lllllUlllHlllllllllllnllmHlUlI‘HlllllllHllll“WW L, 3 1293 10448 17 THE DIFFERENTIAL EFFECTS OF THREE PARENT EDUCATION PROGRAMS ON THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THEIR CHILDREN ENROLLED IN AN EXPERIMENTAL HEAD START PROGRAM by Judith L1 Kuipers A THESIS _ Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Elementary Education 1969 DEDICATION My runaband, Jerry, and children, Lori, Mark, and Chris fimr their'enduring enthusiasm in our COOperative learning experience. 11 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The financial and administrative support of the M.S.U. Head Start Reserach and Evaluation Center is grate- fully acknowledged. Dr. Robert Boger, Mrs. Marilyn Beery, and Miss JoLynn Cunningham deserve special recognition for invaluable contributions. A critical member of any research team is the statis- tical consultant. Larry Lezotte's suggestions for design and analysis techniques were extremely helpful. His personal support and encouragement were invaluable. The hard work and enthusiastic support given by Pigeon-Elkton-Bay Port Director, Jack Newton; principals, Stan Bauman and Etrel Miller; teachers, Mrs. Ellen Wolford, Mrs. Peg Bellella, Mrs. Hazel Chalou, Mrs. Frances Beech, Mrs. Margaret Taylor and Mrs. Katherine Zurokowski; parents; and others too numerous to mention, will be a continued source of inspriation to the writer. The thoughtful competent guidance provided by COmmittee advisor Dr. Jean LePere was invaluable. Special appreciation is'due to other committee members Dr. Bernice Bergman, Dr. Calhoun Collier, Dr. Robert Boger and Dr. Carl Ckross for the insight they have provided, not only in r"‘1‘3|.aat‘t'.ion to this study, but throughout my educational exPerience . iii Consultation given by Dr. Merle Karnes and Staff at the University of Illinois and Doris Crowell of the University of Hawaii was sincerely appreciated. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page DEDICATION . . . . . .. . . . . . . . ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . iii LIST OF TABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . viii Chapter I. THE PROBLEM AND PURPOSES OF THE STUDY . l The Problem . A The Importance of the Study . . . 5 Statement of Purpose . . . . . . . 9 Statement of Major Hypotheses . . . lO Assumptions . . ll Assumptions Underlying the Child' 5 Development . . . ll Assumptions Underlying the Parent Education Program . . . . . . 11 Limitations of the Study . . '. . . . . 13 Definitions of Terms . . . . . . . . lu Disadvantaged . . . . . . . . 14 Language Training . . . . . . . 16 Language Achievement . . . . . . 17 Structured Approach . . . . . . 1? Developmental Approach . . . . . 18 Intellectual Performance . . . . . l9 Mother-Child Interaction . . . . . 19 Self Concept . . 19 Organization of the Remainder of the Study . 19 II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE . . . . . . . 21 Effects of Early Experience on the Development of Intelligence, Language, Learning and Self Concept . . 2A Rationales for Language Oriented Programs . 3A Parent Participation - Education Programs . 38 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Chapter III. IV. POPULATION PROCEDURES AND DATA COLLECTION . . Background and Description of the Population . Advantaged and Disadvantaged Dichotomy . Sample . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Procedures . . . . . . . Experimental Treatment I: Developmental Training . . . . Experimental Treatment II: Structured Training . . . . Common Characteristics of the Two Experimental Treatments . . Placebo Treatment. Workshop Training . Instrumentation . . . . . . . . . . Intelligence Scale . . . . . . . . . . ‘ Standardization . . . Reliability . . . Validity . . . . Language Scale . . . . . The Test . . . Statistical Characteristics . Validity . . . . . . . Reliability . . . Mother-Child Interaction Tests . Child's Self Concept Measures . The Pre-school Self Concept Picture Test Depicted Characteristics . . . . . . . Validity and Reliability . . . . Brown IDS Self Concept Referents Test Reliability - Validity . . ~Children' 3 Social Self Construct Test Reliability . . . . . . . . . Validity . . . . . . . Administration of Tests . . . . . . Data Analysis and Processing . . . . . . ANALYSIS OF THE DATA . . . . . . . . . The Data . . Advantaged— —Disadvantaged Dichotomy Predicting Intellectual Achievement Advantaged- -Disadvantaged Interadtion . Predicting Self Concept Improvement . . Brown IDS Self Concept Reference Test . Advantaged-Disadvantaged Interaction . Henderson-Ziller-Long Children's Self- Social Constructs Test and the Woolner Preschool Self Concept Picture Test . . . . . . vi Page 103 105 Chapter Page Advantaged-Disadvantaged Dichotomy . . 105 Predicting Improved Mother—Child Interaction . . . . . 105 Hess— Shipman Mother-Child Test . . . 110 Advantaged- Disadvantaged Dichotomy . . 112 Advantaged-Disadvantaged Interaction . 119 Final Hypothesis . . . . . . . . 122 Summary of Analysis . . . . . . . . . 122 Discussion of Findings . . . . 12A Anecdotes of Parent, Teacher and Child Reactions to the Experimental Program . . 13A Principal—School-Parent Communication . 135 Principal- Teacher and Teacher-Teacher Communication . . . . . . 136 Parent- Parent Communication . . . . 1A0 Parent- Child Interaction . . . . . 1N3 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 'V. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH . . . . . . . . . . 145 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1A5 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . 1A9 Implications . . . . . . . . . . 150 Planning Programs . . . . . . . 151 Training Personnel . . . . . . . 153 Further Research . . . . . . . . 15A BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 APPENDICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164 A. TEST REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . 165 B INSTRUMENTS . . . . . . . . . . 167 C SAMPLE LESSONS FOR PLACEBO TREATMENT . . 172 D. SAMPLE LESSONS FOR STRUCTURED TREATMENT . 177 E . SAMPLE LESSONS FOR DEVELOPMENTAL TREATMENT . . . . . . . . . . 183 vii LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Breakdown of Class Population by Guideline Eligibility . . . . . . . . . . . 5A 2. Testing Sample . . . . . . . . . . . 55 3. Number of Guideline Eligible and Non-Guideline Eligible Children in Each Training Program . 56 . Testing Sample by Treatment . . . . . . . 56 . Sequential Levels of Language Development . . 62 . W. P. P. S. I. Sub-tests . . . . . . . . 67 u 5 6 7. Derivation and Description of ITPA Subtests . 73 8 9 . ITPA Analysis of Co-variance (N—6A) . . . . 87 l . ITPA - Mean Gain Scores (N-6A) . . . . . . 91 10. WPPSI Analysis of Co-variance (N-6A) . . . . 93 ll. WPPSI Analysis of Co-variance . . . . . . 95 12. WPPSI Analysis of Co-variance . . . . . . 97 13. WPPSI Analysis of CoVariance . . . . . . 97 1". WPPSI Analysis of Co—Variance . . . . . . 98 15. WPPSI Means--Gain Scores . . . . . . . . 99 15- WPPSI Analysis of Co—Variance . . . . . . 100 11' 'WPPSI Analysis of Co-Variance (N-6A) . . . . 102 18- WPPSI Analysis of Co-Variance (N-6A) . .. . . 102 19- Brown IDS Self Concept Reference Test . . . 104 20- Brown IDS Self Concept Reference Test . . . 10A viii Table Page 21. HZL Self—Social Constructs Test (N-6A) . . . 106 22. Woolner Preschool Self Concept Picture Test . 108 23. Brown IDS Self Concept Reference Test . . . 109 2A. Hess and Shipman Mother-Child Analysis of CO-Variance (N-6u) o o o o o o o o o 111 25. Hess and Shipman Mother-Child Analysis of Co-Variance . . . . . . . . . . . 111 26. Hess and Shipman Mother-Child Analysis of CO-Variance o o o o o o o o o o o 113 27. Hess and Shipman Mother-Child Analysis of CO-Variance o o o o o o o o o o 0 ll“ 28. MSU Experimental Tell-A-Story Test Analysis of Co-Variance (N-6A) . . . . . 118 29. MSU Experimental Tell—A-Story Test Analysis of Co-Variance . . . . . . . 120 30. MSU Experimental Tell-A-Story Test Analysis of Co-Variance . . . . . . . 120 31. MSU Experimental Tell-A-Story Test Analysis of Co-Variance . . . . . . . 121 .32. MSU Experimental Tell-A-Story Test Analysis of Co-Variance (N-6A) . . . . . 121 133. MSU Experimental Tell-A-Story Test . . . . 123 34. Mother's Attendance (N-107) . . . . . . 139 ix CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM AND PURPOSES OF THE STUDY It would appear that early childhood education has Just been discovered or more accurately redis- covered! Witness such title articles from periodicals such as Newsweek, Saturday Review and Psychology Today to psychological and education Journals--"Are Public Schools Ready for the Preschooler?" "The Importance of the Early Years," "Starting Them Young," "Are Kinder- gartens Obsolete?" and "Poverty, Education and the Young Child." Psychologists, interested in learning and cogni- tion, linguists, mathematicians, physicists, economists and representatives of other disciplines are becoming increasingly aware that a child's experience in the years before he is six may influence not only his attitudes toward intellectual ideas, but his actual abilities for grasping them. The effects of an impoverished environment in the early years upon personal health, social relationships, and emotional development has been a concern to early lchildhood educators for years. Recent evidence emphasizes influences on intellectual functioning as well. In their report on compensatory education for cultural deprivation, Bloom, Davis and Hess speak of culturally disadvantaged or deprived students as those "whose early experiences in the home, whose motivation for present school learning, and whose goals for the future are such as to handicap them in schoolwork."l A large proportion of them come from homes in which the adults have a minimal level of education; "from homes where poverty, large family size, broken homes, discrimination and slum conditions further complicate the picture?2 Bloom, Davis, and Hess speak of the importance of early experience and state that research reveals the aspects of the home environment most significant in affecting the child's learning involve "provisions for general learning, model and help in language development, and parental stimulation and concern for achievement and learning on the part of the child."3 1Benjamin S. Bloom, Allison Davis, and Robert Hess, Compensatory Education for Cultural Deprivation (New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1965), p. A. 2Ibid., p. 5. For more than a half century, the nursery school and kindergarten have been viewed by early childhood educators as one approach to meeting the needs of impoverished families. It was less than accidental that the first nursery school was organized in the heart of a London slum to meet the needs of a disad- vantaged population. Due to lack of public support in the United States over the years, however, nursery schools have been a "privilege" primarily of the middle and upper classes. However, with the advent of Project Head Start inaugurated in the summer of 1965 under the aegis of the U. S. Office of Economic Opportunity, a national attempt is being made to provide preschool education for disadvantaged children. The emphasis on parent education is a still more recent phenomenon. In November 1968, a special confer- ence was held in Houston, Texas. The topic of this con- ference was "Parent Involvement in Headstart." While scientists of human behavior have long recognized the family as the primary socialization agent, it has been only recently that theory has emerged into the world of practical programs. A perusal of the literature evi— dences a real dearth of fruitful parent education pro— grams . 31b1d., p. 12. The Problem It is generally recommended that pre-school pro- grams for socially disadvantaged children involve the parents, yet many programs are implemented With little parent participation. This investigator hypothesized that a parent participation-education pre-school program would provide a more effective approach to overcoming language retardation as well as difficulties in other areas. 1 Language disadvantage may be due to the smaller amount and the poorer quality of the interaCtion which the child has with his parents, chiefly his mother. Research suggests this is true for the lower class urban child. The "disadvantagement" in the rural family may be of a different nature, however. The Darcee Research center in Tennessee reports that the rural low income child's language is better, their perceptions keener, and their gross motor development more advanced than inner city low income children.“ However, the rural child and the rural community he encounters is affected by an isolation geographically as well as ideationally. One tertiary objective of this study will be to shed further light on the nature of "disadvantagement" in children living in rural communities. , ! ”Susan Gray, "Early Training Project, Darcee Rural Center." Fairview, Tennessee, February 1968. (Research Newsletter.) If a parent-participation education program can stimulate the mother to provide an effective level of interaction and can reinforce her efforts, the effects on the child's education could be far reaching, extending perhaps to older and younger siblings. The need for a program in which professionals educate mothers to more effectively interact with their preschool children in the home is evident. However, the questions of what educational procedures could best achieve this end and what content should be included in such education remain to be answered. This study will present three differentiated language training programs to mothers in an attempt to shed more light on pertinent models for involving parents in an attempt to strengthen the preschool child's language skills, broaden his intelligence, and bolster his concept of self. The Importance of the Study The plethora of recent research studies in the area of the culturally disadvantaged reveals many mea- surable differences between the advantaged and the disadvantaged child. They typically have found that the characteristics present in the social environment of the disadvantaged child have adverse effects on the development of intelligence, perceptual habits, motivation, language development and self concept. In Deutsch's now much quoted 196A work, it is stated that language development is perhaps the best indication of environment: language is the primary avenue for communication, absorption, interpretation of the environment, but it also reflects highly accultured styles of thought and ideational moges for solving and not solv- ing problems. Styles of communication in the disadvantaged home are found to differ significantly from that of the advantaged home. John notes that feedback, as well as adult-child dialogue, occurs with a much lower frequency 6 Hess and Shipman further in the disadvantaged home. substantiated this fact in their studies which reveal that the lower class mothers use more imperative control whereas middle class mothers use subjective-personal or cognitive-rational methods.7 Bernstein describes the language patterns of the disadvantaged as fragmentary and informal to the extent that the child is denied the verbal parameters necessary to develop normative labeling and identification of his 5Martin Deutsch, "The Disadvantaged Child and the Learning Process" in Education in Depressed Areas ed. by A. H. Passow (New York: Columbia University, Teachers College Press, 1963), pp. 163-180. 6Vera John, "The Intellectual Development of Slum Children: Some Preliminary Findings," American Journal Qfl Qtngpsyghigtry, XXXIII (1963) 813-852. 7R. D. Hess, E. c. Olim, and Virginia Shipman, "Relationship Between Mothers' Language Styles and Cognitive Styles of Urban Preschool Children" (Paper presented at Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Minneapolis, Minnesota, March 1965). (Mimeographed.) environment.8 Hess found in a problem-solving situation the lower class mother used fewer words when explain— ing an event to her child, fewer abstract words, fewer statements of personal orientation, and offered less help.9 If cultural effects on the intellectual function- ing are as Bruner states, "from the outside in," then the techniques by which this process can be influenced through parental practice are certainly an area of legitimate concern.10 Kagan and Moss state that there are definite critical periods in the child's language development during which parental practices drastically affect later development.ll Bloom concludes after an extensive review of longitudinal studies from the past forty years, that 50 per cent of the intelligence can be accounted for by age four.12 8Basil Bernstein, "Social Class and Linguistic Development: A Theory of Social Learning," Education, Economy, and Society, ed. by A. H. Halsey, J. Floud and C. A. Anderson (New York: Free Press of Glencoes, Incorporated, 1961), pp. 288-31“. 9Robert D. Hess and Virginia Shipman, "Early Blocks to Children's Learning," Children, XII (1965) pp. 189-194. 10C. Brunner, "Deprivation--Its Effects, Its Remedies," Educational Leadership, XXIII (1965), pp. 103-107. 11Jerome Kagan and H. A. Moss, "Maternal Influences on Early I.Q. Scores," Psychological Reports, IV (1953). PP. 555-651- 12Bloom, Davis, Hess, op. cit. Intervention in the preschool years of the cultur- ally disadvantaged child is necessary to deter the cumulative effect of this style of life. Bereiter and Engleman have produced significant change in intelligence test scores through a structural language program.l3 Weikart and Levenstein have been instrumental in the training of mothers by professionals in child stimulation. Both results show mothers can be educated for this role.1u’15 Karnes gt_al. developed a training program for mothers to work with their four year olds in the homes. Results showed significant gains in language development and general intelligence over a control group which was engaged in no training.16 To summarize, in most American families, the mother is the major socializing agent for her preschool child. Consequently, she continually functions as a teacher in their daily interactions, whether or not she is aware of her teaching role. Much of the implicit language, 13Carl Bereiter and Siegfried Engleman, Teaching Disadvantaged Children in the Preschool (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc., 1966.) 1"David Weikart and D. Lambie, "Preschool Inter- vention Through a Home Teaching Program," (unpublished manuscript, June, 1967). (Mimeographed.) 15Phyliss Levenstein, "Aiding Cognitive Growth in Disadvantaged Preschoolers," (unpublished manuscript, Mother-Child Home Program. Progress Report, 1968). (Mimeographed.) 16Merle Karnes, W. Studley, W. Wright and Ann Hodgins. "An Approach for Working with Mothers of Disadvantaged Preschool Children," Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, XIV (1968), pp. 28-“6. * conceptual, and social—emotional learning is conveyed by communication patterns the child receives from his mother. Differences among mothers in the way they teach may not only affect the degree to which the children learn the intended message or meaning but also affect their child's motivation in the learning situation, the kinds of learning habits he develops, and his view of himself as a successful learner. While Hess and Shipman, Bernstein and others have provided the necessary evidence for verification of these phenomena little has been done to formulate and test specific methods and techniques that lead to meaningful parent education. Indeed, the failure of certain parent education programs to spill over signi- ficantly into the child's school performance may be due to a failure to plan the content of the parent programs in a systematic and intensive fashion. Statement of Purpose The purpose of this study was to train teachers to educate mothers to work with their children to further linguistic skills, intellectual performance and self concept development. This study differs from the majority of parent education studies along the following dimensions: 1. There was heterogeneous grouping of advantaged and disadvantaged children. 