A. STUDY OF THE EFFECTS or A KINDERGARTEN mcmum-Momn woman PROGRAM Thesis for the Degree of Ph. D. MICHIGAN SFATE EFNIVERSHY JOHN mnsmm KRAMDERMAN _ 1971 ,x.’ ----- ”1:1:pr thesis entitled A STUDY OF THE EFFst OF A KINDERGARTEN PmCEPTUAL-PDTOR DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM presented by John Winston Klanderman ._,v LIBRARY "" Michigan State University --rr'-” This is to certify that the has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for Doctor of PhilosophL—degree in We]. Psychology Major professor ABSTRACT A STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF A KINDERGARTEN PERCEPTUAL-MOTOR DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM. BY John Winston Klanderman The primary purpose of this study was to test the implication that perceptual-motor development training will increase school readiness at the kindergarten level. This study was concerned primarily with the implications of the perceptual-motor development theories of Kephart, Barsch and Cratty. Their theories encourage the use of structured perceptual-motor training programs for young children, on the general premise that improvement in motor abilities contributes directly to certain components of classroom learning. This investigation attempted to make a further contribution to the literature pertaining to perceptual-motor development training programs at the kindergarten level in relation to gains in academic achieve- ment. Several studies at the kindergarten level have demonstrated that children participating in a structured perceptual-motor development program have shown significant gains in reading readiness. However, these studies did not John Winston Klanderman control for the differential treatment given the children in the experimental group. Thus, this study was designed to control for differential treatment given the experimental group. To achieve this end, sixty children from the kindergarten class at Highland Elementary School, Skokie, Illinois, were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups in either the morning or afternoon sessions. Teacher variables were held constant and all experimental and control groups had the same pupil-teacher ratio during the treatment periods. The experimental groups were given a structured, sequential program of perceptual-motor develOpment skills. A physical education program based on low-organized activities and a kindergarten readiness program were given to the control groups. Each group had a total of two hours of differential treatment per week for twenty-four weeks. Both pre- and post-measures were administered to all the groups. The pre-test measures included the Stanford Early School Achievement Test, the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts, and the Motor Facilitation Skill Survey. Post- testing measures included these three tests and, in addition, the matching and COpying subtests of the Metropolitan Readiness Test. On each measure, the total raw score was used in analysis of the data. The hypotheses of the study stated that a structured, sequential, perceptual-motor development program would demonstrate significant gains for the experimental groups John Winston Klanderman in (1) academic achievement, (2) mastery of basic skills, (3) gross motor skills, and (4) fine motor skills. All four of the hypotheses were unsupported by the analysis of results. That is, the analysis failed to reject the null hypothesis for each one of the research hypotheses. A research question which applied to all four hypotheses was also asked regarding possible differences between the morning groups and the afternoon groups. Results of analysis indicated that the morning groups scored significantly higher than the afternoon groups in academic achievement and mastery of basic skills. However, in academic achievement the afternoon groups demonstrated a greater level of improvement than the morning groups when post-test scores were compared with pre-test scores. In summary, this research did not support the use of a structured, sequential, perceptual-motor develOpment program for the purpose of improving (1) academic achievement, (2) mastery of basic skills, (3) gross motor skills, and (4) fine motor skills, when all children in a kindergarten class were given differential treatment as well as an Opportunity to deve10p fine and gross motor skills. Implications for further research suggested by this study concern small pupil-teacher ratios and comparison of perceptual-motor development programs for economically advantaged versus economically disadvantaged children. A STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF A KINDERGARTEN PERCEPTUAL-MOTOR DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM BY John Winston Klanderman A THESIS S ubmitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Educational Psychology 1971 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Dr. Jean Le Pere, my major professor, has unstint- ingly given me encouragement, support and guidance throughout my doctoral program. I am extremely grateful to her for investment of time in the furtherance of my professional goals. Dr. John Hurley, Dr. Harvey Clarizio, and Dr. William Sweetland also have served ably and with interest on my doctoral committee. I appreciate the generous efforts they have extended. I also wish to acknowledge the support and involvement of the late Dr. Buford Stefflre who served for several years on my doctoral committee. At Highland Elementary Sdhool, Skokie, Illinois, I have been fortunate in the Opportunity to work with competent and dedicated personnel on the treatment aspect of my dissertation. Particularly, Mr. Jerry Gregory, principal, Mrs. Joan Boaz and Mrs. June Borenstein, kindergarten teachers, and Mr. Ralph Larson, physical education teacher, were instrumental in the realization of this dissertation. Also, I wish to thank Dr. Jerry Jenkins, research analyst for the Institute of Educational Research, Downers Grove, Illinois, for his help and guidance on the analysis of this study. Mrs. Pearl Slaton also deserves a word of ii appreciation for the intensity with which she edited this thesis, as does Mrs. Mildred Swenson for doing much of the typing. Finally, I wish to thank my wife, Natalie, for continued support and endurance of this dissertation. Kevin and Brian, who unwittingly had to share their daddy, also demand acknowledgement. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS O O O O O C O C O O 0 LIST OF LIST OF Chapter I. II. III. TABLES O O O O O O O O O O O O FIGURES O O O 0 O O O O O O 0 THE PROBLEM . . . . . . . . . . Purpose of the Study . . . . . . . Importance of the Study . . . . . . Theoretical Background for the Study. . Hypotheses of the Study . . . . . . Assumptions of the Study. . . . . . Limitations of the Study. . . . Definition of Terms Used in the Study . Organization of Remainder of the Study . REVIEW OF LITERATURE . . . . . . . Review of Perceptual-Motor Development Studies. . . . . . Review of Related Theories and Research. DESIGN OF THE STUDY . . . . . . . Sample Selection for the Study. . Method of Data Collection . . . Measures Used in the Study . . . Experimental Procedures . . . . Testable Hypotheses . . . . . Analysis Used for the Data . . . Summary . . . . . . . . . . . iv Page ii vi vii 27 39 56 56 58 59 66 72 74 76 Chapter IV. ANALYSIS OF RESULTS Validation Validation Validation Validation Reliability of Pre-Test Measures Discussion of the Results Summary . SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS Conclusions Implications for Future Research BIBLIOGRAPHY . . APPENDICES . . . A. The Stanford Early School Achievement Excerpts . The Boehm Test of Basic Concepts: of Hypothesis One of Hypothesis Two of Hypothesis Three. of Hypothesis Four . O Excerpts The Motor Facilitation Skill Survey. The Matching and Copying Subtests of the Metro- politan Readiness Test: Letter and Training Session Agendas for Work- shops Volunteers Sample Lesson Plans for the Experimental Groups. . Excerpts. Test: Sample Lesson Plans for the Control Groups Page 79 79 84 91 92 92 99 101 104 107 110 120 121 125 129 131 134 139 145 LIST OF TABLES Table Page 3.1 Characteristics of the Research Groups . . . 57 4.1 Analysis of Variance on Stanford Early School Achievement Test . . . . . . . 81 4.2 Simple Effects Analysis on Significant Interaction (Sessions by Observations) of the SESAT I O O O O O I O C O O O 82 4.3 Analysis of Variance on Boehm Test of Basic Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 4.4 Analysis of Variance on Motor Facilitation Skill survgy O O O O O O O O O O O 89 4.5 Analysis of Variance on Metropolitan Readiness Test (combined score of Matching and Copying 511131283128) 0 o o o o o I o o o o o 92 4.6 Reliability Coefficients for Pre-test Measures 0 O O O O O O O O O O O 93 4.7 Summary of Analysis of Variance of Treatment variable 0 O O I O O 0 O O O O O 93 4.8 Summary of Analysis of Variance of Sessions Variable . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 4.9 Summary of Analysis of Variance for the Sessions by Observations Interaction on the Stanford Earlyjschool Achievement Test . . 97 vi Figure 1.1 LIST OF FIGURES Theoretical Constructs of Kephart's Perceptual-Motor Theory . . . . . . . Cratty's Three-Level Theory of Perceptual- Motor Behavior . . . . . . . . . . Overview of Perceptual-Motor Development Theories . . . . . . . . . . . . Overview of Perceptual-Motor Development Program Studies . . . . . . . . . . Overview of Research Pertaining to Related Theories . . . . . . . . . . . . Overview of Treatment Procedures . . . . . Profile of Test Performance for Stanford Early School Achievement Test . . . . . Profile of Test Performance for Boehm Test of Basic Concepts . . . . . . . . . . Profile of Test Performance of Motor Facilita- tion Skill Survey_ . . . . . . . . . vii Page 13 16 40 54 78 83 87 90 CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM Since 1950, many educators, psychologists, and physical education instructors have concerned themselves with the relative merits of perceptual-motor development proqrams for young school-age children. Piaget, Kephart, Barsch, and Cratty, for example, have contributed to the per- ceptual-motor development theories. All of these persons have contributed to the theoretical literature concerning motor development or perceptual-motor development. Some implica- tions of these theories have already been challenged and tested. Further implications remain to be investigated. The theories of Kephart, Barsch, and Cratty, among others, imply that perceptual-motor development training will enhance and promote school readiness, especially in the young child. The implications of their theories of cognitive enhancement through perceptual-motor development training have been challenged at the kindergarten level in only a partial or limited manner. Purpose of the Study The primary purpose of this study was to test the implication that perceptual-motor development training 1 will increase school readiness at the kindergarten level. This study was concerned primarily with the perceptual-motor development theories of Kephart, Barscn, and Cratty. Their theories encourage the use of structured perceptual-motor training programs for young children, on the general premise that improvement in motor abilities contributes directly to certain components of classroom learning. This study tested these theories through a program designed to help each child in the experimental group develop perceptual-motor abilities. Importance of the Study An important function of this study was to add a further dimension to the ever-increasing body of research testing the validity of certain perceptual-motor develop— ment theories. These theories state that school readiness, as measured by academic achievement, can be increased through a structured, sequential perceptual-motor development training program. Specifically, this study has sought to contribute to the literature which tests these theories with children at the kindergatren level. Uniqueness was attempted in this research by providing at the kindergarten level an experimental design that controlled for differential treatment for the experimental group. This was accomplished by providing a control group that received attention equal to that given to the experimental group in terms of adult-pupil ratio. Previous studies, particularly at the kindergarten level, have failed to control for differential treatment given the experimental group. Further, this study was designed to contribute a measure of research for School District #68, Skokie, Illinois. Two curriculum approaches to school readiness were compared. One approach included a structured, sequential perceptual-motor development training program; the second approach offered a readiness program consisting of low organized gym activities and a classroom readiness workbook. Theoretical Background for the Study The rationale for physiological or motor training has its historical roots in the writings of John Locke. In describing his theories of sense empiricism, he challenged the then prevalent ideas of "inborn capacity" and "common human nature." In their place Locke developed his "tabula rasa" theory, which stated that the human mind is a blank tablet on which is written knowledge and understanding. According to this theory, knowledge and understanding result from individual experience, and the knowledge supplied to the individual is gained through his senses as he is in contact with his environment. Rousseau, enlarging upon Locke's idea, wrote: At the commencement of life, when memory and imagina- tion are yet inactive, the child limits his attention to what actually affects his senses. He wants to touch and handle everything. Do not check his rest- lessness. This is a necessary part of his training. He is looking, fingering and hearing and above all by comparing sight and touch he learns to feel the heat and cold, the hardness and softness, the heavi- ness and lightness of bodies and to judge of their size and form and all their physical properties. Rousseau stated, "It is only by movement that we learn there are things other than ourselves and only by our movement that we get the idea of space."2 He believed that if a child were left free to play, to interact with his environment and with his peers, his motor development would come naturally. But, Rousseau concluded, "the senses have to be deliberately trained, not only to be increas- ingly sensitive, but to discriminate between objects and thus be able to exert judgment."3 Both Locke and Rousseau, by focussing on sense experience of the individual as he comes in contact with the environment, provided an intellectual climate for which the perceptual-motor develOpment theories of later centuries could develop. They fostered the theory that training was required to maximize the potential of each specific ability. 