Exposure of academic training to the itinerant group children and their intelligence level and intellectual functioning- some preliminary findings

Children from the itinerant group either do not go to school or attend government-run primary schools, with frequent irregularity. However, these children still look very independent in their essential household care and duties. Since they face challenges at a very early age, survival in difficult situations become day-to-day practice for such children. To find out the gap between intelligence level and intellectual functioning in India’s itinerant children, the researcher used an Indian standardized intelligence test named Binet-Kamat Test of Intelligence (Indian adaptation of Stanford-Binet Test of Intelligence). For this study, a group of itinerant children were selected. Following the sampling criteria, 24 male and female children attending school and between the ages of 10 years to 14 years contributed to the study sample. Overall, 22 test items related to academic skill and/or practical/ functional skills, were selected from all the test items and the percentage of correct responses given by the children were compared on each selected item. This study shows that children may develop flawed reasoning and lack logical thinking abilities compared to the usual children due to less exposure and interest in academics and insufficient guidance. The scoring percentage showed that children from the itinerant group learn most of the things through imitation. The development of abstract ideas in these children usually develops in local conditions due to their fixed routines for survival.