10 Three different approaches in techniques and materials were used in the parent education; structured, developmental, and placebo or workshop. A rural rather than urban population was the focal point of the study. Caucasian rather than Negro children and parents were subjects of the study. Mothers attended the meetings voluntarily. Statement of Major Hypotheses In order to ascertain the effects of a differen- txiated parent education program on the linguistic, ixrtellectual, and conceptual development of their crnildren, it was hypothesized that: 1. Head Start children whose mothers receive structured or developmental education in language and communication techniques will evidence greater positive changes in linguistic achievement as measured by the ITPA than will children of mothers who receive the placebo experience. Head Start children whose mothers receive structured or developmental education in language and communication techniques will evidence greater positive changes in intellectual performance as measured by the WPPSI than will children of mothers who receive the placebo experience. Head Start children whose mothers receive structured or developmental education in language and communication techniques will evidence greater positive changes in self concept development as measured by the MSU Experimental Self Concept Test than will children of mothers who receive the placebo experience. 11 A. Head-Start children and mothers who receive structured or developmental education in language and communication techniques will evidence greater positive changes in mother—child interaction measured by the Hess and Shipman Mother—Child Interaction, and the MSU Experimental Tell—A-Story Test, than will children and mothers in the Placebo Group. 5. There will be no difference in the level of performance on intellectual, linguistic and self concept measures between children whose mothers take part in Developmental Training Group as compared to those who take part in the Highly Structured Training Group. Assumptions Assumptions Underlying the Child's Development 1. The pre—school years are critical to the child's developing intellectual abilities, language skills, and conceptual skills. 2. Intelligence is not a fixed entity, but emerges out of stimulation from, and inter- action with, the environment. 3. The rate, quality, and quantity of growth and development is unique for each child regardless of socio—economic background. A. Continuity of the child's school experience can be fostered through effective parent participation. flééflgmptions Underlying the Parent Eglflgation Program l. A philosophy of respect for the dignity and integrity of the individual permeating the 12 group experience can help parents view this philosophy as a basis for guiding their children. 2. The parents' previous experience and the way they view themselves plays a direct role in their family interaction and parent role performance. . 3. Approaches which are confidence inspiring rather than self defeating, and help parents become more aware of their own ability to relate to their children, are most beneficial. A. Parents are capable of absorbing and imple- menting much of the accumulating child development knowledge, though they often use this information in their own ways. 5. Information concerning the availability and function of community resources will enable parents to make greater use of these resources. 6. Parents can learn methods, techniques and skills to improve the mother-child interaction. There are differing opinions as to whether parents 'Ni:thin lower socio-economic groups would voluntarily Dairticipate in specific education programs designed to benefit the child as well as the mother. The essence of these assumptions is that the mag ority of disadvantaged mothers a_r_'_e concerned about the well being of their children, though they often l3 suffer from feelings of helplessness in providing an adequate environment for their own off-spring. Cer- tainly, effective parent education programs offer an opportunity for altering the cyclic nature of the "culture of poverty." Limitations of the Study This study is limited to the children and parents of lower and middle income groups who reside in the Pigeon, Elkton, Bay Port area of the State of Michigan. There is a wealth of research centering on the whole problem of the disadvantaged. However, studies reviewed in this paper will deal exclusively with the child and the environment his parents provide that affects his language, intellectual and self concept development. The parent program took place concurrent to the general pre-school program. There was no way to isolate the pre—school effect. This fact must be taken into Ccndsideration in interpreting the results of the experiment. The evaluation procedures of the study are limited in that no measures of creative kinds of abilities were talcen. Creative use of language itself, and language USEMd to behave more creatively are two competencies this inv’Eistigator values. Regretfully, lack of available Valid instruments, competent testers, time, and funds, IlPeucluded any attempt to obtain this type of data. 114 This study is limited in that there has been a dearth of recent psychological and educational investi- gations of rural populations in the United States. This has resulted in a clouded picture of just who and what the disadvantaged rural American really is. Finally, time was definitely a limiting factor. The investigator worked from September 1968, through April 1969, handling the logistics of the situation, orienting administrators, parents and teachers, testing and attempting to establish a genuine rapport. However, the actual parent education program; by-necessity, was limited to an intensive twelve-week program, a relatively short period of time compared to the child and adult's total previous experience. Definition of Terms Disadvantaged Various definitions of the "disadvantaged" have been proposed and various terms have been used to refer to them. The terms, "culturally deprived," "educationally retarded or deprived," "underprivileged," "socially or culturally disadvantaged" are reported in much of the Current literature. It is at this point that it should be reemphasized that the disadvantaged are a heterogeneous group, not a hOmogeneous group as many programs too often indicate. AS Dr. Robert Boger and Suann Ambron state in their 15 research report, "We still do not know enough about the etiology of disadvantagement or what the term means for specific sub—groups of disadvantaged children."17 The disadvantaged children chosen for this study by the Director of the Pre-school program met the following criteria: (1) inadequate housing for size of the family in terms of space and facilities, (2) location in terms of rural isolation or less desirable city area, (3) income level, if below the O. E. 0. $3,000 mark. However, the following definition by Havighurst seems most fitting for the kinds of socially disadvantaged people dealt with in this study: 1. They are at the bottom of the American society in terms of income. 2. They have a rural background. [sic] 3. They suffer from social and economic discrimination at the hands of the majority of the society. A. They are widely distributed in the United States. While they are most visible in the big cities, they are present in all except the very high income communities. There are many of them in rural areas. Altogether, these groups make up about 15 per cent of the United States population. Since they tend to have large families, their children make up as much as 20 per cent of the child population. Not all socially disadvantaged children come from these groups, but the great majority do. 17Robert Boger and Suann Ambron, "Suprpulation Profiling of the Psychoeducational Dimensions of Disadvantaged Preschool Children," (report presented at the Third National Head Start Research Seminar held (n1 October 9, 1968 in Washington, D. C.) (Mimeographed.) 16 Not all children in these groups are socially disadvantaged, but the great majority are. Above all, it is important to avoid the error of saying that all children of working- class families are socially disadvantaged. Approximately 65 per cent of the children of this country are living in working-class homes. That is, their fathers or mothers do manual work for a living. The great major- ity of these families give their children a fairly good start for life in a3 urban industrial democratic society.1 Language Training Language training in this study means helping mother and child: 1. Use more words 2. Speak in complete sentences 3. Ask specific questions A. Correct their own language mistakes 5. Understand selected basic concepts, reason and solve problems, and use words to explain their thinking. In essence language is a tool, but it also has content. It refers to the way things are or might be. By listen— ing to others speak, the toddler learns language and, through language he learns about the world in which he lives. ~* 13R. J. Havighurst, "Who Are the Socially Disad- ‘Vantaged?" The Educationally Retarded and Disadvantaged, Sixty-sixth Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education, Part I (University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois, 1967), p. 3. 17 Language Achievement Because the measurement field is limited in its ability to measure all aspects of this phenomenon, change in language achievement will be viewed in rela— tion to performance on the Illinois Test of Psycholin- guistics (ITPA). Structured Approach The structured method teaches the children a set of selected sentence patterns, some of which serve the function of labeling, others of describing, explaining, or questioning. The formal part of the program is the language lesson. Selected patterns are introduced by direct teaching, practiced in a specified sequence, and made meaningful by the use of related materials and experi- ences. The purpose of the language lesson is to provide the kind of experience that allows the children to learn efficiently. It enables the mother to expose every child to specific material and keep track of daily progress in a systematic manner. It is not only a formal situation, however, that allows children experiences for learning and practicing language skills. Semi—structured and informal activities provide opportunities for language practice. It is important for language skills to be trans- ferable to situations outside the language lesson. .Although it is not always necessary to speak in complete 18 sentences, at times it is important to be able to call upon a precise code. Developmental Approach The developmental approach emphasizes that much of the learning in early childhood is spontaneous and comes to the child in many ways. It is not necessarily sequential. It cannot always be carefully structured and ordered. This learning takes place long before language comes into existence and continues. Physical movement and life experiences provide the first vocabulary for the child. Seeing, touching, tasting, smelling, and manipulating tell him what the world is like. The crucial modality of the young child is play behavior. To the child, play is essentially a research activity, an internal transactional process. It is free because the child's activity is still tenta- tive and uncommitted. It is capable of exploration, revision, renunciation and replacement. In play the child can manipulate objects, events and even people with less restriction than that imposed on adults. Therefore, play provides not only a means for practicing, consolidating and assimilating what one knows, but pro- vides an opportunity to challenge or revise that knowledge. All the activity previously mentioned implies a thoughtfully prepared environment-~with space, freedom, and challenging materials to explore and experiment with. lFurther, it implies that mother and teachers understand 19 how patterns of thought and commensurate language abili- ties develop in the young child. This is, of course, the basis for this specific developmental approach. Intellectual Performance Because the measurement field is limited in its ability to measure all aspects of this phenomenon, intelligence change in this study will be viewed in relation to performance on the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI). Mother-Child Interaction Mother-child interaction is viewed as the total communicative process existing between mother and child. This includes dimensions of quantity and quality of language behavior as well as non-verbal communication and a dimension of warmth of relationship. Self-Concept In this study self concept will be designated as the child's concepts or cognitive construction of his total characteristics of self in relation to the signi- ficant persons that surround him. Organization of the Remainder of the Study The remainder of the study will include a survey of current literature in three areas. These will be considered in Chapter II under the sub-titles of: IEffects of Early Experience on the Development of 20 Intelligence, Language, Learning, and Self Concept; Rationales for Language Oriented Programs; and, Parent Participation Education Programs. In Chapter III, a description of the population and procedures used for collecting and analyzing will be presented. Chapter IV will contain an analysis of the data and results of the study. Summary, conclu- sions, and recommendations for further study will be explicated in Chapter V. CHAPTER II REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE It has been fairly well established that the preschool years are critical ones to the growing, develOping child. Bloom's analysis of the stability and variability in the development of certain character- istics from infancy to maturity--physical factors, intelligence, scholastic achievement, interests, atti- tudes, and personality--underscores this critical influence. 1 Bloom carefully surveyed data from over one thousand longitudinal studies in an attempt to identify and explain stability and change in the above mentioned characteristics. Besides uncovering countless support .for the idea of the salience of the early environment, lie also mustered evidence to indicate that any given Cilaracteristic has its greatest potential for change <311ring the period of its most rapid growth. The early ytiars are periods of the most rapid growth for the child's lBenjamin Bloom, Stability and Change in Human Efllggpacteristics (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 196“). 21 22 developing intelligence, language abilities, and certainly for the foundations of self concept. Hence, there is a tremendous influence of the home environ- ment on these aspects of the child's development.2 Bloom continues with a description of three factors that affect the development of general intelli- gence, (l) "the stimulation provided in the environment for verbal development," (2) "the extent to which affection and reward are related to verbal reasoning accomplishments," and (3) "the encouragement of active interaction with problems, exploration of the environ— ment and the learning of new skills."3 The child's family structures the initial environment concerning the three factors cited by Bloom. There is merit in viewing the specific know- ledge researchers have uncovered over the past few years concerning socially disadvantaged children as loeneficial to understanding the growth and develop- nuent of all children. Barring congenital deficiencies, aill babies come into this world with certain positive PIIYSical, social-emotional, and intellectual potentiali- tiJas. Indeed, the definition of intelligence has been Plfiaviously stated as a product of the interaction of these potentialities with the environment. While there \ 2Ibid. 3Ihid. 23 are definite differences in the manner in which lower income and middle-upper income parents structure their child's environment, it should be pointed out that often the differences reduce to the upper income parent' providing wholesome food, warm clothing, creative playthings, lessons, and trips,--but they often pay little attention to the development of the child as an interesting competent personality. In this sense the "culturally disadvantaged" is viewed as the "culturally different" with definite strengths, trying to avoid what Eisenberg calls, "confusing difference with defect."u The strengths that Eisenberg as well as Reissman report could well describe many of the rural children that are subjects of this study.5’6 A degree of cooperativeness and mutual aid which extends beyond the nuclear family typical of the middle class; collective group values, rather than individualistic ones; more genuine egalitarian values and less susceptibility to consideration of status and prestige; freedom from family overprotection and more readiness to accept responsibility for family chores? superior physical coordination and skill. “Leon Eisenberg, "Strengths of the Inner City calild," Baltimore Bulletin of Education, XLI (l963-6A, pp 0 10-16. 51bid. 6Frank Reissman, The Culturall Deprived Child (New York: Harper and Bros., 1963 . 7Eisenberg, op. cit. 2A In line with Murphy's and Schachtel's suggestion, then, research should concentrate on locating the means for releasing further potentialities.8 The review of the following research provides few answers, but offers stimulating and provocative findings that challenge and facilitate existing educational programs, and hopefully, fosters the development of new programs. Effects of Early Experience on the Development of Intelligence, Language Learning, and Self Concept Klineberg's review of studies of the relationship between intelligence and environment, and studies by Deutsch and Brunner concluded that there is a "cumula- tive deficit" problem in disadvantaged environments.9’lo’ll These researchers describe phenomenon by stating that by the age of six many socially disadvantaged youngsters are one year retarded in language, reading readiness, and 8Gardner Murphy, Freeing Intelligence Through {Teaching (New York: Harper & Bros., 1961); Ernest £3chachtel, Metamorphosis (New York: Basic Books, 1959) (zited by Harry Passow and David L. Elliot in $22 EducationallyfRetarded and Disadvantaged (Chicago: Ehaiversity of Chicago Press, 1967), p. 32. 9Otto Klineberg, "Negro-White Difference in iIrltelligence Test Performance: A New Look at an Old Problem," American Psychologist, XVIII (1963), 198-2203. 