1Miriam S. Magdol, "An Historical PerSpective to Physiological Education," Academic TheraEy Quarterly, III (Spring, 1968), p. 162. 2William Boyd, From Locke to Montessori (New York: Henry Hall, 1914), p. 52. From Boyd‘s translation of Emile. 3Magdol, op. cit., p. 163. The contributions of Jean Piaget are pertinent to the theory of enhancement of cognitive development through perceptual-motor training. Piaget believes that perception is developed in nature and that it changes significantly with age through the interaction of maturation and experience. According to his theory, sensory-motor experience is basic to later intellectual operations.4 Piaget calls the period between birth and two years a sensory-motor period of development. He identifies the period of ages two through four as one of "preconceptual thought" and the period of ages four to seven as that of "intuitive thought." Piaget believes that an organism develops because of con- stant exchange or contact with its environment. He takes the position that the organism acts on the environment, that there are slight changes every time the baby acts, and that consequently there are slight modifications of the action itself. The baby "assimilates" by "accommoda- tion," that is, by slightly modifying his acts to the conditions of the environment. There is something like a spiral of assimilation and accommodation with the organism . 5 over here and the env1ronment over there. 4David Elkind, "Piaget's Theory of Perceptual Development: Its Application to Reading and Special Education, The Journal of Special Education, I (Summer, 1967), p. 357. 5Clara Lee Edgar, "Perceptual Training as an Aid to Development of Reading Abilities," Claremont College Reading Conference Yearbook, XXVI (1967), pp. 220-221. Significant elements of Piaget's theory are: 1) interaction with the environment is important to a child's development, and 2) a sensory-motor period of development is a necessary stage for the development of later intellectual development. The most crucial period for sensory-motor activities in promoting perceptual development occurs during the child's experiences from preschool through first grade. Since 1960 three theorists have developed fairly elaborate perceptual-motor theories. These theories all imply that a perceptual-motor training program will contribute directly to certain components of classroom learning, such as acquisition of academic skills and a greater under- standing of specific concepts. In recent studies, Newell Kephart has emphasized the importance of perceptual-motor match. He believes that there is a significant interrelationship between motor activities which are initially only of a gross, exploratory nature in early childhood and perceptual skills of later development years. He takes the position that through this process of perceptual-motor matching, perceptual data come to supply the same consistent body of information that earlier motor data supply. Kephart states: By manipulation of things and of his own body in relationship to things, an individual perfects sensory motor process and learns to match sensory data to motor data. He builds up a plastic, adaptive perceptual- motor process which will allow him to fit his behavior into the varied demands of the situations in which he will later find himself.6 The essence of the perceptual motor theory is a sequence of learning stages through which the child progresses. Later, complex learnings are built upon initial learnings in a hierarchical fashion.7 The organization of this hierarchy is presented in Figure 1.1. According to Kephart, when the perceptual system has been integrated, the child is ready for the next stage of development, that of concept formation. The learning of concepts by children involves manipula- tion of relationships between percepts with the result- ing emergence of unique elements. Concepts and symbolic manipulations present a highly desirable ability, since they permit us to manipulate large areas of our environment freely and efficiently. The formation of adequate concepts can be considered the goal of the long process of sequential develop- ment. Since concept formation depends upon the manipulation of perceptual data, it follows that a breakdown in the process of perceptual organization can interfere with the more complex developments to follow.8 Thus, the motor activities of the child become important not only for their own sake but for the contribution they must make to the more complex activities which the child will be required to perform in later stages of his developments. 6Newell Kephart, The Slow Learner in the Classroom (Columbus, Ohio: C. E. Merrill Books, 1960), p. 13. 7Newell Kephart and Eugene G. Roach, The Purdue Perceptual-Motor Survey (Columbus, Ohio: C. E. Merrill BoSks, 1966), p. 3. 8 Generalized Movement F J Differentiation WW Reflex Activities DEL—[IDES yvvvv v v VVVVVVV 9202 1.29201 3.9.0202 2 Perceptual [vaement Pattern IIJ< % Perception Motor Match - Language rTactual-Kinaesthetia \ Naming rVisual-Auditory ] \ I [Form Perception I] Symbol Concept I Communication FIGURE l.l--Theoretical constructs of Kephart's Perceptual-Motor Theory. The implication of Kephart's theory is that a sequential, perceptual-motor development program is necessary for and will enhance development of SChOOl readiness abilities. He concludes that: Classroom teaching, therefore, involves attention to both perception and motor ability, and especially to the very important feedback or matching between them, just as much as it involves attention to integration of experience and intelligence. Gross motor activi- ties are a part of the total reading process and the too frequent distinction between the motor phase and intellectual activities becomes untenable.9 A second theorist, Ray Barsch, has developed a perceptual-motor development theory which he calls a "movigenic theory." He advocates a curriculum which is oriented towards helping the individual move more effectively and efficiently in the many "space worlds" in which he finds himself. Movigenics is a theory of movement as it relates to learning. It is an effort to view man as a totality in everything he does and to account for all components of that totality in any of his performances. Movigenic theory has the following basic constructs: I. The fundamental principle underlying the design of the human organism is movement efficiency; II. The primary objective of movement efficiency is to economically promote the survival of the organism; 9Kephart, op. cit., p. 65. Iflt'! (Q r 1|» I .ll'l.|‘.\.(|"|’l’ \Ill ".l\J 1| ll‘l ii \ 10 III. Movement efficiency is derived from the information the organism is able to process from an energy surround; IV. The human mechanism for transducing energy forms into information is the percepto—cognitive system; V. The terrain of movement is space; VI. Developmental momentum provides a constant forward thrust toward maturity and demands an equilibrium to maintain direction; VII. Movement efficiency is developed in a climate of stress; VIII. Adequacy of the feedback system is critical in the development of movement efficiency; IX. Development of movement efficiency occurs in segments of sequential expansion; and X. Movement efficiency is symbolically communicated through a divisual-spatial phenomenon called language.10 These constructs theorize how a child must learn to use the processing modality in a meaningful way in order to function in his space world. The child must learn to translate the energies impinging on him, that is, the light, the sun, and the pressure that surround him, into meaningful patterns and experiences. The primary movement task involves movement through space. To master gravitational pull and to propel himself through space, the child must discover the dimensions of space and find their counterparts within 10Ray H. Barsch, Perceptual Motor Curriculum (Seattle: Special Child Publications, 1967-8), pp. 33-64. 11 himself. He must build movements in terms of up and down, side to side, forward and back. As this organization takes place, the child is also building an ever-widening world for himself. The boundaries of this world are moving farther and farther away from himself. Pure sensation is becoming perception and cognition; soon he will be able to communicate by means of symbols, concepts and generaliza- tions. However, none of these, according to Barsch, can occur without movement. The individual is able to process information through six modalities: vision, audition, kinesthesia, tactuality, and through the olfactory and gustatory senses. Motor planning at the physical and cognitive levels is an inescapable component of man's ability to move toward the cultural and economic complexi- ties in today's world.11 Barsch's theory is by far the most highly organized approach to movement training. As with Kephart's theory, Barsch's theory implies that sequential perceptual-motor development training will enhance school readiness. The third significant perceptual-motor development theory of recent years is that of Bryant J. Cratty. He 11Ray H. Barsch, "Project M.O.V.E. as a Model for Rehabilitation Theory" (From a summary based on a paper presented at the American Psychological Association Convention, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April, 1963). 12 postulates a three-level theory of perceptual-motor 12 This theory assumes that factors at three behavior. levels influence final performance in learning output. At the base level are general behavior supports, including aspirational level, arousal, ability to analyze a task, and perhaps various perceptual abilities. The qualities at the base of the pyramid are relatively fixed but in turn they are influenced and modified by an individual's self-assessments of performance attained. At the second level are various perceptual-motor factors spawned by the factorial studies. Ability trains, such as static strength and extent of flexibility, are placed here. At the apex of the triangle are placed factors specific to the task and situation. Such factors as the unique energy demands of the task, the immediate values impinging upon the motivational state of the performer, and the perceptual components specific to the task may be found here. Figure 1.2 presents a diagram of the three-level theory of behavior. Cratty considers that: The effective teacher should thus be sensitive to these three levels of influence upon perceptual-motor performance and particular attention should be directed toward their mutual influence. The lower levels constitute the basic orientation and alertness of the performer, but in turn are influenced by his constant 12Bryant J. Cratty, Perceptual Motor Behavior agg Educational Processes (Springfield, Illinoig: Charles C. Thomas, 1969), pp. 28-29. .How>mnwo Monogramsummohmm mo hnomnp Hm>walmmunp m.>uumnoll.m.a mmsuHm moflcmsomfi xmmu mumamcm cu mufiaflom xmmu m on mocmumfimumm H0H>mswm mo muuommsm Hm>ma coaumuwmmm Hmumcmo Hmmsoum mo mumum oflumflnmuomumno Hmumcmw u / , N moonsoom Enclumfiuz sumcmuum oauwwaamm u mufimne sunaflnm sumcmnum xcsne ommmm umfius Hmmcflm Houozlamsummonmm numcmuum oaumum pmmmm mwausud / \ ucmmmum mcowuflccoo Hmwoom mcHHODficofi Hmsmfl> mo unsosm / mucmfimnfisvmu mouom moHMHommm xmme mcowuflccoo mowuomnm mcoflmcmfiwwo amaummm mocmfluwmxm ummm 14 assessment of the performance output at the apex of the construct. Ability traits within the middle of the task are influential not only on the particular task under consideration, but to varying degrees on other and similar perceptual-motor activities. Ability traits in turn are changed if the individual continues to practice activities which enhance these attributes or begins to avoid activities which result in a diminution of certain movement capacities. In general, Cratty implies that performance and learning are not divisible into mental and motor components, and he advocates increased attention to the development of motor skills: He concludes: It is believed that the term perceptual-motor not only indicates a growing awareness on the part of educators and physical educators that the perceptual process, the formation of judgment, is important to the ultimate motor expression which comes out of the child, but at the same time indicates that intellectual growth on the part of the child can be encouraged by manipulating the complexity of the perceptual input ‘ in intelligent ways. 4 As with Kephart and Barsch, Cratty's theory of perceptual- motor development implies enhancement of’school readiness abil— ities through specific perceptual—motor development training. The theoretical literature, then, strongly supports a training program of structured sequential perceptual-motor development for elementary school children. Specifically, as applied to the kindergarten curriculum, perceptual- motor training may be defined as a systematic program of sensory-motor experience designed to improve the efficiency with which 1) we receive stimulation from our environment 13Ibid., p. 29. l4Ibid., p. 19. 