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ABSTRACT

A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE ATTITUDES OF PARENTS

OF SUPERIOR AND INFERIOR READERS TOWARD CERTAIN

CHILD REARING PRACTICES, THE VALUE OF READING,
AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE SKILLS AND

EXPERIENTIAL BACKGROUND RELATED TO READING

by Dorothy J. McGinnis

Body of Abstract

The purpose of this investigation is to determine
whether parents of superior readers differ from.parents
of inferior readers with respect to their attitudes
toward certain child rearing practices, the value of
reading, the development of language skills, and the
building of experiential background. In order to accomplish
this end, an instrument for evaluating the reading attitudes
of parents has been devised. It is known as the Reading
Attitude Inventory.

From the Parental Attitude Research Instrument
nine scales were selected.which measure attitudes toward
certain child rearing practices hypothesized to be related

to reading achievement. In developing the Reading Attitude

Dorothy J. McGinnis

Inventory designed to appraise attitudes toward three
aspects of reading, 45 statements were formulated. Five
reading specialists classified each of these statements
according to the attitude which they thought was being
measured. Incorrectly classified items were either
eliminated or reconstructed. Resorting of statements
continued until no errors were made by the specialists.
The responses of 200 mothers were then analyzed to
determine the difficulty and discriminative power of
each item. On the basis of this analysis, five of the
best statements were selected for each scale. Measures
of internal consistency and test-retest procedures led
to the conclusion that the Reading Attitude Inventory
was a satisfactory instrument for determining differences
in attitudes between groups of parents.

The two inventories were administered to parents
of fifty children who met the criteria set forth for
classification as superior readers and to parents of
fifty children who met the criteria for classification
as inferior readers. F and t tests were applied to
determine the significance of the differences in mean

scores of mothers and fathers of superior and inferior

Dorothy J. McGinnis

readers. For each scale the correlation between mothers
and fathers of superior readers and between mothers and
fathers of inferior readers was computed. The significance
of each r and the significance of the difference between
r's were ascertained.

Data resulting from this study show that the
attitudes of parents of superior readers and the attitudes
of parents of inferior readers are significantly different.
Parents of inferior readers manifest the following attitudes
regarding child rearing practices.more predominantly than
parents of superior readers: Intrusiveness, acceleration
of development, fostering dependency, approval of activity,
excluding outside influences, avoidance of communication,
and deification of parents. Differences are not significant
between the two groups of parents in their attitudes toward
strictness and irritability.

There is a significant difference in the attitudes
of parents of superior readers and parents of inferior
readers toward the value and importance of reading, the
development of language skills, and the building of
experiential background. Parents of superior readers

express attitudes which place a greater value upon reading

Dorothy J. McGinnis

than do parents of inferior readers. They express
attitudes which encourage the development of language
skills and experiential background to a greater degree
than parents of inferior readers. Both groups of parents
differ in the attitudes which they hold but agree among
themselves in regard to these attitudes. In general,
parents of superior readers hold attitudes which are
usually considered to be more acceptable and healthier
than do parents of inferior readers. A significant
difference in the educational levels of the parents of
superior and inferior readers was found. This study
suggests the importance of background and mental content
acquired in the home. Furthermore, the effectiveness of
the Reading Attitude Inventory as a research instrument

has been demonstrated.

A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE ATTITUDES OF PARENTS

OF SUPERIOR AND INFERIOR READERS TOWARD CERTAIN

CHILD REARING PRACTICES, THE VALUE OF READING,
AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE SKILLS AND

EXPERIENTIAL BACKGROUND RELATED TO READING

By

Dorothy J.JMcGinnis

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
College of Education

1963

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The writer wishes to express appreciation to
Dr. Byron H. Van Roekel, Dr. Charles A. Blackman,

Dr. Carl H. Gross, and Dr. G. Marian Kinget for their
assistance and guidance preparatory to the writing of
this dissertation. Special recognition is given to
Dr. Van Roekel for his counsel and advice which have
been so sincerely and wisely given.

Gratitude is expressed to Dr. Richard N. Percy,
Superintendent of Schools, who graciously permitted the
writer to conduct this study in the Kalamazoo Public
School System. Recognition is given to Mr. Thomas S.
Szyperski for his willingness to provide information
and objective data essential to this investigation.

The author is also indebted to Mrs. Blanche Bush
of the Psycho-Educational Clinic, Western.Michigan
University, for her untiring effort in securing question-
naires which were used in the construction of the Reading

Attitude Inventory.

ii

Special acknowledgment is given to Professor
Homer L. J. Carter, Director of the Psycho-Educational
Clinic, for his enthusiastic encouragement and helpful
suggestions. His professional spirit has been a source
of stimulation to the writer.

Finally, affectionate appreciation is accorded
my parents who have so loyally encouraged my professional

career.

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii
LIST OF TABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
LIST OF APPENDICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix

Chapter
I. THE PROBLEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . l

A More Limited Problem
A Basic Assumption
Hypotheses

Limitations of Study
Value of Study

II. RELATED RESEARCH . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Meaning of Attitude

Problems of Attitude Measure-
ment

Studies of Parental Attitudes
Affecting Behavior and
Personality of Children

Studies of Parental Attitudes
Related to Academic
Achievement and Reading
Abilities of Children

Studies of Home Environment
and Reading Achievement

Conclusion

iv

III. DEVELOPMENT OF THE READING
ATTITUDE INVENTORY . . . . . . . .

Need for the Reading Attitude
Inventory

Some Factors Underlying the
Development of the Reading
Attitude Inventory

Steps in the Development of
the Reading Attitude
Inventory

IV. PROCEDURE FOLLOWED IN MAKING STUDY . .

Purpose and Limitations
of Study

Procedure Followed in
Making Study

Description of Groups of
Superior and Inferior
Readers

Description of the Parental
Attitude Research
Instrument

Description of the Reading
Attitude Inventory

Statistical Treatment of Data

V. SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS OF DATA . . . . .

Age, Educational Level, and

‘ Socioeconomic Status of
Parents

Differences in Attitudes

Relationships of Attitudes

Brief Resume

VI. INFERENCES AND CONCLUSIONS . . . .

Interpretation and Evaluation
of Data in Terms of
Hypotheses

32

60

78

99

Effectiveness of the
Reading Attitude
Inventory

Social and Economic
Factors, Relationship
to Findings

Homes of Superior and
Inferior Readers,

A Contrast

The Importance of
Experiential Background
and Mental Content

Problems for Further
Investigation

BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
APPENDIX A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

APPENDIX B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

vi

Table

LIST OF TABLES

Analysis of Items in Scale I,
Triviality of Reading . . . .

Analysis of Items in Scale II,
Hindering Development of
Language Skills . . . . . . .

Analysis of Items in Scale III,
Restriction of Childhood
Experiences . . . . . . . . . .

Reliability of Reading Attitude
Inventory . . . . . . . . . .

Intercorrelations of Scales,
Reading Attitude Inventory . . .

Differences Between Mothers of
Superior Readers and Mothers of
Inferior Readers as Determined by
the Parental Attitude Research
Instrument . . . . . . . . .

Differences Between Fathers of
Superior Readers and Fathers of
Inferior Readers as Determined by
the Parental Attitude Research
Instrument . . . . . . . . . .

Differences Between Mothers of
Superior Readers and Mothers of
Inferior Readers as Determined by
the Reading Attitude Inventory .

Differences Between Fathers of
Superior Readers and Fathers of
Inferior Readers as Determined by
the Reading Attitude Inventory .

vii

Page

49

51

53

58

58

81

84

86

88

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

Relationship of Attitudes of
Fathers and Mothers of Superior
Readers as Determined by the
Parental Attitude Research
Instrument . . . . . . . . . . . .

Relationship of Attitudes of
Fathers and Mothers of Inferior
Readers as Determined by the
Parental Attitude Research
Instrument . . . . . . . . . . . .

Relationship of Attitudes of
Fathers and Mothers of Superior
Readers as Determined by the
Reading Attitude Inventory . . . .

Relationship of Attitudes of
Fathers and Mothers of Inferior
Readers as Determined by the
Reading Attitude Inventory . . . .

Significance of the Difference
Between r's of Parents of Superior
Readers and Parents of Inferior
Readers on the Parental Attitude
Research Instrument . . . . . . .

Significance of the Difference
Between r's of Parents of Superior
Readers and Parents of Inferior
Readers on the Reading Attitude
Inventory . . . . . . . . . . . .

viii

89

91

93

94

96

97

Appendix A

Table 16.

Table

Table

Table

Table

Table

Table

Table

Table

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

LIST OF APPENDICES

Sex, Chronological Age,
Reading Grade, and IQs
of Superior Readers . . . . . .

Sex, Chronological Age,
Reading Grade, and IQs
of Inferior Readers . . . . . .

Socioeconomic Levels of
Families . . . . . . . . . . . .

Number of Children in the
Families of Superior and
Inferior Readers . . . . . . . .

Educational Levels of Parents

Distribution of Scores on

Scale 1 (Fostering Dependency)
of the Parental Attitude
Research Instrument for

Mothers of Superior and
Inferior Readers . . . . . . . .

Distribution of Scores on
Scale 2 (Strictness) of the
Parental Attitude Research
Instrument for Mothers of
Superior and Inferior Readers

Distribution of Scores on
Scale 3 (Irritability) of

the Parental Attitude Research
Instrument for Mothers of
Superior and Inferior Readers

Distribution of Scores on

Scale 4 (Excluding Outside
Influences) of the Parental
Attitude Research Instrument

for Mothers of Superior and
Inferior Readers . . . . . . . .

ix

Page

118

120

122

123

124

125

126

127

128

Table

Table

Table

Table

Table

Table

Table

25.

27.

28.

29.

30.

31.

Distribution of Scores on
Scale 5 (Deification of
Parents) of the Parental
Attitude Research Instrument
for Mothers of Superior and
Inferior Readers . . . . . .

Distribution of Scores on

Scale 6 (Approval of

Activity) of the Parental
Attitude Research Instrument

for Mothers of Superior and
Inferior Readers . . . . . . . .

Distribution of Scores on
Scale 7 (Avoidance of
Communication) of the Parental
Attitude Research Instrument
for Mothers of Superior and
Inferior Readers . . . . .

Distribution of Scores on
Scale 8 (Intrusiveness) of

the Parental Attitude Research
Instrument for Mothers of
Superior and Inferior Readers

Distribution of Scores on
Scale 10 (Acceleration of
Development) of the Parental
Attitude Research Instrument
for Mothers of Superior and
Inferior Readers . . . .

Distribution of Scores on

Scale 1 (Fostering Dependency)
of the Parental Attitude
Research Instrument for Fathers
of Superior and Inferior Readers

Distribution of Scores on

Scale 2 (Strictness) of the
Parental Attitude Research
Instrument for Fathers of
Superior and Inferior Readers .

129

130

131

132

133

134

135

Table

Table

Table

Table

Table

Table

Table

32.

33.

34.

35.

36.

37.

38.

Distribution of Scores on
Scale 3 (Irritability) of

the Parental Attitude Research
Instrument for Fathers of
Superior and Inferior Readers

Distribution of Scores on

Scale 4 (Excluding Outside
Influences) of the Parental
Attitude Research Instrument

for Fathers of Superior and
Inferior Readers . . . . . . . .

Distribution of Scores on
Scale 5 (Deification of
Parents) of the Parental
Attitude Research Instrument
for Fathers of Superior and
Inferior Readers . . .

Distribution of Scores on

Scale 6 (Approval of Activity)
of the Parental Attitude
Research Instrument for Fathers
of Superior and Inferior Readers

Distribution of Scores on
Scale 7 (Avoidance of
Communication) of the Parental
Attitude Research Instrument
for Fathers of Superior and
Inferior Readers . . . .

Distribution of Scores on
Scale 8 (Intrusiveness) of the
Parental Attitude Research
Instrument for Fathers of
Superior and Inferior Readers

Distribution of Scores on
Scale 10 (Acceleration of
Development) of the Parental
Attitude Research Instrument
for Fathers of Superior and
Inferior Readers . . . . . .

Xi

136

137

138

139

140

141

142

Table 39. Distribution of Scores on
Scale 1 (Triviality of
Reading) of the Reading
Attitude Inventory for
Mothers of Superior and
Inferior Readers . . . . . . . . 143

Table 40. Distribution of Scores on
Scale 2 (Hindering Development
of Language Skills) of the
Reading Attitude Inventory
for Mothers of Superior and
Inferior Readers . . . . . . . . 144

Table 41. Distribution of Scores on
Scale 3 (Restriction of
Childhood Experiences) of the
Reading Attitude Inventory
for Mothers of Superior and
Inferior Readers . . . . . . . . 145

Table 42. Distribution of Scores on
Scale 1 (Triviality of
Reading) of the Reading
Attitude Inventory for Fathers
of Superior and Inferior
Readers . . . . . . . . .‘. . . 146

Table 43. Distribution of Scores on
Scale 2 (Hindering Development
of Language Skills) of the
Reading Attitude Inventory for
Fathers of Superior and Inferior
Readers . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Table 44. Distribution of Scores on
Scale 3 (Restriction of
Childhood Experiences) of the
Reading Attitude Inventory for
Fathers of Superior and Inferior
Readers . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

xii

Appendix B

Initial Form of the Reading Attitude
Inventory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

Second Form of the Reading Attitude
Inventory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Final Form of the Reading Attitude
Inventory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

Inventory of Attitudes Concerning Family
Life and Children (Form PARI) . . . . 168

Letter to Parents . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

Postcard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

xiii

CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM

Parents, teachers and administrators in the
public schools want to know why some children are
unsuccessful in learning to read. The literature is
replete with reports of factors associated with the
school or within the child which are related to reading
achievement. Vision, hearing, dominance and neurological
factors, endocrine functioning, general physical health,
intelligence, maturational status, speech, emotional
reactions, and methods of teaching have been investigated.
The general conclusion is that all of these may be causal
in nature and that reading disability is usually the
result of several contributing factors rather than one
isolated cause.

In the opinion of the writer, there is a need
for more information relative to parental influences on
children's reading achievement. Even though the child
spends approximately 75 per cent of his time under the

control and guidance of his parents, there are only a

few studies which have investigated the characteristics

of parents as a contributing factor in reading success.
The belief is generally accepted that the home plays an
important role in the educational and cultural develop-
ment of the child. Furthermore, it is assumed that
parents can create an intellectual climate which will
stimulate the child's interest and motivate his educational
progress. Studiesl’2’3’4 by some investigators have led
to the acceptance of the hypothesis that objectively
measured attitudes toward various aspects of child rearing
are significantly related to the personality development
of children. Therefore, is it not possible that there

is also a relationship between parental attitudes toward

 

1Lewis B. Klebanoff, A Comparison of Parental
Attitudes of Mothers of Schizophrenic, Brain Injured,
and Normal Children (Unpublished doctoral dissertation,
Boston University, 1957).

2Vera D. Mann, A Study of the Attitudes of
Mothers of Cerebral Palsied Children toward Child
Adjustment (Unpublished doctoral dissertation, American
University, 1957).

3Katharine A, Miles, Relationship Between Certain
Factors in the Home Background and the Quality of Leader-
ship Shown by Children (Unpublished doctoral dissertation,
University of Minnesota, 1945).

4Marian J. Radke, The Relation of Parental
Authority to Children's Behavior and Attitudes (Minneapolis,
Minnesota: The University of Minnesota Press, 1946).

certain child rearing practices and children's reading
achievement? There is need for more objective and
reliable information concerning this question.

Young children generally want to do that which
they see their parents doing. Do fathers and mothers
who like to read and who evaluate highly all forms of
reading activities arouse in their children a desire for
books? Do parents who talk freely with their children,
answer their many questions, read and tell stories to
them create a language background which is preparatory
for reading? Do parents who provide an opportunity for
their children to accompany them on trips to the mountains
and seashore and who prepare them intellectually as well
as physically for these visitations develop a background
of experience which can aid children in the identification,
interpretation and evaluation of ideas which they will
meet later in their activities with books? This experiential
background is sometimes spoken of as mental content. The
term is defined by English and English1 as "that of which
one is aware at any moment; that which can be introspectively

reported or all the mental data collectively present at one

 

1Horace B. English and Ava Champney English,
A Comprehensive Dictionary of Psychological and Psycho-

analytical Terms (New York: Longmans, Green and Company,
1958), pp. 117-118.

time. The data are sensations, thoughts, probably
feelings, and perhaps volitions." Do parents of
superior and inferior readers differ in their attitude
toward the value and development of mental content
resulting from experience?

The writer in this thesis is investigating a
"Way of Life"1 in the homes of parents of superior and
inferior readers. An attempt has been.made to determine
the extent to which democracy has been permitted to
function in the home. Do the attitudes of parents
suggest that they must do the thinking and make the
fundamental decisions for all members of the family?
Do some members of this basic group because of their
age or size have more power than others in the determination
of what is important, what shall be accepted, and what shall
be rejected? Do children have freedom for growth and
development? Answers to these questions can be an important
aspect of this study. Again, we need more objective
information. Furthermore, it is essential that a working

definition of attitude be set forth. Attitude may be

 

1Carl H. Gross, Stanley P. Wronski and John W.
Hanson, School and Society (Boston: D. C. Heath and
Company, 1962), pp. 127-128.

defined as a readiness on the part of the organism to
perceive and react in a more or less consistent manner.
Greater elaboration of the meaning of this term is

presented in Chapter II.

A Mgr—e Limited Problem

The main purpose of this investigation is to
determine whether parents of superior readers differ
from parents of inferior readers with respect to their
attitudes toward certain child rearing practices, the
value of reading, the development of language skills,
and toward helping children to build experiential back-
ground.

Examples of the types of questions which will
be asked are listed as follows:

1. What attitudes toward certain child rearing
practices are expressed by mothers of superior readers?
mothers of inferior readers? fathers of superior readers?
fathers of inferior readers?

2. Do attitudes toward certain child rearing
practices expressed by mothers of superior readers differ
from those expressed by mothers of inferior readers? If

so, what are these differences and are they significant?

3. Do attitudes toward certain child rearing
practices expressed by fathers of superior readers differ
from those expressed by fathers of inferior readers? If
so, what are these differences and are they significant?

4. What attitudes toward the value of reading,
the development of language skills, and toward helping
children build experiential background are expressed by
mothers of superior readers? mothers of inferior readers?
fathers of superior readers? fathers of inferior readers?