10Deutsch, op. cit. 11Brunner, op. cit. 25 quantitative ability. By the third grade, there is over two years retardation, by sixth grade over three years and by the end of Junior High School about five years. What is the nature of this deficit? One of the theories that has taken hold is the interpretation of cultural deprivation as sensory deprivation. That is, the child is considered deprived because he has failed to receive the sensory stimulation necessary for ade- quate cognitive development. According to this theory, a compensatory program must concentrate on the develop- ment of perceptual ability and sensori-motor skills.12 However, there is little evidence that the culturally deprived fail to receive adequate stimulation for normal learning. As Hunt points out in his research, studies of children under two years of age show: (1) few, if any, differences in sensory motor develop- rnent; (2) that because of over-crowded conditions tflley may literally be bombarded with stimuli; and (3) tilat organisms are known to seek optimal stimulation given the opportunity.13 The more theoretical issue 5155 whether concrete pre-verbal experience is the <3rfilcial factor in the development of academic aptitude. \ 12Deutsch, op. cit. 13J. McVicker Hunt, "The Psychological Basis for USing Preschool Enrichment as an Antidote for Cultural Deprivation," Merrill-Palmer Quarterly X (19611) 209-2118. 26 Hunt, following Piaget, would suggest this to be more accurate.lu Bereiter has compared the intellectual and academic performance of blind and deaf children, the blind representing a group who had verbal experience and severely limited concrete experience, and the deaf, a group who had no verbal experience but full concrete experience. Blind children show little or no academic deficiency, whereas deaf children are about ten points below normal in IQ. Deaf children are also retarded from two to five years throughout school, and even with a longer period of schooling. The socio—economic level of the home does not seem to affect the amount of deprivation. There appear to be no differences when deaf children from lower—class homes are compared to children from upper-class homes, although the upper- class child presumably has a background more rich in concrete experience. From this study Bereiter con- cludes that academic achievement is affected more by a lack of verbal experience than of concrete experience.15 The cumulative deficit hypothesis, verbal experi— ence deficit hypothesis, and the relationship between l“J. McVicker Hunt, "How Children Develop Intellectually," Children, XI (196A), 83—91. 15Bereiter, op. cit. 27 intelligence and learning ability seems to emphasize the critical effect of verbal learning on intelligence«"" of children, and hold special implications for programs concerning socially disadvantaged children. Many researchers have established intelligence test scores of socially disadvantaged urban children to be lower than those of upper income groups. Boger reports that three ideas draw substantial " support from the research on rural children: (1) rural children tend to have lower measured intelligence scores, especially on tests which require speed and have many verbal items, (2) the more isolated the rural child, the lower his intelligence scores will be, and (3) the intelligence test score does not necessarily reflect the rural child's learning ability.16 In a study of slow learners, ages five through ten, in different socio-economic and cultural groups, Jensen found that: In culturally nondeprived children, there is a good correlation between learning ability and IQ measured by tests. In culturally deprived children, IQ tells little about learning ability of the non-verbally mediated variety. Deprived children seem to be 'normal' in learning ability, but have failed 16Boger and Ambron, op. cit. 28 to learn the verbal mediators that facilitate school learning.17 According to Gordon's summary of the research, deprivation in early experience of children results in the following: weakness in auditory and visual dis- crimination; limited vocabulary range; restricted language usage with much communication through gestures and other non-verbal means; restrictions in number of grammatical forms used; lack of familiarity with speech used by teachers; insufficient practice in attending to prolonged speech sequences; deficiencies in cognitive development, especially in abstract concepts and ability to generalize; lower IQ score averages including decreases after about age five; and depression of intellectual functioning.18 A few additional comments on language development beyond Gordon's summary above are appropriate, since, according to Bernstein and others, language is one of the principal areas of retardation in socially disadvan- taged children.19 The relationship between language 17Arthur R. Jensen, "The Role of Verbal Mediation in Learning as a Function of Age and Cultural Background," Research Relatin to Children, XVI, U. S. Department of Health, EducatIon aha Weifare (Washington; U. S. Govern- ment Printing Office, 1962). 18Edmund W. Gordon, "Characteristics of Socially Disadvantaged Children," Review of Educational Research XXXV (1965), 377-388. 19Bernstein, op. cit. 29 development and socio-economic status has been recog- nized for some time. In 195“, McCarthy summarized the research thus: "There is considerable evidence in the literature to indicate that there exists a marked rela- tionship between socio—economic status of the family and the child's linguistic development."20 Bernstein found that the restricted language patterns among working- class youth were characterized by: short, grammatically simple, often unfinished sentences with poor syntactical form; simple and repetitive use of conjunctions; little use of subordinate clauses; rigid and limited use of adjectives and adverbs; and infrequent use of impersonal pronouns. In contrast, the elaborated middle-class lan- guage is more complex and accurate in syntax, and the frequency and range of various parts of speech are both greater.21 M. Deutsch has found signs of impoverishment in the language of the culturally deprived, mainly in its formal, abstract, and syntactical aspects.22 Recent studies have attempted to determine what :13 lacking in the environment of many socially disadvan- taged children. Investigators, principal among them, Ddairtin Deutsch, have pointed to the family environment ‘ 20Dorothea McCarthy, "Language Development in (31111dren," Manual of Child Ps cholo , edited by Iéeeonard Carmichael (New York: Wiley and Sons, 195A), p - 5860 21Bernstein, op. cit. 22Deutsch, op. cit. 30 and interaction.23 Henry believes that the middle class home contains a -"hidden curriculum" which enables the child to deal appropriately with his first school eXperience.2Ll Strodtbeck further describes this "hidden curriculum." Strodtbeck has pointed out that the power structure of the middle-class home lends itself to a teaching situation, whereas the structure of the lower class home does not. He demonstrated that the lower class mothers use more imperatives in the adult-child exchange and that when faced with the pro- blem of teaching their child a particular task, they flounder as if this were a completely new experience for them.25 The disadvantaged home contains little such curriculum. This research suggests that it even 1 represents a discontinuity with the school environment. Hess and Shipman have studied mother-child rela- tions and interaction in terms of "cognitive style." The disadvantaged mothers they studied tended to teach their children passive compliance, giving them commands laut few reasons. Overburdened and lacking the concept <>f developing their children's interests, these mothers ‘ 23Martin Deutsch, "Facilitating Development in the IPIeschool Child: Social and Psychological Perspectives," Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, X (196“), 2139-263. quules Henry, CultureAgginst Man (New York: IRandom House, 1963). 25Fred Strodtbeck, "The Hidden Curriculum of the Middle Class Home," in Urban Education apd Cultural Reprivation, edited by C. V. Hunnicutt (Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press, 1961:), pp. 15-31. 31 merely cope with them in the attempt to minimize trouble. Demands are usually enforced with threats of punishment.26 One can conclude, upon analysis of relevant studies, that most disadvantaged children spend less time in direct interaction with their parents than do advantaged children; their parents do not have the skills or language to effectively foster language and cognitive development; and the children do not receive corrective feedback when they begin Speaking. Raph has made a review of research in the area of language development also and she concludes: Research to date indicates that the process of language acquisition for socially disad- vantaged children, in contrast to that of advantaged children, is more subject (a) to a lack of vocal stimulation during infancy, (b) to a paucity of experiences in conver- sation with more verbally mature adults in the first three or four years of live, (c) to severe limitations in the opportunities to develop mature cognitive behavior, and (d) to the types of emotional encounters which result in the restricting of the children's conceptual and verbal skills.27 Olim, Hess, and Shipman found that the child's ability to use abstractions was related to maternal ILanguage style and that the mother's tendency to use b 26Robert Hess and Virginia Shipman, "Parents As Teachers," Early Education Research Center, University <>1'Chicago, 1967. (Mimeographed.) 27Jane B. Raph, "Language Development in Socially I11sadvantaged Children," Review of Educational Research, Xxv (1965) 389-uoo . 32 abstract language was more related to the child's abstract ability than the IQ of either mother or child.28 As was stated previously, Jensen's conclusion was that the disadvantaged child has not learned the verbal mediators which facilitate school learning. Cynthia Deutsch believes that the educational implication of such findings is for greater emphasis on language teach- ing for disadvantaged children.29 This investigator believes these findings also have implications for greater emphasis on parent involvement in the educational program. Finally, child development theory proclaims the interrelatedness of the various aspects of growth in the child. It is not surprising, in light of these other findings, that many of disadvantaged children have a poor concept of self. Gordon's research summary states: "Ego develOpment in disadvantaged children has been described as including low self-esteem, impaired patterns of personal—social organization, high incidence of loehavioral disturbance and distorted interpersonal relationships.”0 Andrews, Ausubel, and Hawk have ¥ 28Hess, Olim, and Shipman, op. cit. 29Cynthia P. Deutsch, "Education for Disadvantaged C§roups," Review of Educational Research, XXV (1965), 3.40-346. 3OGordon, op. cit., p. 383. 33 documented depressed self concepts and tendencies toward self depreciation.3l’32:33 Further, an unfavorable self concept has been shown to be related to low aspirations and academic failures.3u In his poignant and provocative book, Dark Ghetto, Kenneth Clark recognized impairments brought upon by poor home environments, but clearly adds that these are further ingrained by ineffective and inefficient teachers in our public schools. The evidence so far very strongly suggests that these children will learn if they are taught and they will not learn if they are approached as if they cannot learn . . if children, poor children or Negro child- ren or immigrant children are taught, accepted, respected and approached as if they are human beings, the average perfor- mance of these children may approach, and eventually reach the norm performance pf other human beings who are so taught.3 31Robert J. Andrews, "The Self Concept and Pupils With Learning Difficulties," Slow Learning Child, XIII, (1966), pp. “7-5“. (Mimeographed.) 32David P. Ausubel and Patricia Ausubel, "Ego LDevelopment Among Segregated Negro Children," in Education gin Depressed Areas, edited by A. H. Passow (New York: CPeachers College of Columbia Bureau of Publications, 1963), 33Thomas L. Hawk, "Self Concept of the Socially IDisadvantaged," Elementary School Journal, IV (1967), 196—206. 3"K. P. Bhatnager, "Academic Achievement as a IEHlnction of One' 8 Self Concept and Ego Functions," Iiciucational and Psychological Review, II (196“), 178- 182. l 35Kenneth S. Clark, Dark Ghetto: Dilemas of social Power (New York: Harper and Row, 1965), p. 131. 3A It is noteworthy that the majority of self con- cept studies have been done on disadvantaged black city children. Children in white, rural sub-cultures may manifest a very different kind of concept of self. Rationales for Language Oriented Programs The need for intervention programs has been established. There is much agreement among educators and researchers that programatic emphasis should be upon language and cognitive skills. However, there is very little agreement as to the content, form, or time involved in increasing language quality and performance. Three general approaches emerge from the litera- ture. Brottman, in a recent Child Development Monograph, states that programs differ as to how they fall along a continuum of structuredness. (He defines structure as, "the organization of a body of concepts which may be applied to provide a means of acquiring standard English language skills.")36 There are the relatively unstruc— tured programs, the semi-structured or cognitive programs and finally the highly structured or task oriented programs . The unstructured rationale is based on what many term the traditional developmental rationale where language and other cognitive skills are viewed as ‘_ 36Marvin A. Brottman, (ed.) Language Remediation .Esgr the Disagyappaged Preschool Child, Monographs of trie'Society for Research in Child Development, XXXIII fi968), 2. 35 developing within the context of social-emotional development. Patricia Minuchin and Barbara Biber give an informative presentation of this rationale. They see language as having two forms: a form of communication among human beings; and, a part of the develOpment of symbolization and thought. .It has what they term "a relationship aspect" and a "cognitive aspect." These aspects develop from the total life experience of the child, and therefore to teach language skills separately from this total experience would be anthithetical to the natural development of the child. Language, then, is to be used and taught in all aspects of learning in addition to using special times or special materials designed to help teach special language skills.37 Minuchin puts forth the notion that the purposes and methods of the unstructured rationale require a complex system of assessment, with need for many kinds of criteria to judge progress. There is a definite concern for the evaluation of the process of thinking as well as accuracy of performance. They quote H. Zimiles research report concerning the dearth of these kinds of measurement techniques and difficulty in developing them. 38 ‘ 37Patricia Minuchin and Barbara Biber, "A Child IlevelOpment Approach to Language in the Preschool Dis- Eixivantaged Child, " in Langpage Remediation fort the Dis- Ei four times monthly. The number of these schools has grown rapidly since they were first introduced about 1flrLrty years ago, but their participating families have ——¥ L”'Bloom, Davis, and Hess, op. cit. 39 been primarily middle-class, often upper middle-class families. Many educators point out that enthusiastic state- ments about the values of cooperative nursery schools are frequently made in books, newspaper articles, and magazines, whereas little critical material can be found. Supporters of the cooperative ideal claim values that affect our total social structure. These schools, say the supporters, offer the parents opportunity to gain values which range from: an increased understanding of children, new ways of guiding them, and enrichment of family life, to: insight regarding themselves, friends who become an expanded family through shared understand- ing, increased awareness of their role in the educational situation and the community, and a deeper appreciation for and facility in democratic processes. Katharine W. Taylor, one of the principal leaders of the cooperative nursery school movement in this country, has described zlumerous values in this experience for parents.“5 There is little research as to what extent (zooperative nursery schools are actually achieving these vealues, and little indication that disadvantaged parents have access to cooperative nurseries. There are other kinds of parent programs reported 31!) the literature. uSKatherine Whiteside Taylor, Parent Cooperative EilgrsepySChools (New York: Bureau of Publications, eachers College, Columbia, 19513). H0 Earladein Badger at the University of Illinois describes the first year of a two-year exploratory study aimed at teaching socially disadvantaged mothers to stimulate the intellectual development of their infants (1-2 years of age). Twenty mothers, divided into two groups, met weekly for two hours during a seven month period. They were provided with a sequential program of educational toys and materials and instructed in principles of teaching emphasizing positive reinforcement. The groups were small in order to facilitate discussion and attitude change through the mothers' interaction with each other. The two-part emphasis of the program recognized the needs of the infant and the mother. Monthly home visits, and more often when indicated, pro- vided professional help as well as corrective feedback on the principles of teaching as presented in meetings. Subjective evaluations of the first year's results suggest that Similar programs should be developed wherever social deprivation exists, as an effective and practical Inethod of preventing learning deficits in children, and as a means of fostering dignity and worth in mothers through self-help . "6 Gordon, at the University of Florida, reports a Estzudy in which paraprofessionals were used to train \ "6Earladein Badger, "Mothers Training Program," IInstitute for Research on Exceptional Children, College (’1? Education, University of Illinois, February 1969. ( M imeographed . ) 41 mothers and their infants in their homes. Two control groups were used: a group receiving visits without training procedures; and a group receiving no visits of any kind. The 1966-67 groups were three months to one year in age. Results of tests at the first birthday showed that infants in the experimental group excelled infants in control groups on tasks from the training series as well as relevant dimensions of a developmental scale. Control group infants did not differ significant- ly from each other. Therefore, to date, the use of paraprofessionals, the inClusion of the mother in training, and the focus on the infant appear to have been combined into an effective program.”7 Project Know-How, directed by Richard Dunham at Florida State University, aims to involve mothers as assistants in a class program using a center for pre- school training for ages one to six. The mothers are employed at the center and the focus of their training is on "homemaking skills." It appears from the brief available report that this project is attempting to train mothers to provide more attention and stimulation for their children.’48 ‘ l"(Ira Gordon, Early Child Stimulppion Through liarent Education: Researdh‘Repprt: InfantPerformance, ZEnstitute for Development of HumanIResources, University <>f Florida, 1968. (Mimeographed.) "Baichard Dunham, "Project Know-Hod," in Early SZhild Stimulation Through Parent EduCationil Research fie ort: 'Infant Performance, Institute for Development C>f Human Resources, University of Florida, 1968. ( Mimeographed . ) 42 Earl Schaefer is attempting to tutor children during the period of fifteen months to three years through daily home visits by trained college students emphasizing verbal stimulation of the child by the tutor. Results thus far indicate that the tutoring does make a signi- ficant difference in early verbal develOpment in spite of repeated observations of extreme deprivation in the homes.