15 and from within ourselves, 2) integrate these two sources of input with each other and with past experience, and 3) use the processed information in planning and carrying out a purposeful unit of motor response of behavior.15 This study was designed to test such a program at the kinder- garten level in its relationship to school readiness enhance- ment as measured by comparison of basic concepts and scores in academic achievement between control and experimental groups. For an overview of the theories that have been presented in this section see Figure 1.3. Hypotheses of the Stugy Four hypotheses and one research question were considered in this study. The first two hypotheses are basic; they relate directly to the theoretical framework of this study involving enhancement of school readiness abilities through a structured, sequential perceptual-motor develop- ment program. The third hypothesis deals specifically with gains in gross motor coordination, and the fourth specifically with gains in fine motor coordination. The research question was asked in order to take into account any differences that might exist between morning and afternoon kindergarten sessions. It relates to all four hypotheses. ASDonna Obrecht, The Motor Facilitation Program of School District 21 (Report prepared by the Elk Grove Train- ing and DeveIBpment Center, Elk Grove, Illinois, 1969): P.12. THEORIST Early Theorists Locke Rousseau Developmental Theorist Piaget Major Theorists Kephart Barsch Cratty 16 MAJOR BELIEF AS RELATING TO PERCEPTUAL-MOTOR DEVELOPMENT THEORY Sense empiricism and individuality Sense training in early childhood Sensorimotor experience is basic to later intellectual operations Closed-cycle theory--perceptual- motor match, motoric skills form basis of future learning Movigenic theory--origin and development of movement patterns, perceptual-motor development training Three-level theory of perceptual behavior, perceptual-motor development training FIGURE l.3.--Overview of Perceptual-Motor Development Theories. Hypotheses: One. Two. Three. Four. 17 Kindergarten children participating in a structured, sequential perceptual-motor development program will achieve signifi- cantly higher scores at the end of treatment, in academic achievement as measured by the Stanford Early School Achievement Test, than will kindergarten children participating in a program consisting of low organized gym activities and a readiness workbook. Kindergarten children participating in a structured,sequential perceptual-motor develop- ment program will achieve significantly higher scores at the end of treatment, in mastery of basic concepts as measured by the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts, than will kindergarten children participating in a program consisting of low organized gym activities and a readiness workbook. Kindergarten children participating in a structured, sequential perceptual-motor develop- ment program will achieve significantly higher scores at the end of treatment, in mastery of gross motor activities as measured by an adaptation of the Wheeling Motor Facilitation Skill Survey, than willikindergarten children participating in a program consisting of low organized gym activities and a readiness work- book. Kindergarten children participating in a structured, sequential perceptual-motor develop- ment program will achieve significantly higher scores at the end of treatment, in visual perception and motor control as measured by two subtests of the Metropolitan Readiness Test, than will kindergarten children parti- c1pating in a program consisting of low organized gym activities and a readiness work- book. 18 Research Question: Will there be significant difference in scores on the Standard Early School Achievementflmst, the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts, the Motor Facilitation Skill Survey, and the Matching and Copying subtests of the Metropolitan Readiness Test at the end of treatment, between morning andiafternoon kindergarten sessions for all of the above four hypotheses? Assumptions of the Study The study attempted to test the theory that perceptual- motor training could increase intellectual growth. It proceeded, therefore, on the assumption that all of the children in the sample generally had been exposed to the same types of activities outside of school which might possibly contribute to growth in perceptual-motor areas. Whatever extremes of perceptual development which might have occurred due to the natural process of growth and the in- home experiences of the children were accounted for, from the research standpoint, by the random assignment of children to groups. This study related, also, to Piaget's theory of cognitive development. Piaget believes that, while perceptual development seems to be continuous, intellectual development progresses in steplike ways in discrete stages. The order of succession of stages is constant, although the ages at which different stages are attained may vary some- what, depending on the child's motivation, practice, and cultural milieu. As the child moves from one stage to 19 the next, early structures become integrated with later 16 ones. Another assumption of this study was that measuring academic achievement and mastery of basic concepts in the young child within the limits of the Stanford Early School Achievement Test and the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts provides a sample of school readiness abilities. That is, the assumption was made that these tests generate responses that can be classified as an adequate measure of school readiness. It was also assumed in the study that there was a high degree of independence while the children were not involved in participation in either the experimental or control groups. That is, for example, it was assumed that the particular child's functioning on either classroom worksheets or participation in gym activities was not significantly influenced by the children_in the group. A final assumption concerned the expectation that children would improve on the measures that were administered to the children in both pre- and post-testing situations. 16Paul H. Mussen, The Psychological Development of the Child (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1963), p. 53. 20 It was assumed that, regardless of the special treatment, all the children would show improvement on the same test that was given early in the kindergarten year and late in the kindergarten year. Limitations of the Study The primary limitation of the study is in its application to school populations outside of School District #68, Skokie, Illinois. Since the sample population was drawn from one school in a middle to upper middle class socio-economic area, caution must be used in terms of generalizing the findings of the study beyond School District #68, Skokie, Illinois. A second limitation arises from the fact that it was not possible to compare the results of the study of children who participated in the perceptual-motor develop- ment training program with those of a study of children who did not receive any additional training. Because of extensive community involvement in the curriculum and activities of this school in School District #68, Skokie, Illinois, it was decided, primarily as a public relations matter, that it would be advisable for all children to receive some type of individualized attention. Thus, the control group in this study was disguised as a group participating in an alternate curriculum approach. 21 This study has presented a packaged perceptual- motor development program which included a distinct gross motor component and a distinct fine motor component. However, it has not made any attempt to rule out either the fine or gross motor operations in terms of statistical analysis. Thus, the analysis of the data must be accepted as pertaining to a combination of gross and fine motor components. This type of program was designed deliberately, however, because the literature has not been sufficiently supportive of a fine or gross motor development training program researched as a single element.17 Definition of Terms Used in the Study Academic Achievement For purposes of this study, academic achievement is defined within the limits of the Stanford Early School Achievement Test. Specifically, academic achievement refers to the four parts of this test which are: The Environment, Mathematics, Letters and Sounds, and Oral Comprehension. These four subtests are designed to provide a measure of the child's cognitive abilities. Academic achievement in the context of this study refers to the assessment of the part of the kindergarten program relating to cognitive development as defined by the four parts of this test. 17See figures 2.1 and 2.2. 22 Basic Concepts The fifty concepts measured by the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts comprises the essence of this term when used in this study. This test was designed to measure children's mastery of fifty concepts considered necessary for achievement in the first years of school.18 Visual Perception This term refers to the visual recognition of similarities involved in the Matching subtest of the Metropolitan Readiness Test. Within the context of this subtest, visual perception is the ability to visually discriminate a given picture from a set of three pictures. Motor Control As used in this study, this term refers to the Copying subtest of the Metropglitan Readiness Test in which motor control is the child's ability to reproduce a given symbol motorically. Fine Motor Activities When used in this study, this term refers to activities demanding small muscle control such as using pencils, crayons, scissors, and small toys. 8 . See Appendix B for a list of the fifty specif1c concepts. 23 Gross Motor Activities The limits of this term for this study are defined by the activities measured by the Motor Facilitation Scale Survey. They include forward, backward and sideward walk, jumping, hopping and skipping, as well as trunk movements. Perceptual-Motor Program In this study this term applies specifically to a combined program of both fine and gross motor activities. The use of this term is based on Kephart's theoretical assumption which stresses the importance of perceptual-motor orientation of the child as a foundation for the symbolic and conceptual activities in the classroom. Visual-Perceptual Program A program in which only fine motor training or exercises are used defines the limits of this term for this study. This type of program is based on the theories of Frostig and Getman.19 Readiness Program The Readiness Program in this study refers to the total sum of the activities given the control group. These activities include a gymnasium program consisting of low organized activities and a classroom workbook.which provides for readiness activities involving cutting, pasting, coloring, and copying. 19See Chapter II for description of Frostig and Getman theories. 24 Low Organized Activities These activities refer to the activities given the control group in the gymnasium. Low organized activities involve group games and group exercises and operate in a setting in which one teacher takes over the central commands. Performance Growth Rate This term as used in this study refers to the amount of gain made by a treatment group (either experimental or control) on test scores between pre- and post- testing. Organization of the Remainder of the Study The review of the literature pertinent to the theory of enhancement of school readiness through a structured perceptual-motor development training program, as supported by Kephart, Barsch and Cratty, is presented in Chapter II. Also presented in Chapter II are the related theories of Getman, Frostig, and Delacato; that chapter concludes with a review of research pertinent to the programs supported by these theorists. Included in Chapter III are descriptions of the sample, the measures used in the study, and the method of data collection. An explanation of the rationale for the content of the curriculum in both experimental and control groups is additionally presented in Chapter III. An analysis and discussion of the results of the findings of this study 25 are developed in Chapter IV. Chapter V consists of the summary, conclusions, and implications for future study. The review of literature is offered next in Chapter II in order to place this study into perSpective in relation to research in perceptual-motor training as a way to increase school readiness. CHAPTER II REVIEW OF LITERATURE Studies of perceptual-motor development began initially by tracing a relationship between underachievement or learning difficulties and visual-perceptual difficulties. Studies then looked for gains in terms of reading ability and/or word recognition ability by means of a visual- perceptual training program, of which Frostig's program was the most commonly used. Then studies became more involved with the perceptual-motor theory of Kephart; more recently, Kephart's theory is seen in studies at the kindergarten level. Overall, there has been a shift in the dependent variable from (1) reading achievement to (2) reading readiness at the kindergarten level to (3) a broader interest in academic readiness and overall academic achievement. The review of literature in this chapter concerns studies of perceptual—motor development programs. The review is divided into two major sections. The first section is concerned with perceptual-motor development programs relating to the theories of Kephart, Barsch, and Cratty. Studies at the kindergarten level are reviewed in depth. The second major section contains a description of the related perceptual-motor development theories of Getman, 26 27 Frostig, and Delacato. Research studies related to their theories, as well as some research dealing with perceptual- motor deve10pment programs in special education classroom situations, are considered. Review of Perceptual-Motor Develgpment Studies Kindergarten Studies James Lazroe conducted a study of the effects of motor training on the reading readiness of children on the kindergarten level. This study was designed to: (1) determine whether there was a significant difference between reading readiness test scores of (a) kindergarten children given certain motor training and (b) kindergarten children given regular training; (2) determine whether there was a significant difference between reading readiness test scores and perceptual test scores of male and female kindergarten children given certain motor training; (3) determine whether there was a significant difference in reading readiness test scores and perceptual test scores that was attributable to the age of kindergarten children given certain motor training; (4) determine whether there was a significant difference in reading readiness test scores that was attributable to the mental age of kindergarten children given certain motor training. Children from sixteen kindergarten classes served as sub- jects for the Lazroe study. Eight of the classes had been 28 randomly selected for the experimental program, while the remaining classes served as control subjects. The experi- mental program consisted of prescribed gross motor activities for one-half hour daily over an eight-week period. Eight teachers participated, each one having an experimental and a control class randomly assigned for morning or after- noon sessions. The Pintner-Cunningham Primary Test was used to determine mental ages of the subjects. The Perceptual Forms Test and the Form A of the Metropolitan Readiness Test were used as pre- and post-measurements of readiness for reading. Scores earned on the pre- and post-tests of the Perceptual Forms Test and the Metropolitan Readiness Test 1 were treated by analysis of co-variance technique. This study concluded that the inclusion of a systematic program of gross motor activities in the curriculum of kindergarten children had the following effects: (1) it significantly improved their readiness for reading; (2) it improved the reading readiness of boys and girls to a similar degree; (3) it improved the reading readiness of older and younger children to a similar degree; (4) it improved the reading readiness of children of both higher and lower mental age to a similar degree; (5) it improved the reading readiness of higher mental age subjects significantly more than it improved the reading readiness of lower mental age subjects. 