COGNITIVE ASSESSMENT AND HEALTH-EDUCATION IN CHILDREN FROM 2 DIFFERENT CULTURES

This paper presents research aimed at investigating high level compreh ension and problem solving processes in children in two different coun tries, India and Colombia. To this end, we use a series of health-rela ted cognitive tasks as assessment tools. In one study, we also examine children's performance on these cognitive tasks, in relation to their nutritional status and parasitic load. The ages of the children teste d ranged from 2 through 14 years. The tasks were designed to assess co mprehension of sequences, organization of concepts, understanding of h ealth routines (hygiene practices) and evaluation of hypothesis and ev idence. The results show that children approach the different tasks wi th a baggage of beliefs and local knowledge of the world which determi nes their reasoning process, their comprehension and their problems so lving. The results are discussed in terms of cognitive assessment appr oaches, as applied to classroom instruction. Given that children const ruct their understanding of reality based on what they already know an d that education does not take this into account, we recommend that as sessment tools should be devised that can tap prior knowledge and unde rstanding, such that this can be analyzed and understood in relation t o knowledge taught in the classroom. Current educational assessment fa ils in such an endeavor. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights res erved.