5. Do attitudes expressed by mothers of superior
readers toward the value of reading, the development of
language skills, and toward helping children build
experiential background differ from those expressed by
mothers of inferior readers? If so, are these differences
significant?

6. Do attitudes expressed by fathers of superior
readers toward the value of reading, the development of
language skills, and toward helping children build
experiential background differ from those expressed by
fathers of inferior readers? If so, are these differences
significant?

7. Is there greater agreement between husbands

and wives who are the parents of superior readers toward

"\.

certain child rearing practices than between husbands
and wives who are the parents of inferior readers?

8. Is there greater agreement between husbands
and wives who are the parents of superior readers toward
the importance of reading, the development of language
skills, and toward helping children to build experiential
background than there is between husbands and wives who

are the parents of inferior readers?

A _Ba_si£ Assumption
This study assumes that the two attitude
inventories employed are sufficiently reliable and
valid to measure adequately and accurately the attitudes
and differences between attitudes of the groups of parents
chosen for investigation. The degree to which this
assumption is warranted is discussed in Chapters III

and IV.

Hypotheses
In this study it is postulated that:
1. Mothers and fathers of inferior readers manifest
the following attitudes regarding child rearing practices
more predominantly than mothers and fathers of superior

readers: Intrusiveness, strictness, acceleration of

."\

’\

‘\

development, fostering dependency, approval of activity,
excluding outside influences, avoidance of communication,
irritability, and deification of parents.

2. Mothers and fathers of superior readers
express attitudes which suggest that they place a greater
emphasis upon the importance of reading than do mothers
and fathers of inferior readers.

3. Mothers and fathers of superior readers
express attitudes which suggest that they encourage the
development of language skills more than parents of
inferior readers. For example, they express, to a greater
degree, attitudes which suggest that they encourage
children to ask questions, to express ideas, and to
participate in conversations.

4. Mothers and fathers of superior readers
express attitudes which suggest that they encourage
the development of experiential background more than
parents of inferior readers. These parents reflect, to
a greater extent, attitudes which suggest that they
encourage their children to take trips, participate in
activities, and have freedom to satisfy their curiosity.

5. There is greater agreement between husbands

and wives who are the parents of superior readers

concerning their attitudes toward certain child rearing
practices than there is between husbands and wives who
are the parents of inferior readers.

6. There is greater agreement between husbands
and wives who are the parents of superior readers
concerning their attitudes toward the importance of
reading, the development of language skills, and toward
helping children to build experiential background than
there is between husbands and wives who are the parents

of inferior readers.

LimitationsygfflSEggy

This study is focused on the attitudes of parents
toward certain child rearing practices, the value of
reading, the development of certain language skills and
experiential background related to reading. Causal
factors are not investigated in this study; only relation-
ships between certain attitudes and various conditions
and forms of behavior are pointed out. No attempt has
been made to evaluate changes in attitudes over a period
of time. This study is a snapshot of the parent at the
moment of investigation and not a moving picture of his

attitudes and their modification.

"\

10

mum

This study can provide facts which will be of
value in accepting or rejecting the hypothesis that
attitudes of parents toward certain child rearing
practices, the value of reading, and the development
of language skills and experiential background are
related to the reading achievement of children. This
relationship has been assumed, but there is little
evidence to support this assumption. It may be possible
that the Reading Attitude Inventory developed for use
in this study may be of value in the investigation of
this opinion. If measures of attitudes can be used to
establish this relationship and if one is able to accept
or reject the hypotheses of this study on the basis of
evidence furnished by these inventories, research in
this and related fields can be accelerated. Furthermore,
if such a relationship does exist, teachers and clinicians
concerned with reading achievement may need to facilitate
the modification and change of parental attitudes. Work

with the child alone may not be sufficient.

11

There is evidence, as studies by Kelly,1 Bell2

and Stott3 indicate, that attitudes of parents do and
can change with the passing of time and through the use
of films and planned discussions. These findings suggest
that teachers and clinicians may be able to contribute

to changes in parental attitude and consequently aid in
developing a home climate which may be conducive to the

growth and nurture of better readers.

 

1E. Lowell Kelly, "Consistency of the Adult
Personality," The American Psychologist, 10 (November,

1955), 659-681.

2Richard Q. Bell, "Retrospective Attitude Studies
of Parent-Child Relations," Child Development, 29
(September, 1958), 323-338.

3Leland H. Stott and Minnie Perrin Berson,
"Some Changes in Attitudes Resulting from a Preparental
Education Program," The Journal of Social Psychology,
34 (November, 1951), 191-202.

CHAPTER II
RELATED RESEARCH

This chapter summarizes results of investigations
dealing with parental attitudes affecting the behavior,
personality and academic attainment of children. Studies
of home environment and reading achievement are included.
Current opinions regarding the meaning of the term attitude

are set forth.

Meaning 2f Attitude
Social scientists consider attitude to be an
important variable of behavior. Consequently, many of

1 defines

them have attempted to define it. G. W. Allport
an attitude as ". . . a mental and neural state of readi-
ness, organized through experience, asserting a directive

or dynamic influence upon the individual's response to all

objects and situations with which it is related."

 

1Gordon W. Allport, "Attitudes," A Handbook of
Social Psychology, ed. Carl Murchison (Worcester,
Massachusetts: Clark University Press, 1935), 798-844.

12

I'\

l3

Thurstone1 regards an attitude as ". . . the
sum total of a man's inclinations and feelings, prejudice
or bias, preconceived notions, ideas, fears, threats and
convictions about any Specific topic."

Krech and Crutchfield2 define attitude as
". . . an enduring organization of motivational, emotional,
perceptual, and cognitive processes with respect to some
aspect of the individual's world."

According to English and English3 an attitude is
"one of many terms that refer to an aspect of personality
inferred to account for persistent and consistent behavior
toward a family of related situations or objects." They
add that an attitude is "an enduring, learned predis-
position to behave in a consistent way toward a given
class of objects; a persistent mental and/or neural state
of readiness to react to a certain object or class of

objects, not as they are but as they are conceived to

 

1L. L. Thurstone, The Measurement of Values
(Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1959),
p. 216.

2David Krech and Richard s. Crutchfield, Theory
and Problems of Social Psychology (New York: McGraw-
Hill Book Company, Inc., 1948), p. 152.

3Horace B. English and Ava Champney English,
A Comprehensive Dictionary of Psychological and Psycho-

analytical Terms (New York: Longmans, Green and Company,
1958), p. 50.

I'\

r‘.

/\

14

be. It is by the consistency of response to a class
of objects that an attitude is identified.”
Consequently, we can assume that the term
attitude means a readiness to perceive and react in
a more or less enduring way and represents the con-
sistency among responses. An attitude is not a
particular response but an intervening variable which
must be inferred from.behavior. The measurement of
attitudes involves a sampling of responses and the
using of this sample of responses to make inferences
about the entire range of behavior associated with the

attitude being studied.

Problems gf_Attitude Measurement
One of the problems involved in the measurement
of attitudes is their susceptibility to modification by
factors in the immediate environment. It has been shown
that different social situations can elicit different
measurable attitudes from the same subjects and that
modification of an attitude can occur by different

relationships between a respondent and the individual

15

to whom he is expressing an attitude.l’2’3 Even knowledge
of current theories seems to influence responses obtained
on attitude questionnaires.4
A method of coping with the problem of social
context is recommended by Bell.5 He suggests that items
be provided which have content in opposition to current
theories and which are stated in slightly aphoristic

language. His suggestion is substantiated by the findings

of Rundquist and Gordon. Rundquist6 shows that items with

 

1Herbert C. Kelman, "Attitude Change as a Function

of Response Restriction," Human Relations, 6 (1953),
185-214.

2Richard T. LaPiere, "Attitudes vs. Actions,”
Social Forces, 13 (December, 1934), 230-237.

 

3Richard L. Schanck, ”A Study of a Community
and Its Groups and Institutions Conceived of as Behaviors
of Individuals," Psychological Monpgraph, 43 (1932),
1-133.

4Earl S. Schaefer and Richard Q. Bell, "Develop-
ment of a Parental Attitude Research Instrument," Child
Development, 29 (September, 1958), 339-361.

5Richard Q. Bell, "Retrospective Attitude Studies
of Parent-Child Relations," Child Development, 29
(September, 1958), 327-328.

6Edward A. Rundquist, "Form of Statement in
Personality Measurement," The Journal of Educational
Psychology, 31 (February, 1940), 135-147.

I\

’\

\

16

socially unacceptable content are more effective
discriminators between criterion groups than items
having socially acceptable content. Gordon,1 in
reporting on some interrelationships among personality
item characteristics, states that the more projective
a personality test item containing socially unaccept-
able content the more valid it is likely to be.
Another problem of equal significance in the
measurement of attitudes is that of response sets.
Cronbach2 presents evidence to indicate that such sets
are maximized by stimulus situations which are unclear
or ambiguous to the subjects. Stogdill3 reports that
there is a tendency for many parents to agree with
attitude items having contradictory content. Consistent

with this finding is the evidence presented by Bass4

 

1Leonard V. Gordon, "Some Interrelationships
Among Personality Item Characteristics," Educational
and Psychological Measurement, 13 (1953), 264-272.

2Lee J. Cronbach, "Further Evidence on Response
Sets and Test Design," Educational and Psychological
Measurement, 10 (Spring, 1950), 3-31.

3Ralph.M. Stogdill, "The Measurement of Attitudes

Toward Parental Control and the Social Adjustments of
Children," Journal of Applied Psychology, 20 (1936), 359-367.

4 o o o 0
Bernard M. Bass, "Authoritarianism or Acquiescence?"

Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 51 (November,
1955), 616-623.

 

17

which supports the inference that three-fourths of the
reliable variance in the F scale can be explained as

an acquiescence set. A means of dealing with the problem
of response sets is suggested by Cronbach and Gleser.1
Their procedure consists of a process of partialling
level and dispersion out of profile measures to provide

a pure measure of profile shape. This procedure makes

it possible to set aside but not preclude the operation

of response sets.

A third problem of attitude measurement is that
of rapport with the subjects. Schaefer and Bell2 suggest
the use of "rapport” scales and the selection of items
having a median difficulty level of .50 as a satisfactory

method of raising the level of rapport.

In review, projective items are of use in coping

with the problem of social context. The problem of

 

1Lee J. Cronbach and Goldine C. Gleser,
"Assessing Similarity Between Profiles," The Psychological
Bulletin, 50 (November, 1953), 456-473.

2Earl S. Schaefer and Richard Q. Bell,
"Development of a Parental Attitude Research Instrument,"
Child Development, 29 (September, 1958), 339-361.

/\

18

response set can be partialled out by using new scoring
techniques. The use of ”rapport" items and the selection
of items of appropriate discrimination are of value in

improving methods of measuring attitudes.

A special problem which is evident in studies
of parental attitudes is that many may react to the
fact that their children's behavior has been socially
identified as superior, inferior, or unusual in some
way. In such studies the attitude pattern which
differentiates such parents from a control group may
reflect self-justifying or guilt feelings rather than
a pattern associated with the developmental history of

the child.

Two other problems involved in attitude measure-
ment are the possibility that attitudes change as a
result of time and that parents are capable of reacting
differently to various children in the same family.
Furthermore, there is need for more information regarding
the relationship between attitudes measured by question-

naires and the actual behavior of parents.

19

Studies pf Parental Attitudes Affecting Behavior

and Personality 2: Children

There is some evidence to suggest that there is
an underlying attitude which affects a variety of parental

1 has shown that if parents who

behaviors. Bettelheim
vigorously impose accelerated developmental goals upon
children are told that early toilet training is undesir-
able, they may delay such training but are apt to continue
to accelerate the child in talking, reading, or other
areas of development. Consequently, several investigators
have attempted to study the relationship between parental
attitudes and child rearing practices as well as the
relationship of such attitudes and the behavior and
personality of children. The following studies are
worthy of consideration.

2

Shoben investigated parental attitudes in relation

to child adjustment by administering an inventory of

 

1Bruno Bettelheim, "Mental Health and Current

Mores," American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 22 (January,
1952), 76-88.

2Edward J. Shoben, Jr., ”The Assessment of
Parental Attitudes in Relation to Child Adjustment,"
Genetic Psychology Monograph, 39 (1949), 101-148.

20

attitudes toward child rearing to 50 mothers of children
in mental hygiene clinics and juvenile courts and to 50
mothers of normal children. Significant correlations
were found between the children's adjustment and three
parental attitude scales entitled maternal dominance,
possessiveness, and ignoring.

Radke,l in her study of the relation of parental
authority to children's behavior and attitudes, reported
that socially unacceptable conduct of children is related
to autocratic, restrictive, and severe discipline.

2

A study completed by Miles and reported by

Anderson3

investigated the relationships between certain
factors in the home background and the quality of leader-
ship shown by children. It was found that subscales

measuring overprotection, dominance by the parent, and

 

lMarian J. Radke, The Relation of Parental
Authority to Children's Behavior and Attitudes (Minneapolis,
Minnesota: The University of Minnesota Press, 1946).

2Katharine A.'Mi1es, Relationship Between
Certain Factors in the Home Background and the Quality
of Leadership Shown by Children (Unpublished doctoral
dissertation, The University of Minnesota, 1945).

 

 

3John E. Anderson, "Parents' Attitudes on Child

Behavior: A Report of Three Studies," Child Development,
17 (March-June, 1946), 91-97.

 

21

encouragement of social development are related to the
child's leadership status and social acceptance by the
school group.

Freeman and Graysonl measured the attitudes of
50 mothers of schizophrenic and 50 mothers of normal
children. They found that the possessive and unclassi-
fied groups of items from the Shoben Inventory differ-
entiated between the two groups at the .05 level of
confidence. The dominating and ignoring subscales failed
to do so.

Mark2 devised an inventory consisting of items
which seemed relevant to the concept of the schizo-
phrenogenic mother. He administered the items to 100
mothers of hospitalized schizophrenics and 100 mothers
of controls who were matched for age, religion, socio-
economic status, education, and age of their sons. He

found that 67 of the 139 items differentiated the groups

 

1Richard V. Freeman and Harry M. Grayson,
"Maternal Attitudes in Schizophrenia," Journal of
Abnormal and Social Psychology, 50 (January, 1955),
45-52.

2Joseph C. Mark, "The Attitudes of the Mothers
of Male Schizophrenics toward Child Behavior," The

Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 48 (April,
1953), 185-189.

22

beyond the .10 level of confidence. Schaefer and Belll

report that McFarland, in replicating Mark's study,
failed to find significant differences between mothers
of normals and of schizophrenics. Both studies, however,
indicated that the number of items differentiating the
two populations of mothers of schizophrenics was signi-
ficantly greater than could be expected on a chance basis.

Mann2 administered Final Form IV of the Parental
Attitude Research Instrument as well as questionnaires
developed by Shoben and Mark to mothers of children with
cerebral palsy and closely matched mothers of normal
children. The mothers of the normal children scored
significantly higher on the ignoring scale from Shoben,
but differences on the possessive and dominant scales
were not significant. Mothers of children with cerebral
palsy scored significantly higher on the following

Parental Attitude Research Instrument Scales:

 

1Earl S. Schaefer and Richard Q. Bell, "Develop-
ment of a Parental Attitude Research Instrument," Child
Development, 29 (September, 1958), 339-361.

2Vera D. Mann, A Study of the Attitudes of
Mothers of Cerebral Palsied Children toward Child
Adjustment (Unpublished doctoral dissertation, American
University, 1957).

t

23

Seclusiveness, Strictness, Intrusiveness, Acceleration

of Development, Encouraging Verbalization, Equalitarian-
ism, and Comradeship and Sharing. Mothers of normals
scored significantly higher on Marital Conflict, Ir-
ritability, Rejection of the Homemaking Role, and
Avoidance of Communication. Differences were significant

at or beyond the .05 level.

Klebanoff1 administered Form IV of the Parental
Attitude Research Instrument to 15 mothers of schizo-
phrenic children, 15 mothers of retarded or brain injured
children, and 26 mothers of normal children. Significant
differences in scales related to overpossessiveness
appeared between mothers of normals and mothers of
schizophrenics as well as between mothers of normals
and mothers of retarded or brain injured children. No
differences could be demonstrated between mothers of
schizophrenic children and mothers of mentally retarded

or brain injured children.

 

1Lewis B. Klebanoff, A Comparison of Parental
Attitudes of Mothers of Schizophrenic, Brain Injured,
and Normal Children (Unpublished doctoral dissertation,
Boston University, 1957).

an\

24

1 compared the attitudes

A group of investigators
of parents of kindergarten children and parents of
children attending a guidance clinic. They found
significantly high correlations between parental attitudes
and child problems, thus reaffirming the importance of
parental attitudes on child behavior. They also con-
cluded that the attitudes of fathers are as intimately

related to maladjustive tendencies among children as are

the attitudes of mothers.

Studies pf Parental Attitudes Related £2_Academic
Achievement and Reading Abilities g£_Children
Published research seems to support the thesis
that parental attitudes affect the child's academic
progress. Kurtz and Swenson2 employed a series of
interviews with parents, teachers, and children to study
the home backgrounds of 40 underachievers and 40 over-

achievers in academic work. In general, marked differences

 

1Donald R. Peterson, Wesley C. Becker, Donald J.
Shoemaker, Zella Luria, and Leo A. Hellmer, "Child
Behavior Problems and Parental Attitudes," Child Develop-
‘ment, 32 (1961), 151-162.

2John J. Kurtz and Esther J. Swenson, "Factors
Related to Overachievement and Underachievement in School,"
School Review, 59 (November, 1951), 472-480.

25

were found between the two groups. Pride, confidence,
affection, and interest of parents in their children

as shown by instances in which parents read to their
children, played with them, or attended school with
them appear to be in greater evidence for overachievers
than for underachievers.

Shaw and Dutton,1 in their attempt to determine
whether or not differences exist between the parents of
achievers and the parents of underachievers with respect
to their attitudes toward children, compared resPonses
to the Parental Attitude Research Instrument of parents
of bright academic achievers to the responses of parents
of bright academic underachievers. Parents of under-
achievers had significantly stronger negative attitudes
toward their underachieving children.

Only a few investigations have been made of the
relationship between parental attitudes and the child's

reading achievement. Preston2 investigated the attitudes

 

lMerville C. Shaw and Bert E. Dutton, "The Use
of the Parent Attitude Research Inventory with the Parents

of Bright Academic Underachievers," Journal of Educational
PsychologY, 53 (October, 1962), 203-208.