1James J. Lazroe, "An Investigation of the Effects of Motor Training on the Reading Readiness of Kindergarten Children,‘ Dissertation Abstracts, XXIX (3-A, 1969), p. 2609. 29 Thus, the Lazroe study suggested that perceptual- motor development programs could have significant results in terms of academic achievement. However, it appeared easier to get results with lower mental age subjects. Sex and chronological age were ruled out by Lazroe as signifi* cant factors. This study did not take into account the fact that the experimental group was getting extra individualized attention that the subjects of the control groups were not getting. Also, this study did not include training in any fine motor activities. William Rutherford conducted an investigation into the effects of a perceptual motor training program on the performance of kindergarten pupils on the Metropolitan Readiness Test. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a group of normal kindergarten children would show greater growth in reading, number, and total readiness as measured by the Metropolitan Readiness Test after engaging in a perceptual-motor training program than would a compar- able group of children who continued in the regular school program. Rutherford's training program was based on the program suggested by Kephart. It provided sensory-motor and ocular training through the use of certain equipment and activities. Sixty-four children enrolled in four kindergarten classes were used as subjects. These subjects were classified as "older" and "younger" and, by random assignment of the older and younger subjects of each sex, 30 were then divided into experimental and control groups. Members of the experimental group received perceptual- motor training during their 15-minute recess each day for eight weeks.2 The findings of the Rutherford study indicated that the perceptual-motor training program used was highly effective in promoting total readiness as measured by the Metropolitan Readiness Test. The program was effective to a lesser degree in improving performance on the reading and number readiness tests. No significant differences were found relating to sex or to the older or younger subjects. This study also suggested that a perceptual- motor program would enhance cognitive growth, but as in the previous investigation, this study did not control for the differential treatment given the experimental group. The Wheeling, Illinois, School District conducted a study under the direction of Donna Obrecht to evaluate its own motor-facilitation program at the kindergarten level. In this perceptual-motor development program, each child participated in a series of motor activities in combination with the use of the Frostig visual-perceptual material. Since all of the Wheeling district was involved in the program, the study was conducted by comparing district 2William L. Rutherford, "The Effects of a Perceptual- Motor Training Program on the Performance of Kindergarten Pupils on Metropolitan Readiness Tests," Dissertation Abstracts, XXV (3,1965): p. 4583. 31 results on the Metropolitan Readiness Test for the school year of 1967, when children did not participate in a motor facilitation program, with the results in 1969, when all children participated in the motor facilitation program. Significant differences at the .01 level were found between scores for these two years.3 This study, however, provided only a gross evaluation as it did not control for variables such as teacher changes and socio-economic changes. A study of Grace Zirbel and Glenn R. Thompson was designed to assess the effects upon reading achievement of a kindergarten perceptual-motor program at the end of first grade. Sixteen girls and twelve boys were randomly assigned to one of two kindergarten classes for this study. The control class received conventional kindergarten programming, while the experimental class received perceptual- motor exercises in addition to the regular program. At the completion of first grade the two groups were compared on reading achievement, using the Metropolitan Reading_Test. Results showed the experimental group to have significantly outscored the control group. The study was seen as supporting the value of a perceptual-motor training program 3Donna Obrecht, The Motor Facilitation Program of School District 21, (Report Prepared by the Elk Grove Training and Development Center Elk Grove, Illinois, 1969), pp. 79-90. [III-‘— 32 at the kindergarten level.4 Again, this study did not control for the differential treatment given the experimental group. In a study done in Kenilworth School District, Illinois, under the direction of Thomas Kriewall, the effects of motor facilitation treatment on several physiological and learning characteristics of pupils were investigated. Part of the study randomly assigned kinder- garten children to one of three classes in order to examine the effects of motor facilitation treatment on the measures obtained in the pre- and post-testing. In one class all children received a motor-facilitation treatment; in the second class, only specially selected children received the treatment; in the third class, none of the children received the treatment. Results were obtained by use of the subtests of the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities (ITPA), Binet Sentence Repetition Test, several gross motor tasks, the subtests of the STAR Test, and the subtests of the Frostig Test. No significant advantage appeared to exist for either the control or the experimental group over the other. Multivariate analysis of co—variance revealed that only the 4Grace Zirbel and Glenn R. Thompson, "The Influence of a Perceptual-Motor Program Upon First Grade Reading Achievement: A Study in Early School Intervention," American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting Abstracts, 1971, p. 65. 33 Binet Sentence Repetition Test and the Visual Retention subtest of the IT£A_reflected significant differences between the motor facilitation treatment group and the no-motor facilitation treatment group. In general, mean scores on all measures increased for all treatment groups from Fall to Spring, while the variances decreased correspondingly.5 In a very general sense, the Kenilworth study tended to negate the theory of cognitive enhancement through perceptual-motor development training, but the study did not specifically test for academic or reading readiness. The Kriewell investigation did not control for differential treatment given experimental groups. The Kenilworth study was conducted in a relatively small district with a highly select pupil population; the socio-economic level of this district is very high. A study coordinated by Paul Smith was concerned with perceptual-motor program methodology. It attempted to compare the effects of three methods of presenting perceptual- motor skills on the reading readiness of randomly placed kindergarten children. Kindergarten classes in six schools participated in this study. Classes participated in perceptual-motor movement patterns on an average of three days per week for twenty-five weeks; teachers devoted 5Thomas E. Kriewall, Detection and Prevention of Early Learning Disabilities (Institute for Educational Research Progress Report No. I04, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1970), pp. l-3o 34 twenty minutes per day to the project lessons. Two days each week were spent in regular physical education. All classes were taught identical movement skills through the use of a multisensory approach. The twelve classes were divided into three groups (I, II, III) of four classes each. The major difference in the various group experiences during the project lay in the teacher's particular method of presentation. The Metropolitan Readiness Test was given as the pre- and post-testing measure. Comparison of mean score improvement indicated that there was no significant difference between directed and problem-solving methods of teaching. There was, however, an 8.73 point greater mean score gain in the com- bined directed and problem-solving groups (Groups I and II) when compared to Group III. Since Groups I and II verb- alized the directions toward which movement patterns developed and Group III did not, it would appear that simply carrying out the movements will not bridge all perceptual-motor learning gaps. There appeared to be a greater understanding and transfer of learning if a verbal command for each move- ment was used to reinforce that movement.6 The Smith study offers a significant contribution in the area of perceptual- motor training methodology. 6Paul Smith, "Perceptual-Motor Skills and Reading Readiness of Kindergarten Children," Journal of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, XLI (April, 1970): pp. 43-44. 35 A study was done by William Wimsatt on the effect of sensory-motor training on the learning abilities of grade school children. Experimental groups at kindergarten, first, and second grade levels were given perceptual-motor training periods each day over one school year's time. As measured by the Gates Advanced Primary Test, the first and second grade children in the experimental group showed no significant gains when compared to the control group sub- jects. However, as measured by the Monroe Reading Aptitude IEEEJ significant gains favoring the experimental group were made by the kindergarten children.7 This experiment did suggest that early gains in academic achievement could be made through perceptual-motor development training but that these gains would be minimized over time. At the kindergarten level, where one class out of three was randomly chosen for experimental treatment in this study, teacher variables were not taken into account. Also, differential treatment of experimental groups was not taken into account at any of the grade levels. A final kindergarten study reviewed in this section is concerned with perceptual-motor ability as it relates to the socio-economic level of the kindergarten child. Enno 7William R. Wimsatt, "The Effects of Sensory-Motor Training on the Learning Abilities of Grade School Children,’ Dissertation Abstracts, XXVIII(l-B, 1967), p. 347. 36 Lietz undertook a study with the purpose of determining if the perceptual-motor ability of the advantaged kindergarten child was any different from that of a kindergarten child who comes from an economically disadvantaged home. Fifty children who came from homes where the income was less than three thousand dollars a year and fifty children who came from homes where the income was more than three thousand dollars a year were individually administered a revision of the Purdue Perceptual-Motor Survgy. The results of Lietz's study indicated that the advantaged children, as a group, scored significantly higher on tests of perceptual-motor development. Lietz concluded that it appears that the overall perceptual ability of the advantaged child appears to be superior to that of the disadvantaged child.8 The Lietz study does have implications for this research as this study was undertaken in an economically advantaged area. First and Second Grade Studies In a study by Clarence McCormick, an experimental group was given perceptual-motor training while another group was given standard physical education training. A third group received no extra training or attention. Results 8Enno Lietz, "An Investigation of the Perceptual- Motor Abilities of the Economically Disadvantaged Kindergarten Child as Compared to the Advantaged Kindergarten Child," Dissertation Abstracts, XXIX (4-A, 1969), p. 3530. 37 of this study as measured by the Lee-Clark Reading Tests showed statistically significant gains (averaging over .2 grade levels) for the group which received the perceptual- motor training but not for the other two groups.9 In a similar study, McCormick obtained significant results for underachievers who received perceptual—motor training. The results of this study, however, were not significant 10 Edward Lipton studied for the total first grade groups. the effect of gross-motor training to develop directionality of movement on reading readiness of first grade children. The analysis of the data of this study revealed significant mean differences favoring the experimental group with respect to reading readiness as measured by the Metropolitan ll Readiness Test. The effects of Kephart-type physical activities on academic achievement of first graders were considered in research by Colleen O'Conner. She did not obtain significant 9Clarence C. McCormick, "Improvement in Reading Achievement through Perceptual-Motor Training," The Research Quarterly, XXXIX (March, 1968), pp. 627-633. 