Umiejętność operowania wiedzą i wyższe funkcje poznawcze uczniów edukacji domowej

Abstract

The Ability to Operate Knowledge and Higher Cognitive Functions of Home Education Students The presented research examined the relationship between the use of knowledge, the development level of higher cognitive functions and the type of education. Research was conducted on two groups of third grade students: homeschoolers and public school students (28 children in each of the groups). Students were paired by sex and factors connected to the family environment. Ability to operate knowledge was tested by The original Reading Comprehension Test and the level of development of executive functions (inhibition, working memory, cognitive flexibility and planning) was measured by a set of tasks from Inquisit computer program. Results show that homeschoolers use and utilize their knowledge better than public school students. They comprehend meaning of words more efficiently, understand cause-effect relations better and use relations of superiority-inferiority more efficiently. However, the results connected with executive functions do not show any dominance of any of groups. Ability of inhibition and planning is similar for homeschoolers and public students. Public school students have higher level of memory development whereas homeschoolers dominate in the category of flexibility. The presented results are material for a discussion on the role of the educational system in the development of late childhood students. They can also be used to consider the assessment of the value of home education.