COGNITIVE CONSEQUENCES OF TRADITIONAL APPRENTICESHIP TRAINING IN WEST AFRICA

Abstract

By combining intensive ethnographic work with formal experiments, it is possible to demonstrate that a traditional form of education—apprenticeship training—does teach general problem‐solving skills. An arithmetic test, anchored with problems drawn directly from tribal tailors' apprenticeship training, was administered to a sample of Vai and Gola tailors in Liberia. The tailors differ on tailoring experience and formal schooling characteristics. Both tailoring experience and schooling contribute strongly to arithmetic problem‐solving success on unfamiliar problems.