Abstract :
The present research has been conducted with the objectives of comparing the cognitive development of ICDS and non-ICDS children (3-6 years) to find out the mean age at which the cognitive abilities viz. verbal, identification, recognition, comparison / discrimination, achievement/ performance, thinking, memory and perceptual abilities- auditory discriminations, olfactory discrimination and taste discrimination develop and also to study the role of non-formal pre-school education in the cognitive development of children. 60 ICDS children were selected from Nanded district, Marathwada region, Maharashtra State, using purposive sampling technique. For data collection Cognitive Development Scale was used. Results of the study revealed that cognitive abilities are increasing with an increase in the age of children and there is a significant difference in the ICDS and non-ICDS children. The overall cognitive ability of children from 3 to 6 years has increased with age and these abilities were already developed to some extent between 3-3 ½ years. Non-formal pre-school education component of ICDS has played a vital role in enhancing the cognitive abilities of children. As results are more inclined towards ICDS children.
Keyword :
Cognitive development, Cognitive abilities, ICDS