2Mary 1. Preston, "The Reaction of Parents to
Reading Failure," Child Development, X (September, 1939),
173-179.

26

of parents after reading problems had developed and
found that parents indulged their children until the
reading problem arose and then suddenly changed to
impatience and scolding. A child who failed to read
was considered by his parents to be "abnormal, queer,
not quite right."
Mothers of retarded readers were found by
Stewart1 to have strong ambivalent feelings toward
their children. The mothers were somewhat hostile to
their children and experienced guilt feelings which
made them generally over-indulgent or overprotective.
Missildine,2 in his eight year study of the
home and family relationships of thirty retarded readers,
describes one-third of the mothers as "overtly hostile"
and still another one-third as "markedly tense, criticiz-
ing and coercive." In all these cases the maternal

attitudes were judged to be conducive to reading failure.

 

1Robert S. Stewart, "Personality Maladjustment
and Reading Achievement," American Journal of Ortho-
psychiatry, XX (1950), p. 415.

2Whitney H. Missildine, "The Emotional Back-
ground of 30 Children with Reading Disabilities with
Emphasis Upon Its Coercive Elements," The Nervous Child,
V (July, 1946), p. 271.

27

Seigler and Gynther's study1

shows that parents
of poor readers use critical or derogatory descriptive
terms more frequently than parents of good readers.

They more frequently describe their children as aggressive,
distrustful, or dependent and devaluate their children's
personalities more often than parents of good readers.
Parents of poor readers were less frequently identified
with their spouses and with their children than parents
of good readers. Their findings were interpreted as
supporting the hypothesis that family conflict is greater
in the home of a poor reader than it is in homes in which
no child has a reading deficiency.

Vickery2

found that parents of children in a
"high" reading group had significantly different child
rearing attitudes from parents of children in a "low"

reading group. Parents of the better readers favored

 

1Hazel G. Seigler and Malcolm D. Gynther, "Reading
Ability of Children and Family Harmony," Journal of
Developmental Reading, IV (Autumn, 1960), 17-24.

2Verna L. Vickery, "A Study of the Relationship
of Certain Parental Attitudes and Personality Character-
istics to the Reading Achievement of Children in the
First Grade," University Bulletin, Louisiana State
University: Abstracts of Dissertations, Titles of Theses

(Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Louisiana State University,
1955), XLVII (2), 56-57.

 

28

to a high degree attitudes which reflected permissive
child rearing practices.

1 attempted to determine if certain

McKinley
aspects of the home environment, in their influences
upon the child's emotional development, were determining
factors in success or failure in reading. Maternal
personality, maternal child rearing attitudes, and
maternal sensitivity to the child's emotions were the
specific variables considered. Three groups of 30
mothers each, selected on the basis of their children's
reading ability, were studied with regard to these
factors. Results of the statistical treatment of data
disclosed significant differences among mother groups
only with regard to their sensitivity to their child's
emotions or feelings. No appreciable differences in
personality or child rearing attitudes among the groups
studied were found. It should be pointed out, however,
that McKinley combined scales on the Parental Attitude
Research Instrument and therefore may have obscured trends

which could be noted if the individual scales had been

utilized.

 

1Douglas P. McKinley, A Study of Certain Relation-
ships of Maternal Personality and Child-Rearipg Attitudes
to Children's Reading Performances (Unpublished doctoral

dissertation, University of Florida, 1958).

29

Studies pf Egg; Environment and Reading Achievement

A number of investigators have studied the
relationship between other home factors and reading
achievement. Parr,1 in his study of college students
who were poor readers, found a lack of reading material
in the home, lack of interest in reading, and little or
no recreational reading in childhood.

Almy,2 in her study of children's experiences
and their success in beginning reading, found a signi-
ficant relationship between success in reading and such
experiences as looking at books and magazines, having
someone read to them, and interest in words, letters,
and numbers.

Ladd,3 in her study of the home environment of

retarded readers, found that homes of inferior socio-

 

1Frank W. Parr, "Factors Associated with Poor
Reading Ability of Adults," School and Sociepy, 35
(May 7, 1932), p. 626.

2Millie Corinne Almy, Children's Experiences Prior
to First Grade and Success in Beginnipg Readipg (New York:
Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University,
1949).

.3Margaret R. Ladd, The Relation of Social,
Economic, and Personal Characteristics to Reading Dis-
ability (New York: Bureau of Publications, Teachers
College, Columbia University, 1933), p. 81.

30

economic status and a foreign language background were
associated with poor reading.

Jackson's investigation of 600 good and poor
readers yielded similar findings.1 He found socio-
economic status, family size, and parental educational
level to be distinguishing factors between retarded and
non-retarded readers. Increase in family size favored
the retarded reader while higher socioeconomic status
and parental educational level favored the good reader.

A more recent study by Sheldon and Carrillo2
reveals that retarded readers generally come from large
families of lower socioeconomic status, have fewer books
available, and have parents who left school sooner than

the parents of advanced readers.

Conclusion
In general, research seems to substantiate the
inference that there are differences between the parents

and home environments of good and poor readers. The

 

1Joseph Jackson, "A Survey of Psychological,
Social and Environmental Differences Between Advanced
and Retarded Readers," Pedagogical Seminapy and Journal
of Genetic Psychology, 65 (1944), 113-131.

2William D. Sheldon and Lawrence W. Carrillo,
"Relation of Parents, Home, and Certain Developmental
Characteristics to Children's Reading Ability," Elementary
School Journal, 52 (January, 1952), 262-270.

 

31

writer, however, was unable to find published research
which answers the following questions: Do parents of
superior and inferior readers differ in their attitudes
toward the value of reading and toward the sponsoring

of activities which help children develop language skills
and experiential background necessary for reading? This
study has been conducted to provide answers to this query.
There are several tools for measuring attitudes concern-
ing child rearing practices which are recognized and
utilized as suitable instruments of research. ‘Measures,
however, are not available for investigating the attitudes
of parents toward certain aspects of reading. In order to
meet this need, the writer has constructed such an instru-
ment for use in this study. It will be known as the

Reading Attitude Inventory.

CHAPTER III

DEVELOPMENT OF THE READING ATTITUDE INVENTORY

In discussing the development of the Reading
Attitude Inventory, it is well to point out the need
for such an inventory, some factors underlying its
construction, and the steps followed in preparing the

instrument.

‘Nggg'fggthg Reading Attitude Inventory
Those who work with children and adults having
reading difficulties are frequently impressed with the
apparent importance of the home background of the
individual being studied. Observations made in class-
rooms and clinics indicate that children who come from
homes where reading is valued highly, where all members
of the family are interested in reading, and where books
and magazines are habitually used are more likely to be
classified as good readers by teachers than children who

come from.homes where these conditions do not prevail.

32

33

It is also frequently observed that parents who encourage
their children to ask questions and express their points

of view and who read and tell stories to their children
have little reason to be dissatisfied with their children's
progress in the language skills. Furthermore, it is
observed that the child's experiential background, which
has been more or less under the control of his parents,

1 or substrata factors2 which

3

has developed mental content
affect his interpretation of what he reads. Kingston
has shown that the meaning of a simple nursery rhyme,
Jack and Jill, can be interpreted in six different ways

depending upon the mental content of the child. It is

 

1Homer L. J. Carter, "Mental Content, A
Contributing and Concomitant Factor in Reading,"
Problems, Programs, and Projects in College-Adult
Reading, Eleventh Yearbook of the National Reading
Conference (Milwaukee, Wisconsin: The National
Reading Conference, Inc., 1962), 24-29.

2Jack A. Holmes, ”The Substrata-Factor Theory
of Reading: Some Experimental Evidence," New Frontiers
in Reading, The International Reading Association Conference
Proceedings (New York: Scholastic Magazines, 1960),
115-121.

3Albert J. Kingston, Jr., "Some Thoughts on
Reading Comprehension," Problems, Prpgrams, and Prpjects
in College-Adult Reading, Eleventh Yearbook of the
National Reading Conference (Milwaukee, Wisconsin:
The National Reading Conference, Inc., 1962), 20-23.

34

generally assumed that mental content, language skills,
and an appreciation of the value of reading are products
of purposeful living and attitudes expressed in the home
by fathers and mothers. If these assumptions are correct,
how do the attitudes of parents of superior readers differ
from the attitudes of parents of inferior readers? The
Reading Attitude Inventory has been designed to provide

information concerning this question.

ngg Factors Underlying 523 Development
‘gflghg Reading Attitude Inventory
Three important factors in the preparation of
the Reading Attitude Inventory are (1) the value of Specific
measures of high validity and internal consistency,
(2) adequate criteria for the development and selection
of items, and (3) a suitable sampling of mothers who will

be utilized in the selection of items.

Value of Specific Measures of High Validity
and Internal Consistency
Measures of specific attitudes which are composed
of homogeneous groups of items are more useful than a

test composed of many individual items of doubtful internal

35

consistency or one which provides only one total score.
This opinion is supported by Holzinger's statement that
a single average as a complete summarization is justified

1 Criticism of

only if the data involve a single factor.
heterogeneous composite scores made by Guttman2 also
suggests that the use of only one composite score in the
area of parental attitudes reduces differentiating power
of a parental attitude research instrument and obscures
the interpretation of data. Consequently, in developing
the Reading Attitude Inventory, three scales, each
designed to measure a specific attitude, have been
constructed and patterned after the well known and
successful Parental Attitude Research Instrument (PARI)

prepared by Schaefer and Bell.3 The three scales are

entitled:

 

lKarl J. Holzinger, "Factoring Test Scores and
Implications for the Method of Averages," Psychometrika,
9 (September, 1944), 155-167.

2Lewis Guttman, "Relation of Scalogram Analysis
to Other Techniques, " Measurement and Prediction, ed.
Samuel A. Stouffer, et a1. (Princeton, New Jersey.
Princeton University— Press, 1950), 172- 212.

3Earl S. Schaefer and Richard Q. Bell, "Develop-
ment of a Parental Attitude Research Instrument, Child
Development, 29 (September, 1958), 339-361.

36

l. Triviality of Reading.
2. Hindering Development of Language Skills.

3. Restriction of Childhood Experiences.

Criteria for the Development and
Selection of Items

In constructing scales for the measurement of
these attitudes, the following criteria for the develop-
ment and selection of items have been considered.

1. Attitudes should be stated contrary to the
usually_approved opinions of authorities in the field
of reading. Schaefer and Bell1 found that when they
constructed the Parental Attitude Research Instrument as
so-called "healthy" scales, both reliability and dis-
criminative power were limited. Harris, Cough, and Martin2

also report that items stating "healthy" attitudes are

typically poor discriminators. Consequently, statements

 

1Earl S. Schaefer and Richard Q. Bell, "Develop-
ment of a Parental Attitude Research Instrument," Child
Development, 29 (September, 1958), p. 346.

2Dale B. Harris, Harrison B. Cough, and William
E. Martin, "Children's Ethnic Attitudes: Relationship
to Parental Beliefs Concerning Child Training," Child
Development, 21 (September, 1950), 169-181.

37

in the Reading Attitude Inventory have been stated
contrary to the usually approved opinions of authorities.
An example from.the Reading Attitude Inventory is:
"Children under the age of five gain little worthwhile
knowledge from trips."

2. Use should be made of items which can be
interpreted in a number of ways. It is assumed that
such items will enhance projective responses of parents.
Gordon1 has found that the discriminating power of an
item can be increased by wording it in an "unclear"
manner. "Young children should not be encouraged to
play with older boys and girls because they may have
experiences which are not good for them" illustrates an
item from the Reading Attitude Inventory which can be
interpreted in several ways.

3. Employment of rationalizations frequently
used by parents who are uninformed concerning_the factors
affecting reading performance should be made so that
parents who do not value reading highly and who do little

to encourage children to develop language skills and

 

1Leonard V. Gordon, "Some Interrelationships
Among Personality Item Characteristics," Educational
and Psychological Measurement, 13 (1953), 264-272.

38

experiential background will agree without embarrass-
ment while the critical judgment of parents with a

‘more wholesome attitude toward reading would cause them
to reject the statement. This type of item may be
illustrated by the statement, "Since many children have
to be encouraged to eat at mealtime, the wise mother
will discourage her children from talking while eating."
This item also illustrates how the aura of self-
righteousness can be attached to an item.

4. Use should be made of cliches, colloquialismsy

 

and conventional phrases which stimulate an expression of

attitudes. ”There is a lot of sense to the old adage:

 

Children should be seen and not heard," is a statement
from the Reading Attitude Inventory illustrating this

principle. Schaefer and Bell1

point out that techniques
1, 2, 3, and 4 can be used in item.writing with the
hypothesis that thresholds for item acceptance would be
changed differentially in normal and deviant parents.

5. Items should be selected which are of known

validity and high discriminative power.

 

1Earl S. Schaefer and Richard Q. Bell, "Develop-
ment of a Parental Attitude Research Instrument," Child
Development, 29 (September, 1958), 339-361.

39

6. Items should be chosen with difficulty
indices of .50 or thereabouts.
7. Internal consistency of the items making

up each scale should be carefully considered.

Criteria for Selection of Mothers

In securing mothers willing to cooperate in
completing the preliminary inventories, consideration
should be given to availability, age, educational back-
ground, place of residence, and occupational status.
Insofar as possible, mothers selected should be a fairly
adequate sampling of mothers of children found in the
public schools of Kalamazoo, Michigan. In this study no
attempt will be made to set up standards or norms. The
writer is only concerned with selection of items making

up the different scales.

Steps 13 the Development f the

Reading Attitude Inventory
With these principles in mind, the writer has
assumed the task of developing three scales which can

be used in differentiating the attitudes of parents in

the domain of reading. The first step in the development

I‘

I'\

40

of this instrument was the determination of areas to

be investigated.

Selection of Areas of Investigation

Several members of the faculty of Western Michigan
University who have specialized in the field of reading
arrived at an appraisal of the different parental attitudes
related to the process of learning to read. It was the
consensus that three areas should be investigated. They
are:

l. Triviality pf Reading. Each item in this
scale should reflect an attitude which suggests that
parents consider reading to be relatively unimportant
and of limited value.

2. Hindering Development pf Language Skills.

Each item making up this scale should reflect an attitude
which discourages children from asking questions, express-
ing ideas, reflecting their points of view, or listening
to what others have to say.

3. Restriction 2f Childhood Experiences. Each
item making up this scale should reflect an attitude which
favors holding children back from participating in activities

which provide information, ideas, and experiential background.

41

Selection of Pool of Items
Fifteen items were constructed for each of the
three scales. Items in the pool were eliminated if they
did not show variations in attitudes or did not vary in
form with other items which were used to define the scale.
By general agreement, items of promise were identified
and new items were selected which contributed to the

purpose of the scales.

Sorting of Items Into Categories

When this preliminary work had been completed,
each item.was typed on a 3" x 5” card, and five members
of the faculty of Western.Michigan University, all of
whom teach courses in reading, were asked to sort the
items into the following four classifications: (1) Trivi-
ality of Reading, (2) Hindering Development of Language
Skills, (3) Restriction of Childhood Experiences, and
(4) Unclassified. All items were presented to the judges
in the same order, the order being determined by randomly
assigning a number to each item. The following directions
were given to each of the five judges.

These cards represent

a preliminary form of a Reading
Attitude Inventory which is to

1“

4"

42

be administered to parents. You are
being asked to help us determine
whether or not the statements on each
card measure what we think they measure.
You are not being asked to indicate
whether you agree or disagree with the
statements. Instead you are being
asked to classify each statement into
one of four categories according to
the attitude which you think is being
measured. These categories are:

l. Triviality of Reading:
Each statement placed in
this category should re-
flect an attitude which
indicates that parents
consider reading to be
relatively unimportant
and of limited value.

2. Hindering Development of
Language Skills: Each
statement placed in this
category should reflect
an attitude which discourages
children from asking questions,
expressing ideas, reflecting
their points of view, or
listening to what others have
to say.

3. Restriction of Childhood
Experiences: Each statement
placed in this category
should reflect an attitude
which favors holding children
back from participating in
activities which provide
information, ideas, and
experiential background.

4"

l"

43

4. Unclassified: Any state-
ment which cannot be
classified in one of the
three categories already
described should be placed
in this group.
Please read each statement carefully
and determine in which category it should
be placed. After you have classified the
entire set of 45 items, read each one
again in order to determine whether or
not you have categorized each one correctly.
Items frequently misplaced by the judges were
reconstructed or omitted entirely from.further considera-
tion. This procedure of sorting and resorting provided
a maximum of new information which could be used in

developing an effective item pool and did not impose

statistical procedures at the level of hypothesis formation.

Preparation of Preliminary Scales
After the final selection of fifteen items for
each of the three scales had been made, the following
directions which are identical to those designed for the
Parental Attitude Research Instrument by Schaefer and
Bell were prepared.

Read each of the statements below
and then rate them as follows:

A a d D

strongly ‘mildly ‘mildly strongly
agree agree disagree disagree

44

Indicate your opinion by drawing

a circle around the "A" if you strongly

agree, around the "a" if you mildly agree,

around the "d" if you mildly disagree, and

around the "D" if you strongly disagree.
There are no right or wrong answers,

so answer according to your own opinion.

It is very important to the study that all

questions be answered. Many of the state-

ments will seem alike but all are necessary

to show slight differences of opinion.

Items making up the scales were cyclically
arranged. For example, the fifteen items making up
Scale I were given the following numbers: 1, 4, 7,

10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31, 34, 37, 40, and 43.
Scale II was made up of items 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20,
23, 26, 29, 32, 35, 38, 41, and 44. Scale 111 was made
up of numbers 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33,
36, 39, 42, and 45. A copy of this form of the Reading
Attitude Inventory may be found in Appendix B.

After this procedure had been completed, the
initial form of the inventory consisting of 45 items
was administered to a small sampling of mothers. It was
soon discovered that scales made up entirely of such items
left many mothers dissatisfied. Frequently these mothers

stated that there were few items with which they could

agree, and therefore they could not express any positive

45

ideas. In order to remedy this condition, the writer
prepared a second preliminary form of the Reading
Attitude Inventory and included a number of items from
the scale developed by Schaefer and Bell to which mothers
could agree. Five so-called "rapport" items were added
to the 45 selected items making up the initial form of
the Reading Attitude Inventory. The order of items for
each of the scales in the second preliminary form of the
inventory, which is included in Appendix B, is reported.

