ABSTRACT
Maturation, becoming increasingly more mature, is the term used to describe the growth of the child which takes place largely under the influence of internal factors. The importance of maturation in education lies in the claim that certain levels of maturity are necessary for the attainment of certain skills. These two ideas, of maturation and previous experience, together form the concept of 'learning readiness'. The chapter discusses three facets of 'equipment': perceptual strengths, imagery, and intelligence. Imagery is closely related to perception. Whereas perception requires the object being perceived to be actually present and stimulating the sense organs, imagery does not require the actual object; it is a mental picture or mental sound. As intelligence is the result of both inheritance and upbringing, so probably these special abilities arise from inborn potential, and are encouraged and developed by opportunity and experience.