“9 Maya Pines described Bettye Caldwell's study at Syracuse University as a research program studying the effects of stimulating infants from six months to three years in a day-care setting. The focus was on the child, with little or no contact with mothers. The adult to child ratio was arranged to provide frequent one—to- one interaction between an adult and the young child. The results in the children's emotional, social and intellectual development seemed to indicate that day care could be a stimulating child-rearing method even for very young children.50 One of the more extensive current programs is iDARCEE, directed by Susan Gray at the Peabody Institute lln Tennessee. Three treatment groups are included in tflnis project--all four year olds. Maximum Impact includes both mother and child in a pre-school program. The \ ”9Earl S. Schaefer, "Intellectual Stimulation of (3lalturally Deprived Infants," exerpted from Mental Health GJr-ant Proposal No. MH-09224-01, June 1965. (Mimeographed.) 50Maya Pines, Revolution in Learning(New York: I“Larper and Row, 1966). 43 Curriculum Group is the more traditional child-only pro— gram. A third group is a Home Visitor program in which mother and child are trained with the mother committed to follow up during the week. DARCEE has in training methods for participating mothers and ways to train them for more effective motherhood as well as classroom responsibilities. Results indicate that mothers can be trained, that the training enhances their self-concept and their ability to mobilize themselves to make changes in family life. In addition there is considerable evi- dence of diffusion--both to siblings and to friends and neighbors (including the control groups). Their reports would indicate that given effective training and a good role model in the teacher, the mothers are eventually both ready and eager to assume an active role in their child's development.51 Both Weikart and Levenstein are involved with pro- ggrams in which trained professionals have visited homes 'to train the mother in child-stimulation, using four :year olds. Preliminary results indicate that mothers czan be trained for this role. The mothers first trained :1n.the project Levenstein reports will now go out to ‘ 51Susan W. Gray and Rupert A. Klaus, Early Training giggject for Disadvantaged Children: A Report After Five Sfears, Monograph for the Societykfor Research in Child IDevelopment, XXXIII, No. 4, 1-65. 44 train other mothers in the place of professional social workers.52’53 At present a research program is being carried out at the Mental Research Institute in Palo Alto, California, with Mrs. Hazel Leler, Director. The experimental hypothesis to be tested in this study is: In a preschool program with an enriched curriculum for socially disad- vantaged children, those children whose parents are involved in weekly participation-education activities will show Significantly more language and intellectual development than children whose parents are involved minimally.5u Socially disadvantaged families with children approximately three years of age (eligible to enter kindergarten in September, 1968) were selected on the basis of socio-economic status (receiving welfare aid) and living in an area having a high proportion of low income and minority group families. A social worker 'visited the mothers to determine their willingness to (enter a parent participation preschool program. Only ‘those families in which the mothers indicated such Vvillingness were enrolled in order to control for bias ‘ 52Weikart, op. cit. 53Levenstein, op. cit. SuHazel Leler, "An Experimental Preschool Education IProgram for Socially Disadvantaged Families," Mental Iiesearch Institute, Palo Alto, California, Research IReport, 1967. (Mimeographed.) 45 among the experimental groups. The research design involved two groups of about twenty five children each. There was a stratified random assignment of the children into the two groups on the basis of socio-economic status, race, education of the mother, presence of the father in the home, and the sex, birth order, and pre-test results of the child. All of the children were enrolled in a preschool program with an enriched curriculum, especially in language activities. There was a morning session and an afternoon session, each conducted by two teachers assisted by a teacher aide. In order to keep the environ- ment for the two groups of children as similar as possi- ble, the morning program served half of the children from each of the following two groups and the afternoon program served the other half of the two groups. Group 1. Intensive parent-participation group. The mothers of the children in this group are expected to participate in the preschool program for three hours each weekly and attend a weekly parent education class. Group II. Minimal parent-participation group. 'Ihe mothers of the children in this group are encouraged ‘to visit the preschool program occasionally (4-6 times 63 year) and expected to attend a monthly parent educa- ‘tion class. Home visits by the teachers were kept equal for ‘the two groups. The parent education classes focus on 46. child behavior and development, ways the parents can help in the education of the child, family relationships, and self-help planning. The program will be conducted for two years (nine months each year). Tests of language and intellectual development such as the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test and the Stanford-Binet, Form L-M, will be used as pre- and post-tests. If possible, older and younger siblings will be tested also to compare diffusion effects, and pre- and post-measures will be made of parents' attitudes to compare possible changes. In a mimeographed report, the Harrisburg, Pennsyl— vania Primary Education Project has reported} a parent education program based on remediating of ITPA diagnosed language weaknesses at home.55 The highly structured Bereiter—Engleman Language Program at Illinois is currently initiating parent meet- ings to help parents continue the language curriculumzat home.56 The Karnes study, working with socially disadvan- tzaged mothers and children, investigated the effects of El short term training program for mothers as reflected 111 the intellectual and linguistic development of their 55Pre-school Parent Education Progrwg, Experimental F-<1ition prepared by Preschool and Primary Education PI‘oject, Department of Public Instruction, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 1966. (Mimeographed.) 56Siegfried Engleman, private interview held in December, 1968, at the Colonel Wolfe Preschool, Champaign, Illinois. '47 children. Fifteen pairs of disadvantaged preschool children were matched on appropriate variables. Neither experimental nor control subjects were enrolled in a preschool, nor were control mothers enrolled in a train- ing program. During a weekly two-hour period mothers of the experimental children made instructional materials and learned methods for using them with their children in the home. Children of mothers involved in the train- ing program manifested significantly greater gains than the control children on measured intelligence and language skills.57 Loveless and Kelly, in conjunction with the University of Hawaii Head Start Evaluation and Research Center, have developed a highly structured sequential language curriculum for the preschool child. Doris Crowell directs a parent program concurrently. Parents are presented with structured materials and techniques to foster the child's language development in the home. Statistical results are as yet unavailable.58 Concerns which are emphasized repeatedly in these reports include the child behaviors disadvantaged mothers Iweward and do not reward. It is clear that disadvantaged ‘ 57Karnes, Studley, Wright, and Hodgins, op. cit. 58Patricia Loveless and K. Kelly, Universipy of Efigyaii Pre-school Language Curriculum Guide, University Crf'Hawaii Head Start Evaluation and Research Center, 1 9 68. (Mimeographed . ) 48 children are most often "rewarded for passivity" and receive little positive reinforcement for language and assertive behavior. In encouraging interaction between mother and child, the goals of assisting the mother to function with positive reinforcement of verbal behavior with interaction which adds information, encourages reflection and a variety of responses through the request of and response to it, are mentioned in contrast to restricted orders found before education. The variety of studies reported indicate that early language deprivation, including inadequate home language and control methods for verbal and cognitive skill development, is a critical deficiency resulting from poverty. Training programs Show that given a qual— ified program, children can be educated in either group or home settings. In addition, efforts to use mothers in both home and group settings to assist in groups and/or apply new methods at home have shown considerable promise. Summary This chapter has pointed to the importance of early (BXperience (primarily that experience provided by the Ikamily), for the child's developing intelligence, lan— gniage abilities, and self concept. These abilities are CCLosely related to later success in the school setting. In reference to intelligence, socially disadvan- ta-ged children (among them rural children), do not 49 perform as well as advantaged children on standard intelligence tests. However, analyzing these studies more closely, either by social group and ethnic group membership or on specific mental capabilities, the research loses much significance. That is, the signi— ficance does not appear to be in social disadvantage- ment as much as in these other factors. In terms of school achievement, the "cumulative deficit" hypothesis has been pointed out. The few longitudinal studies of achievement reflect the socially disadvantaged child's achievement pattern as one of deceleration as he moves through the current school system. As Stodolosky and Lesser state, "when intelligence test data and early achievement data are combined, we have a predictor's paradise, but an abysmal prognosis for most children who enter the school system from disadvan- taged backgrounds."59 Certainly, this indictment of the ability to pre— dict school failure can become a challenge to the schools to specifically engage in correcting this pitiful Situation. Many school intervention programs are evident. However, there is increasing interest in parent education Programs that would enhance home-school communication and ‘ 59Stodolosky, Lesser, op. cit. 50 cooperation. Research seems to indicate that child development education with an emphasis on language activities may be beneficial. In the socially disadvantaged home, there seems to be a lack of feedback to reward and develop the child's language patterns fully. AS language proceeds, not only feedback, in the sense of initial responses to the child's language, but dialogue, (verbal interaction) becomes a critical factor. Characteristics of the environment and family style tend to mitigate against elaborate verbal and attentive relationships between family members. Clearly, socially disadvantaged children have Special deficits and problems. The research reported in the Rationale section indicates a good deal of groping and searching for new procedures, materials, and techniques to use with these children. Education programs can help parents become aware (Df how their young child is beginning to know his en— thironment, and learn some principles, techniques, and aetivities to facilitate this process. The limited r“Escarch on this type of program emphasizes infant teaching in the home, use of paraprofessionals, and pro- grams of a more highly structured nature. Chapter III includes a discussion of the population, procedures and methods of data collection used in this Parent education study . CHAPTER III POPULATION,PROCEDURES AND DATA COLLECTION The notion of a differential parent education program as a focus for a research problem emerged from a workshop the writer held in late September of 1968 in the Elkton, Pigeon, Bay Port, Michigan School District on the t0pic Methods and Techniques of Successful Parent Education Programs. At the conclusion of the program the principal mentioned that a Head Start Experimental Program was about to begin in cooperation with the Research and Evaluation Center at Michigan State University. The focus was a study of attitudes toward Head Start in the community. The writer later met with MSU Project Director, Dr. R. Boger, and discussed the differential parent education ;program. Dr. Boger and staff submitted a proposal accord- :Lngly and the study was funded by the United States Cfoice of Economic Opportunity Contract 4118 with the lefice of Economic Opportunity. Background and Description of the Population The Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port School District conducted 51 summer Head Start Program.during the summer of 1965. rI‘hey have operated a full year Head Start Program during 51 52 the past three years. The school district, located in the Thumb Area of the eastern part of Michigan covers an area of 255 square miles. Three villages, Elkton, Pigeon, and Bay Port, are located within the school district. They are primarily rural communities with a limited amount of light industry. The Bay Port area is particularly de— pressed due to a radical decline in the fishing industry which has been a dominant source of income. Prior to the 1969 school year the Head Start program in the district enrolled 104, three, four, and five year old children from disadvantaged families. These children were enrolled in six classes with six teachers and six teachers' aides. Although the Head Start Program in the Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port area had provided services to the community through its preschool program as well as a parent program, it had great difficulty attaining community acceptance. Due to the rural nature of the area many families border on the poverty line as set by the Head Start guidelines, but do not fall below it. Seasonal changes in crop productivity can result in fluctuation above or below this line from year to year. Because of their isolation, many of these children, though ineligible by Head Start guidelines, are still disadvantaged culturally, 'emotionally, and socially. The negative attitude of the community is derived in part from that segment of the community which has been excluded from the Head Start jprogram under the present guidelines. 53 An experimental program including advantaged and disadvantaged children was in ftiated in 1968-1969 in an effort to broaden community understanding and involve- ment. By opening enrollment in the Head Start Program to all "four-year-olds" in the community this may be accomplished, as well as a deeper understanding of the nature of the cultural limitations of children from rural communities. Advantaged-Disadvantaged Dichotomy As indicated in the introductory statement, an important aspect of the Pigeon-Elkton-Bay Port study was the requested waiver of OEO income guidelines so that all four year olds in the community might be included in the sample. -Initially, it was a part of the planned design to compare varying ratios of guideline eligible (so-called disadvantaged) and nonguideline (so-called advantaged) children in the sample classes. Initial testing, however, with the Wechsler Preschool and Pri- mary Scale of Intelligence, indicated a less than distinct difference between the two groups. On the basis of these findings, the viability of testing modeling behavior hypotheses as based on social class difference was interpreted to be lacking, and although a partial change score analyses based on guideline eligibility ‘vs. non-eligibility will be completed, this is not con- sidered to be a central issue in this project. 54 Table 1 provides a breakdown of the population of the classes based on guideline eligibility. The num- bers of disadvantaged and advantaged children in a given class are dependent upon location of homes and patterns of transporting the children. TABLE l.-—Breakdown of Class Population by Guideline Eligibility. Class Class Class Class Class Class Total l 2 3 4 5 6 Guideline Eligible 16 9 9 6 6 4 50 Non-Guideline Eligible 2 9 9 l2 l2 14 58 Total 18 18 18 18 18 18 108 Sample The sample was drawn from six Head Start Classes in the Pigeon-Elkton—Bay Port School District. Each class consisted of eighteen children, Caucasian,x, and of rural background. Twelve children and their mothers from each class were randomly selected for the test group sample. (Due to budget, time, and personal limitations, it was necessary to use less than the total class population for testing purposes). However, all eighteen children and their mothers in each class were Linvolved in the Training Program. Each class consisted 55 of eighteen children, one teacher, one aide, and one volunteer mother. TABLE 2.-—Testing Sample. Class Class Class Class Class Class Total 1 2 3 4 5 Guideline Eligible 10 6 6 4 5 3 34 Non-Guideline Eligible 2 6 6 8 7 9 38 Total l2 12 12 12 12 12 72 Procedures The six classes were randomly paired to obtain sam- ples consistent with the proportion of advantaged and disadvantaged in the total population. The pairs of classes were randomly assigned to the three treatment groups (see Table 3). The three treat- ments were: Developmental Language Training (treatment 1), Structured Language Training (treatment 2), and Discu3r sion Workshop (Placebo treatment). The Placebo group .strengthened the design by dealing with the Hawthorne effect while at the same time including all mothers, children, and teachers in some kind of "treatment" group Which.minimized feelings of exclusion. In view of past negative community feelings this aspect was deemed to be of utmost importance (see Tables 3 and 4)- 56 TABLE 3.--Number of Guideline Eligible and Non-guideline Eligible Children in Each Training Program. Developmental Structured Placebo Total Training Training Workshop Guideline Eligible 15 15 2O 50 Non-guideline Eligible 21 21 16 58 Total 36 36 36 108 TABLE 4.--Testing Sample by Treatment- Developmental Structured Placebo Total Training Training . WorkshOp Guideline Eligible ll ll 13 35 Non-guideline Eligible l3 13 ll 37 Total 24 24 24 72 All three treatment groups were treated as follows: 1. Each group of mothers met in twelve weekly two-hour sessions with their children's teacher. 