Santu Bera and Biswajit Manna
Shishuramdas College, Jadavpur University, Kolkatta
Pages:43-54
The recent research examined total, verbal, and non-verbal cognitive equivalence in
120 elementary school children in three developmental zones, which are the Zone of
Actual Development (ZAD), Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), and Zone of Beyond
Development (ZBD). The respondents were chosen as Grades II, IV, VI and Habited as
urban, rural through sampling of 6 to 13 years childrens in Paschim Medinipur and
Kolkata districts. Verbal Cognitive Equivalence Test (Bera and Mohakud) and Cognitive
Equivalence Measuring Pictorial Task were standardised instruments, which were
administered separately in a controlled environment. Zones differences were analysed
using the descriptive statistics and inferential statistics (t-test, one-way ANOVA with
LSD post-hoc comparisons). The results indicated that there was a high degree of
hierarchical pattern with ZAD children performing better compared to the ZPD and ZBD
in total, verbal and non-verbal measurements, which supported the theoretical forecasts
made by Vygotsky. Verbal functional abilities had the biggest differences, whereas
non-verbal perceptible skills had smaller differences that were not always significant.
The research highlights the necessity of zone-based, developmentally sensitive
instructional methods to improve cognitive equivalence, which can direct educators to
design interventions on the basis of the developmental preparedness of children