Abstract
An important question in the study of literacy is the degree to which environmental conditions influence children's ability to learn to read. A comparison was made of the reading ability of schooled and nonschooled children in three locations in Peru: the city, the highlands, and the rain forest. Increased attendance resulted in improved reading ability, but the degree of improvement varied according to the environments in which the children resided. When the children were followed up nine years after the original testing, they showed continued improvement in reading ability, especially in the environment where economic conditions had improved. A comparison of the Peruvian children with children in three industrialized societies, Japan, Taiwan, and the United States, revealed little difference in the children's cognitive abilities but great differences in their reading ability. More stimulating environmental conditions and better schooling in the industrialized societies were presumably responsible for these differences.
Highlights
An important question in the study of literacy is the degree to which environmental conditions influence children’s ability to learn to read
RARELY are there occasions in industrialized societies when we can compare the reading achievement of children who do attend school and children who do not
We know that the operations of mathematics can be acquired without going to school,[1] but we have little information about the degree to which children can learn to read without formal academic instruction
Summary
We studied over a thousand children : 387 from Lima, 428 from Andahuaylas, and 336 from Lamas. Our procedure for locating children who did not attend school was to send a person to the neighborhoods or villages. This scout sought out families with a child of the proper age and attempted to arrange for the child’s participation in the study. No children refused to cooperate or wanted to leave once testing began They had never participated in an experience like the one we provided. They were fascinated by the bright and interesting materials that had been constructed for the study, and they enjoyed interacting with an attentive and responsive adult. Their interest was maintained by the trinkets and snacks given during the testing
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