Cognitive Development in Inclusive Education Setting

A pilot study is presented that aims to cognitive development in children and students with SEN, chronic illness, at-risk, gifted and typically developing children and students in mainstream setting. The study included 141 children and students aged 4 to 10 years. The Binet-Turman test and Piaget experiments were administered for cognitive development. The aim was to monitor the level of coping with the tasks as well as the relationship between the two instruments with regard to their applicability by general education teachers. The results revealed that, in general, all categories of children and students performed well with the set tasks. This confirms the expectation that regardless of which category children and students belong to, general education teachers can use standard tools in their approach to screening and working with all students in inclusive setting. There is a significant relationship between the two methods of determining the level of cognitive development with a moderate effect size. Correct responses in terms of cognitive development were highest for typically developing, followed by gifted, chronically ill, children and students at risk, and finally those with SEN. There was no relationship between the categories of children and students – SEN, chronically ill, at risk, gifted and typically developing and the number of wrong answers and refusals on the Binet-Turman test and the Piaget experiments. This indicates that cognitive development is individually determined, and wrong answers and refusals may also be given depending on other factors.