Rapport Items: 1, 10, 20, 30, and 40.

Scale I: 2, 5, 8, 12, 15, 18, 22, 25, 28, 32,
35, 38, 42, 45, and 48.

Scale II: 3, 6, 9, 13, l6, 19, 23, 26, 29, 33,
36, 39, 43, 46, and 49.

Scale 111: 4, 7, 11, 14, 17, 21, 24, 27, 31, 34,
37, 41, 44, 47, and 50.

The second preliminary form of the Reading Attitude
Inventory was administered to another small sampling of
mothers in the Kalamazoo area, and it was found that the
addition of "rapport" items eliminated the distrust which
the mothers had of the previous scale. This inventory was
then administered to 200 mothers at various occupational

and educational levels.

46

Description of Mothers Utilized in

Selection of Items

The 200 mothers to whom the second preliminary
form of the Reading Attitude Inventory was administered
came from an area included in a 75-mile radius of
Kalamazoo, a city of approximately 100,000 population.
Roughly 56 per cent resided in the city of Kalamazoo
and 44 per cent in suburban and rural areas. The ages
of these mothers ranged from 20 to above 50. Sixteen
per cent had ages from 20 to 29, 31 per cent from 30
to 39, 30 per cent from 40 to 49, and 23 per cent were
above 50. The mean chronological age was 40.6 years.
These women were mothers of from one to six children.
The mean number of children born to the group was 2.96.
The formal educational level attained by these women
ranged from grade school only to graduate school. Sixty-
three per cent were either high school graduates or had
earned some college credit. Vocations ranged from that
of employment outside the home to that of a housewife
within the home. A fairly wide range of social and

economic levels were represented.

47

Selection of Items Making Up the Final Form of the
Reading Attitude Inventory

After the second preliminary form of the Reading
Attitude Inventory had been administered to 200 mothers,
each paper was scored. In scoring the papers a value of
4 points was given to A, 3 points to a, 2 points to d,
and 1 point to D. Each mother's total score for each
scale was found by adding the number of appropriate points
for each item in the scale.

After the inventories had been scored in this
manner, 27 per cent of the papers having the highest
scores and 27 per cent having the lowest scores on each
scale were selected. The number in the high group and
the number in the low group who "passed" each item were
determined. Then a biserial correlation was calculated
between success and failure on a single item and the size
of the total score on the scale, and the index of difficulty
for each item.was computed. In making these calculations,
the Item Analysis Table prepared by Chung-Teh Fan was
used.1 This table was selected because it provided a

ready means of translating the observed proportions of

 

1Chung-Teh Fan, Item Analysis Table (Princeton,
New Jersey: Educational Testing Service, 1952).

48

success in the two extreme groups into measures of item
difficulty, p, and item discrimination, r. In the table,
the values of p are the proportions of correct responses
in the total (100 per cent) sample which were estimated
from p and pL, the proportions of correct responses in
the highest and lowest 27 per cent, respectively. Many
tables provided by other statisticians provide a rough
estimate of p by averaging the values of pH and pL.
This estimate is subject to systematic error, particularly
in the cases of extreme values of p and high values of
the discrimination index, r. For a normal distribution,
the mean of pH and pL over-estimates values of p less
than .50 and underestimates values of p greater than .50.
Accordingly, the values of p in the Chung-Teh Fan table
have been computed from tables of the normal bivariate
distribution, and are thus free from this type of error.
Tables 1, 2, and 3 show each item making up the scales,
the corresponding biserial r, and the index of difficulty.
With these data available to the writer, five
items for each scale were selected on the basis of validity

or discriminative power to make up the final form of the

Reading Attitude Inventory. Obviously, items having

I‘

’\

49

TABLE 1

ANALYSIS OF ITEMS IN SCALE I, TRIVIALITY OF READING

 

Biserial

Item r Difficulty

 

2. There is little relation-
ship between ability to

read and success on the
job. .47 .90

5. Many mothers cannot afford
the time to take their
children to the library
for the purpose of select-
ing books. .57 .86

*8. Being able to read well
isn't as important as a
lot of people think it is. .60 .89

12. Many people are able to
vote intelligently even
though they are unable
to read effectively. .57 .64

15. Many parents lead such
an active life that they
cannot be expected to
spend time reading. .54 .76

*18. Effective reading is not
as important as effective
speaking. .67 .79

22. Reading is of less
importance now that we
have radio and television. .41 .95

25. Many children read when they
should be spending time
doing other things. .60 .84

 

*Starred items were selected for the final form of
the Reading Attitude Inventory.

50

TABLE l--Continued

 

Item

Biserial
r

Difficulty

 

28.

*32.

35.

*38.

42.

45.

*48.

Abraham Lincoln who
walked 22 miles to
get a book probably
overemphasized the
importance of books.

Time set aside to read
is not essential to
success in homemaking.

In these days of public
libraries, it is foolish

to buy books and magazines.

Learning how to make
friends is more important
than learning how to read.

Parents do not have to
read in order to be happy.

Reading to her children
is not one of a mother's
chief responsibilities.

A man can read poorly
and yet be successful in
business.

.53

.64

.50

.66

.57

.48

.69

.92

.82

.93

.67

.51

.77

.55

 

51

TABLE 2

ANALYSIS OF ITEMS IN SCALE II, HINDERING DEVELOPMENT
OF LANGUAGE SKILLS

_
___

Biserial

Item r Difficulty

fl

 

3. Children should be
discouraged from
telling their ex-
periences and
expressing their
ideas before a group
of adults. .58 .85

6. In the schools of
today children are
permitted to talk
too much. .58 .60

9. Children talk so
much that it makes
their parents nervous. .57 .58

13. Parents find it boring
to listen to children
tell stories observed
on television. .39 .47

16. It is unwise to
encourage young
children to make up
stories out of their
own imaginations. .53 .88

*19. Most children ask too
many questions. .65 .86

23. Young children should
be discouraged from
talking on the telephone. .47 .64

 

*Starred items were selected for the final form of
the Reading Attitude Inventory.

’\

52

TABLE 2--Continued

 

Biserial

Item r

Difficulty

 

*26.

*29.

*33.

36.

*39.

43.

46.

49.

Most children ask

questions merely for

the purpose of having

something to say. .70

There is a lot of sense

to the old adage,

”Children should be

seen and not heard." .60

Children will monopolize
the conversation if they
are permitted to do so. .67

Parents do not have time

to interest their active,

growing children in

listening to stories,

nursery rhymes and poems. .49

Since many children have

to be encouraged to eat

at mealtime, the wise

mother will discourage

her children from talking

while eating. .69

Children should not be
urged to learn and recite
poems. .25

Young children cannot be

expected to listen care-

fully to directions given

by parents and teachers. .51

Parents who persist in

correcting the faulty English

of their children are doing

more harm than good. .12

.77

.72

.21

.79

.77

.87

.72

.88

 

’\

’\

’\

\

53

TABLE 3

ANALYSIS OF ITEMS IN SCALE III, RESTRICTION

OF CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES

Biserial

Item

Difficulty

 

4. It is frequently
necessary for the
conscientious mother
to discourage her
children from collecting
objects and specimens.

7. A modern father does not
have time to work and play
with his children.

11. Children should be dis-
couraged from reading
comic books.

14. First grade teachers
should spend less time
in taking children on
trips and more time in
the classroom.

17. A wise mother discourages
her children from.watching
television.

*21. Young children should
not be encouraged to
play with older boys and
girls because they may
have experiences which
are not good for them.

24. Visits to parks, zoos and
farms mean very little to
a child of four.

.48

.47

.30

.60

.21

.66

.52

.67

.78

.56

.72

.67

.51

.92

 

*Starred items were selected for the final form of

the Reading Attitude Inventory.

54

TABLE 3--Continued

 

 

Item

Biserial
r

Difficulty

 

27.

*31.

*34.

*37.

41.

*44.

47.

50.

Viewing science programs
on television encourages
children to "tinker" with
materials which can be
dangerous.

Children under the age of
five gain little worth-
while knowledge from trips.

Some children are too
curious for their own good.

Children today have too
much freedom to go places
and do things.

One of the discouraging
aspects of child rearing
is that children want to
get into everything which
is available to them.

Most children play too much.

Parents who show and
demonstrate the use

of common things in the
home deprive their
children of an opportunity
to learn by themselves.

A mother should know
where her child is at
all times.

.57

.67

.68

.77

.49

.47

.55

.74

.79

.60

.55

.58

.68

.78

.13

 

I"

55

limited value were discarded. The final form of the
Reading Attitude Inventory then consisted of 18 items,
three of which were ”rapport" items numbered 1, 8, and
15. The 15 items making up the three scales were
cyclically arranged so that each scale in the final
form of the inventory was composed of items numbered
as follows:
Scale I: 2, 5, 9, 12, and 16.

Scale 11: 3, 6, 10, 13, and 17.

Scale III: 4, 7, 11, 14, and 18.
A copy of the final form of the Reading Attitude Inventory

is included in Appendix B.

Evaluation of Final Form of the

Reading Attitude Inventory

The final form of the Reading Attitude Inventory
was administered to 100 mothers of various economic,
educational, and cultural levels. After these inventories
were scored, the Kuder-Richardson Formula 20 was applied
in order to determine the internal consistency or reliability
of the scales. Coefficients of .89, .90, and .89 were

obtained for Scales I, II, and 111, respectively. The

56

writer has assumed that this method of determining
reliability is superior to a test-retest method, a
split-half approach to the problem, or the correlation

of equivalent forms. The Kuder-Richardson Formula 20
stresses the intercorrelations of the items in the scale
and the correlations of the items with the scale as a
whole. It represents an attempt to get an estimate of
the reliability of a test, free from.the objections raised
against a test-retest, equivalent forms, or the split-
half methods. The test-retest method is open to various
objections. If the test is repeated immediately, many
subjects recall their first answers, and there is closer
agreement between scores achieved on the first and second
giving of a test than would otherwise be the case. When
a sufficient time interval has elapsed between the first
and second administrations of the test to offset memory,
the reliability coefficient will be a closer estimate of
the actual consistency of test scores. If the interval
between tests is long, however, differences between initial
and final scores may be due to lack of reliability or to
a modification of the attitudes of the individuals. The
equivalent forms method is not appropriate for use in

this study because equivalent forms of the Reading Attitude

57

Inventory are not available. The split-half method

is also subject to criticism. The scales making up

the Reading Attitude Inventory are short, and thus

the probability increases that the effects of chance
errors may be cumulative and in one direction. Garrett1
states that the Kuder-Richardson Formula 20 is superior
to the split-half technique because of the time and
calculation it saves and that differences in reliability
as found by this method and the split-half technique

are never very large. A test-retest procedure, however,
was carried out involving 100 mothers, and data resulting
from all measures of reliability are summarized in

Table 4.

An additional check on the usefulness of these
scales was made by determining the degree to which they
intercorrelate or overlap. These intercorrelations,
based upon the responses of 100 mothers, are shown in
Table 5. Obviously, the degree of independence is

sufficient to permit one to regard the three scales as

measures of separate variables having slight homogeneity.

 

1Henry E. Garrett, Statistics in Psychology and
Education (New York: Longmans, Green and Company, 1947),
p. 386.

RELIABILITY OF

58

TABLE 4

READING ATTITUDE INVENTORY

 

 

Index
Internal Test-Retest
Scale . 1 . . . 2 of
Cons1stency Rel1ab111ty Reliability
I .89 .80 .89
II .90 .86 .93
III .89 .87 .93

 

 

 

 

1Kuder-Richardson Formula 20.3

2

Time lapse: Seven days.

TABLE 5

Pearson Product-Moment Test-Retest Reliability.

INTERCORRELATIONS OF SCALES
READING ATTITUDE INVENTORY

 

 

 

 

Scale
Scale II III
I .12 .12
II .61

 

 

 

59

A review of these statistical data would lead
to the assumption that items making up the scales have
both internal validity and internal consistency. With
these facts in mind, it is postulated that one is
justified in the use of this tool for investigating
differences in attitudes between two groups of parents
in regard to certain factors contributing to reading

performance.

CHAPTER IV

PROCEDURE FOLLOWED IN MAKING STUDY

In order to describe adequately the procedure
followed in studying the attitudes of parents of superior
and inferior readers, it is essential that the writer
delineate sequentially the steps taken in making the
study, define certain terms, and describe the materials
utilized in the investigation. In order to accomplish
these goals, a description of the groups of superior
and inferior readers will be provided, and the statistical
procedures chosen for the interpretation of data will be

discussed.

Purpose 32g Limitations pf Sgggy
The purpose of this study was to determine whether
parents of superior readers differ from parents of inferior
readers with respect to their attitudes toward certain
child rearing practices and toward certain aspects of
reading and to determine, in a limited way, what the

nature of these differences may be. The study was concerned

60

61

only with parental attitudes as inferred by responses

to paper and pencil inventories. Children of superior

and inferior ability in reading were selected only for

the purpose of identifying the parents whose attitudes

were being investigated. It is assumed that these parental
attitudes are not restricted solely to the children making
up the two groups. No attempt has been made to investigate
causal factors nor to evaluate changes in attitudes over

a period of time.

Procedure Followed 12 Making Sgggy
872 students enrolled in the sixth grade of the
Kalamazoo Public Schools were administered the Stanford
Achievement Test in reading during the month of April,
1962. 195 of these children met criteria 1, 2, 3, and 4
set forth in this study for classification as superior
readers. 85 of the 872 children met criteria 1, 2, 3,
and 4 for classification as inferior readers. Superior
readers are those who:
1. Perform on the reading

section of the Stanford

Achievement Test two or

more grade levels above

6.5.

Inferior

l.

62

Have a chronological

age between eleven

and thirteen.

Are reported by their
teachers to be of average
or better than average
intelligence.

Do not have known physical
factors affecting their
reading performance.

Do not have siblings who
are known to be inferior
readers.

Are living with both
parents at the time of
this study.

readers are those who:
Perform on the reading
section of the Stanford
Achievement Test two or
more grade levels below 6.5.
Have chronological ages

between eleven and thirteen.

/\

63

3. Are reported by their
teachers to be of average
or better than average
intelligence.

4. Do not have known physical
factors affecting their
reading performance.

5. Do not have siblings who
are known to be superior
readers.

6. Are living with both parents
at the time of this study.

Sixty-nine of the 195 superior readers and 69 of
the 85 inferior readers were selected because they met all
the criteria including 5 and 6. The two groups were
roughly equated in terms of chronological age, sex, and
socioeconomic status of the family. No attempt was made
to equate the groups on the basis of intelligence test
scores. After this preliminary matching of superior and
inferior readers, the names and addresses of parents were
obtained.

The parents of the selected 69 superior readers
and the parents of 69 inferior readers were asked to

participate in the investigation by coming to Western

64

Michigan University on the evening of Friday, September 28,
1962, to complete the inventories. A copy of the letter
used to enlist their cooperation is included in Appendix B.
The real purpose of this study was concealed from.those
participating in the investigation.

The parents of 13 superior readers and the parents
of one inferior reader took the inventories at the ap-
pointed time in a group situation. The disappointing
response made it necessary to do home visitations of those
previously contacted by letter. By this means, inventories
were administered to the parents of 37 superior readers and
49 inferior readers. Therefore, complete responses were
obtained from.the mothers and fathers of 50 superior readers
and the mothers and fathers of 50 inferior readers. The
number of sets of parents for each group was reduced from 69
to 50 by refusals to participate, divorce, death of one of
the parents, or migration from the community.

Following the administration of the Parental Attitude
Research Instrument and the Reading Attitude Inventory to
parents, responses on each scale were scored, and mean
scores were determined for each group included in the study.
The mean scores of mothers of superior readers were com-

pared with the mean scores of mothers of inferior readers.

65

The mean scores of fathers of superior readers were
compared with the mean scores of fathers of inferior
readers. The F test to determine homogeneity of variance
and the appropriate t tests of significance were applied.
For each scale the correlation between mothers and fathers
of superior readers was determined as well as the correla-
tion for each scale between mothers and fathers of inferior
readers. The significance of each r and the significance
of the difference between r's were determined. Data
resulting from this analysis are summarized in Chapter V,

and inferences and conclusions are set forth in Chapter VI.

 

Description 9f Groups 9f Superior and Inferior Readers
The chief purpose of the selection and grouping of

superior and inferior readers was to determine the parents
who are to participate in this study. Only the attitudes
of parents were evaluated, and no effort was made to
establish a response set relative to the specific children
under consideration. Selection and control of fathers and
mothers have been initiated by the control of their children.
Factors which are essential to this control are chiefly
social and economic in nature. In this important aspect,
the two groups are practically identical. An index of

social class for each family was determined by the method

66

suggested by Warner, Meeker and Eells.l Each family

was rated according to the father's occupation, house
type, and dwelling area. The mean social class index

of families of superior readers is 45.5 and for families
of inferior readers, 45.6, suggesting that on the average
both superior and inferior readers are from the middle
class of the general population. All economic and social
levels are represented in each group.

Of lesser importance in the selection and grouping
of superior and inferior readers are the sex, chronological
age, reading achievement of siblings, and mental maturity
of boys and girls making up the groups. Each group of
children contains 25 boys and 25 girls. Superior readers
range in age from eleven years and one month to twelve
years and five months. Their mean chronological age is
eleven years and eleven months. Inferior readers range
in age from eleven years to thirteen years and have a
mean chronological age of exactly twelve years. No child
has known visual, auditory, glandular, or other health
factors which would impede normal progress in learning to

read, and all children are living with both parents. The

 

1W. Lloyd Warner, Marchia Meeker, and Kenneth
Eells, Social Class in America (Chicago: Science Research
Associates, Inc., 1949).

67

number of children in the families of superior readers
ranges from one to five children with a mean of 3.2
children. The number of children in the families of
inferior readers ranges from one to eleven children with
a mean of 5.08 children. It is reported that siblings
do not differ markedly in reading ability from.the
children selected for this study.

The chief variable considered in the forming of
groups is that of reading achievement which extends two
or more years above grade placement for superior readers
and two or more years below this point of reference for
inferior readers. Average reading scores on the Stanford
Achievement Test for superior readers range from 8.5
to 11.3. The mean is 9.7. The mean reading grade for
inferior readers is 4.0 with a range from.2.9 to 4.5.
Intelligence as measured by the Otis Quick Scoring Test
of Mental Ability, Beta, is well within the normal range.
The IQs of superior readers range from 99 to 121 with
a mean of 112.36. The IQs of inferior readers range from
84 to 115 with a mean of 89.38. Variations in IQ, as
indicated by the Otis Test, are in keeping with the
reading variable for this measure of mental status utilizes

verbal and language skills associated with reading attainment.

