: Participants comprised 197 public and 174 private school students, ranging in age from 4 years and 9 months to 8 years and 6 months. Besides the TOL test, students were administered Raven's Colored Matrices. Results: Results confirmed the findings of previous studies that both age and school type are important predictors of mental planning. Furthermore, results also suggest that the relationship between type of school and mental planning ability cannot be accounted for by differences in students' fluid intelligence. Conclusion: In the present study, the TOL test continued to differentiate public from private school students, even after we controlled for the effect of differences on the Raven test.

Key words:
planning; cognition; neuropsychology; private vs. public school; socioeconomic status; child development

Resumo

O presente estudo investigou a relação entre idade, e um tipo de fator ambiental, o tipo de ambiente escolar (público x privado) e o desenvolvimento das habilidades mentais de planejamento medidas pelo teste da Torre de Londres (TOL). Métodos: Os participantes foram 197 estudantes de escolas públicas e 174 de escolas privadas com idade variando de 4 anos e 9 meses a 8 anos e 6 meses. Além do TOL, foi administrado o teste das Matrizes Coloridas de Raven. Resultados: Os resultados confirmam os achados de estudos prévios de que tanto a idade e o tipo de escola são importantes preditores das habilidades de planejamento. Além disso, eles também sugerem que a relação entre o tipo de escola e as habilidades de planejamento não podem ser explicadas por diferenças na inteligência fluída dos estudantes. Conclusão: No presente estudo, o teste da torre de Londres diferenciou crianças de escolas públicas e privadas mesmo após ter sido controlado o efeito das diferenças medidas pelo teste das Matrizes Coloridas de Raven.

Palavras-chave:
planejamento; cognição; neuropsicologia; escola particular vs. escola pública; fatores socioeconômicos; desenvolvimento infantil

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  • Erratum

    https://doi.org/10.1590/S1980-57642009DN20100006erratum
    In the manuscript “Planning abilities of children aged 4 years and 9 months to 8 1/2 years: Effects of age, fluid intelligence and school type on performance in the Tower of London test”, DOI: 10.1590/S1980-57642009DN20100006, published in the Dement Neuropsychol. 2008;2(1):26-30, on page 28.
    Where it reads:
    Thumbnail
    Table 2.
    Mean scores on the TOL and Raven tests as functions of age, gender, and type of school.
    It should read:
    Thumbnail
    Table 2.
    Mean scores on the TOL and Raven tests as functions of age, gender, and type of school.

Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    Jan-Mar 2008

History

  • Received
    15 Jan 2008
  • Reviewed
    16 Feb 2008
  • Accepted
    23 Feb 2008
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