The effectiveness of a learning disabilities inservice program

Forty-three regular classroom teachers were provided with four one-hour inservice sessions related to the field of learning disabilities. Pre- and posttest administrations of the Learning Disabilities Information Inventory were utilized to measure change resulting from these sessions. Twenty-four control subjects did not participate in these sessions but did complete the dependent measure. An analysis of covariance with pretest scores serving as the covariate indicated that the inservice treatment did result in improved performance on the dependent measure. Approximately 50% of the experimental subjects completed a follow-up questionnaire and most indicated that the sessions increased their knowledge of learning disabilities and provided them with techniques and materials useful in their classroom settings. It is concluded that such inservice sessions are a viable means of increasing classroom teachers' information concerning learning disabilities and the Learning Disabilities Information Inventory is sensitive to the effects of such inservice.     

Does living with a female head-of-household affect the arithmetic achievement of black fourth-grade pupils?

It was the purpose of this investigation to examine the effects of living with a male or female head-of-household upon the arithmetic performance of fourth graders. No significant differences were found in mean scores between male and female pupils. Significant differences were found favoring those pupils living with male heads-of-households, particularly for female pupils and for pupils with IQ scores greater than 100. These findings should not be considered as simple cause and effect relationships, but rather as indicative of potential difficulty for some pupils.     

Recognition and reproduction of Bender-Gestalt figures: A developmental study of the lag between perception and performance

The performance of 132 pre- and primary school children on a Bender-Gestalt copying task was compared with that of a multiple choice version that was specially constructed by systematically varying four attributes of the stimulus figures. Significant correlation coefficients were obtained between the copying and recognition scores at all age levels except one. The multiple choice version was also as successful as the copying test in predicting reading achievement scores.     

How different are students of school psychology and clinical psychology?

Based on many years of training students in both school and clinical psychology, the authors have formulated some impressions of differences and similarities found in these trainees. While generalizations remain tentative and call for research, the students in each of these disciplines seem to present different patterns in cognitive styles, perceptions of clients, conceptions of professional role, and personality characteristics. In personality, the students in these fields often display differences in need for structure, need for external support, social maturity, and desire for autonomous professional functioning. Differences seem to be related to variations in previous work and educational experiences, and to differences in age, sex and marital status. Implications for quality of service offered and training needs are outlined.     

Conceptual impulsivity as a consideration in test interpretation

A discussion of the influences of impulsivity on test performance is presented, along with suggested procedures for ascertaining more accurately the cognitive abilities of impulsive children.     

The relative age effect on physical fitness in preschool children

ABSTRACT

The aim of the present study was to investigate the existence of a relative age effect (RAE) on physical fitness of preschoolers. Anthropometry and physical fitness were assessed in 3147 children (3–5 years old) using the PREFIT battery. Based on the birth year, participants were divided into 3year groups (3-, 4- and 5-years). Within each year group, 4quarter groups were created: quarter 1, preschoolers born from January to March; quarter 2, from April to June; quarter 3, from July to September; quarter 4, from October to December. The MANCOVA analysis revealed a main effect of year group (Wilks’ λ = 0.383; F_10,5996 = 369.64; p < 0.001, η_p ² = 0.381) and of quarter (Wilks’ λ = 0.874; F_15,8276.6 = 27.67; p < 0.001; η_p ² = 0.044) over the whole battery of tests. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to report the existence of RAE at the preschool stage. In general, performance improved as the relative age increased (i.e., those born in quarter 1 performed better than those in the other quarters). Individualization strategies should be addressed within the same academic year not only in elementary or secondary years but also in preschoolers.