68

According to reports from.teachers and school authorities,
all children selected for consideration in this study are

of average intelligence or better.

Description pf the Parental Attitude Research Instrument

The Parental Attitude Research Instrument developed
by Schaefer and Bell1 is a paper and pencil inventory
consisting of 23 five-item scales. Each item is a state-
ment about child rearing and family life. The respondent
is required to encircle a letter denoting one of four
responses about the item: strong agreement, mild agree-
ment, mild disagreement, and strong disagreement. ‘Most
of the items are constructed so that strong agreement
reflects a pathological attitude. Rapport items, however,
are stated to encourage agreement.

In this study only ten of the 23 scales which
seemed to the investigator to be related to reading
achievement were utilized. A description of each of the
scales is provided.

1. Fostering Dependency: This scale is designed

to measure an aspect of "overprotection or overpossessive-

 

1Earl S. Schaefer, and Richard Q. Bell, "Develop-
ment of a Parental Attitude Research Instrument," Child
Development, 29 (September, 1958), 339-361.

69

ness." High scores suggest that the parent favors
sheltering children from difficulties and disappoint-
ments.

2. Strictness: High scores on this scale
suggest that the respondent favors strict training
and firm discipline of children.

3. Irritability: This scale has been developed
around items which indicate that children "get on a
woman's nerves" and that any woman would "blow her top"
frequently in the difficult job of managing a home.
Schaefer and Bell1 believe that this scale may also
reflect tensions in marital relationships. High scores
suggest that the respondent regards child rearing to be
difficult, frustrating, and dissatisfying.

4. Excludipngutside Influences: According to
Schaefer and Bell2 this scale is "designed to measure
family ethnocentrism and may be related to parental
control and authoritarian attitudes." High scores
suggest that the parent discourages the child from

questioning the opinions and points of view of his parents.

 

1Ibid., p. 347.

21bid., p. 348.

70

5. Deification pf Parents: High scores on this
scale indicate that the parent encourages his children
to revere and respect him above all other people.

6. Approval p£.Activity: High scores on this
scale suggest that the parent teaches his children that
success comes by working hard and keeping busy. The
emphasis is upon activity rather than the gaining of
experiences.

7. Avoidance pf Communication: According to
Schaefer and Bell,1 this scale was written "to determine
whether the parent would permit or encourage the child
to talk about his anxieties, conflicts, hostilities,
and disagreements with parental policies." High scores
suggest that children are discouraged from discussing
their problems, fears, and worries.

8. Intrusiveness: High scores on this scale
indicate that the parent agrees with the concept that
children should seldom, if ever, conceal anything from
their parents.

9. Comradeship ppg Sharing: Items in this
rapport scale are stated to encourage agreement. A high

score, unlike high scores on the other nine scales, does

 

1Ibid., p. 347.

71

not reflect a pathological attitude. The scale reflects
a readiness on the part of parents to show an interest
in the affairs of their children, to have fun with them,
and to participate in their activities.

10. Acceleration pf Development: High scores on
this scale suggest that the parent does not consider
readiness an important factor in a child's development
and that he is inclined to "push" the child's growth
and development.

Items within a scale are cyclically arranged. For
example, the first subscale includes items 1, ll, 21, 31,
and 41, the second subscale items 2, 12, 22, 32, and 42,

and the third subscale items 3, 13, 23, 33, and 43.

Scoring

A value of 4 points is given for a response which
indicates strong agreement, 3 points for mild agreement,
2 points for mild disagreement, and 1 point for strong
disagreement. A scale score is obtained by finding the
sum of the item weights. A high score reflects an attitude
in the direction of the title of the scale. For example,
a high score on Scale 2, Strictness, indicates that the

respondent favors firm discipline of children.

72

Scope
The Parental Attitude Research Instrument has
been designed for use with mothers of various educational
and socioeconomic levels. Internal consistency and test-
retest reliabilities are reported to be satisfactory.

1 has stated, "The extremely careful design of

Mussen
the scale, reflected in its comprehensiveness, efficiency
and objectivity, makes it the most adequate parental

attitude questionnaire available for research."

Description.p£ 523 Reading Attitude Inventory
The Reading Attitude Inventory consists of three
five-item scales designed to measure the following attitudes:
l. Triviality pf Reading. Each item in this
scale reflects an attitude which suggests that parents
consider reading to be relatively unimportant and of
limited value.
2. Hindering Development pf Language Skills.
Each item making up this scale reflects an attitude which

discourages children from asking questions, expressing

 

1Paul Mussen, "Developmental Psychology," Annual
Review of Psychology, 11, eds., Paul R. Farnsworth and
Quinn McNemar (Palo Alto, California: Annual Reviews,
Inc., 1960), p. 441.

 

73

ideas, reflecting their points of view, or listening
to what others have to say.

3. Restriction pf Childhood Experiences.
Each item.making up this scale reflects an attitude
which favors holding children back from participating
in activities which provide information, ideas, and
experiential background.

Procedures utilized in the construction of
these scales have been described in Chapter III, and
the items making up the scales along with three rapport
items have been shown. Directions for completing the

inventory have also been included in Chapter III.

Scoring

The Reading Attitude Inventory is scored in
the same manner as the Parental Attitude Research
Instrument. A high score on a scale suggests that
the individual shows a high degree of the attitude
indicated by the title of the scale. For example, a
high score on Scale I, Triviality of Reading, suggests
that the person completing the inventory places little

value upon reading.

74

Scope
The Reading Attitude Inventory has been designed
for use with mothers at various educational and socio-
economic levels. Coefficients of internal consistency
and reliability are sufficiently high to warrant the
assumption that the inventory can be useful as a research

instrument.

Statistical Treatment pf Qppp

In this study the mothers of superior readers
were compared with the mothers of inferior readers and
the fathers of superior readers were compared with the
fathers of inferior readers. Mean scores for each group
were determined for each of the nine scales making up
the Parental Attitude Research Instrument and for the
three scales making up the Reading Attitude Inventory.
Rapport scales were not scored. The t test was used to
determine the significance of the difference between
compared means. The F test was applied to determine
homogeneity of variance. This test consists of dividing
the larger variance by the smaller variance. If the
obtained F ratio was found to be less than 1.60, the

hypothesis of equal variance was assumed to be tenable,

75

and t was determined by

X-X

1 2
\/32(_L+_1_)
N1 N2

Degrees of freedom were found by

 

 

An obtained F ratio which was greater than
1.60 or 1.94 was considered significant at the .10
or .02 levels, respectively. When F was found to be
significant at the .10 level or less, the assumption
of equality of variance was considered untenable, and

t was computed by

X1 - X2
2 2
S S
\/ 1 + 2
N1 N2

Degrees of freedom were found by

t

 

 

 

 

df = ($212 + $222) -

4 1 s 4 1

S__ —— + _
X1 (N1 + 1) X2 (N2 + 15

76

A one-tailed test of significance was made.
If t was found to be significant at the .05 level or
less, the null hypothesis was rejected, and the
alternative hypothesis that the mean of the parents
of inferior readers is greater than the mean of the
parents of superior readers was accepted.

In order to determine the amount of agreement
between husbands and wives, a correlation coefficient
for each scale was determined, and an attempt was made
to determine whether the obtained r's differed suf-
ficiently far from zero so that they could be considered
as representing a real, non-chance correlation. Correla-
tion coefficients were determined by the Product Moment
Method, and the following procedure was used to determine
whether or not the obtained r's differed significantly

from zero. The standard error of r was determined by

0 1

\/N-1

 

 

Then the obtained r was divided by the standard error in
order to secure a r/or value with which to enter the

normal probability table. When r/or was greater than

77

2.58, it was concluded that the true or universe value
of r was likely to be greater than zero.

In order to determine whether there was greater
agreement between husbands and wives who are the parents
of superior readers than between husbands and wives who
are the parents of inferior readers, both r's for each
scale were transformed into z's by means of a table
abridged from the work of Fisher and Yates.1 The standard
error of the difference between the two z's was obtained

by

 

The ratio of the difference between the two z's to its
standard error was referred to a normal probability

table. When this ratio was found to be greater than 1.96,
it was concluded that the difference in the two r's was

significant at the .05 level or less.

 

1Quinn McNemar, Psycholpgical Statistics (New
York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1955), p. 384.

 

CHAPTER V

SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS OF DATA

In Chapter V it is the writer's purpose to
set forth as clearly as possible data resulting from
this investigation. In Tables 6, 7, 8, and 9 will
be found the means of parental scores on each scale
of the two instruments utilized in this study along
with F and t ratios which are useful in their inter-
pretation. In Tables 10, 11, 12, and 13 the co-
efficients of correlation for mothers and fathers on
the different scales are listed along with the ratios
used to indicate their significance. In Tables 14
and 15 the significance of the difference between
correlation coefficients of parents of superior readers
and parents of inferior readers on each scale are
provided. Pertinent facts set forth in all tables
will be identified and discussed. Tables showing

distributions are included in Appendix A.

78

79

Age, Educational Level, ppd Socioeconomic Status
pf Parents

Parents participating in this study were not
asked to reveal their exact ages but merely to indicate
their age within a ten-year interval. 43 per cent of
the parents of superior readers were between the ages
of 30-39, 51 per cent between 40-49, and six per cent
between 50-59. Two per cent of the parents of inferior
readers were between the ages of 20-29, 58 per cent
between 30-39, 37 per cent between 40-49, and three per
cent between 50-59. Because of the obvious inexactness
of these data no attempt was made to treat them statis-
tically.

The educational levels of parents differ signi-
ficantly. The range for parents of superior readers is
from grade six to graduate school with a mean of 13.6
grades completed. The educational level of parents of
inferior readers ranges from grade four to four years of
college. The mean is 10.8. The difference in mean
educational levels of parents is significant at the .01
level, t being 4.31.

The socioeconomic levels of the two groups of

parents are nearly identical in range and mean. The

80

mean socioeconomic level of parents of superior readers
is 45.5, and the mean of parents of inferior readers is
45.6. In general, it can be concluded that all economic
and social levels are represented in each group and that
on the average both groups of parents are from the middle

class.

Differences 3p Attitudes

Table 6 shows the means of mothers of superior
readers and the means of mothers of inferior readers on
the nine scales of the Parental Attitude Research Instru-
ment. It will be observed that all the scales utilized
in this study except Scales 2 and 3 show significant
differences at the .01 level. It is evident from a study
of this table that mothers of inferior readers express to
a greater degree than mothers of superior readers attitudes
which favor sheltering their children from difficulties
and disappointment. Attitudes of overprotection and over-
possessiveness are apparent. This table also suggests
that mothers of inferior readers, because of their attitudes,
would discourage their boys and girls from questioning the
opinions and points of view of their parents. They express

to a greater degree than mothers of superior readers

81

TABLE 6

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MOTHERS OF SUPERIOR READERS AND MOTHERS
OF INFERIOR READERS AS DETERMINED BY
THE PARENTAL ATTITUDE RESEARCH INSTRUMENT

f
-_

 

 

Mothers Mothers
of of
Scale Number and Title Superior Inferior F t
Readers Readers
Mean ‘Mean
1 Fostering Dependency 8.54 11.54 2.16 4.90*
2 Strictness 15.38 15.62 1.26 .41
3 Irritability 14.18 15.02 1.47 1.37
4 Excluding Outside
Influences 10.06 14.46 1.25 6.41*
5 Deification of
Parents 12.26 15.74 1.70 5.55*
6 Approval of Activity 13.14 15.26 1.18 3.53*
7 Avoidance of
Communication 8.90 11.58 2.07 3.86*
8 Intrusiveness 9.58 11.82 1.23 3.45*
10 Acceleration of
Development 10.54 14.02 1.26 4.94*

 

* Significant at .01 level.

82

attitudes which disallow their children from being
influenced by factors outside of the home. Mothers of
inferior readers manifest attitudes which indicate that
parents should encourage their children to revere and
respect father and mother above all other individuals.
They express attitudes which suggest that parents should
teach their children that success comes by working hard
and keeping busy. Their emphasis is upon activity rather
than the experience which comes from activity. Mothers

of inferior readers more than mothers of superior readers
show attitudes that discourage children from discussing
their problems, fears, and worries. Attitudes are dis-
played by mothers of inferior readers which suggest that
communication concerning anxieties, hostilities, and dis-
agreement with parental policies tend to be discouraged.
Data in this table suggest that mothers of inferior readers
more than mothers of superior readers manifest the attitude
that children should seldom, if ever, conceal anything
from their parents. It is obvious that these mothers of
inferior readers show attitudes which favor hastening or
"pushing" the child's growth and development. Differences
in attitudes as indicated by Scales 2 and 3 are not

significant. This means that mothers of inferior readers

83

and mothers of superior readers do not differ in regard

to their attitudes favoring strict training and firm
discipline of children. Data resulting from the adminis-
tration of Scale 3 suggest that mothers of superior readers
and mothers of inferior readers regard child rearing to

be difficult and at times frustrating.

The mean scores of fathers of superior and in-
ferior readers on the Parental Attitude Research Instru-
ment are shown in Table 7. In many respects this table
is almost identical to that of Table 6. The attitudes
of the fathers of superior readers and the attitudes of
the fathers of inferior readers are significantly dif-
ferent except for those measured by Scales 2 and 3.
Fathers of inferior readers to a greater degree than
fathers of superior readers manifest attitudes which
suggest that they tend to foster dependency, exclude
outside influences, and encourage their children to revere
and respect parents above all others. Attitudes expressed
by the fathers of inferior readers suggest that they, to
a greater degree than fathers of superior readers, teach
their children that success comes by hard work and by the
expenditure of time and effort. These fathers of inferior

readers manifest attitudes which discourage children from

84

TABLE 7

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN FATHERS OF SUPERIOR READERS AND FATHERS
OF INFERIOR READERS AS DETERMINED BY
THE PARENTAL ATTITUDE RESEARCH INSTRUMENT

f

Fathers Fathers

 

of of
Scale Number and Title Superior Inferior F t
Readers Readers
Mean Mean

1 Fostering Dependency 8.26 12.02 1.50 6.44*
2 Strictness 14.74 15.34 1.02 .99
3 Irritability 14.26 14.42 1.55 .26
4 Excluding Outside

Influences 11.46 14.06 1.15 3.94*
5 Deification of

Parents 13.50 15.58 1.50 2.98*
6 Approval of Activity 12.98 15.22 1.19 3.45*
7 Avoidance of

Communication 9.66 12.26 2.06 4.29*
8 Intrusiveness 10.46 12.38 1.03 2.47**
10 Acceleration of

Development 11.34 14.66 1.43 5.18*

 

* Significant at .01 level.

** Significant at .05 level.

85

discussing their problems, yet they apparently believe
that children should seldom, if ever, conceal anything
from their parents. Fathers of inferior readers more
than fathers of superior readers express attitudes
indicating that the development of their children should
be accelerated, suggesting a lack of understanding of
the growth patterns of children. Both Tables 6 and 7
imply that the parents of superior readers and the
parents of inferior readers favor strict training and
firm discipline and that they both regard child rearing
to be difficult and at times frustrating.

Table 8 shows the mean scores of mothers of
superior readers and mothers of inferior readers on the
Reading Attitude Inventory. From a study of this table
it is obvious that mothers of inferior readers express
attitudes which suggest that they do not value reading
as highly as mothers of superior readers. They reflect
attitudes which discourage children from asking questions,
expressing ideas, or listening to what others have to say.
These mothers manifest attitudes which favor holding
children back from participating in activities which can
provide information, ideas, and experiential background

related to reading.

86

TABLE 8

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MOTHERS OF SUPERIOR READERS AND
MOTHERS OF INFERIOR READERS AS DETERMINED BY
THE READING ATTITUDE INVENTORY

 

Mothers Mothers

 

of of
Scale Number and Title Superior Inferior F t
Readers Readers
Mean Mean

Triviality of Reading 9.02 11.70 2.00 4.42*

Hindering Development

of Language Skills 9.42 13.34 2.08 6.52*
3 Restriction of Child-

hood Experiences 10.58 14.74 1.01 6.85*

 

* Significant at .01 level.

87

Table 9 shows the means of fathers of superior
readers and fathers of inferior readers on the Reading
Attitude Inventory. Again it may be pointed out that
Tables 8 and 9 are similar in most respects. It is
evident that fathers of inferior readers differ signi-
ficantly from fathers of superior readers in their
attitudes toward the value of reading, the development
of language skills, and the building of experiential
background. In summarizing these differences it may be
pointed out that fathers of inferior readers express
attitudes which suggest that reading is relatively un-
important and of limited value, that children should be
discouraged from expressing their ideas, and that children
should be held back from participating in activities which
provide information and experiential background related to

reading.

Relationship pf Attitudes
Table 10 shows the relationship of attitudes of
fathers and mothers of superior readers as measured by
the Parental Attitude Research Instrument. All the
correlations are positive, and on five of the nine scales

the relationships are significant, i.e., they vary

88

TABLE 9

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN FATHERS OF SUPERIOR READERS AND
FATHERS OF INFERIOR READERS AS DETERMINED BY
THE READING ATTITUDE INVENTORY

‘
_

Fathers Fathers

 

of of
Scale Number and Title Superior Inferior F t

Readers Readers

Mean Mean
Triviality of Reading 9.54 12.46 1.63 5.02*
Hindering Development
of Language Skills 10.26 12.62 2.61 4.20*
Restriction of Child-
hood Experiences 11.02 13.54 1.13 4.17*

 

* Significant at .01 level.

89

TABLE 10

RELATIONSHIP OF ATTITUDES OF FATHERS AND MOTHERS OF
SUPERIOR READERS AS DETERMINED BY THE
PARENTAL ATTITUDE RESEARCH INSTRUMENT

fi
4

 

 

Scale Number and Title r r/or
Fostering Dependency .46 3.22*
Strictness .21 1.47
Irritability .04 .28
Excluding Outside Influences .59 4.13*
Deification of Parents .41 2.87*
Approval of Activity .01 .07
Avoidance of Communication .40 2.80*
Intrusiveness .53 3.71*
Acceleration of Development .21 1.47
0r = .143

* Significant at .01 level.

