Children solve problems: impact of an intervention programme on the problem-solving abilities of socially deprived children

Abstract

A sample consisting of 60 subjects from socially deprived environment were matched for age, gender, problem-solving ability and prolonged social deprivation score. This sample was further divided into an Experimental and a Control group, each consist ing of 30 subjects. Pretesting of these subjects was done by administering three problem-solving tasks. A 16-week intervention programme was administered to the Experimental group to study its impact on the problem solving abilities of children whereas, the Control group was not exposed to any treatment. The techniques used were generation of alternatives; brainstorming and hypothetical problem-solving through creative expression. Post-test results on problem-solving tasks revealed sig nificant gains in the problem solving scores of the Experimental group as compared to the Control group, which were attributed to the techniques used to improve prob lem solving skills, efforts to reduce cognitive lag, improved cognitive styles and use of appropriate strategies thereby enhancing successful problem solving experiences and increasing the motivation to solve problems.

Keywords

problem solving social deprivation intervention programme creative thinking.

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