A cross-cultural analysis of tribal differences of American Indian children on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III (WISC-III)

This study was conducted to determine if significant differences exist on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children--Third Edition (WISC--III) scales and subtests of children from the Crow, Northern Cheyenne, and Assiniboine & Sioux tribes. Limited research of this nature has been conducted for the American Indian populations, which makes this study significant in that it may serve as a baseline for future investigations of children's intellectual abilities of the various American Indian tribes as well as providing data on the cognitive styles of the different tribes. The sample consisted of 735 participants from three different tribal groups. The sample included 506 boys and 229 girls with a mean age of 10.52 years and a mean educational level of 4.75. Of the sample, 28% were Crow, 40% were Northern Cheyenne, and 32% were Assiniboine & Sioux. All participants were administered 11 subtests of the WISC--III according to standardized administration procedures outlined in the administrative manual of the WISC--III. Limited research is available regarding cognitive differences among American Indian children utilizing the WISC--III. It was hypothesized that American Indian children of the three tribal groups would manifest WISC--III full scale IQ, performance scale IQ, and verbal scale IQ, Verbal Comprehension Index, Perceptual Organization Index, Freedom from Distractibility Index scores, and verbal and performance scale subtest scores comparable to each other. The one-way analysis of variance conducted on the three tribal groups' performances on the scale, subtests, and index mean scores did support the null hypothesis of no significant differences among the tribal groups. Hence, the findings conclusively demonstrated no significant differences among the three tribal scales, indexes, and verbal and performance subtest scores with the exception of the comprehension subtest. In addition, no specific differences in cognitive styles among the tribes were identified. American Indian children's greater proficiency on visual-perceptual tasks indicates that instructions should incorporate the use of concrete manipulatives, hands-on approach, and visual aids so as to enhance their learning, increase their acquisition of vocabulary, help remediate their language deficiencies, and promote greater language skills development.