90

sufficiently far from zero so that they cannot be
considered chance correlations. It will be observed
that fathers and mothers of superior readers agree in
their attitudes concerning the undesirability of fostering
dependency, excluding outside influences, deification of
parents on the part of children, avoidance of communication,
and intrusiveness. The amount of agreement between fathers
and mothers of superior readers is not significant for
attitudes concerning strictness, irritability, approval
of activity, and acceleration of development.

Table 11 shows the relationship of attitudes of
fathers and mothers of inferior readers as measured by
the Parental Attitude Research Instrument. Again it will
be observed that the correlations are positive. Eight
of the nine correlations differ significantly from zero.
A study of this table shows that there is agreement
between these fathers and mothers in regard to their
attitudes toward fostering dependency, irritability,
excluding outside influences, deification of parents,
approval of activity, avoidance of communication,
intrusiveness, and acceleration of development. They
do not agree, significantly, in their attitudes toward

strictness.

91

TABLE 11

RELATIONSHIP OF ATTITUDES OF FATHERS AND MOTHERS OF
INFERIOR READERS AS DETERMINED BY THE
PARENTAL ATTITUDE RESEARCH INSTRUMENT

 

 

 

Scale Number and Title r r/Or
l Fostering Dependency .34 2.38**
2 Strictness .24 1.68
3 Irritability .40 2.80*
4 Excluding Outside Influences .43 3.01*
5 Deification of Parents .39 2.73*
6 Approval of Activity .29 2.03**
7 Avoidance of Communication .39 2.73*
8 Intrusiveness .48 3.36*
10 Acceleration of Development .49 3.43*

 

* Significant at .01 level.

** Significant at .05 level.

92

In Table 12 the relationship of attitudes of
fathers and mothers of superior readers as measured
by the Reading Attitude Inventory are set forth. All
the correlations are positive but low. Consequently,
it may be said that there is some agreement between
fathers and mothers of superior readers concerning the
importance of reading. This table also shows that there
is agreement concerning the value of having children
acquire experiential background while they are under
the control and supervision of the home. Agreement of
these parents is not significant on Scale 2 which deals
with the development of language skills associated with
learning to read.

Table 13 shows the relationship of attitudes of
fathers and mothers of inferior readers as measured by
the Reading Attitude Inventory. All the correlations
are positive but low. Therefore, it may be said that
fathers and mothers of inferior readers are in some
agreement as to the importance of reading. It is obvious
from a study of Tables 8 and 9 that they place less value
upon reading than do parents of superior readers. They

are in agreement with the attitude that children should

93

TABLE 12

RELATIONSHIP OF ATTITUDES OF FATHERS AND MOTHERS OF

SUPERIOR READERS AS DETERMINED BY THE
READING ATTITUDE INVENTORY

 

 

 

 

Scale Number and Title r r/Ur
Triviality of Reading .48 3.36*
Hindering Development of
Language Skills .21 1.47
Restriction of Childhood
Experiences .46 3.22*
0r = .143

* Significant at .01 level.

94

TABLE 1 3

RELATIONSHIP OF ATTITUDES OF FATHERS AND MOTHERS OF
INFERIOR READERS AS DETERMINED BY THE
READING ATTITUDE INVENTORY

 

 

 

 

Scale Number and Title r r/Ur
Triviality of Reading .33 2.31**
Hindering Development of
Language Skills .44 3.08*
Restriction of Childhood
Experiences .30 2.10**
Or = .143

* Significant at .01 level.

** Significant at .05 level.

95

not be encouraged to express ideas freely or to ask
questions concerning problems growing out of their
environment. These attitudes can prevent children from
developing language skills and experiential background
essential to reading.

Tables 14 and 15 show the correlations of fathers
and mothers of superior readers and the correlations of
fathers and mothers of inferior readers on each scale of
the two instruments utilized in this study. The signifi-
cance of the difference between r's for each scale is also
shown. It will be observed that none of the differences
in relationships are significant. In other words, these
tables show that the amount of agreement in attitudes is
no greater for the parents of superior readers than it is

for the parents of inferior readers.

Epigf Resumé
Data shown in the tables included in this chapter
indicate that there is some agreement in attitudes between
husbands and wives who are the parents of superior readers.
There is also some agreement in attitudes between husbands
and wives who are the parents of inferior readers. The

parents of superior readers do not agree in as many of the

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN r's

96

TABLE 14

OF PARENTS OF SUPERIOR READERS AND
PARENTS OF INFERIOR READERS ON THE
PARENTAL ATTITUDE RESEARCH INSTRUMENT

 

 

Parents of

Parents of

 

 

Scale Superior Readers Inferior Readers 1'22
Number and Title -0
r z r z z z
1 2
l Fostering
Dependency .46 .497 .34 .354 .69
2 Strictness .21 .213 .24 .245 .15
3 Irritability .04 .040 .40 .424 1.86
4 Excluding
Outside
Influences .59 .678 .43 .460 1.06
5 Deification
of Parents .41 .436 .39 .412 .12
6 Approval of
Activity .01 .010 .29 .299 1.40
7 Avoidance of
Communication .40 .424 .39 .412 .06
8 Intrusiveness .53 .590 .48 .523 .33
10 Acceleration
of Develop-
ment .21 .213 .49 .536 1.57
Oz '02 = .206

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN r's

97

TABLE 15

OF PARENTS OF SUPERIOR READERS AND
PARENTS OF INFERIOR READERS ON THE

READING ATTITUDE

INVENTORY

 

 

Scale
Number and Title

Parents of
Superior Readers

r Z

Parents of
Inferior Readers

r Z

Zl'zz

O 'O

21 Z2

 

l Triviality of

Reading

2 Hindering
Development
of Language
Skills

3 Restriction
of Childhood
Experiences

.48 .523

.21 .213

.46 .497

.33 .343

.44 .472

.30 .310

.87

1.26

.91

 

98

attitudes measured in this study as do the parents of
inferior readers, but there is no greater agreement
statistically in the homes of inferior readers than

there is in the homes of superior readers. The out-
standing contribution of this chapter is that the two
groups of parents differ significantly in their attitudes.
The parents of superior readers hold attitudes which are
generally considered to be more acceptable and healthier

than do the parents of inferior readers.

CHAPTER VI
INFERENCES AND CONCLUSIONS

In Chapter I of this dissertation the writer
has stated the problem to be investigated, has set
forth certain limitations, and has outlined six hypotheses.
Related research dealing with attitudes and their measure-
ment have been briefly summarized in Chapter II. In
Chapter III the writer has described the development of
the Reading Attitude Inventory, and the procedures which
have been followed in this study have been set forth in
Chapter IV. Chapter V summarizes briefly data resulting
from the investigation of attitudes of parents of superior
readers and of parents of inferior readers concerning
certain child rearing practices and certain aspects of
reading. It is the writer's purpose in Chapter VI to
interpret and evaluate data resulting from the study not
only in terms of the six hypotheses but also in terms of

certain general and over-all conclusions.

99

100

Interpretation and Evaluation pf Data ip Terms pf Hypotheses

Hypothesis 1

Mothers and fathers of inferior readers manifest
the following attitudes regarding child rearing practices
more predominantly than mothers and fathers of superior
readers: Intrusiveness, strictness, acceleration of
development, fostering dependency, approval of activity,
excluding outside influences, avoidance of communication,
irritability, and deification of parents.

A study of data shown in Tables 6 and 7 shows that
this hypothesis has been substantiated in all respects
except in regard to those attitudes involving strictness
and irritability. Consequently, it has been shown that
‘mothers and fathers of inferior readers express attitudes
of intrusiveness to a greater degree than mothers and
fathers of superior readers. Their attitudes suggest that
they would hasten the development of their children, foster
dependency, and approve of activity for activity's sake
rather than for the development of worthwhile experiences.
They express attitudes which suggest that they would exclude
outside influences, discourage the development of communi-
cation skills, and exaggerate their own importance in the
home. Parents of inferior readers do not express attitudes

which favor strictness and irritability to any greater

extent than do parents of superior readers.

101

Hypothesis 2

Mothers and fathers of superior readers express
attitudes which suggest that they place a greater emphasis
upon the importance of reading than do mothers and fathers
of inferior readers.

Data resulting from.this study and shown in Tables
8 and 9 substantiate this hypothesis. It has been shown
that there is a significant difference in attitudes of
mothers and fathers of superior readers and mothers and
fathers of inferior readers toward the value and importance
of reading. Parents of superior readers express attitudes

which suggest that they place a greater value upon reading

than do the parents of inferior readers.

Hypothesis 3

Mothers and fathers of superior readers express
attitudes which suggest that they encourage the develop-
ment of language skills more than parents of inferior
readers. For example, they express, to a greater degree,
attitudes which suggest that they encourage children to
ask questions, to express ideas, and to participate in
conversations.

Again it is evident from a study of Tables 8
and 9 that this hypothesis has been substantiated.
Furthermore, this hypothesis is confirmed by data result-
ing from Scale 7 on the Parental Attitude Research Instru-

ment. These data are shown in Tables 6 and 7. It is

obvious then that mothers and fathers of superior readers

102

express attitudes which would encourage the development

of language skills more than parents of inferior readers.

Hypothesis 4

Mothers and fathers of superior readers express
attitudes which suggest that they encourage the develop-
ment of experiential background more than parents of
inferior readers. These parents reflect, to a greater
extent, attitudes which suggest that they encourage their
children to take trips, participate in activities, and
have freedom to satisfy their curiosity.

This hypothesis is substantiated by data resulting
from a study of Tables 8 and 9 and by data resulting from
Scale 4 of the Parental Attitude Research Instrument as
indicated in Tables 6 and 7. It is obvious then that
mothers and fathers of superior readers express attitudes
which suggest that they encourage the development of

experiential background to a greater degree than parents

of inferior readers.

Hypothesis 5

There is greater agreement between husbands and
wives who are the parents of superior readers concerning
their attitudes toward certain child rearing practices
than there is between husbands and wives who are the parents
of inferior readers.

Data resulting from this study and shown in

Table 14 does not substantiate this hypothesis. There

103

is no greater agreement between husbands and wives who
are the parents of superior readers concerning their
attitudes toward the child rearing practices measured
in this study than there is between husbands and wives
who are the parents of inferior readers. Both groups

of parents differ in the attitudes which they hold but

agree among themselves in regard to these attitudes.

Hypothesis 6
There is greater agreement between husbands
and wives who are the parents of superior readers con-
cerning their attitudes toward the importance of reading,
the development of language skills, and toward helping
children to build experiential background than there is

between husbands and wives who are the parents of inferior
readers.

Data shown in Table 15 does not substantiate
this hypothesis. Although the attitudes of parents of
superior readers toward the importance of reading, the
development of language skills, and toward helping
children to build experiential background are significantly
different from the attitudes of parents of inferior readers,
there is no greater agreement in one group than in the

other.

104

Effectiveness p§_the Reading Attitude Inventory

 

The Reading Attitude Inventory developed by the
writer has been successful in detecting differences in
the attitudes of parents of superior and inferior readers
toward certain aspects of reading. The internal con-
sistency and test-retest reliabilities of the scales
as well as the results of the present study indicate
that the Reading Attitude Inventory can be of value as
a research instrument in investigating group differences
in attitudes of parents toward the value of reading, the
development of language skills, and the development of
experiential background. Although predictive validity
studies have not yet been done on the Reading Attitude
Inventory, the studies surveyed in the literature could
be cited as evidence supporting this general approach to

the study of reading attitudes.

Social and Economic Factors, Relationship pp Findings
Other investigators have concluded that such
factors as educational level of parents, size of family,
and socioeconomic status are significantly related to
reading achievement. This study substantiates in part

their findings. The educational level of parents was

105

found to be a distinguishing factor between retarded

and accelerated readers. A higher educational level

was reported for parents of superior readers. Jackson,
in his study of 600 retarded readers, found that increase
in family size was related to reading retardation. The
present study also indicates that families of larger size
are characteristic of the retarded reader. Socioeconomic
status was controlled in this investigation and hence was
not found, as in other studies, to be a differentiating

factor between the two groups.

[Hpmgg pf Superior and Inferior Readers, A Contrast
The writer in this thesis has investigated a way
of life in the homes of parents of superior and inferior
readers. A careful sifting of the facts resulting from
this investigation seems to show that parents of superior
readers express attitudes which are less dictatorial and
are more democratic than parents of inferior readers.
Mothers and fathers of superior readers manifest attitudes

which foster independence rather than dependence, include

 

1Joseph Jackson, "A Survey of Psychological,
Social and Environmental Differences Between Advanced
and Retarded Readers," Pedagogical Seminary and Journal
of Genetic Psychology, 65 (1944), 113-131.

106

outside influences rather than exclude outside influences,
place less emphasis upon the deification of parents and
more emphasis upon group thinking and group participation.
Parents of superior readers convey attitudes which encourage
their children to voice their ideas and points of View
rather than attitudes which discourage freedom of dis-
cussion. Attitudes of these parents suggest that their
children can discuss any topic with them without shame,
ridicule, or reproach. Furthermore, parents of superior
readers manifest attitudes which suggest that they re-
frain from attempting to hurry the growth and development
of their children. Instead, the attitudes of these
parents suggest that they appreciate the concept of
readiness. Attitudes of parents of superior readers
emphasize the value of communication and the development
of language skills. Their attitudes suggest that they
refrain from.restricting their children in ways which
retard growth and development. Surely, the way of life
manifest by the parents of superior readers differs
significantly in these respects from that of parents of

inferior readers. Their way of life is more democratic.

107

‘Ihg Importance pf Experiential Background.ppg Mental Content

The value and importance of background and mental
content are suggested by data resulting from this study.
Children see with what they have seen and hear with what
they have heard. Meaning in any situation is dependent
upon experiential background. This statement is self-
evident from.a psychological and empirical point of view.
Many professional workers have been aware of the importance
of the child's experiential background without objective
proof of its importance. This study shows that the parents
of superior readers and the parents of inferior readers
differ significantly in their attitudes toward certain
child rearing practices, the importance of reading, the
value of language development, and the importance of ex-
periential background. These differences in attitudes
suggest differences in kind and degree of mental content
which children have an opportunity to acquire.

Parents and teachers should realize the importance
of experiential background and mental content in any
process requiring learning and adjustment. These essential
factors not only involve the cognitive aspects of human

behavior but the executive and affective aspects as well.

108

In the process of learning to read, mental content is

of the utmost importance because each reader must bring

to the printed page even more than he is able to take
away. ‘Mental content will affect his thinking, his

doing, and his feeling. To a large degree both the home
and the school provide not only places where mental
content is acquired but, more important, these agencies
become sources of stimulation for even a greater and
greater accumulation and integration of the basic elements

underlying the learning process.

Problems 29; Further Investigation
A number of questions have been prompted by this
study which suggest problems for further investigation.
These are:
1. Would differences in attitudes measured
in this study have been significant if
there had been less differential between
the reading performances of superior and
inferior readers?
2. Do the attitudes of parents of boys who
are poor readers differ from the attitudes

of parents of girls who are poor readers?

109

What is the relationship between
actual behavior of parents in the

home and their expressed attitudes
toward reading and certain child
rearing practices?

Is the Reading Attitude Inventory
when administered to parents effective
as a tool for predicting reading
success or failure on the part of
their children?

What is the relationship of scores
determined by the Reading Attitude
Inventory and the educational and
socioeconomic status of parents?

To what extent can changes in attitudes
concerning certain child rearing
practices and toward reading be
brought about by instruction,

demonstrations, and counseling?

BIBLIOGRAPHY

111

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Fan, Chung-Teh. Item Analysis Table. Princeton,
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Farnsworth, Paul R., and McNemar, Quinn (eds.).
Annual Review of Ppychology. Palo Alto,
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Garrett, Henry E. Statistics in Psychology and Education.
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Gross, Carl H., Wronski, Stanley P., and Hanson, John W.
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Krech, David, and Crutchfield, Richard S. Theory and
Problems of Social Psychology. New York:
McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1948.

Ladd, Margaret R. The Relation of Social, Economic,
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College, Columbia University, 1933.

Lindquist, E. F. (ed.). Educational Measurement.
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McNemar, Quinn. Psychological Statistics. New York:
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Murchison, Carl (ed.). A Handbook of Social Psychology.
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112

Radke, Marian J. The Relation of Parental Authority
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Minnesota: The University of Minnesota Press,
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Stouffer, Samuel A., Guttman, Louis, Suchman, Edward A.,
Lazarsfeld, Paul F., Star, Shirley A., and Clausen,
John A. Measurement and Prediction. Princeton,
New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1950.

Thurstone, L. L. The Measurement of Values. Chicago:
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Walker, Helen M., and Lev, Joseph. Statistical Inference.
New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1953.

Warner, W. Lloyd, Meeker, Marchia, and Eells, Kenneth.
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Articles and Periodicals

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Bass, Bernard M. "Authoritarianism or Acquiescence?"
The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology,
51 (November, 1955), 616-623.

Bell, Richard Q. "Retrospective Attitude Studies of
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Bettelheim, Bruno. "Mental Health and Current Mores,"

American Journal of Orthppsychiatry, 22 (January,
1952), 76-88.

Carter, Homer L. J. ”Mental Content, A Contributing
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113

Cronbach, Lee J. "Further Evidence on Response Sets
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Cronbach, Lee J., and Gleser, Goldine C. "Assessing
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Freeman, Richard V., and Grayson, Harry M. "Maternal
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Gordon, Leonard V. "Some Interrelationships Among
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and Psycholpgical Measurement, 13 (1953),
264-272.

 

Harris, Dale B., Gough, Harrison B., and Martin, William E.
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114

Kingston, Albert J., Jr. "Some Thoughts on Reading
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115

Seigler, Hazel G., and Gynther, Malcolm D. "Reading
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17-24 0

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116

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Louisiana State University, 1955.