2. The general atmosphere was conceived to be one of parents and teachers working together 57 to attain the goals and objectives of each program. Training and instructions to the teachers for each week's program was provided each Monday by the investigator. At these weekly orientations the trainer would go over specifically prepared objectives, materials, and lessons with each pair of teachers. Each teacher met with the trainer each Friday for an evaluation of that week's program in terms of attendance, problems, and suggestions. The professional person involved in train- ing was constant across all training groups in an attempt to minimize effects of trainer variability. Follow-up home visits were used to provide materials and directions to mothers unable to attend meetings. Other mothers came to the school for make- up lessons. Teachers refrained from direct use of materials developed for the training pro— gram in their own classroom programs. 58 Experimental Treatment: Developmental Training The major objectives of the Developmental Education was to extend the parents' awareness of the importance of early years in the development of language and cognitive growth. Parents were instructed in the general theory and philosophy of the developmental language approach. The developmental approach emphasized that much of the learning in early childhood is spontaneous and comes to the child in many ways. It is not necessarily sequential. It cannot always be carefully structured and ordered. This learning takes place long before language comes into existence and continues after. Physical movement and life experiences provide the first vocabulary for the child. Seeing, touching, tasting, smelling and manipulating tell him what the world is like. The crucial modality of the young child is play behavior. To the child, play is essentially a research activity, an internal transactional process. It is free because the child's activity is still tenta- ‘tive and uncommitted. It is capable of exploration, :Pevision, renunciation and replacement. In play the <3hild can manipulate objects, events and even people VVith less restriction than that imposed on adults. UDherefore, play provides not only a means for practicing, <3onsolidating and assimilating what one knows, but 1Exrovided an opportunity to challenge or revise that 1chowledge. 59 Every object becomes a source of new experimenta- tion, first sensory-motor, then visual-symbolic, and ultimately logical and concrete. The child discovers something about the properties of everything herencounters. Bodily movements, physical manipulation of objects, and sensory experiences induct the child into social living, community discovery, physical prowess, music, arts, language, numbers, mechanics, and the sciences. Experience helps the child feel his way to awareness of relationship. The child must be encouraged to operate on his environment, take it apart, measure it, order it and so handle it that a qualitative idea comes forth. This requires leadership on the part of mother as teacher. Language, then, plays a critical role. At this point the child needs words to define and clarify new Operational experiences. These words enable actions to become symbolic representations which are freed from the limitations and inflexibility of specific images. Move- ments then become internalized and lead to precise mental operations. Specific materials and techniques have been developed for this study to enhance the mother's aware- Iless of the child's thought processes and language (levelopment. Suggestions for using the materials were (lemonstrated by the teachers. However, mothers were fiancouraged to implement their own ideas in the use of Inaterials and were provided with these opportunities in I‘ole-playing and small group situations. 60 Activities utilized in this group included color games, flannel boards, dramatic play with puppets, lotto games, cooking activities, and many others. (See Appendix E for sample lessons). With each activity general instructions were given; however, each mother was encouraged to alter materials as necessary to main- tain her child's interest level and attain the above stated objectives. All this activity previously mentioned implies a thoughtfully prepared environment--with space, freedom, and challenging materials with which to explore and experiment. Further, it implies that mother and teachers understand how patterns of thought and commensurate language abilities develop in the young child. This was, of course, the basis for this specific developmental area program. Experimental Treatment II; Structured Training The major objective of the Structured Education was to extend the parents' awareness of the importance of the early years by an examination of the sequential nature of intellectual and language growth in the preschool years. Loveless and Kelly in conjunction with the University of Hawaii Head Start Evaluation and Research Center, have developed a sequential language curriculum for the preschool child. Adaptations of this curriculum were implemented here with the assistance and consultation 61 of Doris Crowell, project coordinator, University of Hawaii Language Training Program. Illustrated in Table 5 are the sequential levels of language utilized in this program.1 Parents were presented with a specific repertoire of relevant skills which they could apply in teaching situations to enhance their child's discriminative skills and concept acquisition. Materials and techniques to teach their children language structure were presented to the mothers. As in the developmental training, an atmosphere of parent and teacher learning together was maintained. Materials constructed by the mothers in the meeting were to be used in the home with the child in a very specific way. The emphasis in this group was to help the child explain and discuss things in complete sen— tences, to verbalize each thing he saw or did. Mothers were encouraged to reward this behavior with warm affectionate kinds of behavior. Specific activities included color games, candy- land, "Go Fish," lotto, puppets, flannel boards, and others. With each activity a specific set of instruc- tions were given for the mother to follow. (See Appendix D). 1Loveless and Kelly, op. cit. 62? TABLE 5.--Sequential Levels of Language Development. Levels Labels Verbs Descriptions Extensions G Identity Present Oppogite words: Additional vocabulary and R singular progressive big, long, verbs riE singular straight, smooth Use flashcards for opposite E Colors: red, blue words, colors, prepositions N positive ' positive Prepositions: and not and not on, under, in - singular Identity Present Plural of Labels: more vocabulary (pl.) plural progressive Opposite words: Verbs: more verbs (plural) P plural big, long, Descriptions: ecI straight, smooth Opposite words: wet, clean, HN positive positive Colors: red, blue soft, heavy, fat K and not and not Prepositions: Prepositions: in front of, on, under, in singular and plural "I don't know" Categories: Past of Opposite pairs: Labels: Categories--tools, Animals "to be" big, long, weapons, furniture, things W Plants Past straight, smooth to read HH Buildings progressive Verbs: present progressive e4I Vehicles singular "and" Add new verbs HT Toys and plural Descriptions: E Pieces of Opposites: dark, loud, tall clothing cold, happy Colors: green, orange Prepositions: next to "Guessing" Subject Simple past Same-Different Labels: "a" and "an" with Pronouns singular nouns ,Y and plural "all" Numbers and letters, food, E parts, children and adults >.L Verbs: expanded forms: past “'L tense O Descriptions: W Reversible "and" Opposite pairs: wet, clean, soft, heavy, fat Colors: purple, black, white, brown Preposition: between Questions Materials: Infinitives Superlatives Labels: more plurals 53 What Future Comparatives Object pronouns 14 Things Verbs: Infinitive, Future 11 Are Made singular Opposite pairs: dark, loud 53 Of and plural cold, happy, tall "or" "Different from" Colors: pink, gray, silver, gold Workers Simple Polar Changes Labelszfruit, vegetables, money C3 Present Possessive pronouns, (3 adjectives I; Singular ‘ Verbs: simple present and plural Other adjectives Irregular comparatives and superlatives Colors: light and dark Seriation, sequencing Deductions Miscellaneous 63 Activities were designed to maintain the child's interest while at the same time presenting a logical sequence of language development from simple identity statements through complex construction. An emphasis on the ppy_the child's language develops was stressed in this group. Common Characteristics of the Two Experimental Treatments 1. Each mother was asked to spend at least 10 minutes a day working on the materials with her child. 2. Materials were to be kept in a bag provided to be used "in a special place" at a "special time" each day. 3.’ Mothers were asked to return an evaluation sheet each week tetated the amount of time spent, tasks completed, and general comments. 4. Agenda for meetings followed the pattern: 7:00 - 7:20 Evaluation of previous week's material 7:30 — 8:00 Developing instructional material 8:00 8:20 Refreshments 8:30 — 9:00 Discussion of use of materials Handouts Placebo Treatment: Workshop Training The Placebo group was incorporated into this design to allow for control of possible Hawthorne effect. 64 Basically it was a check of how meetings with the mothers, in which no definite instructional program for interac— tion with their children was included, may lead to measurable changes in child behavior. This was the type of parent program that was most typically employed as a part of Head Start programming. Some objectives of the workshop training were: 1. To develop an appreciation of the value of education as a means by which parents and their children can progress and enjoy life more. To develop an understanding of children's growth, development, and behavior. To support and strengthen the positive attributes of parents. To help parents utilize personal and community resources. To help parents develop a sense of their own worth as individuals, parents, and citizens. To develop self-help activities of the parents through involvement in democratic processes, and To strengthen family relationships through the above means. Programs were developed to familiarize the mother wittl the school, the community and her own resources. 65 (See Appendix C for sample programs and complete list of topics.) Films, discussions and resource persons were presented with no instructions for the mother to interact with her child in the home. Most of the workshops were child-related, for example: 1) Value of Play and Play Equipment, 2) Nutrition, 3) Guiding the Young Child, 4) Why Children Behave the Way They Do, and 5) First-aid Around the Home. However, the pro- grams were presented for the mother alone and no attempt was made to project specifics for use in her interaction with her Head Start child. Instrumentation A pre-test and post-test model was used on the ” following measurement approaches (see Appendix B for bibliographical data.): 1. Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI) 2. Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities (ITPA) 3. Hess and Shipman Mother-Child Toy Sort and Block Design (1965) 4. Experimental Self-Concept-Social Constructs Measure (adaptation of Brown, Henderson- Ziller-Long, and Woolner techniques). Mothers were evaluated on two measures (pre and post) : 1. Hess-Shipman Mother-Child Interaction.Test 66 2. MSU Experimental Tell-A-Story Test developed for use in this study by M. S. U. Head Start Research and Evaluation staff. Intelligence Scale The Wechsler Pre-school and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI) evolved from a dual need in the measurement field. First, there were frequent requests for a downward revision of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, (W180), and secondly, there was a definite need for a scale that would more accurately appraise the mental abilities of the pre-school child, certainly an elusive task at best. The WPPSI consists of a battery of sub-tests, each of which when treated separately may be considered as measuring a different ability, and when combined into a composite score, as a measure of overall or global intellectual capacity. Both performance and verbal scores are obtained on this instrument, and items Supposedly are optimally suited for the mental examination of the u to 6-1/2 year old child.2 (See Table 6). x P~ 2David Wechsler, WPPSI Manual (New York: The bychHDlogical Corp., 1967). 67 TABLE 6.--WPPSI Sub-tests. Sub-Tests No. of Items Verbal: Information ' 23 Vocabulary 22 Arithmetic 2O Similarities l6 Comprehension 15 Sentences 13 Performance: Animal House 20 Picture Completion 23 Mazes 10 Geometric Design 10 Block Design 10 Standardization3 The problem in standardization of any test is to get an adequate representation of the population. Wechsler used a stratified sampling plan to insure representative proportions of various classes of individuals within the population. Quotas for each stratum were based on an analysis of the latest available reports of the 1960 31bid. 68 United States Census. It is interesting that Wechsler acknowledges a "minimal" bias in the test because it was impossible to follow true random selection methods. Instead, field examiners were required to select cases to fit several quota requirements, to make contact with parents of the children, and to obtain permission for testing. One may presume that parents to whom examiners have access and who give permission to test, tend, on the average, to be brighter and better educated than parents in general. They believe this bias to be small, but of course the extent is unknown. The standardization sample consisted of 1200 white and non-white children stratified according to age, sex, geographical region, urban-rural residence, color, and father's occupation. Reliabilipy“ The reliability-coefficients for all tests except animal house are odd-even correlations corrected by the Spearman-Brown formula. The split-half technique was not deemed appropriate for estimating reliability of speed tests so the reliability for the animal house test was derived from test-retest data. For verbal, performance, and full scale IQS, the reliability coefficients were estimated from the formula for the correlation between two sums of equally weighted SCOPES . l‘Ibid. 69 Based on an N of 200 for each sub-test across age groups 4-6-1/2 years average reliability for each sub- test ranges from a low of .77 to a high of .87. Average reliability across age groups on the verbal IQ is .94, on performance IQ, .93, and full scale IQ, .96. The standard error of measurement of sub-tests across groups ranges from a low of .87 to a high of 1.87. On the three overall scores the average SEm is 3.00. Validitys Acceptable average intercorrelation of tests scores are given for the six age groups. Stability coefficients on a test-retest study averaged .80 on sub-tests and .87 on overall, and there is a high correlation with other instruments designed to measure intelligence (Stanford- Binet, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, and the Pictorial Test of Intelligence). (However, this is not enough to insure scales as interchangeable.) Language Scale The Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities is a recent test, the first edition coming out about 1961. It is generating much research and interest. As yet it is not in its final form. The past few years have been a time of trial and experimentation. This test is an attempt to assess and differentiate various aspects of ¥ 5Ibid. 70 language ability, or disability, depending upon one's point of View. The development of the test was the result of dis- satisfaction with current test instruments such as the WISC and Stanford-Binet. A more specific delineation of language processes was needed. Work was begun at the University of Illinois on an instrument which could be used to diagnose language defects of cerebral palsied children. The United Cerebral Palsey Fund has, in fact, supplied a substantial portion of the research money. The test was designed with the hope that individual remediation programs could be designed. Current research in the Institute for Research on Exceptional Children at the University of Illinois is centering on the develop- ment of such specific remediation programs.6 The main theory used in the construction of the ITPA was Charles Osgood's model of language acquisition and behavior. Two of the subtests were taken from a slightly different theory by Joseph Wepman. In order to understand the test, it is necessary to understand the underlying concepts. Osgood, also of the University of Illinois, supplied some of the concepts in an article published in 1957-7 ; 6Charles E. Osgood, "A Behavioristic Analysis," Contem orar A roaches to Co nition, (Cambridge, Mass., Harvard.University Press, 1957), pp. 75-120- 71bid. 71 The Test The construction of the test included five steps: 1. Development of a theoretical model upon which differential diagnosis of language difficulties could be based. The two models chosen have just been mentioned. 2. Implementation of the theory into opera- tionally defined tasks. 3. Adaptation of the subtests in terms of clinical knowledge. 4. Standardization on a normal group. 5. Development of remedial procedures.8 At the present time, the test is undergoing a certain amount of revision. It has been in the field on a more or less experimental basis and has generated a good deal of comment and research, with reference to the validity of the subtests, its diagnostic value, and the techniques of administration. The authors are taking these all into critical consideration in their revamp- ing process. Part five, the development of specific remediation programs, is the current major center of activity and energies at the University of Illinois. 8Samual Kirk and James McCarthy, "The ITPA—~An Approach to Differential Diagnosis," American Journal of Mental Deficiency, LXVI (1961), 399-412. 72 The ITPA9 The ITPA tests three psycholinguistic processes. They are: Decoding — the ability to obtain meaning from visual and auditory linguistic stimuli. Association — the ability to manipulate linguistic symbols internally. Encoding - ability to express ideas by words or gestures. Table 7 presents a brief organization of the test. Statistical Characteristics Statistical data is available and clearly presented for anyone using this test. Following are some brief comments on the statistical reports. Standardization: The norm group consisted of 1,100 children between the ages of 2—1/2 to 9 from Decatur, Illinois, public schools. Since the test was intended to differentiate language disabilities, a group of linguis- tically normal children was sought. validity10 No set of validity coefficients was given. Con- tent validity is still being researched. However, the authors were able to make some comments on the test. In general, each subtest is qualitatively homogeneous. Whateverrit measures, all items on the subtest measure the same thing. Correlational and factor analytic 10 9Ibid. Ibid. TABLE 7.