Analysis of child development in school children aged 5 to 6 in rural and urban areas of the Bíobío Region, Chile

Abstract

The objective of the study was to analyze the differences in child development in the dimensions of motor skills, language, cognition, and socio-emotional state in five- and six-year-old school children belonging to a rural and an urban school in the Biobío region of Chile.The study was cross-sectional observational, with descriptive and analytical characteristics. The sample consisted of 28 school children of both sexes, seven girls and seven boys from rural areas (5.7 ± 0.5 years) and seven girls and seven boys from urban areas (5.6 ± 0.6 years) selected in a non-probabilistic way for convenience. Child development was assessed through the Child Development Learning Test (TADI).The results show that there are significant differences in the average scores of the motor and cognitive dimensions (p<0.05), with better results in school children in rural areas.There were no significant differences in the dimensions of language and socio-emotional state (p>0.05), in addition there was a direct positive relationship between the motor and socioemotional dimensions for the urban area (p<0.05). Therefore, it is concluded that there are significant differences in child development between school children belonging to rural and urban areas, specifically in the motor and cognitive dimensions, with better results for school children in rural areas.