Data gathered from three Papua New Guinea samples on a range of tasks derived from the theoretical positions of Piaget and Bruner were analysed at the level of individual language/culture groups. This analysis suggested that the differences within the groups of Papua New Guineans chosen were more significant than the differences between the Papua New Guinea agglomerate sample and samples of Western European children previously reported (Philp and Kelly, 1974). Indeed the important variable appears to be a language/culture one rather than one related to schooling. In other words, current school procedures in Papua New Guinea are probably having an effect on cognitive development only in the direction that existing cultural forces are already moving the child.
Gendered differences in crop diversity choices: A case study from Papua New Guinea