0Clarence C. McCormick, Janice N. Schnobrich, and S. Willard Footlik, "The Effect of Perceptual-Motor Training on Reading Achievement," Academic Therapy, IV(Spring, 1969), pp. 171-176. 11Edward D. Lipton, "The Effect of a Physical Education Program to Develop Directionality of Movement on Perceptual- Motor Development, Visual Perception, and Reading Readiness of First Grade Children," Dissertation Abstracts, XXX (2-A, 1969), p. 2362. 38 results as measured by the Metropolitan Readiness Test.12 A recent study by Wayne Collins also did not obtain significant results, as measured by the Metropolitan Readiness Test, for children participating in a Kephart program of perceptual-motor training.13 Coralie Emmons designed a study involving the comparison of selected gross-motor activities of the Getman and the Kephart perceptual-motor training programs and their effects upon certain readiness skills of first grade Negro children. As measured by the Metropolitan Readiness Test, significant results were not obtained between either of the groups of the control group. Emmons concluded that gross motor training in the perceptual-motor skills was effective only for slow learners.l4 Rebecca Swanson studied the relationship between perceptual-motor skills and the learning of word recogni- tion among children in the second grade. She tested word ’ 12Colleen M. O'Conner, "The Effects of Physical Activities upon Motor Ability, Perceptual Ability, and Academic Achievement of First-Graders," Dissertation Abstracts, XXIX (5-A, 1969). p. 4310. 13Wayne J. Collins, Motor Facilitation Stud , (Report prepared by School District #41, Glen Ellyn, Illinois, 1970), pp. 1-4. l4Coralie Emmons, "A Comparison of Selected Gross- Motor Activities of the Getman-Kane and the Kephart Perceptual-Motor Training Programs and Their Effects upon Certain Readiness Skills of First-Grade Negro Children," Dissertation Abstracts, XXIX (4—A, 1969), p. 3442. 39 recognition on specific sections from standardized tests; She obtained significant results at the .01 level favoring the experimental groups.15 Summapy In the first section of Chapter II, literature relat- ing to the central theory of enhancement of school readiness growth by means of a structured, sequential, perceptual- motor training program was reviewed. Figure 2.1 provides an overview of the specific studies discussed. Criticism of these studies falls mainly into two categories: (1) none of these studies controlled for the differential treatment given children in the experimental group, and (2) two of these studies were marked by inadequacies in sampling because of inability to provide for any type of randomization. Review of Related Theories and Research This section of Chapter II contains a description of the research related to the theories of three theorists in perceptual-motor development. Getman and Frostig have developed visual-perceptual development theories; Delacato 15Rebecca G. Swanson, "A Study of the Relationship Between Perceptual-Motor Skills and the Learning of Word Recognition," Dissertation Abstracts, XXIX (3-A, 1969), pp. 2158-2159. Investigator 40 Length of Treatment . # Disposition of Results Kindergarten (perceptual—motor) Studies 1. Lazroe 2. Rutherford 3. Wheeling School District 4. Zirbel and Thompson S. Ken1lworth School District 6. Smith 7. Wimsatt 8. Lietz First and Second Grade (perCeptual-motor) l. McCormick, et a1. 2. McCormick, et a1. 3. Lipton 4. O'Conner 5. Collins 6. Emmons 7. Swanson 8 weeks 11 weeks One school year One school year One school year 25 weeks One school year Correlational 7 weeks 9 weeks 12 weeks 6 months 8 months 10 weeks 6 months Studies Sig. gains in reading readiness Sig. gains in reading readiness Sig. gains in reading readiness Sig. gains in reading readiness No sig. gains on ——several learning characteristic measures Np Sig. differences among methodologies Sig. gains in reading readiness Sig. higher perceptual ability for advantaged versus disadvantaged Children Sig. gains in reading achievement Sig. gains in reading achievement only for underachievers Sig. gains in reading readiness Np sig. gains in achieve— ment Np sig. gains in reading readiness Sig. gains in achieve- ment only for slow learners Sig. gains in achieve- ment only for under- achievers FIGURE 2.l.--Overview of Perceptual-Motor Development Program Studies. 41 has developed a gross motor development theory. This section also provides a review of several studies dealing with perceptual-motor development programs in special education classroom situations. Visual-Perceptual Theories An optometrist by training, G. N. Getman claims that vision is intelligence. "Intelligence," he says, "is the ability to make a judgment, decision or action best suited to the problem of the moment, based upon the total 16 He aims to knowledge gained from one's experience." integrate "biological" and "cultural" intelligence by supplying a meaningful experiental background. Getman's sequence demands (1) training in general motor patterns, (2) the development of special movement patterns leading to hand-eye coordination, (3) the development of eye move- ment patterns which substitute for and thus reduce exploratory movement, (4) communication patterns which also replace action and visual patterns to supply skill and comparison, and finally (5) visual memory and projection. This sequence leads to the final stage: the development of "visual- perceptual organization." Furthermore, Getman claims that 16G. N. Getman, How to Develop Your Child's Intelligence (Luverne, Minnesota: Research Pfiblication, pp. 0 42 this visual training program correlates with reading abilities and, to a lesser degree, to school grades.17 The importance of visual-perception is also stressed by Marianne Frostig. She defines visual-perception as the ability to recognize and discriminate stimuli and to interpret those stimuli by associating them with previous experiences. The interpretation of visual stimuli occurs in the brain, not in the eyes. She believes that proficiency in visual-perception helps children to learn to read, write, and spell, to do arithmetic, and to develop all the other 18 To improve skills necessary for success in school work. and develop visual-perception, Frostig has developed a developmental program that centers on training in the following areas: eye-hand coordination, figure-ground perception, perceptual constancy, position in space, and spatial relationships. Frostig's sequence moves from the sensory motor development of the first two years of life to the emphasis on speech development that takes place up to the age of four, to the visual perceptual development from three and one half to seven and one half years of l7Stanley Kreppner, "Pre—Readiness Approaches in Reading," Education, LXXXVII (September, 1966), p. 17. 18Marianne Frostig and David Horne, The Frostig Ppogram for the Development of Visual Perceptibn (Chicago, Illinois: Follett Publishing CO., 1964), p. 8. 43 age, to the development of higher cognitive processes that starts at age seven, eight, or older.19 Both Getman's and Frostig's theories imply that a sequential visual-perceptual training program will stimulate and enhance school readiness as seen in reading ability and school achievement. Kindergarten Studies.--Several studies deal primarily with the hypothesis of improvement in reading readiness, as measured by the Metropolitan Readiness Test, through participation in the Frostig program. James Jacobs found no evidence to support the hypothesis that kindergarteners who had participated in the Frostig visual- perceptual program for nine months performed better on a reading readiness test than those who had not been involved in such a program.20 In a follow-up evaluation study of the Frostig Visual-Perceptual Training Program, Jacobs found the experimental group to have somewhat higher scores on the Metropolitan Readiness Test than the control group, although the difference did not reach a statistically significant level. He also found no significant difference 19Miriam S. Magdol, "An Historical Perspective to Physiological Education," Academic Therapy Quarterly, III (Spring, 1968), p. 169. 20James N. Jacobs, "An Evaluation of the Frostig Visual-Perceptual Training Program," Educational Leadership, LLV (January, 1968), pp. 322-340. 44 in the achievement of the Frostig program pupils or controls on reading tests at the end of grade one.21 Gordon Alley and William Snider hypothesized that the Frostig program would be an appropriate method for culturally deprived children in a reading readiness program. The results indicated significant differences in mean scores in favor of the experimental group when comparing the two groups on Metropolitan Reading Readiness Tests after approxi- mately eight months of visual-perceptual training. This finding appears to support the authors' hypothesis, with the reservation that the total teaching presentation, personality, interests, and classroom management of the two kindergarten teachers were not statistically controlled.22 The effect of two instructional programs on the attainment of reading readiness, visual-perception, and science process skills on kindergarten children was examined by William C. Ritz. The two programs were a science process approach and the Frostig program. Most of the significant findings of this study appeared to demonstrate that science and/or visual-perceptual instruction can be included in r—v v v7 2 . . 1James N. Jacobs, Lenore D. W1rth11n, and Charles B. Miller, "A Follow-up Evaluation of the Frostig Visual- Perceptual Training Program," Educational Leadership, XXVI (November, 1968), pp. 169-175. 22Gordon Alley and William Snider, "Reading Readiness and the Frostig Training Program," Exceptional Children, XXXV (September, 1968), p. 68. 45 kindergarten programs without impairing the readiness attain- ment of children so trained.23 In a study by Mary H. Bosworth, it was hypothesized that an arbitrary sequence of learning activities for improving visual-motor skills of kindergarten children would improve ability in word discrimination. Pre- and post- testing using the Betz Word Form Test supported her hypothesis by demonstrating significant improvement with the experimental subjects' word discrimination ability.24 A companion study was conducted by Katherine DiMeo. It demonstrated a significant relationship between kindergarten subjects' achievement and word discrimination and their ability to focus on perceived differences of stimulus characteristics of geometric forms.25 Richard Keim attempted to determine the effects of a visual-motor training program on the readiness and intelligence of kindergarten children. Three groups of children were matched on the basis of intelligence and pre-kindergarten readiness for this study. The experimental 23William C. Ritz, "The Effect of Two Instructional Programs (Science-A Process Approach and the Frostig Program for the Development of Visual-Perception on the Attainment of Reading Readiness, Visual Perception), and Science Process Skills in Kindergarten Children," Dissertation Abstracts, XXX (l-A, 1969), p. 1082. 24Mary H. Bosworth, "Pre-Reading: Improvement of Visual-Motor Skills," Dissertation Abstracts, XXVIII (4-A, 1968), p. 3545. 25Katherine DiMeo, "Visual-Motor Skills: Response Characteristics and Pre-Reading Behavior," Dissertation Abstracts, XXVII (3-A, 1968), pp. 2552-2553. 46 group followed prescribed visual-motor training procedures, while the control groups were given the traditional kinder- garten program. Groups were compared for intelligence and readiness at the end of one school year. The results showed no significant differences among groups; they suggest that additional research is necessary before a visual-motor training program becomes a part of the general kindergarten curriculum.26 ‘ First and Second Grade Studies.--A follow-up on achievement test scores of first grade students after visual-perceptual training in kindergarten was undertaken by Shirley Linn. By pre- and post-testing on the Metropolitan Readiness Test, she found subjects who participated in a concentrated three months' Frostig program to be two to four months ahead of the control group in achievement.27 In a study by James Cowles, an experimental group received nine weeks of visual-perceptual training using part of the Frostig program, an instructional control group received listening activities for the same amount of time, and a control group received no specific treatment. As measured 26Richard P. Keim, "Visual-Motor Training, Readiness, and Intelligence of Kindergarten Children," Journal of Learning Disabilities, III (May, 1970), pp. 256-259. 27Shirley Linn, "A Follow-up: Achievement Report of First Grade Students After Visual-Perceptual Training in Kindergarten," Academic Therapy, III (Spring, 1968), pp. 179-180. 47 by the Metropolitan Readiness Test, significant differences on test scores were obtained favoring the experimental group.28 Carl Rosen failed to find significant results for groups who had received a twenty-nine day adaptation of the Frostig program for the development of visual-perception.29 A study of the effects of a visual-perceptual training program upon school achievement, I.Q., and visual-perception was conducted by Roger Bennett. He administered the Frostig program for eighty consecutive school days to middle and lower class second grade children. Significant differences on achievement test scores, as measured by the California Achievement Tests, were not found between the middle and lower class groups.30 A correlational study by Ella Mae Trussel dealt with the relation of performance of selected physical skills to perceptual aspects of reading readiness in first and second grade children. The results did not support the use 28James Cowles, "An Experimental Study of Visual- Perceptual Training and Readiness Scores with Certain First- Grade Children," Dissertation Abstracts, XXIX (4-A, 1969), pp. 3518-3519. 