Comprehension of basic relational concepts in Hong Kong preschool children

Abstract

This study investigated the acquisition of relational concepts in Hong Kong preschool children and the relationship between comprehension of relational and general concepts. Eighty-seven preschool children aged 30 to 53 months were recruited from local kindergartens and nurseries. The Hong Kong Cantonese Receptive Vocabulary Test and a translated version of the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts (Third Edition) were administered to all participants. Participants were required to point to pictures corresponding to verbal instructions embedded with general or relational concepts. The results revealed a strong partial correlation between the comprehension of relational and general concepts. Older children comprehended significantly more relational concepts than younger children in consecutive age groups. Also, older children comprehended significantly more general concepts than younger children in non-consecutive age groups. Using an 80% criterion, 24 out of the 50 relational concepts were acquired by children in the study. Item analyses revealed that most items in the Cantonese Boehm-3 test had satisfactory difficulty level and discriminating power. The comprehension of relational concepts in older children should be further investigated. The relationship between cognitive abilities, relational concepts and general concepts should also be explored. The acquisition of other relational concepts, such as, colors and sizes, also requires further investigation.