Title: Measuring inductive reasoning in school contexts: a review of instruments and predictors

Authors: De Van Vo; Benő Csapó

Addresses: Doctoral School of Education Science, University of Szeged, 30-34 Petőfi S. sgt., Szeged H-6722, Hungary; An Giang University, VNU-HCM, 18 Ung Van Khiem St., Dong Xuyen Ward, Long Xuyen City, An Giang, Vietnam ' Institute of Education, University of Szeged, Hungary; MTA-SZTE Research Group on the Development of Competencies, 30-34 Petőfi S. sgt., Szeged H-6722, Hungary

Abstract: Inductive reasoning is a cognitive process of drawing general conclusions from individual facts; it is one of the core components of fluid intelligence. This paper aims to explore characteristics of assessment instruments and trends in measuring inductive reasoning through a systematic review based on the PRISMA guidelines. The article reviews 38 empirical studies in educational contexts from 1997 to 2020. We found that the types of inductive reasoning tasks appeared unchanged over 23 years, but they grew more diverse and gradually evolved from paper-based to technology-based administration, in which non-verbal analogy problems have formed the most common subtest in evaluating inductive reasoning. The review findings also showed that inductive reasoning is closely related to numerous variables, such as age, discipline performance, scientific reasoning and problem-solving skills, while gender differences may depend on particular cultures. Correspondingly, the proposed focus was discussed to further assess this ability.

Keywords: inductive reasoning; non-verbal analogies; assessment of inductive reasoning; PRISMA; intelligence; assessment for learning; technology-based assessment.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIL.2022.123179

International Journal of Innovation and Learning, 2022 Vol.31 No.4, pp.506 - 525

Received: 28 Jan 2021
Accepted: 15 Apr 2021

Published online: 01 Jun 2022 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article