29Carl L. Rosen, "An Investigation of Perceptual Training and Reading Achievement in First Grade," American Journal of Optometry and Archives of American Academy of Optometry, XLV (May, 19681, Pp. 322-332. 30Roger M. Bennett, "A Study of the Effects of a Visual-Perception Training Program upon School Achievement, I.Q., and Visual-Perception," Dissertation Abstracts, XXIX (5-A, 1969): p. 3864. 48 of perceptual—motor evaluation as a diagnostic tool to identify pupils with basic reading difficulties.31 A correlational study by Harry Fullwood investigated a follow-up of children selected by the Frostig Develgpmental Test of Visual Perception for a relation to their success or failure in reading and arithmetic at the end of second grade. He found that children who had been selected by the Frostig test as having a high perceptual quotient in first grade achieved significantly better in reading and arithmetic at the end of second grade than did those children who were grouped together because they had obtained a low perceptual quotient.32 One of the first studies dealing with visual- perceptual abilities and academic achievement was conducted by Jean Goins. For a ten week period an experimental group of first graders received tachistoscopic form training. Results indicated no significant difference for the experimental group as measured by pre- and post—testing on 31Ella May Trussel, "The Relation of Performance of Selected Physical Skills to Perceptual Aspects of Reading Readiness in Elementary School Children," Dissertation Abstracts, XXVIII (l-A, 1967), pp. 134-135. 32Harry Fullwood, "A Follow-up Study of Children Selected by the Frostig Developmental Test of Visual Percep- tion in Relation to their Success or Failure in Reading and Arithmetic at the End of Second Grade," Dissertation Abstracts, XXIX (3-A, 1969), p. 2035. 49 33 Chicago Reading Tests. Another study involving visual- form training for first grade subjects was done by Molly Gorelick. Experimental groups received a pre-reading training program in visual-perceptual discrimination of either abstract or meaningful symbols. Gorelick did not find any significant differences in word recognition ability between the experimental groups and the control groups.34 A study by Marion Faustman attempted investigation of effects of perceptual training on kindergarten and first grade success in reading achievement. First grade findings indicated significant differences as measured by the Gates Word Survey favoring the experimental group.35 In a study of the effect of perceptual training on reading achievement in disadvantaged children by David Elkind, two groups of second grade, inner city, Negro children were matched for reading achievement and perceptual ability. The experimental group was trained with a series of non- verbal, perceptual exercises for one-half hour three times 33Jean T. Goins, "Visual-Perceptual Abilities and Early Reading Progress," Supplementary Educational Monographs, Number 87, (February, 1958), pp. 96-102} 34Molly C. Gorelick, "The Effectiveness of Visual Form Training in a Pre-Reading Program," The Journal of Educational Research, LVIII (March, 1965), pp. 315-318. 5Marion Faustman, "Some Effects of Perception Train- ing in Kindergarten on First Grade Success in Reading," Dissertation Abstracts, XXVII (2-A, 1966), p. 951. 50 a week for fifteen weeks. Twenty-nine control subjects met for a comparable amount of time but were trained with a commercial reading program, The Bank Street Readers. Results showed that the experimental group made significantly greater improvement on word form and word recognition than the control group.36 Delacato Method In the late 1950's a controversial theory which placed much emphasis on gross motor training was developed by Carl Delacato. Delacato holds that all problems of communication originate in inadequate neurological organiza- tion and failure of the human organism to develop unilater- ality. He considers unilaterality to be "that dynamic aspect of neurological organization which distinguishes man from lower animals."37 Delacato is concerned with the ontogenetic recapitulation of phylogenetic development. The human organism, he says, represents the highest neurological development yet achieved. Man has added a final state of laterality. The basic difference between man and the animal world is that man has achieved cortical dominance wherein one side of the cortex controls the skills in which man outdistances lower forms of animals. 36David Elkind and Jo A. Deblinger, "Perceptual Train- ing and Reading Achievement in Disadvantaged Children," Child Development, XL (March, 1969), pp. 11-19. 37C. H. Delacato, The Treatment and Prevention of Reading Problems (Springfield, 111.: Charles C. Thomas, 1959), p. 34. 51 Training for the child, according to Delacato, involves passive manipulation and reflex movement patterns, pattern- ing of sleep positions, crawling, training of eye dominance, 'handedness and feetedness. The curriculum advocated by Delacato requires the elimination of all tonal experience, dietary restrictions to limit fluid intake, sometimes breathing into plastic bags for short periods to raise the level of carbon dioxide in the blood, and other techniques generally considered by educators and medical personnel to be unorthodox.38 The Delacato approach has met with sharp criticism and much diversity of opinion, although it did put a focus on gross motor training and Ins had some limited success with neurologically handicapped children. Several studies have negated the validity of the Delacato method. A kindergarten study done by Mark Stone and N. L. Pielstick found no significant difference in reading achievement with an experimental group participating in a Delacato Method Program for one-half hour a day periods 39 for eighteen weeks. A similar study at the first grade 38Miriam S. Magdol, "An Historical Perspective to Physiological Education," Academic TheraEY Quarterly, IV (Spring, 1968): P. 168. 39Mark Stone and N. L. Pielstick, "Effectiveness of Delacato Treatment with Kindergarten Children," Psychology in the Schools, VI (January, 1969), pp. 63-68. 52 level by Irving Millstein did not provide support for Delacato's theory.40 A study by James Foster suggested that the program recommended by Delacato was not associated with gains in reading or scores in intelligence for fourth and fifth grade boys with mixed dominance.41 The empirical evidence indicates that Delacato's theory is apparently unsound. Special Education Studies In the area of special education, specifically in regard to educable mentally handicapped (EMH) children, several studies have been concerned with research into visual-motor and/or visual-perceptual training regarding enhancement of eognitive abilities. A study by Norman Chansky demonstrated that mentally retarded children trained to make discriminations, to organize, to orient themselves from left to right, and to make inferences improved in measured achievement and intelligence.42 A study by Lloyd McClanahan measured the effects of thirty-five hours 40Irving J. Millstein, "An Empirical Study of the Delcato Theory and Training Procedures," Dissertation Abstracts, XXVIII (4-B, 1968), p. 4323. 41James M. Foster, "Effect of Mobility Training upon Reading Achievement and Intelligence," Dissertation Abstracts, XXVI (4-A, 1966), p. 3779. 42Norman M. Chansky and Margaret Taylor, "Perceptual Training with Young Mental Retardates," American Journal of Mental Deficiency, LXVII (May, 1964), pp. 4609468. 53 of visual-perceptual training on reading performances of "slow learning" first grade children and children enrolled in classes for the educable mentally handicapped. Significant results were obtained in reading on the California Achievement Test that favored the experimental group of the slow learners but not the experimental group of the EMH subjects.43 Stanley Narramore conducted a correlational study of visual-perceptual development and academic achievement with educable mentally handicapped children. He found a correlation coefficient of .731 between visual perception and achievement as measured by the Stanford Achievement Tests.44 Summary A review of the literature relating to visual- perceptual studies at the kindergarten, first and second grade levels was presented in the final section of Chapter II. Delacato method studies and special education studies also were reviewed. Figure 2.2 provides an overview of the specific studies reviewed. 43Lloyd J. McClanahan, "The Effectiveness of Perceptual Training for Slow Learners," Dissertation Abstracts, XXVIII (3-A, 1968). p. 2560. 44Stanley B. Narramore, "Correlates of Visual- Perceptual Development and Academic Achievement in Educable Mentally Retarded Children," Dissertation Abstracts, XXX (4-A, 1970): p. 3796. 54 Investigator Length of Treatment Disposition of Results Kindergarten (visual-perceptual) Studies 1. Jacobs One school year pp 319. gains in reading readiness 2. Jacobs One school year Np_sig. gains in reading readiness 3. Alley and Snider One school year Sig. gains in _ reading read1ness 4. Ritz 8 weeks pp 519. difference between methodologies 5. Bosworth 8 weeks Sig. gains in . word discrimination 6. DiMeo Correlational High correlation between word discrimination and perceptual measures 7. Keim 8 weeks Np sig. gains in reading readiness First and Second Grade (visual-perceptual) Studies 1. Lynn 3 months Sig. gains in achievement 2. Cowles 6 weeks Sig. gains in reading readiness 3. Rosen 6 weeks No 519. gains in -reading readiness 4. Bennett 15 weeks No 519. gains in ——achievement 5. Trussell Correlational Low correlation between '“Echievement and perceptlal measures 6. Fullwood Correlational High correlation between achievement and perceptual measures 7. Coins 10 weeks No 519. gains in __reading achievement 8. Gorelick 8 weeks No sig. gains in ——reading achievement 9. Faustman One school year Sig. gains in word recognition 10. Elkind 15 weeks Sig. gains in word recognition Delacato Method Studies 1. Stone and Pielstick 18 weeks No 519. gains in ‘ ' reading readiness 2. Millstein 12 weeks No 519. gains in reading achievement 3. Foster 10 weeks No 519. gains in achievement §pecial Education Studies 1. Chansky and Taylor 10 weeks Sig. gains in Achievement 2. McClanahan 14 weeks Sig. gains in achievement only for slow learners 3. Narramore Correlational High correlation between achievement and perceptual measures FIGURE 2.2.--Overview of Research Pertaining to Related Theories. 55 Generally, perceptual-motor training programs have had more success than visual-perceptual programs in obtaining gains in academic achievement. Also, perceptual- motor training programs at the kindergarten level have shown greater gains relating to academic achievement than perCeptual-motor training programs at the first or second grade levels. Sex differences were not found to be significant in relation to achievement gains through perceptual-motor and/or visual-motor training. However, more significant gains generally were seen for underachievers and children with below average intelligence than for children of high intelligence. Correlational studies suggest that the relation between perceptual-motor variables and verbal materials appears to be greater in early childhood, with achievement becoming more task-specific as the child matures.45 This investigation, then, is an attempt to make a further contribution to the literature pertraining to perceptual-motor development training programs at the kindergarten level in relation to gains in academic achievement, controlling for differential treatment given the experimental group. 45R. N. Singer and J. W. Brunk, "Relation of Perceptual-Motor Ability and Intellectual Ability in Elementary School Children," Perceptual and Motor Skills, XXIV (June, 1967). pp. 967-970. CHAPTER III DESIGN OF THE STUDY The purpose of this study was to determine whether participation in a sequential perceptual-motor development program would enhance school readiness for kindergarten children. The study has been designed to provide for differential treatment given the experimental group. Thus, the basic difference between the experimental and control groups involved the type of instruction received. Sample Selection for the Study The sample for this study was taken from seventy kindergarten children which comprised the entire kinder- garten class at Highland Elementary School, Skokie, Illinois. These seventy children were first randomly assigned by a table of random numbers to either a control or experimental group in either the morning or the afternoon session, depending upon whether the child had already been assigned by the school to morning or afternoon kindergarten. After the post-testing was completed in April, 1971, ten of the seventy children were randomly assigned out for 56 57 research purposes.1 The result provided four groups of fifteen children in each group who had received both the pre- and post-testing. Table 3.1 shows the character- istics of the research groups. TABLE 3.1.--Characteristics of the Research Groups. Group Mean Age Boys Girls N AM Experimental 5-3 8 7 15 AM Control 5-4 7 8 15 PM Experimental 5-1 6 9 15 PM Control 5-2 5 10 15 Highland School is one of four elementary schools in School District #68, Skokie, Illinois. It draws its enrollment from a predominantly middle to upper class area. Skokie, Illinois, is a northern suburb of Chicago and is the largest village in the United States. This community, with a population of 68,000 ranks very high in the nation in terms of family income, employment, and the number of years of residents' education. School District #68 is one of five autonomous elementary school districts in Skokie with its own Board of Education and l . . . By prov1ding equal groups, the assumption of homogeneity of variance within groups could be avoided. 