--Derivation and Description of ITPA Subtests 73 Processes Channels Levels Sub- test Decoding Representational la Auditory Automatic Sequential Representational 2b Visual Automatic Sequential~~ . Representational 3c Auditory Vocal Automatic Sequential 4,5d Association Representational 6e Visual Motor Automatic Sequential 7f Representational Auditory Motor Automatic Sequential ~ Representational Visual Vocal Automatic Sequential Representational 88 Motor Automatic Sequential Encoding Representational 9h Vocal Automatic Sequential al. Auditory Decoding--Vocabulary test requiring only yes or no answer, e.g., do females slumber? b2. Visual Decoding--Matching a stimulus picture to its perceptual counterpart, table. e.g., office table and coffee C3. Auditory Vocal Association--A verbal analogies test, e.g., soup is hot. du. Ice cream is . . . Auditory Vocal Automatic--Correct grammatical form must be provided in sentences, e.g., here is an apple. Here are two . . . 5. Auditory Vocal Sequential-—Digit repetition as in Binet. Note: There is an auditory vocal test at both automatic and sequential levels. e6. Visual Motor Association-—Relate pictures on some conceptual basis, e.g., sock with shoe. f7 shapes must be reproduced from memory. . Visual Moto- Sequential--Sequence of geometric 88. Motor Encoding-~Expressing one's ideas in terms of meaningful gesture, e.g., "Show me what you should do with this." (hammer) h9. Vocal Encoding-—Describe a simple object verbally, e.g., block, nail. 71: studies also show that there exists a fair degree of heterogeniety between the subtests. They all tend to measure something different. This does not mean, of course, that the tests measure all the linguistic areas. It was felt that the weakest areas on the test are the tests on the automatic and sequential levels (tests 7, 8, and 9). McCarthy and Kirk feel that these tests) should be broken down further to test small, discrete areas. Certain contaminations were discovered among the tests on the meaningful level. The decoding tests are slightly contaminated with association ability. Asso- ciation tests are contaminated with both decoding and encoding factors. The very nature of the testing situation precludes a really pure test at this level. The encoding tests were found to be reasonably free of contamination from other tests. However, for some rea- son, they were found to be contaminated with each other. The authors have since revised the test to correct this, and the 1968 edition used in this study was the revised edition. It is important to note that the testers were less experienced in administering this test than the WWPSI, and that it was specifically designed for diagnostic use. Bgliabilipy}1 Two forms of reliability have been computed for the ITPA, internal consistency reliability and stability reliability. An internal consistency check was made to ‘ 11Ibid. 75 ‘ensure that the questions in each subtest were homogeneous. It was found the best consistency for subjects was in the middle age ranges. A test-retest method with an inter- vening time of three months was used as well as a split- half check. Restricted stability coefficients and full range estimates of stability reliability for each sub- test for each age range is available. Standard errors of measurements for each subtest for each age range are also available. Mother-Child Interaction Tests The Hess and Shipman Mother-Child Interaction tests evolved from a research attempt at the University of Chicago Early Education Research Center to study dif- 12 (See Appendix B).. ferences in maternal teaching styles. Mothers and children were brought to the laboratory where each mother was to teach the same content to her child. The teaching situations were structured so that infor- mation to be conveyed to the child was constant for all subjects, but each mother was free to use any means or techniques she desired in attempting to convey it. The interactions revealed striking differences in the way mothers attempted to teach the same basic message or skill to their children and in their relative ¥ 12Robert B. Hess and Virginia Shipman, Mother- thld Interaction on Toy Sorting and Puzzle Tests, Published Researéh Report, no copyright, University of Chicago Headstart Center, 1966. (Mimeographed.) 76 success in doing so. In attempting to account for these differences, a number of maternal teaching varia- bles were examined including language (variety, organi— zation, and relevance), motivation techniques (methods used in attempting to get the child to want to learn or to be prepared to learn), ability to interpret the child's responses, and success in giving appropriate feedback in reaction to those responses. Effects observed in the children were also measured and were analyzed in relationship to the various maternal variables.13 Directions for the test and scoring procedures may be seen in Appendix B. Studies of construct validity were significant at the .01 level. This test was used in the Educational Testing Bureau's National Assessment Program. Specific reliability and validity coefficients are as yet unpublished.lu The MSU Experimental Tell-A-Story Test was designed to measure quantity and quality of mother's output in a story telling Situation. Mothers are asked to tell a story using a set of sequential pictures. The mother's story to the child was tape recorded in the presence of no one (to simulate as close as possible normal story- telling conditions). Analysis of the story includes total word output, length of sentences, complexity of sentences and number of abstract words. ¥ l3Ibid. 1“Ibid. 77 Child's Self Concept Measures An experimental battery of self concept and social construct measures were compiled for this study. The unavailability of an adequate self concept instrument necessitated the development of a new approach. Parts of the Brown IDS Self Concept Referents Test, Henderson, Long, and Ziller's Children's Self Social Constructs Test, and Woolner's Pre-school Self Concept Picture Test were adapted for use in assessing these dimensions. (See Appendix 11 for bibliographic data.) This was an attempt to gain a knowledge of the child's concept of himSelf, his perception of his mother's concept of him, and how he perceives himself in relation to Significant“ others, (mother, father, teacher, peers). The combina- tion of these tests could give measure on all three variables. The Pre-school Self Concept Picture Test The complete Woolner Test was used. It is designed to measure the child's concept of himself. The Preschool Self-Concept Picture Tests consists of ten plates with paired pictures on each plate. Cul- turally and developmentally orientated, the pictures represent personal characteristics which preschool children may commonly attribute to themselves. Two sets of pictures are provided: one for boys and one for girls. Pictured characteristics, according to Plate number are: 78 1. Dirty — Clean 2. Active - Passive 3. Aggressive — Nonaggressive 4. Afraid - Unafraid 5. Strong - Weak 6. Acceptance of male figure - Rejection of male figure 7. Unhappy - Happy 8. Group Rejection - Group Acceptance 9. Sharing - Not sharing 10. Dependence - Independence The picture characteristics represent ten positive and ten negative characteristics.15 The rationale for selecting the characteristics which are depicted on the ten plates is related to the needs, concerns, characteristics and developmental tasks of middle-class kindergarten children, their parents, and teachers. For six plates the positive and negative charac- teristics are identical for boys and girls, while on four plates sex differences are noted.16 15Rosestelle B. Woolner, Preschool Self-Concept Eicture Test (R.K.A. Publishing co.: Memphis, Tenn., copyright, 1966.) l6Ibid. 79 Depicted Characteristics Positive Negative Boys Girls Boys Girls Clean Clean Dirty Dirty Active Passive Passive Active* Aggressive Nonaggressive Nonaggressive Aggressive* Unafraid Unafraid Afraid Afraid Strong Weak Weak Strong' Like Male Like Male Dislike Male Dislike Male Figure Figure Figure Figure Happy Happy Sad Sad Group Group Group Group Acceptance Acceptance Rejection Rejection Sharing Sharing Not Sharing Not Sharing Independent Independent Dependent Dependent* *Sex difference Validity and Reliabilipyl7 The Preschool Self-Concept Picture Test was first administered to a group of emotionally healthy preschool children and a group of emotionally disturbed preschoolers who attended Children's Guild, Inc., Baltimore, Maryland. The emotional stability of both groups was determined by a professional team composed of a psychologist, a psychiatrist, a social worker and a preschool teacher. Results of this administration of the PS-CPT indicated that emotionally healthy children viewed themselves diff- erently than emotionally disturbed children. Healthy children saw themselves as having more positive character- istics than disturbed children. Congruence between self and ideal self-concept was 80 per cent to 100 per cent in the emotionally healthy group, whereas congruence between 17Ibid. 80 self and ideal self-concept was 20 percent to 00 per cent in the disturbed group. One child, a five-year-old girl, who attended the preschool for emotionally healthy children, when tested, responded as the children in the emotionally disturbed preschool did. The staff members of both schools were not informed of the results of the test. Some weeks after the test was administered, the teacher requested that the therapeutic preschool staff review the girl's record because she felt the child showed some symptoms of emotional disturbance. To determine if preschool children viewed the picture in the same or similar context as the test designer, a group of middle-class four and five-year- old children, in an individual interview, were asked to describe each plate. Their responses were taped and tabulated. Except for one plate, unafraid, the children's descriptions of the plates agreed with the test designer's descriptions. Because of the children's responses to the unafraid and afraid plate, it was redrawn. A study conducted at Memphis State University pro- vided additional validity and reliability data. To determine the consistence of performance of PS-CPT, one group of children received three exposures to the self- cnncept test and the three sets of scores were inter- correlated. All correlations were found to be above .90 except for the correlations between Test 1 and Test 3 on ideal self-concept which was found to be .80. 81 Although the correlation between Draw-A-Man Self- Concept Test and the PS-CPT was not significant (r - .21), it approached the .02 significant level (p < .232). Brown-IDS Self Concept Referents Test Robert Brown of.the Nethork Medical College developed a technique designed to assess some dimensions of self concepts held by four-year-old children. The test attempts to measure the extent to which the child perceives his mother; his teacher; and friends as see- ing him positively or negatively. For purposes of this study the child and mother perceptions were most perti— nent, so these items were abstracted for the experimental rorm.18 (See Appendix B.)} Brown states that his study has shown that this test minimizes the extent to which psychological inter- pretation must be imposed upon obtained responses, maximizes comparability to responses between child in order to permit generalization, and tests directly the .Btability of responses over a specified period of time .19 k 18Robert Brown, IDS Self Concept Reference Test, Published Research Report (no copyright, Institute for Developmental Studies, New York Medical College, 1966.) (Mimeographed . ) 19Ibid. 1...! I . I. ' 82 Reliability — Validity20 Thirty-eight four-year-old lower class Negro subjects and thirty-eight white upper middle subjects of the same age were given the Brown IDS Self Concept Reference Tests. A re-test was given three weeks later. Findings indicated a high level of reliability in the perceptions of self held by Negro and white children over a three-week interval (.76 for white 8'5, .71 for Negro S's.) Children's Social Self Construct Test The self social symbols method was originated by Robert C. Ziller who first used felt cutouts to study the self-perceptions of neuropyschiatric patients. From this beginning a number of forms of paper and pencil tests have been developed which provide non-verbal measures of self in relations to Others.21 In the test, the child is presented with a booklet containing a series of symbolic arrays in which circles and other figures represent the self and/or other per- sons of importance. The child responds to each task by arranging these symbols, by selecting a circle to represent the self or some other person from among those presented, 2oIbid. 21Robert C. Ziller, E. H. Henderson, and Barbara Long, Children's Self-Social Constructs Test, Preschool Form, Research Report (no copyright, 1968.) (Mimeo- graphed.) 83 by drawing a circle to stand for himself or others or by pasting a gummed circle onto the page with the other symbols. From these arrangements, in which the child relates himself symbolically to a variety of social configurations, certain aspects of the person's con- ception of himself are inferred.22 Reliability23 For the pre-school form of the test, studies revealed split—half reliability coefficients corrected for length ranging from .48 to .85 with a median of .73 for eight measures among a sample of ninety-eight four- year-olds. Validity?“ In an eighty-two page paper entitled Manual For The Self-Social Symbols Method by Ziller, Henderson, ~and Long, empirical evidence is presented to establish construct validity by making multiple comparisons in relation to the theoretical ideas of what was being measured. There are comparisons of: known groups, among tasks themselves, and of the tasks to behavior in various situations. All findings reported were signifi— cant at the .05 level or better unless otherwise indicated. 22Ibid. 231bid. 2“Ibid. 84 Administration of Tests All tests were administered on a pre-test-post- test basis. The WPPSI and the ITPA were administered by local psychometric diagnosticians. Testers received training on the WPPSI under the direction of David Wechsler. Training on the ITPA was in conjunction with the University of Illinois, but of a limited nature. The Hess and Shipman Mother-Child Test was admin- istered by the writer and the MSU Head Start Evaluation Center Test Coordinator. The self concept measure was taken by the MSU Head Start Evaluation Coordinator and a former teacher who trained three days at the Center. All testers spent time in the pre—school setting getting acquainted with the subjects. The investigator spent about the month before pre-testing began preparing teachers, children, and mothers for the testing experi- ence. Because of this gradual approach at establishing rapport only two of the seventy-two children needed a supportive adult in the testing room. Data Apalysis and Processing The major hypotheses that predict improved language skills, intellectual performance, self concept, and mother-child interaction through parent education were tested by employing the following procedures. Variables were submitted to a 2 x 3 Analysis of Variance Model. Computer Program, L. S. routine, 85 (Anglysis of Co-Variance and Analysis of Variance With Unequal Frequencies Permitted in the Cells), was used. In this procedure the post-test of each dependent variable was analyzed by analyses of co-variance, with the appropriate pre-test serving a co-variate for the post-test. This procedure sets the initial group differences to zero in terms of post-test interpretation. The resulting analyses reflect the relative change of each group to one another. This does not allow a test for significant pre- to post-test gains across all groups. Therefore, group pre— to post-test mean scores were sub- tracted to obtain gain scores. Scheffe's method of post hoc comparisons was used to evaluate comparisons among means of experimental groups that show significant differences. This method has advantages of simplicity, applicability to groups of unequal sizes, and suitability for any comparison. Scores obtained from all subjects on all instruments were used in a coding system developed by the Michigan State University Head Start Research and Evaluation Center. Data on IBM cards were programmed for statis- tical treatment through Michigan State University's CDC—3600 tabulator system. Analysis of the data will be presented in Chapter IV of this study. CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS OF THE DATA The chapter is divided into three sections: The first section presents analyses of the data in terms of statistical support for each hypothesis. The second section presents a discussion of the findings derived from statistical analysis. The third section includes anecdotes of parent, teacher, and child reactions to the experimental program. The Data Predicting Language Improvement In order to ascertain the effects of a differenti- ated parent education program on the linguistic achievement of their children, it was hypothesized that: Head Start children whose mothers receive structured or developmental education in language and communication techniques will evidence greater positive changes in linguistic achievement, as measured by the ITPA, than will children of mothers who receive the placebo experience. ITPA total scores and subtest scores for each treat- ment group were analyzed by the co-variance method previously described. Table 8 presents the analysis of 86 87 mmm.o ammm.o maommmso.em m mmooew:a.:m soapossoucH Nae.o mmmm.o mmamomm=.ma m =wm:ommm.zm escapades omn.o mmmm.o dramaamo.=m H Hzamazmo.=m mpfiHHnHwHHm szHHnHwHHm new psoEumosBllmmHnmfism> pcocsomocsH Heapsosamm Hmsmfi>lloanmfism> psoesodon mo>.o momm.o nomwomoa.m m aamma:om.ma soauomnopsH smm.o emeo.o mmoaomom.a m Haamommm.m escapades mom.o mmao.o pmoeomem.o H emommmam.o soaaaoamaam mpaafihawfiam use psosumonallmoahmfism> usoosoaopsH soauaooom Hmsmfi>lloaemasm> usoecodoa mem.o mmom.a mmmmmamm.:z m mmeemmwm.mm sofluomnousH mmw.o mamm.o mommommm.ma m mmmmo:z=.mm mucospmone eem.o mmmo.o semammmm.a H eemflmmmm.a ms «Handmade escapades esp apaaaoamaamuumoflnmanm> osoosoaoocH sofipqooom zsouaeselloanmfinm> pacesoaoa Ho>oq Eoeoonm mmsmsom oocebfimaemam m csmsvm ewe: mo momswom mo Sam moanmanw> Aaacnzv ooeeaaa>-oo so mamsaaca amsH--.m mamas 88 m:=.o momm.o oeHmmmmo.m m Hemzmmmem.~H soauomsousH amm.o Hwoo.o emmoeamo.o m mmzmmmmH.o escapades eoe.o seam.o mommaomm.e H mammaomm.e soHHHonHHm szHHnHwHHm new ucosuwosallmoHansm> acmesoaoesH ossmoHo causesmsolloHQMHnm> peoccoaoo m:w.o mmm:.o mmemmemm.mH m mHmmmmem.mm cofiuomsopsH omm.o :mwa.o wmmmmmo.mm m NHHHmemH.z: unusuwone mmm.o mmmo.o mmmmmmmm.H H mmmmmmmm.H ssHHHonHHm szHHnHwHHm new psmspmosellmoHansm> pcocsoaoesH scammohaxm Hwhsm>lloanmasm> ucoecoaon mmm.o emmm.H mammmmm:.mm m mmaoemmm.oe coauomnousH :mm.o mmeo.o mmmommom.m m momammmm.: escapades Has.o moHH.o oempmmmH.m H asmmmmpH.m HHHHHonHHm mpHHHnHwHHm new cesspmmnellmoHansm> pcoocodoocH ossmoao Hmsmfi>lloanm«sw> pcoesoaoo wmm.o mmHH.o mmzmmoma.m m mmmomamm.m soupowpopsH Hem.o oozo.o mmmammwo.a m :ommmmmH.m escapades msH.o mmmm.H smammmmm.me H smammmmm.ma HHHHHonHHm szHHnHmHHm pew phospmosellmoanmfism> psocsoaoecH soapmHOOmme HmSmH>IIlomHsm> usocsoaoa 89 o:m.o mmeH.o mmmmo:ea.z m mmmHHmzmw.m coauomsopsH wmm.o mmlm.o m:emmmwm.mH m zwzmmame.zm escapades mmo.o comm.a mmmOHHom.mHH H mmwOHHmm.mHH asHHHonHHm mpHHHhHwHHm use usospmosenlmoHemHsm> psocsoaopsH Hmesosvom zHOHHcselnoHansm> psocsodom o:m.o mem:.H HowHHmmH.mH m HommmmHm.mm COHuomnopsH mmm.o Hmam.H eemHmmms.mH m mmemmeem.Hm recasooae =zm.o emom.o emomwemm.HH H emmmmemm.HH huHHHnHmHHm soHHHonHHm osm pcosamosennaoHomHams psoesodoocH _ QOHumHoomme apocaeselloaannm> pcmcsoqon mem.o :mMH.o emHmOHzm.m m mmmmHmmm.m sonpomsopsH mmo.o :m::.m mommmoHo.om m . mHzmHHmo.omH escapades Hmm.o Hooo.o om:m:moo.o H. omawzmoo.o mpHHHnHwHHm szHHcHwHHm new psoEummnenlmoHansm> psoecodoesH cOHHmosexm HassmzlloHansm> ucmcscooo Ho>oq _ Someone mosmsam cosmoHMchHm. m osmsom saw: no mooswma mo Esm UmZCduCOOII.m mqmoo .eoHSHOBHHm on meshes usospwonem .mspmpm cowmpem>cmmfloleomspcm>os op nachos mpHHHnHwHHmm .coHeHHho eowmpcm>emmdp ocacnmusczp cam eowmpem>vm o>amnzpanBH moHnme HHm mmonom unconsoo . mHao.o mamOHmem.pm m cmsHmomm.ms soHcomnossH maao.H mmmmmHmm.oma m mHecmmpa.HcmH cacaoeoas mams.o msmcmome.mea H mammaome.me= soHHHmeHHm suHHHeHwHHm use pcmspmosenlmoHansm> ucoesoamecH Hence coessmuloHcmHsm> pcmosmdoa co-variance results. There were no significant differ- ences in linguistic achievement between groups due to treatment effects. The main effect of treatment did not meet the criteria of .05 level of significance on any of the ten sub-tests or on the total score. However, subtraction of mean scores (see Table 9) indicated gains on all subtests across all groups. average gain for the subtests was 3.116 points. The Gains were only slightly higher than expected gains reported in the ITPA Manual Age Norm Tables. TABLE 9.