Abstract
The purpose of this study is to analyse the intelligence test results of Okinawa and Kansai pupils in order to contribute to the improvement of educational achievement in Okinawa, and also to acquire a better understanding of the intellectual activities in the remote rural districts in Japan.
Four typical areas, i. e. highest-class residential section, down town, of a big city, suburban mddle-class town, and purely agricultural community, were chosen for this purpose both in Okinawa and in Kansai, and about 340 fifth-grade pupils were used as the subjects. Four group-intelligence tests, two of which belong to A-type while the others to B, were administered to the subjects over a period of three months with an inter-test interval of one month. Analysis and comparisons of the test scores led to the following conclusions:
1. Generally speaking, the intelligence scores of the pupils in Okinawa are lower than those of Kansai pupils; the difference amounts to about 10 on the average in terms of T-score. This disparity is chiefly caused by the fact that Okinawa pupils are at a great disadvantage in those sub-tests which require abilities of verbal expresion and comprehension.
2. The analysis of variance by means of “A minus B differences” tells that B-type tests are more advantageous to Okinawa pupils than A-type tests, while the latter are of much more advantage to Kansai pupils than the former. This pattern of interaction between Okinawa and Kansai is very similar to that between the rural community and urban section, and also to the relation between boys and girls. Accordingly, we can give the type of “rural-musculine” to the structure of intelligence scores of Okinawa pupils, while the “urban-feminine” type can be given to the Kansai pupils.
3. In Okinawa, sex-differences are very significant, while the urban-rural differences are very small and are less than in Kansai. On the other band, in Kansai the urban-rural differences are remarkable, but the sex-differences are insignificant.
4. The factor analysis shows that there is no structural difference between the two regions as far as the so-called G, V, and P factors are concered. Each matrix, however, suggests several unique characteristics of its own as regards to the pattern of loading of the variables used.
5. Generally speaking, verbal variables in Okinawa load on G and V factors higher and wider than in Kansai. This indicates that the abilities of verbal comprehension and expression play more important roles in various intellectual activities of Okinawa pupils, while non-verbal ones play less significant role.
6. Other subdivided group factors which were analysed from the two main group factors can not be clearly interpreted, but there is found a tendency that the two regions, Okinawa and Kansai, show just inversed configurations with respect to the pattern of loadings of verbal and non-verbal variables on those subdivided lower factors.
