Cognitive Functioning in Disadvantaged Children

Whilst the geneticist versus the environmentalist and nature versus nurture debates with respect to intelligence have been on for quite sometime now, several attempts have been made to study the influence of socio-economic status (SES) on intellectual development. In Singapore too, there has been a good deal of public interest in this subject. This article will consider some of the theoretical issues and empirical findings pertaining to cognitive functioning in disadvantaged children with particular reference to Piagetian stages of intellectual development.