--ITPA - Mean Gain Scores (N—64) Sub—Test Names Differ- Pre Post ence Mean Gains Auditory Reception 15.86 18.34 +.2.48 Visual Reception 11.06 13.58 + 2.52 Visual Sequential Memory 7.27 12.16 + 4.89 Auditory Association 13.31 17.03 + 3.72 Auditory Sequential Memory 15.55 16.27 + .72 Visual Association 13.40 15.82 + 2.42 Visual Closure 13.67 17.21 + 3.54 Verbal Expression 9.38 13.32 + 3.94 Grammatic Closure 10.11 12.80 + 2.69 Manual Expression 15.08 19.32 + 4.24 Total 124.68 155.81 +31.23 Advantaged - Disadvantaged Dichotomy The Auditory Sequence subtest met the .05 signifi- cance criterion on the eligibility variable with an F equal to 4.836, and significance level of .032. 92 Disadvantaged children performed significantly better than advantaged children across all groups on this particular subtest. Predicting Intellectual Achievement In order to ascertain the effects of a differential parent education program on the intellectual performance of their children, it was hypothesized that: Head Start children whose mothers receive structured or developmental education in language and communication techniques will evidence greater positive changes in intell- ectual achievement as measured by the WPPSI than will children of mothers who receive the placebo experience. WPPSI total scores and subtest scores for each treatment group were analyzed by the co-variance procedure previously described. Table 10 presents the analysis of co-variance results. There were significant differences between treatment groups on the verbal subtests of thee- WPPSI. Full scale IQ scores between groups were not significant at the .05 level. Therefore, the null hypo- thesis cannot be rejected. However, the level of signifi- cance for the Full Scale IQ differences was .08. Scheffe's method of comparisons computed on the differencesl" in treatment revealed significant differences between all groups at the .05 level. The Developmental Treatment Group performed better than the Structured Group and the Developmental and Structured groups better than the Placebo group. 93 mmm.o emem.H mmmmzmmm.mmH m oeHmmoHe.e:m soHuomsousH mmo.o momm.m mmmoeHHm.m:m m wNOHzmmm.emz escapades mmm.o mmmm.o NHmmmmmH.wm H eHmmmmmH.mm szHHnHwHHm HHHHHonHHm och nsossmonsuuoHoaHAd> ecoocodoosH 0H thom HHsmuupooHsm> pcoocoaoc Ho>oq Bopoosm mosmsum cosmoHMstHm m osmsum new: no newsman mo sew Aeolzv mocddhm>loo Ho mHthmC< Hmmmzll.od mamda 94 There were no significant differences between groups" due to treatment on performance items on WPPSI. (See Table 11). Three subtests of the WPPSI with heavy loading on language ability evidenced significant differences between groups due to treatment effects. On the Vocabulapy subtest differences were signifi- cant at the .01 level. (See Table 12). Scheffe's post hoc comparisons on vocabulary revealed significant differ- ences between the Developmental Treatment and Placebo Treatment and between the Structured Treatment and the Placebo Treatment, both performing at a significantly higher level than the Placebo group. There was no significant difference in performance between the Developmental and Structured Groups. The Verbal Comprehension subtest manifested signifi— cant treatment main effects at the .001 level of signifi- cance (See Table 13). Scheffe's post hoc comparisons indi- cated significant differences (.05) between both language education treatment groups and the Placebo group. Children in the Developmental and Structured groups performed at a higher level than children in the Placebo group on the Comprehension test. There was no difference between Structured and Developmental Groups, however. Treatment main effects were also suggested on the Similarities subtest with differences between groups significant at the .06 level (See Table 14). Scheffe's 00H.0 03mm.m HHoommm>.=N m mmoozmmm.m= COHpomhmch mmm.0 amam.H zumenwm.mH m mammmmmh.mm ucmEumth Ham.0 Hmwm.0 00HH:©H0.: H omHHzmH0.: huHHHnHmHHm HHHHHonHHm pee oceanmoaennoHomHsc> ssoosoaoosH COHpoHQEoo oHSuOHmlloHansm> ucocscnoa 95 mop.o weom.o osmomcem.sm m Hmsoomme.aMH soHoomboccH mmH.o aemH.m mosonew.mmm m oHsHmmme.Hem persomoss Hmm.o mmom.H smmocmms.msH H smmommms.msH soHHHnHwHHm soHHHonHHm one seasodoaenaoHnsHsn> esoesoaoosH omsom HmsHs pcoccoaoa 002.0 HHmm.0 omHzoowm.wHH N 00mmoo:m.mmm coapomAMQCH mnm.0 :mom.0 MHonmmm.0> N mmmmmumz.0:H ucmspmmha 0mm.0 mmHm.H wmmmowom.:©H H mmwmommm.:mH hUHHHnHwHHm szHHnHwHHm esm psospmosenloHansm> psoesodocsH 0H cosmesounomlloHansm> peoecmdoa Ho>oq Eoeoosm mosmsvm cosmoHMchHm m osmsvm and: no mooswoa no Esm oosmHsosuoo co aHaHHmcH Hmmm3--.HH mHmee 96 mmm.o osmm.H mmmmsmem.mH m oeemmemm.mm soHoocsoosH Hom.o mama. oomocsme.OH N ooonmHm.om escapades mmo.o mHmo.m msHsoopH.me H meHsommH.me seHHHonHHm HHHHHonHHm one persenoasanoHomHam> osooeodoosH :meoa xoonlloHQMHsm> psoesmaoa mmm.o. mmmmHo mmmmmome.» m mHmmHoem.HH coHpoosossH mpm.o mHmm.o mmeesch.= m memmemmm.m psossmoae Hmm.o mmoo.o mmamomeo.o H mmmmomeo.o scHHHnHwHHm HsHHHchHHm one pcoecmoseuuoHannm> psoocoaoosH :meoo oanoEooolllomHsm> psoesoqon amo.o meme.m smHmmmme.emm m mHmosaHm.mmm eoHooenopsH moe.o Hess.o emwmmeae.mm m MHsemmma.msH escapades HHm.o oemm.H HHmHomsm.mmH H HHmHomsm.me spHHHonHHm HHHHHnHmHHm pen oceanoopsuuoHooHnms psoocoaooeH mmmzlulomHsm> psopsoaoa 97 :mz.o 0H00.0 amamammm.HH m mowemmee.mm :0HuomnopsH Hoo.0 omwm.p mHommmHH.MHH m mmmmmmmm.wmm escapades HHm.o wmom.H mnezmwme.mm H mzezmmme.mm mpHHHhHwHHm mpHHHnHwHHm new escapmoseuloHansm> usopsogoeeH consmnosQEoolloHannm> usovsmdoa Ho>oq Eovoosm mmsmsdm cosmonHsmHm m msmsvm new: no homewom no saw ooeoHsm>-oo so aHasHmce Hmmmsuu.mH mHmaa mmH.o smeH.m mmmmmmzm.mm m wwemmzmz.0HH :0Hpomnoch 0Ho.o emmm.a mommmmzo.~0H m HHNHHHmm.mHm escapades mHm.o emsm.o mmseHamp.eH H mmseHamo.eH ssHHHnHmHHm zuHHHnHwHHm use escapmoselnoHansm> psocsoooecH szHsnwoo>nlmHhmHsm> unoccoaoa Ho>oH Eopoon mosmsom cosmoHMchHm m msmsum and: mo moosmoa mo sum mosmHsm>loo mo mHmszs< Hmmm311.mH mqm osmosoooosH moHpHHmHHsHmlloHansm> ucopsmaon Ho>oH Eoeoonm mosmsdm cosmoHMchHm m msmsum new: mo momswoo no sew mocMHnm>loo ho mHthmce Hmmm3II.=H mqm usocsodoesH COHumssom:H HmuoenloHansm> usoosmqon Ho>oH Eoeoosm mosmsum cosmoHMstHm m osmsum new: Mo mooswoo ho 55m Anmlzv oozedhm>loo ho mHthmc< Hmmmzll.mH mqm usopsoeoesH 0H Henso>luoHanHm> pcoecodom Ho>oq aoeoonm mohmsvm oosonMchHm m museum cam: no mooswoa «0 saw Hamuzv ooanahsuoo co aHosHmse Hmmmz--.0H mHmes 5H0.0 005m.0 0mmmHHm0.mm m mowmmoH.0= :oHuomsoucH 000.0 mHmm.0 moezmzom.m m MHzmmmom.m escapades 00e.o Hee0.m mppHmmmm.0 H mochmmm.0 soHHHonHHm mpHHHonHHm ens psospmosellmoHansm> ucmecoamUCH oHposnuHs usopsmdoa Ho>oH Eococsm moswsam cosmoHMstHm m msmsum and: .mo woosmoa mo saw Hemlzv mocmfihm>loo go mHmszc< Hmmm3II.wH mqm<8 103 Predicting Self Concept Improvement In order to ascertain the effects of a differential parent education program on the self concept development of their children, it was hypothesized that: Head Start children whose mothers receive structured or developmental education in language and communication techniques will evidence greater positive changes in self concept development than will children of mothers who receive the placebo experience. Brown IDS Self Concept Reference Test The Brown Self Total and Mother Total scores for each treatment group were analyzed by the analysis of co- variance procedure. Table 19 presents the results of Mother Total. There was a treatment main effect signifi— cant at the .02 level. Children in the Developmental and Structured groups had a significantly more positive perception of their mother's view of them than did 'children in the Placebo group. Advantaged - Disadvantaged Interaction The Brown Total Self subtest evidenced no signifi- cant treatment main effects. However, the Total Self subtest attained an interaction effect significant at the .05 level (see Table 20). Scheffe post hoc compari- sons (.05) indicated the advantaged and disadvantaged children in the Developmental and Structured Treatment groups scored essentially the same on positive view of self. But there were significant differences between 104 0m0.0 Hmm0.m HHmm0H00.mH m mm0HHmmm.Hm :oHpomnopsH 0Hm.0 0000.H 0mm00000.0 m H::00H00.0H escapades s0m.0 mmmm.0 mmsmmsms.H H scammeme.H soHHHonHHm zuHHHnHwHHm use csospmonalnmoHansm> psoesodoecH HaeosuHHomnuoHooHems csoosoaoo Ho>oq Eopoosm mesmsvm cosmoHMstHm m mosssum use: no mooswma mo ssm ence mocosomom uqoosoo MHom mnH :sosmll.0m mamea mmm.0 mmeH.0 mmmzemmm.0 m mmmmzmHe.H soHuomsoucH 0m0.0 oon.0 mmemHm00.0m m 0mmmm00m.H: escapades me0.0 aseH.0 mmHamm00.0 H omHamm00.0 soHHHnHwHHm szHHeHwHHm can usosumoselnmoHansm> peoesoaoesH HmpoelsonuoznloHannm> psocsoooa Ho>mq Eocoosm mmsmsom cosmoHMstHm m meadow and: mo mooswoa mo 85m shoe oocoaocom pdoosoo eHom 00H ssonmnu.mH mHmHB 105 the advantaged and disadvantaged children in the Placebo Treatment, the advantaged children evidencing the more positive view of themselves. Henderson-Ziller—Long,Children's Self Social Constructs Test and the Woolner Preschool Self Concept Picture Test Tables 21 and 22 present the analysis of co—variance data on the Henderson-Ziller—Long subtests and the Woolner Preschool Self Concept Test. There were no Significant differences between groups due to treatment. Therefore the null hypothesis cannot be rejected. Advantaged - Disadvantaged Dichotomy There were no significant interaction or eligibility effects on the Henderson-Ziller—Long or the Woolner. Subtraction of means shown in Table 23 evidences an erratic pattern of losses and gains on the various subtests. Predicting Improved Mother-Child Interaction In order to ascertain the effects of a differential parent education program on the mother-child interaction, it was hypothesized that: Head Start children and mothers who receive structured or developmental education in language and communication techniques will evidence greater positive changes in mother- child interaction measured by the Hess and Shipman Mother-Child Interaction, and the MSU Experimental Tell-A-Story Test, than will children and mothers in the Placebo group. ' 106 Ham.o mmmm.0 mm:00mma.0 m 0e00em0m.mH coHpoosoosH em0.0 0mmm.0 mmmme0m=.m m somemmHm.e escapades 0ms.o memo.0 Hmmmsmme.0 H Hammemme.0 ssHHHonHHm mpHHHhHmHHm pew psosumosellmoHannm> psoocoaocsH :OHumOHmHusocHIHonowoelloHanum> ucocsoqoa Hmm.0 mmm0.0 mm:00mme.0 m 0e00em00.mH soHooosopsH sm0.o 0mmm.o mmmmamma.m m somsmmHm.e opossoose 0m».0 ms00.0 Hmmmsmme.0 H Hmmmemm=.0 HsHHHnHmHHm chHHnHwHHm use psoEumoselnmlomst> psoesoqmesH .s GOHQMOHQHpsoeHlecmHHMIllomHsm> psocsoacn ee0.0 mmmm.0 o0m0mm0:.m m 00000Hmm.0 soHuomsoccH mme.0 mosm.0 memonme.m m smsomms0.: outscrose 0s:.0 mmom.0 OHHsmm0:.= H OMHsmm0H.H scHHHnHwHHm HoHHHonHHm one secesmossunaoHoeHso> esoosodooeH COHpmoHMHesolehonpmmlloHansm> psoesoaoa 00m.0 eem0.0 0H000HOH.0 m maemHmmm.0 coHpomsoocH m0:.0 m0me.0 0mme0as0.m N mmemmmee.e cutaneous 30H.0 mmmm.H mmHommma.oH H mmHommmH.0H soHHHonHHm muHHHnHwHHm can psosumosallmoHansm> ucocsodopCH COHpmoHuHusocHlsohpozllmHannm> ucocsodma cosmoHMHeme Eoeoosm mosmsom m osmsum can: no mooswma mo 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mmzmmhmm.w coauowuwch Hmm.o ommH.o mmemmuw.H m ~Hm=H>=>.m acmEuwmnB 000.0 mmmH.0 m0000m00.H H m00m0m00.H apHHHaHmHHm .szHHnHwHHm new pamEummnennmmHannm> ucouzmqmccH mmnwmmHQIImHnmanm> pcmvcmama mum.o momm.o wmmmwamH.: m mHMHmmzm.m COHQomumch mmm.o m:~m.o ommmommm.m m oom:muom.> pamEpwmnB 00m.0 H:~0.0 H0000000.0 H H0000~00.0 zuHHHnHmHHm ApHHHnHwHHm cam newspmmhennmmHannw> ucmvcmqmccH H0909 mmnw ucmccmqma Hm>mq Eovmonm mwnmsom mangHMHcmHm m whoom cams mo mmmmwmn no 85m umme mnsuon pamocoo «Hmm Hoonommnm umcHoozna.mm mam.m :oauomuopsH omo.o ommH.m =m:0mm:m.mH m wmmzHuw:.om uncapmosa 003.0 00:m.0 mm000mmm.m H mm000mm0.m suHHHnHmHHm Ho>mq Eoooonm mohmsum mesmoHMchHm m onmsdm use: no mooswom no Esm mocmHnm>loo no mamaams< UHHsousonpoz emananm new mmomll.mm mqm ucovsoqovcH mopsnfisou< oHMHooqm HouoanuoHanhm> pcovsoqoa Ho>oq Eoooopm mosmzvm oocmoHMstHm m opmsom saw: no moonwon no Esm 100-20 0000H00>100 00 mHmszce 0HHnonsmapoz cmqucm 0cm mmmmuu.=~ mqm pcmocmnmocH “manusmv psoeoosomcHom m>HpHmom Hmnpo>uloHQMHnm> unoccoaon 000.0 ee:0.m :mm05000.0 m maoememH.0H :oHuoasmucH 00H.0 000m.~ memHmmmH.e m mammozmm.=H scosummse H mmmHmmme.H muHHHnHmHHm ~:=.0 nemm. mmmHmmme.H sUHHHnHwHHm 0:0 pcmsummseuummHansm> acmecmamocH Ausom >090 psoEoosomcHom o>HpHmom Hanno>lloanmfinm> psoosonoa Ho>mq Eouoopm mopmsam monsoHMstHm m museum new: no moonwma we saw mocmHsm>u00 no 0H00H00< 0HH00Ismnpoz cmsaHnm 0cm mmmmuu.0~ mqm 0:00:0Q0UCH A0Hsusmv Hmnp0> I 020000030|30H90000> ps0uc0q0a 114 000.0 0H00.0 00000000.H 0 0mH0000H.m 0000000000H 000.0 0000.H 00H00m0m.0 0 0Hm00000.0 000000000 H 00000000.0 000H00000Hm 000.0 000000 00000000.0 mufiHHnHwHHm 0:0 0C0500009I|00H90H00> 0:0cs0q0ccH A0Hunsmv Hmofimznm I msoapm0saln0anmahm> 0:00:0Q0Q 00m.0 0000.0 00000000.0 0 0HOHOHOH.0 00H0000000H 000.0 00HH.0 00000000.0 0 00000000.0 000000000 000.0 0000.0 00000000.0 H 00000000.0 00HH00000H0 zpaHfinHmaHm 0:0 0:08000051100H90000> 0:00:0a0vsH A0Huusmv Hmnp0> a nonmeEoonl0Hnmaum> 0200:0900 H0>0A 800000m m0pmsom 00:0000stfim m 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H 00000000.0 00000000000 0000000000m 000 00000000BII00000000> 00000000000 A000m 000v 000500000000m 0>00mwmz 00000>II0000000> 000000000 000.0 0000.0 m0mmm:mm.m m 0mm00mom.0 00000000000 000.0 0000.0 ammmm0mm.m m mommmmmm.m 000500000 000.0 0000.0 0000000H.0 H 00000000.0 00000000000 0000000w00m 000 000000009II00000000> 00000000000 000uusmv 00000000 I 00008800II0000000> 000000000 00>00 Eocmmhm 000000m 000000000w0m m 000:0m 0002 00 0000wma 00 50m 003:00000Il.wm mqm ucmvcmamocH Auhom moev Hwoammnm I mCOHpmmsollmHQMHum> acmucmama mmm.o momm.o omow:~pm.m m Hwommzmm.m coapomnmch mam.o mmNH.H wmmmammm.m m mmmmmomm.oa pcmspmmna mmm.o m:m~.o Nmaazmwm.m H ~ma::m~m.m mafiafinfiwfiam zufiHHnHwHHm ocm newspmmuenummanmanm> acmucmamccH Apuom moev awofimmnm mvcmssoonuoanmfium> pcmvcmama 118 moa.o mamm.m mnmmmmaa.maza , m >mmmm>mm.=mwm soapomQMch mzo.o wzmm.m womazmmm.moom m aammmoam.:oo: unusummne mm~.o mmHH.o mopmmap>.mm a mopmm=-.mo mpaafinamfiam szHHnawHHm cam newspmmnallmoanmfinm> ucmccmamvcH zuaxmfiasoouxmpcmmlumanmanm> pcmccmamm Hm>mq Eovmmnm mmnmsvm muCMOHMchHm m mumsum 2mm: Mo mmmnwwo mo 85m Armlzv moCMHhm>loo ho mfimzamc< pmma hhouml ucoocoooocH moocmpcom opoHQEoo "moocoucom mumHoEoocHlloHannm> pcoocmomn Ho>oq Eoooohm moawsum cocooamacwfim m onmsom coo: mo momhwoa mo 53m mocmflsm>uoo no mflmsflmc< owes snopmu unoccoooocH moocopcom mooHoEoo I cofiomosanloaomfium> osmosoooo Hm>oq Eooooam mohwsdm mocmoHMchHm m onmsum saw: no moohwom no 53m mommasm>uoo no mfimsamca paws asepmu ucoocmmoocH 0H + mosoz no whooEsz Hobos I mpapcmsaIIoHomHnm> ucoocooom Hm>oq Eooompm mo9m50m mocmoauacwfim m onmsom saw: no moonwoa no Esm Hzouzv mocmHnm>Ioo oo mHmaHmc< paws spoumu unoccoamccH nooasz Hopoe I mcoapmmsoIImemHnm> unoccoamo Ho>oq Eoomonm moumsom mocmoHuficme m ohmsum cam: mo mooswoo mo 53m mocMHLm>Ioo mo mflmzamc< pmme an..H0me.c...HHm.H_ HmpC05«hmaxm DmSII.Hm mqm¢8 122 Complete Sentences results shown in Table 33 yielded a significant interaction effect between groups at the .05 level of significance. Sheffe's comparisons evidenced the same phenomenon on this aspect. Disadvantaged mothers in the Developmental and Structured groups tended to use a greater number of complete sentences in telling a story to their children than disadvantaged Mothers in the Placebo group. Final Hypothesis In order to ascertain whether there were any differ- ential effects between parent education programs of a developmental nature and those of a structured nature, it was hypothesized that: VThere are differences in the level of performance on intellectual, linguistic, and self concept measures between children whose Mothers participate in the Developmental Education Group as compared to those who participate in the Structured Education Group. All tables have been presented. There were no significant differences in performance between children whose mothers had participated in the Developmental and Structured parent education groups. Summary of Analysis It was impossible to reject the.null.hypo—‘ thesis for the five hypotheses stated in this study. However, significant differences on various subtests, as previously reported, evidenced support in the direction 123 omo.o smma.m sMMHmsmm.m:H N msmmmmmm.Hmm :OHpompmch 003.0 mzms.0 omwmaasm.:m m Hmssmmzm.mm ucoEpmosB mmm.o mmsm.o mammmzos.Hs H mammmzos.Ha mpHHHnHmHHm mafiafiofimsam cam psoEpmosBIImoHomHsm> unoccoaoUCH moocomcom mpoHQEOOIIoHQmHsm> ucoosmnmn Ho>oa Eovoonm mommSUm mocmonchsm m osmsum :moz mo momsmoo so Sam smms snamemIHHms HapcmeHmmmxm amzuI.mm mamas 12M of the first four hypotheses. In hypothesis five, subtests presented evidence which failed to support the research hypothesis. Discussion of Findings The Illinois Test of Psycholinguistics evidenced no significant differences between treatment groups. Gains’ in each subtest were obtained across all groups but gains were only slightly higher than expected gains reported in the ITPA Manual Age Norm Tables. There were several possible interpretations of these phenomena. Since there were several significant differences on the verbal sub- tests of the WPPSI, discrepancy might be found in the tests themselves or in administration of the tests. As stated in Chapter III, testers were not as experienced in administering the ITPA as they were the WPPSI. This led to the possibility that the ITPA testing situation may not have been as reliable. A second interpretation was that the ITPA is pri- marily a diagnostic measure. The tests yield a profile of strengths and weaknesses for each child. Treatment then becomes a leveler and differentiated group differences become more uniform, or are not as readily apparent. A non-treatment control group would shed light on this interpretation. Experience with the test in this study casts a real doubt on the value of the ITPA as a device for measuring effect of treatment on language skills unless treatment 125 specifically trains for the attainment of each skill. There seems to be evidence for this in the literature. In a critical evaluation by Weener, Barrett and Semmel based on their own studies of the ITPA, a high internal consistency was reported. However, they also reported poor test - retest reliabilities for sub-scales and large standard errors of measurement.1 Weener, g£_al, also pointed out that due to a restricted norm group, the ITPA may not have enough easy items to reliably test young disadvantaged children.2 A fourth interpretation, and the only statistical interpretation that can be stated, is that working with children in language education experiences has no differ- ential effect on advantaged or disadvantaged pre— schoolers' language performance as measured by the ITPA. There was one significant finding in this study on the ITPA that warrants specific attention in light of a recent article by Jensen.3 On the Auditory Sequential subtest, which is essentially a digit span or a serial learning test, disadvantaged children across all groups performed at a significantly higher level (.03) than lPaul Weener, Warren, Barrett, and Melvyn Semmel "Critical Evaluation of The Illinois Test of Psycho- linguistics," Journal of Exceptional Children, February, 1967, PP- 377. 