Imposed-Etic and Emic Measures of Intelligence as Predictors of Early School Performance of Rural Philippine Children

Abstract

Emic and imposed-etic strategies were applied to the assessment of intelligence in rural Philippine children. Emic (culture-specific) measures assessed children's "intelligence" as conceptualized by rural adults. We concluded that Western-type (imposed-etic) tests measure a concept of intelligence that only partially overlaps emic conceptions. The imposed-etic measures were better than the emic measures as predictors of school performance, which could be viewed as an imposed-etic criterion. Most indigenous (emic) competencies showed no relationship to school performance. Thus what is "intelligent" in everyday barrio functioning ("everyday intelligence') is distinct from "academic intelligence."