ERIC Number: EJ898624
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Oct
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0300-4430
EISSN: N/A
Re-Examining the Associations between Family Backgrounds and Children's Cognitive Developments in Early Ages
Tu, Yu-Kang; Law, Graham R.
Early Child Development and Care, v180 n9 p1243-1252 Oct 2010
A recent English study found that children from poor families who did well in cognitive tests at age three are expected to be overtaken in the cognitive test by the age of seven by children from rich families who did poorly in cognitive tests at age three. The conclusion was that family background seems to have a dominant influence on a child's cognitive development at an early stage. The aim of this article is to show that this conclusion is not supported by the data: the way in which the data are presented suffers a statistical phenomenon, known as regression to the mean, discovered by Francis Galton a century ago. In this article, we also discuss why this phenomenon occurs and how it may be resolved. (Contains 3 figures.)
Descriptors: Family Characteristics, Cognitive Tests, Cognitive Development, Correlation, Socioeconomic Background, Regression (Statistics), Poverty, Advantaged, Foreign Countries
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Early Childhood Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom (England)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A