58 superintendent. The district covers an area of about four square miles and serves about 4,000 pupils. The average student I.Q., based on Lorge-Thorndike Intelligence Tests, is about 114. Method of Data Collection The Stanford Early School Achievement Test and the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts were administered to the kindergarten children in October, 1970, and again in April, 1971. They were administered by the school psychologist with the help of one of the kindergarten teachers. Both tests were presented in groups of fifteen children with the testing sessions lasting for 15 minutes in the Fall and 30 minutes in the Spring. The Motor Facilitation Skill Survpy was also administered in October, 1970, and April, 1971. It was carried out by six parent volunteers under the supervision of the school principal. Six stations were established in the gymnasium. At each station a child was tested individually in one section of the Motor Facilitation Skill Survey. This procedure was used for both Fall and Spring administrations of this test. The Metropplitan Readiness Test was administered only in April, 1971. This test was presented by both the kindergarten teachers. Groups of fifteen children were given testing sessions lasting one-half hour. 59 Measures Used in the Study The measures used for collecting the data in this research were: Stanford Early School Achievement Test, (SESAT), Boehm Test of Basic Concepts, (BTBC), Matching and Copying Subtests of the Metropolitan Readiness Test, and an adaptation of the Wheeling Motor Facilitation Skills Survey. Stanford Early School Achievement Test The Stanford Early School Achievement Test, devised by Richard Madden and Eric F. Gardner2 and published in 1969, is composed of the following four subtests: The Environment, Mathematics, Letters and Sounds, and Aural Comprehension. The Environment items are taken almost equally from the social and natural environments, social sciences and natural sciences. This subtest capitalizes upon knowledge of the environment that is absorbed by children from many sources, including parents, brothers and sisters, neighbors, trips, television, books, and just contact with things. The Mathematics subtest emphasizes items which have concepts that can be learned from general experience rather than from direct intervention. School 2Richard Madden and Eric F. Gardner, Stanford Earlnychool Achievement Test: Directions for Administer- ing (New York: Brace and World, Inc., 1969), pp. 12, 19, 20. 60 mathematics concerns concepts in the following areas: conservation of numbers, space and volume; counting; measurement; numeration, classification, and simple operations. The items in the Letters and Sounds subtest measure both the ability to recognize upper and lower case letters and the auditory perception of beginning sounds. The items of the Aural Comprehension subtest require the abilities to pay attention to, organize, interpret, infer, and retain what has been heard. This subtest requires the highest level of thinking of any of the four subtests. Most of the items involve some degree of inter- pretation; all require attention. Standardization of the §§§AT_consisted of a norm sample involving 8,310 pupils in kindergarten and 11,106 pupils in grade one. The school systems participating in this standardization program were selected to give appropriate representation in three variables: geographic region, size of city, and socio-economic level. Two socio- economic variables were also considered in selecting the standardized population: median family income and median years of school completed by persons age 25 and older. The reliability data for the §E§§2_include split- half (odd-even) reliability coefficients corrected by the Spearman-Brown Prophecy Formula and Standard Errors of Measurement. These reliability coefficients concern the homogeneity of content or internal consistency of each 61 subtest of the total test. They range from .76 to .89 for both beginning kindergarten and beginning first grade administrations. Intercorrelations among part and total scores for both beginning kindergarten and beginning first grade test administrations range from .79 to .90. Boehm Test of Basic Concepts The Boehm Test of Basic Concepts (BTBC), devised by 3 Ann E. Boehm, was published in 1970. This test was designed to measure children's mastery of concepts considered necessary for achievement in the first years of school. The fifty items comprising Form A of the pg 9 were developed by a multi-stage process. First, a comprehensive selection of preschool and primary-grade curriculum materials in the areas of reading, arithmetic, and science was reviewed. From the directions and other portions of these materials, terms were selected which (a) occurred with considerable frequency; (b) were seldom explicitly defined or were defined in their simple forms but subsequently used in complex forms without adequate transition; and (c) represented relatively abstract basic concepts or ideas. Once chosen, the concepts fulfilling these criteria were translated into pictorial multiple-choice items; these items were 3Ann E. Boehm, Boehm Test of Basic Concepts Manual (New York: The Psychological Corporation, 1970), pp. 14-17. 62 tried out twice on appropriate groups. There are four categories of concepts: space, quantity, time, and miscellaneous. The REES was designed as a teaching and screening instrument rather than for predictive administrative pur- poses. Consequently, Ann Boehm considered it unnecessary to select standardization samples representative of children in kindergarten and the first and second grades in the nation as a whole. The standardization sample which served as the basis for beginning-of—year norms consisted of children enrolled in kindergarten and first and second grades in each of sixteen cities located across the United States. The sample for the mid-year norms included children from schools in five cities. School officials in each cooperating city were asked to provide classroom groups from schools with a fairly wide range of socio-economic background. Thus, norms are presented for low, middle, and high social economic levels. Reliability coefficients for the BTpthotal score range from .68 ‘to .90. Both the reliability coefficients and the standard error of measurement were computed for the mid-year norms. Validity for the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts is that of the content type. The items were selected from relative curriculum materials. They represent concepts basic to understanding directions and other oral 63 communications from teachers at the preschool and primary- grade level. Metropolitan Readiness Test For this research, two subtests of the 1965 edition of the Metropolitan Readiness Test were used. The Metropolitan Readiness Tests were devised to measure the extent to which school beginners had developed in the several skills and abilities that contribute to readiness for first-grade instuction. The authors believe that among the major factors that contribute to readiness for beginning school work are linguistic attainments and aptitudes, visual and auditory perception, muscular coordination and motor skills, number knowledge, and the ability to follow directions and to pay attention in group work.4 The two subtests used for this research were the Matching and Copying subtests. Specifically, the Matching subtest is a test of visual perception involving the recognition of similarities. The pupil marks that one of three pictures which matches a given picture. The Copying subtest measures a combination of visual-perception and motor control. On this test, the pupil must copy given designs and figures. 4Gertrude H. Hildretn, Nellie L. Griffiths, Mary E. McGauvren, Manual of Directions Metropolitan Readiness Tests (New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc., 1965), pp. 3, 11-15. 64 This edition of the Metropolitan Readiness Test is a revision of the edition comprising Forms R-S published in 1949. The standardization of the Form A of the Revised Metropolitan Readiness Test was obtained in the Fall of 1964 by a sample of approximately 15,000 pupils in some 65 school systems. Data on socio-economic characteristics of the community were available from most of the participat- ing schools. These data were analyzed in relation to comparable data for the country as a whole. Data on reliability for the Metropolitan Readiness Tppp consist of three independent instruments of odd-even reliability coefficients for subtest and total scores, based on samples of pupils from three of the school systems taking part in the standardization program. Standard errors of measurement of the total score were provided for each of the three samples. Reliability coefficients for the Matching subtest range from .82 to .86 for the three independent estimates. For the Copying subtests, the reliability coefficients range from .91 to .94 and the standard error of measurement of total score is from 3.1 to 3.3 for the three independent estimates. The authors of the Metrppolitan Readiness Test have attempted to deal with several forms of validity. In terms of content, the validity of the Matching subtest, they believe that this test consistently has correlated well 65 with beginning reading skills. Inter-correlations for the Matching subtest range from .42 to .60. Inter-correlations for the Copying subtest range from .39 to .53. Congruent validity was attempted by correlating the Metropolitan Readiness subtests and total scores for the Murphy-Durrell Reading Readiness Analysis and the Pintner-Cunningham Primary Mental Ability Test. Correlations range from .30 to .59 for the Matching subtest and from .27 to .56 for the Copying subtest. Predictive validity was attempted by correlations with three experimental forms of the Metropolitan Readiness Test and the Metropolitan Achievement Test in first grade. Correlations for the Matching subtest ranged from .43 to .49 and correlations for the Copying subtest ranged from .38 to .41. Motor Facilitation Skill Survpy The Motor Facilitation Skill Survey is an adaptation of a motor skill survey designed in 1967 for the kinder- garten children in School District #21, Wheeling, Illinois.5 The Wheeling Skill Survgy is itself an adaptation of parts of the Purdue Percpptual-Motor Survey. It is primarily a diagnostic test. The Motor Facilitation Skill Survgy used in District #68 tested children on body-image and spatial- concepts in addition to ability to walk in different 5Donna Obrecht, Op. cit., pp. 53-78. 66 directions on a balance beam, jump, hop, skip, and carry out trunk movements. This survey is basically a sampling of gross motor movement ability for the kindergarten age child. Some norms were established for the Wheeling Skill Survey in 1967 when it was administered to 320 boys and 329 girls in the Wheeling, Illinois, school system. Fifty-three kindergarten children (25 boys and 28 girls) randomly selected from School District #36, Wheaton, Illinois, were given the Wheeling Skill Survey. For additional normalization and comparison data, the Wheeling Skill Survpy was administered to 369 boys and 391 girls in the Wheeling school system in 1968. Although reliability coefficients were not computed, the results for 1968 in general were similar to those of the previous year. Experimental Procedures This study may be described as an experimental, pre-test post-test control group design, where subjects were randomly assigned to the control and experimental groups. This design adequately controls for such internal sources of contamination as maturation, testing, instrumentation, regression, selection, mortality, and any interactions of the above.6 A possible external source of contamination 6Donald T- Campbell and Julian C. Stanley, E eri- mental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Research EChicago: Rand McNally and Company, 1963), pp. 13-22. 67 would be the interaction of the subjects and the testing. This sensitizing effect becomes of less importance, however, when it is considered that tests given the subjects were standardized, given in a routine, and certainly could be described as a regular phenomenon for kindergarten children. Treatment The pre-testing measures were administered in October, 1970. They included the Stanford Early School Achievement Test, the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts, and an adaptation of the Wheeling Motor Skills Survey. During six months of treatment, the experimental group was given a structured, sequential program of perceptual-motor development skills in the gymnasium, and the Frostig Program for the Development of Visual-Perception in the kindergarten classroom; meanwhile, the control group was given low organized activities in the gymnasium and a kindergarten readiness workbook in the classroom. The post-testing measures were given in April, 1971. These included the three tests previously mentioned in addition to the matching and copying subtests of the Metropolitan Readiness Tests. Each of the experimental and control groups included children from both morning and afternoon kinder- garten sessions. Each of the experimental and control 68 groups, both morning and afternoon, Spent two half-hours per week in the gymnasium part of the perceptual-motor development program and two half-hours per week in the classroom part of the perceptual-motor development program. When the experimental group worked in the gymnasium, the control group worked in the kindergarten classroom in its part of the research design, and vice-versa. Teacher Variable The kindergarten teaching group consisted of a master teacher, an associate teacher, and an aide. All three adults worked with forty children in the morning session and thirty children in the afternoon session. The associate teacher and the aide conducted the actual activities that were part of the research design for the control and experimental groups. In the gymnasium, all the groups were supervised by the elementary school principal. The programs for the experimental and control groups were conducted by members of one group of parent volunteers. Similarly, the programs for the afternoon experimental and control groups were conducted by a second group of parent volunteers. Thus, teacher variables were essentially the same for both experimental and control groups. The pupil- teacher ratio was the same during the treatment periods for 69 all experimental and control groups, but the pupil-teacher ratio during the remainder of the kindergarten day was larger for the morning session than for the afternoon session. Prior to the initial testing, the parent volunteers underwent a course of instruction in training procedures. The training session for volunteers was conducted by the Highland School principal, who had been a physical education teacher and who previously had participated in a training program for the development of motor facilitation programs. Experimental Method The primary purpose of the kindergarten perceptual- motor development program was to help each child develop perceptual-motor abilities. This was a two-part program; all the children in the experimental group participated in a series of motor activities in the gymnasium and used the Frostig visual-perceptual materials in the kindergarten classroom. The gross motor activities followed a general principle that involved the total process of the internal- ization of self-control and the concentration of attention on the movements being made. The internalization process was patterned on the analysis formulated by Alexander Luria.9 8Donna Obrecht, Op. cit., Appendices B and E. 9Alexander Luria, The Role of Speech in the Regulation of Normal and Abnormal Behavibr (New York: Liveright PubliShing, 1961). pp. 38-42. 