Mental Abilities of Rural children: An Experimental Study
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Date
2019
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Publisher
CCSHAU,HiSAR
Abstract
Mental abilities can be defined as integrated set of abilities covering the verbal, perceptual,
quantitative, memory as well as motor aspect (which also covers the domains like dexterity,
handedness) (McCarthy, 1972). . Reading and writing abilities are the functional pre-requisites for a
child to learn about his environment. Both these skills constitute the basis for learning, and their
successful acquisition comprises one of the central keys to scholastic achievement. (Cunningham and
Stanovich, 1997). Researchers like Nunes (1999) and Pretorious (2002) have highlighted the strong
correlation between reading and academic success. Two environments home and school share an
influential space in individual's life and there exists a unique combination between the two. This paper
investigates the mental abilities and reading-writing skills of children. The effects of school and home
environment were explored. An intervention programme to improve the mental abilities and readingwriting
skills of low performing children was imparted. The study was conducted in rural government
schools of Hisar and Fatehabad of Haryana state. The results revealed that age, father’s education and
occupation, caste category significantly influences the children’s performance. The school
environment, socio-personal variables are the strong predictors which influence the reading-writing
skills of children. The home environment was found to be significantly correlated with both mental
abilities and reading-writing skills of children. The findings suggest that the imparting the intervention
programme may enhance the mental abilities and reading writing skills of children.