Relationship between General Cognitive Abilities of Secondary School Students

Abstract

Sustainable Development Goal-4 (SDG4) emphasizes quality education by nurturing 21^st century skills like communication, collaboration, and information literacy, enhancing cognitive abilities of students. The main objectives of the study were to assess general cognitive abilities and to investigate the relationship among general cognitive abilities. The present study was quantitative in nature correlational research design. The study employed a two-stage sampling process to ensure a representative and diverse sample. In the first stage, simple random sampling was used to select three districts Lahore, Dera Ghazi Khan, and Kasur out of 36 districts, ensuring equal chances of selection. In the second stage, disproportionate stratified sampling refined the sample by selecting 20 schools from each district and randomly choosing 50 students aged 14–16 years from each school, ensuring balanced representation across gender and age groups. For general cognitive abilities researcher has designed an intelligence test specifically tailored for secondary-grade students aged between 14 to 16 years. The validity of the instrument was assured through expert reviews. To check the internal consistency of the instrument, pilot testing was done by collecting data from 60 students. The test standardization process was used to develop a semi-standardized test to measure the cognitive abilities of students. The researcher visited the selected districts physically for data collection. The collected data through test was analyzed by using item analysis. Data was also analyzed by using inferential statistics (Pearson Product Moment Correlation). Moderate correlations were observed between problem-solving and memory (r = 0.31), as well as between creativity and number facility (r = 0.22). Gender analysis indicated comparable levels of cognitive abilities among male and female students, while younger adolescents showed significant potential for growth. Based on these findings, the study recommends incorporating memory-enhancing activities and problem-solving exercises into the curriculum. Expanding future research to include longitudinal designs and diverse populations can further enhance understanding of these abilities and their implications for educational outcomes.