APPENDIX A

118

TABLE 16

SEX, CHRONOLOGICAL AGE, READING GRADE, AND IQS
OF SUPERIOR READERS

j
l

 

Child Sex Chronzépg1cal Reading Grade1 IQ2
1 F 12- 2 9.5 118
2 F 11-11 10.0 121
3 F 11- 9 9.3 113
4 F 12- 2 8.7 99
5 F . 12- 3 10.8 120
6 F 12- 3 9.8 118
7 F 12- l 9.1 119
8 F 12- 2 10.0 119

'9 F 12- 2 9.7 111
10 F 12- l 9.4 118
11 F 11- 9 10.0 112
12 F 12- 1 11.0 112
13 F 12- 0 9.2 114
14 F ll-10 9.5 116
15 F 12- 5 10.0 113
16 F 11-11 11.3 117
17 F 11- l 8.7 114
18 F 12- 0 11.3 121
19 F 11- 4 9.0 112
20 F 12- 2 10.8 119
21 F 11- 8 9.4 114
22 F 11- 5 9.4 116
23 F 11- 7 9.6 108
24 F 12- 4 10.6 112
25 F 12- 2 10.8 117
26 M. 12- 2 10.0 116
27 M 11-10 9.1 104
28 'M 11- 7 9.5 108
29 'M 12- 3 10.0 106
30 M 11-11 10.0 115

 

1Reading grade was determined by administering the

Stanford Achievement Test in reading.

2IQ was determined by administering the Otis Quick-

Scoring Test of Mental Ability, Beta.

 

119

TABLE l6--Continued

 

 

Child Sex Chr°ngégglcal Reading Grade1 IQ2
31 M 11- 8 9.7 108
32 M 12- o 9.7 114
33 M 11- 5 8.5 107
34 M 12- 2 8.9 115
35 M 11- 5 9.8 108
36 M 12- 5 9.2 109
37 M 11-11 8.6 113
38 M 12- 1 11.0 110
39 M 11- 8 10.7 112
40 M 11- 4 9.3 116
41 M 12- 1 9.0 104
42 M 12- 1 9.3 113
43 M 11-11 10.8 110
44 M 11-11 8.5 116
45 M 12- o 10.6 115
46 M 12- 1 8.9 107
47 M 11-11 9.1 102
48 M 11-10 8.9 100
49 M 11- 4 10.0 108
50 M 12- 1 9.4 109

Mean 11-11 9.7 112.36

 

120

TABLE 17

SEX, CHRONOLOGICAL AGE, READING GRADE, AND IQS
OF INFERIOR READERS

 

 

 

Child Sex Chronzézg1cal Reading Grade1 IQ2
1 F 11-11 4.1 85
2 F ll-ll 4.4 87
3 F 12- 5 4.5 85
4 F 11- 7 4.5 86
5 F 12- 4 4.0 91
6 F 12- 3 3.2 85
7 F 12- 2 4.1 91
8 F 11- 7 3.3 85
9 F 12- 6 4.5 86

10 F 11- 8 4.4 90
11 F l2- 6 4.0 87
12 F 12- l 4.4 85
13 F 11- 4 3.9 90
14 F 12- l 3.6 115
15 F 12-11 4.1 85
16 F 11- 8 3.3 85
17 F 13- 0 3.8 86
18 F 11- 0 4.5 94
19 F 11- 5 3.8 91
20 F 12- 5 4.4 85
21 F 11- 6 4.0 90
22 F 11- 3 4.5 88
23 F 12- 2 4.1 89
24 F 12- l 4.3 90
25 F 12- 3 4.1 95
26 M 11- 4 4.3 97
27 M 11-10 3.9 93
28 M 11-11 4.0 85
29 M 12- 0 3.2 90
30 M 12- 4 3.7 91
1

Reading grade was determined by administering the
Stanford Achievement Test in reading.

2IQ was determined by administering the Otis Quick-
Scoring Test of Mental Ability, Beta.

121

TABLE l7--Continued

4-
-

 

 

Child Sex Chron:;:g1°al Reading Grade1 1Q
31 ‘M 12- 8 4.1 85
32 M 12- 1 4.5 92
33 ‘M 11- 9 4.1 93
34 M, 11- 4 4.5 100
35 M. 11- 9 3.4 85
36 11 11- 7 4.1 89
37 M 12- 8 4.2 86
38 M 12- 3 3.9 84
39 M 12- 5 4.5 92
40 M 12- 5 4.4 87
41 M 12- 1 4.5 86
42 M 12- 4 2.9 89
43 M 11- 7 4.5 97
44 M, 11- 9 3.7 85
45 M 12- o 3.7 85
46 M 11- 4 4.3 101
47 M 12- 6 3.4 85
48 M 11-10 4.2 95
49 M 12- o 4.1 86
50 M. 12- 5 3.5 85

Mean 12- o 4.0 89.38

 

122

 

 

 

 

 

 

TABLE 18
SOCIOECONOMIC LEVELS OF'FAMILIESl
Social Class Families of Families of

Index Superior Readers Inferior Readers
65-69 3 3
60-64 1 1
55-59 2 6
50-54 5 5
45-49 20 16
40-44 9 6
35-39 4 5
30-34 3 3
25-29 2 4
20-24 1 1
Total 50 50
Mean 45.5 45.6
Variance 14.24 18.28

t = .12

 

1Father's occupation, house type and dwelling
area were used to determine social class index. This
method is suggested in: W. Lloyd Warner, Marchia Meeker,
and Kenneth Eells, Social Class in America (Chicago:
Science Research Associates, Inc., 1949).

123

TABLE 19

NUMBER OF CHILDREN IN THE FAMILIES OF SUPERIOR
AND INFERIOR READERS

 

 

Number of Superior Inferior
Children Readers Readers
11 2

10
9 2
8 3
7 4
6 5
5 8 ll
4 13 13
3 l3 6
2 l4 3
l 2 1
Total 50 50

Mean 3.2 5.08

 

124

TABLE 20

EDUCATIONAL LEVELS OF PARENTS

 

 

Grade Parents of Parents of

 

 

Level Superior Readers Inferior Readers

17 12
l6 l4 1
15 3 1
l4 l3 1
13 7 2
12 34 27
ll 5 19
10 4 20
9 2 12
8 4 10
7 l 3
6 1 2
5
4 2

Total 100 100

Mean 13.6 10.8

Variance 26.20 15.92

 

t = 4.31 Significant at .01 level.

125

TABLE 21

DISTRIBUTION OF SCORES ON SCALE 1 (FOSTERING DEPENDENCY)
OF THE PARENTAL ATTITUDE RESEARCH INSTRUMENT
FOR.MOTHERS OF SUPERIOR AND INFERIOR READERS

 

 

Mothers of Mothers of

 

 

Score Superior Readers Inferior Readers
19-20 1
17-18 3
15-16 1 8
13-14 2 8
11-12 7 8
9-10 13 13
7- 8 l6 4
5- 6 ll 5
Total 50 50
Mean 8.54 11.54
Variance 5.92 12.80

 

t = 4.90 Significant at .01 level.

126

TABLE 22

DISTRIBUTION OF SCORES ON SCALE 2 (STRICTNESS) OF THE
PARENTAL ATTITUDE RESEARCH INSTRUMENT FOR MOTHERS OF
SUPERIOR AND INFERIOR READERS

 

 

 

Mothers of Mothers of

Score Superior Readers Inferior Readers
19-20 7 9
17-18 15 11
15-16 10 12
13-14 10 12
11-12 3 4

9-10 4 2

7- 8 1
Total 50 50
Mean 15.38 15.62
Variance 9.52 7.56

 

t = .41

127

TABLE 23

DISTRIBUTION OF SCORES ON SCALE 3 (IRRITABILITY) OF
THE PARENTAL ATTITUDE RESEARCH INSTRUMENT FOR
MOTHERS OF SUPERIOR AND INFERIOR READERS

r
t.

 

 

Score Mothers of Mothers of
Superior Readers Inferior Readers

19-20 3 8
17-18 6 10
15-16 15 14
13-14 13 6
11-12 8 6

9-10 4 4

7- 8 l 2
Total 50 50
Mean 14.18 15.02
Variance 7.60 11.20

 

t = 1.37

128

TABLE 24

DISTRIBUTION OF SCORES ON SCALE 4 (EXCLUDING OUTSIDE
INFLUENCES) OF THE PARENTAL ATTITUDE RESEARCH
INSTRUMENT FOR MOTHERS OF SUPERIOR AND INFERIOR READERS

 

 

 

Score Mothers of Mothers of
Superior Readers Inferior Readers

19-20 1 9
17-18 1 7
15—16 1 9
13-14 8 10
11-12 10 7

9-10 13 5

7- 8 8 3

5- 6 8
Total 50 50
Mean 10.06 14.46
Variance 10.44 13.08

 

t = 6.41 Significant at .01 level.

129

TABLE 25

DISTRIBUTION OF SCORES ON SCALE 5 (DEIFICATION OF
PARENTS) OF THE PARENTAL ATTITUDE RESEARCH
INSTRUMENT FOR.MOTHERS OF SUPERIOR AND INFERIOR READERS

 

 

 

Score Mothers of ‘Mothers of
Superior Readers Inferior Readers

19-20 2 9
17-18 2 12
15-16 9 13
13-14 13 9
11-12 11 6

9-10 4 1

7- 8 5

5- 6 4
Total 50 50
Mean 12.26 15.74
Variance 12.40 7.28

 

t =

Significant at the .01 level.

130

TABLE 26

DISTRIBUTION OF SCORES ON SCALE 6 (APPROVAL OF ACTIVITY)
OF THE PARENTAL ATTITUDE RESEARCH INSTRUMENT FOR MOTHERS
OF SUPERIOR AND INFERIOR READERS

4

 

 

Score Mothers of Mothers of
Superior Readers Inferior Readers

19-20 1 5
17-18 6 14
15-16 12 13
13-14 10 10
11-12 10 6

9-10 8 1

7- 8 2

S- 6 1 1
Total 50 50
Mean 13.14 15.26
Variance 9.76 8.28

 

t =

Significant at .01 level.

131

TABLE 27

DISTRIBUTION OF SCORES ON SCALE 7 (AVOIDANCE OF
COMMUNICATION) OF THE PARENTAL ATTITUDE
RESEARCH INSTRUMENT FOR MOTHERS OF SUPERIOR AND
INFERIOR READERS

 

 

 

Score Mothers of Mothers of
Superior Readers Inferior Readers

19-20 3
17-18 1 5
15-16 1 4
13-14 4 7
11-12 5 9

9-10 14 8

7- 8 15 10

5- 6 10 4
Total 50 50
Mean 8.9 11.58
Variance 7.88 16.32

 

t = 3.86 Significant at .01 level.

TABLE 28

132

DISTRIBUTION OF SCORES ON SCALE 8 (INTRUSIVENESS)
OF THE PARENTAL ATTITUDE RESEARCH INSTRUMENT
FOR MOTHERS OF SUPERIOR AND INFERIOR READERS

_— —
_— *_

 

 

 

Score Mothers of Mothers of
Superior Readers Inferior Readers

19-20 3
17-18 1 3
15-16 2 2
l3-l4 6 ll
ll-12 10 13

9-10 10 9

7- 8 12 8

5- 6 9 1
Total 50 50
Mean 9.58 11.82
Variance 9.48 11.64
t = 3.45 Significant at .01 level.

133

TABLE 29

DISTRIBUTION OF SCORES ON SCALE 10 (ACCELERATION OF
DEVELOPMENT) OF THE PARENTAL ATTITUDE RESEARCH
INSTRUMENT FOR MOTHERS OF SUPERIOR AND
INFERIOR READERS

j

Mothers of

 

 

Mothers of

Score Superior Readers Inferior Readers
19-20 1 6
17-18 1 9
15-16 5 10
13-14 5 6
11-12 13 10

9-10 8 5

7- 8 13 3

5- 6 4 1
Total 50 50
Mean 10.54 14.02
Variance 10.96 13.84

 

t =

Significant at .01 level.

134

TABLE 30

DISTRIBUTION OF SCORES ON SCALE 1 (FOSTERING DEPENDENCY)
OF THE PARENTAL ATTITUDE RESEARCH INSTRUMENT
FOR FATHERS OF SUPERIOR AND INFERIOR READERS

‘-
’—

 

 

Score Fathers of Fathers of
Superior Readers Inferior Readers

19-20 2
17-18 3
15-16 1 5
13-14 1 9
11-12 10 15

9-10 9 11

7- 8 12 3

5- 6 l7 2
Total 50 50
Mean 8.26 12.02
Variance 6.84 10.24

 

t = 6.44 Significant at .01 level.

135

TABLE 31

DISTRIBUTION OF SCORES ON SCALE 2 (STRICTNESS) OF THE
PARENTAL ATTITUDE RESEARCH INSTRUMENT FOR FATHERS OF
SUPERIOR AND INFERIOR READERS

 

 

 

 

Score Fathers of Fathers of
Superior Readers Inferior Readers

19-20 3 7
17-18 13 12
15-16 15 12
13-14 8 14
11-12 5 2

9-10 4 l

7- 8 2 1

5- 6 1
Total 50 50
Mean 14.74 15.34
Variance 9.28 9.12

 

t = .99

136

TABLE 32

DISTRIBUTION OF SCORES ON SCALE 3 (IRRITABILITY) OF
THE PARENTAL ATTITUDE RESEARCH INSTRUMENT FOR
FATHERS OF SUPERIOR AND INFERIOR READERS

j
-_

 

 

 

Score Fathers of Fathers of
Superior Readers Inferior Readers

19-20 4 3
17-18 4 13
15-16 16 12
13-14 13 9
11-12 10 6

9-10 2 4

7- 8 1 2

5- 6 1
Total 50 50
Mean 14.26 14.42
Variance 7.16 11.12

 

t=.26

137

TABLE 33

DISTRIBUTION OF SCORES ON SCALE 4 (EXCLUDING OUTSIDE
INFLUENCES) OF THE PARENTAL ATTITUDE RESEARCH
INSTRUMENT FOR FATHERS OF SUPERIOR AND INFERIOR READERS

 

 

Score Fathers of Fathers of
Superior Readers Inferior Readers

19-20 1 5
17-18 3 8
15-16 4 5
13-14 12 18
11-12 12 9

9-10 5 3

7- 8 10 l

5- 6 3 1
Total 50 50
Mean 11.46 14.06
Variance 11.68 10.12

 

t = 3.94 Significant at .01 level.

138

TABLE 34

DISTRIBUTION OF SCORES ON SCALE 5 (DEIFICATION OF
PARENTS) OF THE PARENTAL ATTITUDE RESEARCH
INSTRUMENT FOR FATHERS OF SUPERIOR.AND INFERIOR READERS

 

t
L

 

 

Score Fathers of Fathers of
Superior Readers Inferior Readers

19-20 6 10
17-18 7 12
15-16 8 11
13-14 7 8
11-12 9 7

9-10 10

7- 8 1 2

5- 6 2
Total 50 50
Mean 13.50 15.58
Variance 14.68 9.80

 

t = 2.98 Significant at .01 level.

139

TABLE 35

DISTRIBUTION OF SCORES ON SCALE 6 (APPROVAL OF ACTIVITY)
OF THE PARENTAL ATTITUDE RESEARCH INSTRUMENT FOR FATHERS
OF SUPERIOR AND INFERIOR READERS

 

 

 

 

Score Fathers of Fathers of
Superior Readers Inferior Readers

19-20 7
17-18 6 14
15-16 12 14
13-14 13 4
11-12 6 5

9-10 9 3

7- 8 3 3

5- 6 1
Total 50 50
Mean 12.98 15.22
Variance 9.60 11.44

 

t =

Significant at .01 level.

140

TABLE 36

DISTRIBUTION OF SCORES ON SCALE 7 (AVOIDANCE OF
COMMUNICATION) OF THE PARENTAL ATTITUDE
RESEARCH INSTRUMENT FOR FATHERS OF SUPERIOR AND
INFERIOR READERS

 

 

 

 

 

 

Score Fathers of Fathers of
Superior Readers Inferior Readers

19-20 2
17-18 4
15-16 2 8
13-14 4 10
11-12 10 9

9-10 19 8

7- 8 10 8

5- 6 5 1
Total 50 50
Mean 9.66 12.26
Variance 6.00 12.39

 

t = 4.29 Significant at .01 level.

141

TABLE 37

DISTRIBUTION OF SCORES ON SCALE 8 (INTRUSIVENESS)
OF THE PARENTAL ATTITUDE RESEARCH INSTRUMENT
FOR FATHERS OF SUPERIOR AND INFERIOR READERS

_
4—

 

 

Score Fathers of Fathers of
Superior Readers Inferior Readers

19-20 3 4
17-18 1 7
15-16 3 3
13-14 7 6
ll-12 9 12

9-10 9 10

7- 8 9 7

5- 6 9 1
Total 50 50
Mean 10.46 12.38
Variance 15.40 14.88

 

t = 2.47 Significant at .05 level.

142

TABLE 38

DISTRIBUTION OF SCORES ON SCALE 10 (ACCELERATION OF
DEVELOPMENT OF THE PARENTAL ATTITUDE RESEARCH
INSTRUMENT FOR FATHERS OF SUPERIOR AND
INFERIOR READERS

 

 

 

Score Fathers of Fathers of
Superior Readers Inferior Readers

19-20 7
17-18 2 9
15-16 5 13
13-14 9 8
11-12 17 7

9-10 7 3

7- 8 8 2

5- 6 2 1
Total 50 50
Mean 11.34 14.66
Variance 8.48 12.09

 

t =

Significant at .01 level.

143

TABLE 39

DISTRIBUTION OF SCORES ON SCALE 1 (TRIVIALITY OF
READING) OF THE READING ATTITUDE INVENTORY FOR
MOTHERS OF SUPERIOR AND INFERIOR READERS

 

 

 

 

Score Mothers of Mothers of
Superior Readers Inferior Readers

l9-20 3
17-18 1
15-16 2 5
13-14 2 10
11-12 9 15

9-10 12 5

7- 8 19 8

5- 6 6 3
Total 50 50
Mean 9.02 11.7
Variance 6.13 12.28
t = 4.42 Significant at .01 level.

144

TABLE 40

DISTRIBUTION OF SCORES ON SCALE 2 (HINDERING DEVELOPMENT
OF LANGUAGE SKILLS) OF THE READING ATTITUDE INVENTORY
FOR.MOTHERS OF SUPERIOR AND INFERIOR READERS

1
-_____

 

 

Score Mothers of Mothers of
Superior Readers Inferior Readers

19-20 5
17-18 4
15-16 1 8
13-14 6 13
ll-12 8 11

9-10 13 5

7- 8 l9 2

5- 6 3 2
Total 50 50
Mean 9.42 13.34
Variance 5.87 12.20

 

t = 6.52 Significant at .01 level.