70 At first the child was directed to each exercise, and each movement was made only upon a direct command from the instructor. At a later stage the child directed his own series of movements by verbalizing the commands aloud. At a still later stage he directed himself in a series of movements, silently making the commands. The criterion for progression was the child's own fluency in each of the series of movements. As the child became skillful in any given exercise, complexities were added in order to keep his attention aroused and focussed on the movements. Another general principle of the training involved the notion that the symptoms of hyperactivity and distracti- bility, commonly seen in many children, are a function of failure to develop adequate inhibitory processes.lo Motor development training itself was centered on the following categories: body parts and body image, position in space, directionality, eye—hand coordination, and balance beam exercises.11 The classroom segment of the treatment with the experimental group involved visual-motor development train- ing for two half-hour periods per week. The Frostig materials 10Sam D. Clements, "The Child with Minimal Brain Dysfunction: A Profile," Children with Minimal Brain Injury: A Symposium (Chicago: National Society for Crippled Children and Adults, 1965), p. 12. 11See Appendix F for detailed lesson plans for the experimental group. 71 as programmed in the beginning and intermediate books of Pictures and Patterns were used.12 The Frostig work sheets for the development of visual-perception focussed on the five visual-perceptual abilities that Frostig considers to have the greatest relevance to academic development. The five areas are: visual-motor coordination; figure- ground perception; perceptual constancy; position in space; and spatial relationships. The Frostig program was chosen for this research because of its structure and sequence. It should be noted, however, that this research is not attempting to base analysis of results on the theoretical claims of the Frostig Visual-perceptual theory. That is, the Frostig program was selected for use on its curriculum merits rather than on its theoretical merits. Control Method The control group received essentially the same amount of individual attention as the experimental group, in terms of adult-pupil ratios. To prevent a public relations problem of parental concern that those children placed in a control group might not receive extra instruction, the gymnasium segment of the control group was disguised as a different curricular approach to perceptual-motor 2Marianne Frostig and David Horne, The Frostig Program for the Development of Visual Perception (Chicago, Illinois: Follett Publishing Co., 1964). 72 development. Thus, the names of lessons coincide with the names of the experimental group lessons. For part of the gymnasium time of the control group, the children met in a large circle arrangement. Volunteer mothers took turns as leaders for the group while the other mothers interacted with the children in the circle. The remainder of the time in the gymnasium was spent in a game activity, such as a relay or broadjump. The kindergarten classroom time of the control group experience consisted of very generalized readiness activities such as cutting, pasting, and copying, from a workbook entitled Advantage.14 Testable Hypotheses In this chapter, the null form of the hypotheses will be used for research purposes. The structure of the hypotheses will be similar to the structure as stated in Chapter I. There are four null hypotheses and one research question. Null’Hypotheses: One. No significant difference will be found in academic achievement, as measured by the Stanford Early School Achievement Test, between kindergarten children participating in a l4Raymond Fournier and Vincent Presno, Advanta e Inc., 1869). (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Two. Three. Four. 73 structured, sequential perceptual-motor development program and kindergarten children participating in a program consisting of low organized gym activities and a readiness work- book; No significant difference will be found in mastery of basic concepts as measured by the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts between kinder- garten children participating in a structured, sequential perceptual-motor development program and kindergarten children participating in a program consisting of low organized gym activities and a readiness workbook; No significant difference will be found in the mastery of gross motor activities as measured by an adaptation of the Wheeling Motor Facilitation Skill Survpy_between kindergarten children participating in a structured, sequential perceptual-motor development program and kindergarten children participating in a program consisting of low organized gym activities and a readiness workbook. No significant difference will be found in visual perception and motor control, as measured by two subtests of the Metropolitan Readiness Test between kindergarten children who participated in a structured, sequential 74 perceptual-motor development program and kinder- garten children participating in a program consisting of low organized gym activities and a readiness workbook; Research Question: There will be no significant differences in scores on the §§§§T, the BTpp, the MFSp, and the Matching and Copying subtests of the M5: at the end of treatment between morning and afternoon kindergarten sessions for all of the above four hypotheses. Analysis Used for the Data To analyze the data collected, several statistical treatments were used for the purposes of testing the hypo- theses previously stated. A three factor analysis of variance procedure, with repeated measures on the third factor, as described by Winer,15 was used for analyzing the data relevant to the testing of the hypotheses one through three. This statistical treatment was chosen for two reasons. First, the analysis of variance segment of the statistical analysis provided information required in the testing for significant differences between control and experimental groups as well as 15B. J. Winer, Statistical Principles in Experimental Desi n (New York: McGraw-HiII'Book Company, 1962), pp. 338- 343. f 75 between morning and afternoon sessions. This analysis also previded for the testing of interaction effects resulting from any combination of the three factors tested. Second, the repeated measures aspect of the procedure furnished information on gains in test scores; it also served as a correction of pre-test scores concerning any differences that might have existed between groups. This type of statistical analysis also offered the opportunity to profile the test data for each one of the first three hypotheses. Thus, this was a very sensitive analysis procedure for testing differences between groups. Also, a simple effects analysis procedure, as described by Winer,16 was used, when appropriate, for the four hypotheses. Simple effects analysis was used to further define specifically the nature of significant interaction effects that occurred through the analysis of variance procedures used. To test the fourth hypothesis, a separate two- way analysis of variance procedure, as suggested by Hays,l7 was used. This procedure provided information required in the testing for significant differences between experi- mental and control groups as well as between morning and 168. J. Winer, Op. cit., pp. 310—311. 17William L. Hays, Statistics for Psychologists (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1963), p. 387. l,ll[ {\tll 76 afternoon sessions. As previously pointed out, the use of the analysis of variance procedure also provided information relevant to the existence of interaction effects of differences apparently caused by the unique combination of treatment and sessions. Finally, to test whether the items in the tests used were fairly homogeneous in terms of how the individuals responded to the items, a Kuder-Richardson coefficient was used as a measure of reliability. The formula used was the one suggested by Hoyt.18 This reliability coefficient was computed for each one of the three tests that were given in the pre-testing observations: the Stanford Early School Achievement Test, the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts, and the Motor Facilitation Skill Survey. Summary The basic hypothesis for this study stated: a kindergarten curriculum containing a structured, sequential perceptual-motor development program would improve academic achievement and mastery of basic concepts. To test this hypothesis, sixty children from the kindergarten class at Highland Elementary School, Skokie, Illinois, were randomly 18C. Hoyt, "Test Reliability Obtained by Analysis of Variance," Psychometrika, VI (March, 1941), pp. 153-160. llllillll 1|IUIII I‘ I'll ill-It‘ll D j .I. ‘ l‘r‘ll 77 assigned to experimental and control groups. Teacher variables were held constant and all treatment groups had the same pupil—teacher ratio. The experimental groups were given a structured, sequential program of perceptual-motor development skills. A physical education program based on low organized activities and a kindergarten readiness program was given to the control groups. Each group received a total of two hours of differential treatment per week. For an overview of Treatment Procedures, see Figure 3.1. 78 .meDUOUOHm UCOEUMGHH. .HO 3OH>H®>OIIHom MHmDmanH Amummunsm mcfimmou poo mcflnoumzv puma wmmcflpmmm cmuaaooouuoz owes ucmEo>mH204 Hoooom waumm Unemcmum mudoocoo oammm mo umme Sodom sm>usm HHme coHpMpHHnoem mono: .H mmouo Houucoo Amumounom mcflwmoo pom mcflnouozv Dome mmmc Iflpmmm cmuflaomouumz owes ucmEo>mH£oa Hoonom >Humm oH0mcwum mummocou cammm we once Eooom sm>psm Haflxm coflumuflaflomm Houoz .H mm0uo amucmsflummxm Aommucm>pHuo¢ penacmmuo 30A Amateuoums mwumoumv Econ Immtao cmuummuopcflx GA Emnmoum page ImoHo>oQ Hmoueooumm Edwmmsswo ca ocofi Imoao>mo Houoz Hose Immoumm .omnouosuum umoe ucmEm>mHno< Hoooom waumm Unemcmum .m mummocou oammm we once Ezoom .N >o>uom Haflxm coflumuwafloom uouoz .H .mmonu HOHDCOU poms ucmEo>ofl£o< Hoonom wauom Unemcmum .m mummocou oflmmm mo owes Eooom .m >O>H5m maflxm coaumufiaflomm Houoz .H mmouo HoucoEHquMm Hhma .HHHQ¢ CH mcoflum>ummoo mo mnucoz me onma ..uoo CH mcoflum>ummno CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS OF RESULTS Data generated by the pre- and post-testing of this study are presented according to the order of hypotheses stated in Chapter I. The null hypothesis is restated and the results are described. Analyses of variance tables are presented along with figures that graph results of pre- and post-testing for each of the first three hypotheses. A discussion of the results of the study concludes Chapter IV. Validation of Hypothesis One The first hypothesis dealt with the effects of the experimental method on the total score of the Stanford Early School Achievement Test. In its null form.it was stated as follows: No significant difference will be found in academic achievement as measured by the Stanford Early School Achievement Test between kindergarten children partiCipating in a structured, sequential perceptual- motor development program and kindergarten children participating in a program consisting of low organized gym activities and a readiness workbook. 79 80 The research question concerning the effects of the experimental method on morning and afternoon sessions in its relationship to Hypothesis One was stated in null form as follows: No significant difference will be found between morn- ing and afternoon kindergarten sessions with respect to the total score on the gpggg. As shown in Table 4.1, there was no significant difference on the §E§AT between scores of the children who experienced the experimental method of instruction and those of children in the control group. Thus, the results fail to reject null Hypothesis One. There was, however, a difference at the .05 level of significance between morning and afternoon sessions. The results, then, lead to the rejection of the null hypothesis for the research question pertaining to Hypothesis One, favoring the morning session. Table 4.1 also reveals significance, at the .01 level, favoring improvement on the §§§§T in the post-testing situation over the pre-testing situation. Significant improvement on this variable was expected and relates to assumption five stated in Chapter I rather than to an hypothesis. Also shown on Table 4.1 is a significant interaction at the .05 level of confidence between sessions and observations. 81 TABLE 4.1.-—Analysis of Variance on Stanford Early School Achievement Test. Source of Variation df. Mean Square F P Between Subjects Treatment 1 1.63