Piagetian Conservation Tasks in Ghanaian Children: the Role of Geographical Location, Gender and Age Differences

The study investigated the influence of geographical location, gender and age on the
performance of Piagetian Conservation tasks. Four conservation tasks; conservation of liquid,
length, substance amount and number respectively were administered to children [4-6 years] from
rural and urban Ghana and their performance on each task were recorded. Results indicated that
there were no significant relationships among the performance of Piagetian conservation tasks and
geographical location. Similar trends were noted in the performance of gender and age differences
on Piagetian conservation tasks. Nonetheless, older children performed better on the conservation
of liquid in a glass than younger children. Based on the results, both quantities and perceptual
comparisons can be applied in future studies to examine some possible variations in children’s
cognitive development.