Abstract:

The evaluation of cognitive abilities in children in the context of school is widely practiced for placement reasons in many countries across the world. However, cognitive evaluation in Thai schools is limited because of the inadequacy of instruments and qualified teachers needed to conduct cognitive tests. Moreover, cognitive tests are expensive and mainly administered in hospitals.

Most of these tests were developed in the context of Western culture, and are therefore often considered unsuitable for Thai children. Cognitive learning theories (for example Piaget’s Developmental Theory, Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory, and Vygotsky’s Cognitive Development Theory) suggest that the environment and individual experiences play a crucial role in children’s cognitive development. It follows that cognitive tests influenced by one particular set of cultural norms would have limited application in ascertaining the cognitive abilities of children raised in a different cultural context.

This paper uses a conceptual framework which takes into account the cultural context in which Thai children are raised. It presents the results of a qualitative survey in which data were collected from 27 participants actively engaged in child cognitive development. Clinical psychologists, university scholars, school executives and schoolteachers were interviewed, and an in-depth thematic analysis was applied to the data collected from the interviews. The results demonstrated several things.

Firstly, there is an information processing component to cognitive development comprising:
(i) perception,
(ii) learning new things and
(iii) applying knowledge.

Secondly, there is a thought processing component comprising:
(i) reasoning,
(ii) analysing,
(iii) calculating,
(iv) planning and
(v) creating.

Thirdly, there is a language component comprising encoding and recoding verbal communication. And fourthly, there is a task accomplishment component comprising:
(i) integrating task capability,
(ii) task completion, and
(iii) adaptability.

Keywords:

Cognitive Ability, Cognitive Evaluation, Primary students, Thai Children, Placement Service.