DISTRIBUTION OF SCORES ON SCALE 3 (RESTRICTION
OF CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES) OF THE READING

TABLE 41

145

ATTITUDE INVENTORY FOR MOTHERS OF
SUPERIOR AND INFERIOR READERS

J—‘_
L

fi

Mothers of

 

 

 

 

Score Mothers of
Superior Readers Inferior Readers

19-20 5
l7-18 4 11
15-16 2 11
13-14 4 13
11-12 10 4

9-10 20 5

7- 8 7 1

5- 6 3
Total 50 50
Mean 10.58 14.74
Variance 9.16 9.28
t = 6.85 Significant at .01 level.

146

TABLE 42

DISTRIBUTION OF SCORES ON SCALE 1 (TRIVIALITY OF
READING) OF THE READING ATTITUDE INVENTORY FOR
FATHERS OF SUPERIOR AND INFERIOR READERS

 

 

 

Score Fathers of Fathers of
Superior Readers Inferior Readers

19-20 1
17-18 6
15-16 1 6
13-14 7 9
ll-12 6 17

9-10 21 4

7- 8 8 6

5- 6 7 1
Total 50 50
Mean 9.54 12.46
Variance 6.44 10.49

 

t = 5.02 Significant at .01 level.

147

TABLE 43

DISTRIBUTION OF SCORES ON SCALE 2 (HINDERING DEVELOPMENT
OF LANGUAGE SKILLS) OF THE READING ATTITUDE INVENTORY
FOR FATHERS OF SUPERIOR AND INFERIOR READERS

 

 

Score Fathers of Fathers of
Superior Readers Inferior Readers

19-20 3
17-18 2
15-16 2 8
13-14 4 15
11-12 16 10

9-10 17 5

7- 8 11 5

5- 6 2
Total 50 50
Mean 10.26 12.62
Variance 4.39 11.45

 

t = 4.20 Significant at .01 level.

148

TABLE 44

DISTRIBUTION OF SCORES ON SCALE 3 (RESTRICTION
OF CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES) OF THE READING
ATTITUDE INVENTORY FOR FATHERS OF
SUPERIOR AND INFERIOR READERS

 

 

Score Fathers of Fathers of
Superior Readers Inferior Readers

19-20 1 3
17-18 2 5
15-16 3 9
13-14 8 15
11-12 14 11

9-10 10 5

7- 8 10 2

5- 6 2

Total 50 50
Mean 11.02 13.54
Variance 9.72 8.57

 

t = 4.17 Significant at .01 level.

APPENDIX B

150

INITIAL FORM OF THE READING ATTITUDE INVENTORY

151

INVENTORY OF ATTITUDES ON FAMILY LIFE AND CHILDREN
(Form RAI)

Read each of the statements below and then rate

them as follows:

A a d D
strongly mildly 'mildly strongly
agree agree disagree disagree

Indicate your opinion by drawing a circle around
the "A" if you strongly agree, around the "a" if you
mildly agree, around the "d" if you mildly disagree, and
around the "D" if you strongly disagree.

There are no right or wrong answers, so answer
according to your own opinion. It is very important to
the study that all questions be answered. Many of the
statements will seem alike but all are necessary to show
slight differences of opinion.

Agree Dis-
agree

1. There is little relationship
between ability to read and
success on the job. A a d D

2. Children should be discouraged
from telling their experiences
and expressing their ideas
before a group of adults. A a d D

3. It is frequently necessary for
the conscientious mother to
discourage her children from
collecting objects and specimens. A a d D

10.

ll.

12.

13.

14.

152

Many mothers can not afford
the time to take their
children to the library for
the purpose of selecting
books.

In the schools of today
children are permitted to
talk too much.

A modern father does not have
time to work and play with
his children.

Being able to read well
isn't as important as a
lot of people think it is.

Children talk so much that
it makes their parents nervous.

Children should be discouraged
from reading comic books.

Many people are able to vote
intelligently even though
they are unable to read
effectively.

Parents find it boring to
listen to children tell stories
observed on television.

First grade teachers should
spend less time in taking
children on trips and more
time in the classroom.

Many parents lead such an active
life that they cannot be expected
to spend time reading.

It is unwise to encourage
young children to make up
stories out of their own
imaginations.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

153

A wise mother discourages
her children from.watching
television.

Effective reading is not as
important as effective speaking.

Most children ask too many
questions.

Young children should not be
encouraged to play with older
boys and girls because they may
have experiences which are not
good for them.

Reading is of less importance
now that we have radio and
television.

Young children should be
discouraged from talking on
the telephone.

Visits to parks, zoos and
farms mean very little to a
child of four.

Many children read when they
should be spending time doing
other things.

Most children ask questions
merely for the purpose of
having something to say.

Viewing science programs on
television encourages children
to "tinker" with materials
which can be dangerous.

Abraham Lincoln who walked 22
miles to get a book probably
overemphasized the importance

of books.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

34.

35.

36.

154

There is a lot of sense to
the old adage, "Children
should be seen and not heard."

Children under the age of five
gain little worthwhile knowledge
from.trips.

Time set aside to read is not
essential to success in home-
making.

Children will monopolize the
conversation if they are
permitted to do so.

Some children are too curious
for their own good.

In these days of public
libraries, it is foolish to
buy books and magazines.

Parents do not have time to
interest their active, growing
children in listening to
stories, nursery rhymes and
poems.

Children today have too much
freedom to go places and do
things.

Learning how to make friends
is more important than learning
how to read.

Since many children have to be

encouraged to eat at mealtime,

the wise mother will discourage
her children from talking while
eating.

One of the discouraging aspects
of child rearing is that
children want to get into
everything which is available
to them.

37.

38.

39.

40.

41.

42.

43.

44.

155

Parents do not have to read
in order to be happy.

Children should not be urged
to learn and recite poems.

Most children play too much.

Reading to her children is not
one of a mother's chief
responsibilities.

Young children cannot be
expected to listen carefully
to directions given by parents
and teachers.

Parents who show and demonstrate
the use of common things in the
home deprive their children of
an opportunity to learn by
themselves.

A man can read poorly and yet
be successful in business.

Parents who persist in correct-
ing the faulty English of their
children are doing more harm
than good.

A mother should know where her
child is at all times.

Age (check the correct category):

Below 20
20-29
30-39
40-49
above 50

 

 

 

 

 

156

2. Education (check highest level attended):

 

 

. Graduate
Grade School through High School College School
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

3. How many children do you have?

 

157

SECOND FORM OF THE READING ATTITUDE INVENTORY

158

INVENTORY OF ATTITUDES ON FAMILY LIFE AND CHILDREN
(Form RAI)

Read each of the statements below and then rate them

as follows:

A a d D
strongly mildly mildly strongly
agree agree disagree disagree

Indicate your opinion by drawing a circle around the

"A” if you strongly agree, around the "a"

if you mildly
agree, around the "d" if you mildly disagree, and around
the "D" if you strongly disagree.

There are no right or wrong answers, so answer
according to your own opinion. It is very important to
the study that all questions be answered. Many of the

statements will seem alike but all are necessary to show

slight differences of opinion.

Agree Disagree
1. As much as is reasonable, a
parent should try to treat a
child as an equal. A a d D
2. There is little relationship
between ability to read and
success on the job. A a d D

3. Children should be discouraged
from telling their experiences
and expressing their ideas
before a group of adults. A a d D

10.

11.

12.

13.

159

It is frequently necessary
for the conscientious mother
to discourage her children
from collecting objects and
specimens.

Many mothers can not afford
the time to take their
children to the library for
the purpose of selecting
books.

In the schools of today
children are permitted to
talk too much.

A modern father does not have
time to work and play with
his children.

Being able to read well
isn't as important as a lot
of people think it is.

Children talk so much that it
makes their parents nervous.

There is no reason parents
should have their own way
all the time anymore than
that children should have
their own way all the time.

Children should be discouraged
from reading comic books.

Many people are able to vote
intelligently even though
they are unable to read
effectively.

Parents find it boring to
listen to children tell
stories observed on
television.

14.

15.

l6.

l7.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

160

First grade teachers should
spend less time in taking
children on trips and more
time in the classroom.

Many parents lead such an
active life that they can
not be expected to spend
time reading.

It is unwise to encourage
young children to make up
stories out of their own
imaginations.

A wise mother discourages
her children from watching
television.

Effective reading is not as
important as effective
speaking.

Most children ask too many
questions.

Children are too often asked
to do all the compromising
and adjusting and that is not
fair.

Young children should not be
encouraged to play with older
boys and girls because they
may have experiences which are
not good for them.

Reading is of less importance
now that we have radio and
television.

Young children should be dis-
couraged from talking on the
telephone.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

34.

161

Visits to parks, zoos and
farms mean very little to
a child of four.

Many children read when
they should be spending
time doing other things.

Most children ask questions
merely for the purpose of
having something to say.

Viewing science programs on
television encourages children
to "tinker” with materials
which can be dangerous.

Abraham Lincoln who walked
22 miles to get a book
probably overemphasized the
importance of books.

There is a lot of sense to
the old adage, "Children
should be seen and not heard."

Parents must earn the respect
of their children by the way
they act.

Children under the age of five
gain little worthwhile
knowledge from trips.

Time set aside to read is not
essential to success in home-
making.

Children will monopolize the
conversation if they are
permitted to do so.

Some children are too curious
for their own good.

35.

36.

37.

38.

39.

40.

41.

42.

43.

44.

45.

162

In these days of public
libraries, it is foolish
to buy books and magazines.

Parents do not have time to
interest their active, growing
children in listening to
stories, nursery rhymes and
poems.

Children today have too much
freedom to go places and do
things.

Learning how to make friends
is more important than learning
how to read.

Since many children have to be
encouraged to eat at mealtime,
the wise mother will discourage
her children from talking while
eating.

Parents should adjust to
children some rather than
always expecting the children
to adjust to the parents.

One of the discouraging aspects
of child rearing is that
children want to get into
everything which is available
to them.

Parents do not have to read
in order to be happy.

Children should not be urged
to learn and recite poems.

Most children play too much.
Reading to her children is not

one of a mother's chief
responsibilities.

ms

46.

47.

48.

49.

163

Young children cannot be

expected to listen carefully

to directions given by

parents and teachers. A a

Parents who show and

demonstrate the use of

common things in the home

deprive their children of

an opportunity to learn by

themselves. A a

A man can read poorly and yet
be successful in business. A a

Parents who persist in

correcting the faulty English

of their children are doing

more harm than good. A a

A mother should know where
her child is at all times. A a

Age (check the correct category).

Below 20
20-29
30-39
40-49
above 50

 

 

 

 

 

Education (check highest level attended):

Grade School through High School College

 

l 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4

How many children do you have?

 

Graduate

School

1 2 3 4

164

FINAL FORM OF THE READING ATTITUDE INVENTORY

165

INVENTORY OF ATTITUDES CONCERNING FAMILY LIFE AND CHILDREN
(Form RAI)

Read each of the statements below and then rate

them as follows:

A a d D
strongly 'mildly ‘mildly strongly
agree agree disagree disagree

Indicate your opinion by drawing a circle around
the "A" if you strongly agree, around the "a" if you
mildly agree, around the "d" if you mildly disagree,
and around the "D" if you strongly disagree.

There are no right or wrong answers, so answer
according to your own opinion. It is very important to
the study that all questions be answered. Many of the
statements will seem alike but all are necessary to show

slight differences of opinion.

Agree Disagree
1. As much as is reasonable,
a parent should try to treat
a child as an equal. A a d D
2. Being able to read well
isn't as important as a
lot of people think it is. A a d D

3. Most children ask too many
questions. A a d D

-\

10.

11.

12.

l3.

14.

166

Young children should not

be encouraged to play with
older boys and girls because
they may have experiences
which are not good for them.

Effective reading is not as
important as effective
speaking.

Most children ask questions
merely for the purpose of
having something to say.

Children under the age of
five gain little worthwhile
knowledge from.trips.

Parents must earn the respect
of their children by the way
they act.

Time set aside to read is not
essential to success in home-
making.

There is a lot of sense to the
old adage, "Children should be
seen and not heard."

Some children are too curious
for their own good.

Learning how to make friends
is more important than learning
how to read.

Children will monopolize the
conversation if they are
permitted to do so.

Children today have too much
freedom to go places and do
things.

15.

16.

17.

167

Parents should adjust to
children some rather than
always expecting the children
to adjust to the parents.

A man can read poorly and yet
be successful in business.

Since many children have to
be encouraged to eat at
mealtime, the wise mother
will discourage her children
from talking while eating.

Most children play too much.

Age (check the correct category):

Below 20
20-29
30-39
40-49
above 50

 

 

 

 

 

Education (check highest level attended):

Grade School through High School

College

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ll 12

Occupation

How many children do you have?

1 2 3 4

Graduate
School

1 2 3 4

 

Do you have a child who is an excellent reader? Yes No

Do you have a child who is a poor reader?

Yes No

168

INVENTORY OF ATTITUDES CONCERNING FAMILY LIFE AND CHILDREN1

(Form PARI)

, Read each of the statements below and then rate

them as follows:

A a d D
strongly mildly mildly strongly
agree agree disagree disagree

Indicate your opinion by drawing a circle around

the "A" if you strongly agree, around the "a if you mildly
agree, around the "d" if you mildly disagree, and around
the "D" if you strongly disagree.

There are no right or wrong answers, so answer
according to your own opinion. It is very important to
the study that all questions be answered. Many of the

statements will seem alike but all are necessary to show

slight differences of opinion.

Agree Disagree

1. A good mother should shelter

her child from.1ife's little

difficulties. A a d D
2. A child will be grateful

later on for strict training. A a d D
3. Children will get on any

woman's nerves if she has

to be with them all day. A a d D

 

1Reproduced with permission of the Society for
Research in Child Development.

10.

ll.

12.

13.

14.

169

It's best for the child
if he never gets started
wondering whether his
mother's views are right.

More parents should teach
their children to have un-
questioning loyalty to them.

There are so many things a

child has to learn in life

there is no excuse for him

sitting around with time on
his hands.

If you let children talk
about their troubles, they
end up complaining even more.

A mother should make it her
business to know everything
her children are thinking.

Children would be happier
and better behaved if parents
would show an interest in
their affairs.

Most children are toilet
trained by 15 months of age.

A mother should do her best

to avoid any disappointment
for her child.

Strict discipline develops
a fine strong character.

Mothers very often feel that
they can't stand their
children a moment longer.

A parent should never be
made to look wrong in a
child's eyes.

15.

l6.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

170

The child should be taught
to revere his parents above
all other grown-ups.

Children who don't try hard
for success will feel they
have missed out on things
later on.

Parents who start a child
talking about his worries
don't realize that sometimes
it's better to just leave
well enough alone.

A child should never keep a
secret from his parents.

Laughing at children's jokes
and telling children jokes
makes things go more smoothly.

The sooner a child learns to
walk the better he's trained.

A child should be protected
from jobs which might be too
tiring or hard for him.

Children who are held to firm
rules grow up to be the best
adults.

It's a rare mother who can be
sweet and even tempered with
her children all day.

Children should never learn
things outside the home which
make them doubt their parents'
ideas.

A child soon learns that there
is no greater wisdom than that
of his parents.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

34.

35.

36.

171

Parents should teach their
children that the way to
get ahead is to keep busy
and not waste time.

Children pester you with all
their little upsets if you
aren't careful from the first.

An alert parent should try to
learn all her child's thoughts.

Parents who are interested in
hearing about their children's
parties, dates and fun help
them grow up right.

The earlier a child is weaned
from its emotional ties to its
parents the better it will
handle its own problems.

Parents should know better
than to allow their children
to be exposed to difficult
situations.

Most children should have
more discipline than they get.

Raising children is a nerve-
wracking job.

The child should not question
the thinking of his parents.

Parents deserve the highest
esteem and regard of their
children.

A child who is "on the go"
all the time will most likely
be happy.

37.

38.

39.

40.

41.

42.

43.

44.

45.

46.

47.

172

If a child has upset feelings,
it is best to leave him alone
and not make it look serious.

A mother has a right to know
everything going on in her
child's life because her child
is part of her.

If parents would have fun with
their children, the children
would be more apt to take their
advice.

A mother should make an effort
to get her child toilet trained
at the earliest possible time.

Children should be kept away
from all hard jobs which might
be discouraging.

Children are actually happier
under strict training.

It's natural for a mother to
"blow her top" when children
are selfish and demanding.

There is nothing worse than
letting a child hear criticisms
of his mother.

Loyalty to parents comes before
anything else.

The sooner a child learns that
a wasted minute is lost fdrever
the better off he will be.

The trouble with giving
attention to children's
problems is they usually

just make up a lot of stories
to keep you interested.

48.

49.

50.

173

It is a mother's duty to
make sure she knows her
child's innermost thoughts.

When you do things together,
children feel close to you
and can talk easier.

A child should be weaned
away from the bottle or
breast as soon as possible.

174

LETTER TO PARENTS

Dear Mr. and Mrs.

As Associate Director of the Psycho-Educational
Clinic, Western Michigan University, I am trying to
determine what parents really think about how children
should be brought up. Much is written on this subject
in newspaper and magazine articles. Frequently these
reports are not in agreement. I believe it would be a
good idea to find out what parents actually think about
certain child rearing practices. You are being asked
to help in the study by passing on your ideas. Your
opinions, of course, will be held in confidence. I
hope you will help, for together we may be able to obtain
valuable information which.will be useful in working with
boys and girls in both the home and school.

We plan to gather the information needed for this
study by means of an inventory which takes only 20 minutes
to complete. This inventory will be given to fathers and
mothers at the Field House on the campus of Western Michigan
University in room 224, Friday evening, September 28, at
7 o'clock. Ample parking space is available next to the
building.

Would you please complete the enclosed postcard,
indicating whether or not you plan to be present on
September 28. If you cannot meet with us at that time,
a representative of the clinic will come to your home
so that you may complete the inventory there. Please
remember that it is essential to this study that both
father and mother fill out separately a copy of the inventory.

We will appreciate your cooperation and help in this
matter.

Yours sincerely,

Dorothy J. McGinnis
Enc. Associate Director

175

POSTCARD

 

 

(Please check one)

( ) We will help in the study and plan to be at
the Field House on Friday, September 28, at
7 p.m.

( ) We will help in the study but cannot be at
the Field House on Friday, September 28.
Our phone number is
Please call us to arrange a time when we
can take the inventory.

 

( ) We will not help in the study.

 

 

 

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