21bid. 3Arthur Jensen, "How Much Can We Boast I.Q. and ,, Scholastic Achievement," Harvard Education Review, XXXIX, 1’ 19690 126 disadvantaged children. McCarthy and Kirk as well as Weener stated that this subtest has one of the highest reliability co-efficients, and is consistently stable.“ In Jensen's article he discussed the literature report- ing this same finding among black disadvantaged children and interpreted this in the framework of racial-environmental interaction. The present study showed disadvantaged white_children performing signi- ficantly better on the digit span task, which suggests the possibility that the explanation may lie in the fact that they are disadvantaged rather than racially different. The overall total scores on the WPPSI evidenced no significant differences at the (.05) level in intellec- tual performance due to treatment main effects. However, the fact that Performance IQ subtests revealed no significant differences between treatment groups or eligibility groups, but Verbal subtests wege significant on both of these independent variables, indicated an effect of the parent language education program. Examination of the Analysis of Variance Tables showed that across Verbal subtests of Similarities, Comprehension, and Full Scale IQ there was a consistent finding that children who had participated in a specific language education group performed at a higher level than those children who were in the placebo treatment. “Ibid. 127 Significant eligibility and interaction effects on the Verbal IQ, Total Information, and Arithmetic subtests all pointed to a common finding: disadvantaged children performed as well as advantaged children when their mothers worked with them at home, but not as well when their mothers did not work with them. This does not mean advantaged children benefit any less from the language training kind of program but may reflect the fact that they have had this kind of attention and direction from their mothers prior to Head Start experience. This is substantiated by the fact that there were consistent significant differences between disadvantaged and advan- taged children in the Placebo treatment, advantaged performing at a superior level. What is it in the Language Education Programs that is unique in relation to the more common Head Start general parent programs? Out of the feelings of respect for and confidence in the parents, which are communicated by the program leader, principals, teachers, and other staff, a sense of greater competency in the role of parent may arise. As parents gain insight into the "what," "how," and "why" of their children's needs and style of learning, they become aware of their critical role as teachers. This knowledge relevant to the parental role, coupled with specific information as to how the child learns and specific techniques to help him learn, may increase the parent's sense of competency as mother 128 and teacher,.A consequence may be that they do a better Job. Mothers in the Placebo group acquired some of this same kind of knowledge but because there was no specific direction to work singly and directly with their particular children on a partiCular:task, the teaChing competency may not have shown itself as greatly or as specifically. This leads to the second, and most important aspect of the Language Education Program: the actual interaction between mother and child that occurs when completing the assigned lessons of the two language treatments. Mother meets with the child at a "special time" in a "special place" with "special materials" that are "fun" to use. The child then gleans from the whole situation that he is "special." He is important to mother and performs in a way that will gain her approval, i.e., learn the lesson. Statistical support for this was found in the / Brown section of the Self Concept (Total Mother) where there was a significant difference (.02). between groups due to treatment in favor of the Developmental and Structured over the Placebo group. These children seemed to have a more positive perception of their mother's view of them than children in the Placebo group. The other finding on the Brown (Total Self-.05) of interaction alludes to the possibility that disadvantaged mothers need specific guidance and direction to work directly with their children and when they do, their children 129 have as positive a self concept as advantaged children in their group. However, when there is little specific interaction with Mother, disadvantaged children do not seem to view themselves as positively as advantaged children in their group. This interpretation must be regarded cautiously as the overall data on the self concept measures were erratic and insignificant. This elucidates the perennial problem of research that deals with the young child: the lack of really valid, reliable instruments to test any given aspect of their behavior. Theorists and empiricists extol the importance of self concept in effective human behavior, yet have a difficult time trying to measure it in the adult, let alone the young child. The overall statistical test of improved Mother- Child interaction did not meet the criterion level of significance. Significant differences on several aspects of both the Hess and Shipman Mother-Child Test and the Experimental Tell-A-Story were in the direction of differentiated treatment effects. One objective that both language education groups stressed was to teach the mothers to ask specific questions and make state- ments that call the child's attention to specific attri- butes of any given task. There were statistically significant treatment and eligibility effects on the Total Reference to Specific Attributes aSpect of the Mother-Child (.03 ). Mothers in the Developmental and 130 Structured Treatments referred to specific attributes to a greater extent than mothers in the Placebo treatment. This indicated that mothers could learn to perform a specific skill in a relatively short period of time (12 weeks) very well. Advantaged mothers implement this skill more often than disadvantaged mothers. This supports Strodtbeck's notion of "the hidden curriculum" of the middle class home previously described. Another interesting significant (.05) finding was on the Mother-Child Verbal Negative Reinforcement aspect. This finding appears, on the surface, to be a contradic- tory result. The Structured group used significantly more negative reinforcement than the Developmental group. There were no differences between the Structured and the Placebo group mothers. Negative reinforcement was coded on the Mother-Child as such for two kinds of statements: Mother One states calmly: "No, John, the red block does not go there," and Mother Two states in an irritated manner: "John, you know that this block doesn't go there!" Language education programs, especially the Structured Program, emphasized that mothers should call the child's attention to his incorrect as well as correct actions in reference to a given task. This was a form of negative reinforcement, and probably what mothers in 131 the structured group were doing. However, there was another, and more typical, form that had negative, affec- tive, and less task specific attributes that was also coded as negative reinforcement. This behavior was typical of mothers not exposed to the information gaining aspect of negative reinforcement. The findings on the Verbal Positive Reinforcement aspect showed that the Structured group mothers used less Positive Verbal Reinforcement than mothers in either the Placebo or the Developmental groups. This presented a pro- blem in interpreting any of the data from the Mother-Child Test. One explanation could be that Structured mothers actually used less positive verbal reinforcement in their Mother-Child interaction. This seemed doubtful due to the fact that verbal positive reinforcement was heavily stressed in the program. The explanation may be related to the Specific Attributes dimension and the task. In other words, because more attention was paid to specific attributes of the task due to specific directions from mother, the children completed the task with fewer errors, hence there were fewer correct responses that would elicit verbal positive reinforcement. This finding was across both the Toy Sort and Puzzle tasks. The fact that findings were not consistent on a given dimension (for example Reference to Specific Attributes) on both the toy sort and the puzzle task pointed up the difference in the nature of the two tasks, 132 and weaknesses in the scoring method that may have been the cause for no significance on other dimensions. For example, both examiners on the Mother-Child Test noticed definite differences in the maternal warmth dimension between tasks, between advantaged and disadvantaged mothers, and between treatment groups on the post test, especially disadvantaged mothers (disadvantaged mothers in the language treatment groups showing greater warmth). These differences did not show up in the analysis. Because the toy sort task was very easy for both mother and child, little affect was aroused. This resulted in a greater number of scores on the high warmth end of the scale. The puzzle task was difficult and elicited a wide range of responses, especially from the less than secure disadvantaged mother. The warmth dimension scale ranged from 1-13; from "passionate, consuming, intense, ardent, uncontrolled" to "hostile, rejecting, disliking, blaming, icy." Tester Variability alone with this span of possible Judgment could cover up any differences. Also, there was no place to record the typical advantaged middle class mother as consistently observedH-anxious, warm, loving but not particularly expressive, or the disadvantaged mother who was particularly expressive in both warm, loving and hostile rejecting ways, depending on task. More direct kinds of relationships emanated from The Experimental Tell-A-Story Test. For example, the 133 Develgpmental Language Education Program provided multiple science, art, music, and literature experiences with suggested concomitant verbal descriptions on the part of the Mother that stressed complexity. The Strug- tured Language Education Program used a variety of materials also, but with specific directions that pre- sented language in simple, concise, syntactic forms. It was encouraging that experimental data evidenced significant difference (.ou, .05, .06) between Developmental and Structured Groups on the Index of Syntax and Use of Complete Sentences. The Developmental mothers scored higher than the Structured and Placebo on the Index of Syntax. The Structured mothers scored highest on the Number of Complete Sentences used. Mother's language behavior was affected by the treatment. Yet there seemed to be little difference in language performance between the three groups of children at least as measured by the ITPA. Besides the possible explana- tions already mentioned for this earlier in the discussion, others are suggested by the Mother-Child Tell A Story Test. Perhaps twelve weeks time is long enough to have an effect on mother's language patterns, but not a sufficient length of time for effects of this particular modification to show up in her child. Frequently new learnings need time to be synthesized and integrated before they can become operationally effective in human 13H behavior. A follow-up study would shed light on this interpretation. Finally, the lack of evidence to support a strong advantaged-disadvantaged dichotomy on language items may be supporting the suggested earlier contention that verbal deficits may not be the majgr_problem of disad- vantaged children in pupal areas. Anecdotes of Parent, Teacher and Child Reactions to the Experimental Program Some of the most significant and exciting types of "data" emerging from this project were the qualitative kinds of changes occurring within the realm of inter- personal relationships. While it was difficult to report these kinds of changes in terms of measurable data, observation and interaction with project personnel and parents left little doubt that real changes in atti- tudes and behaviors have occurred. The evidence was in terms of experimenter—observed behavior, principal, teacher, parent, and student reports; and specific inter- action. These specific instances of progressive change in behavior fall into the following general categories: Improved Principal-Teacher-Parent-School . communication Improved Principal—Teacher communication and interaction Improved Teacher-Teacher communication I135 Improved Parent-Parent interaction Improved Parent-Child interaction. Principal-School-Parent Communication Two principals reported specific instances of mothers, who had previously avoided any kind of parent- school communication, coming to the school and approach- ing both him and the child's Head Start teacher. The mothers said they were afraid to come to school when some of their older children had problems. However, since becoming involved in the pre-school program they realized "The people were trying to help our kids."5 One family's sixth grade child was reading at the third grade level and previous efforts to involve the parents in remedial approaches were unsuccessful until this mother became involved in the parent pre-school meetings. After meeting with other parents and her youngest child's teacher for several weeks, she came to the school and asked the principal to help her with her older child's problems. Real progress has been made in the form of diagnostic testing, Michigan State University Reading Clinic Consultation, and specific materials and techniques given to the parents to assist their child at home. In another community a mother who is expecting her seventeenth child (no husband in the home for the last 5This statement is a verbatim quote, in context, of one of the mothers. 136 five years) came to the school to get the teaching materials to use with the children. She was not yet confident enough to attend the parent meetings, but did make the effort to come to the school (which she had never done before) to pick up the materials and to talk to her child's teachers. Insignificant as this may seem compared to some mothers who attended every meeting, this was seen as a tremendous step in the right direction for this mother. The principal in Elkton became so interested in the parent meetings that he took time to "sit in" as an observer, thus reinforcing the notion of the principal's real interest and concern for all members of his school community. Principal-Teacher and Teacher-Teacher Communication The principals in each community enjoyed fine relationships with their teachers. However, each one has had individual difficulties with given teachers center- ing around such areas as trying new curriculum, the emphasis and funds focused on the pre-school program, teachers working together, and teSting and evaluation. The principals reported that as a result of the inter- action with evaluation personnel and Michigan State University resource people and increased teacher-teacher communication, teachers throughout the grade school were becoming more receptive to principal—initiated comments and suggestions. 137 There were some very specific instances that suggested real change in teacher-teacher kinds of communication. Previously in all schools the interaction between kindergarten and pre-school teacher was at a minimum. In one school the atmosphere was absolutely hostile. However, through continued efforts by the principal, M.S.U. co-ordinator, and pre—school teachers to make this kindergarten teacher feel that she was a key person in the continuing development of the pre-school child, real change in her behavior seemed to be emerging. This was evidenced by the fact that the kindergarten teacher approached the pre-school teacher and invited her to get together to discuss the specific needs of the children and to sit in on some of her parent conferences. One almost has "to be there" to receive the full impact of the changes involved in this near-impossible situation. The MSU co—ordinator called a voluntary after- school meeting for her principals and pre—school and kinder- garten teachers and aides of all three schools. They held a stimulating discussion of the myriad of challenges and problems involved in their early childhood education programs. Specific responsibilities were taken by each person to plan a meeting for parents centered around the topic "Preparing Your Child for Kindergarten." They decided they would like to meet again to continue this but hoped it would not stop there. They suggested monthly 138 meetings at which time methods, curriculum and specific problems could be discussed and acted upon programmati- cally. Participation of mothers across all groups was excellent. Table 3A shows attendance figures in all groups based on eighteen mothers in each group. One group had seventeen mothers, as there was one set of twins. There were 6 mothers out of the 72 Sample mothers who did not regularly attend the parent meetings. Factors confounding attendance such as weather conditions, seasonal illness, and a flu epidemic undoubted— ly had a toll on the mothers' attendance. Under these impending conditions, attendance was excellent. It was not surprising that the best attendance records were in the three groups that had the more warm, empathetic teachers, and that the majority of attrition in the study (5 of 8 children) occurred in the class that had the cool, distant, demanding teacher. Enthusiasm in all groups was high. Mothers seemed to enjoy the group meetings and verbalized their desire to continue such activities after the training program. They willingly shared their experiences in using the materials within the group. It was felt that positive relationships and greater understanding among the mothers generated through their interaction in the meetings. The children's reactions to the program were perhaps the most difficult to assess, yet, undoubtedly, 139 NH NH O OH HH OH NH NH NH OH OH OH O HH HH NH NH NH HH NH OH O HH s OH HH O O OH OH OH O OH O O O NH NH O NH OH O s OH OH HH NH HH O O OH OH HH HH OH O O OH NH OH HH OH O OH OH OH OH O s O OH OH OH OH OH O N OH OH N O O O H wfiuz wauz mauz manz mauz mauz smnfisz Omom OOm N commHm H commam O cosmHm N coOmHm H coOmHm meromz onmomam HmpcoEQoOo>om semapossmm oomomam Hmpcmaaoam>om posSposspm AwoaIzv mocmccmpp< m.smnpozII.:m mqm