A case study on the spatial conceptualization abilities for sixth grade elementary students from urban, suburban and remote schools

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to investigate and compare the spatial conceptualization performance for sixth grade elementary school students from urban, suburban and remote schools in Taiwan. This study involved 27, 25, and 26 sixth grade students from one remote indigenous school in eastern Taiwan, one suburban indigenous school in northern Taiwan, and one urban Han Chinese school in northern Taiwan, respectively. Spatial ability assessments were carried out on the students to explore the spatial conceptualization abilities and the possible relationship between school children's spatial abilities and urban-rural, ethnic, and cultural diversities. The research tool utilized in this study was a scenario-based spatial ability assessment test, which had been carefully reviewed and pre-tested by experts. Test results revealed that: (1) Sixth grade students from the suburban and remote indigenous school shared no significant difference in their spatial abilities; (2) Sixth grade students from the urban Han Chinese school exhibited significantly better spatial performance than those from the suburban and remote indigenous schools. The spatial conceptualization performance for sixth grade elementary school students from urban, suburban and remote schools in Taiwan is different.