Dissertations and Theses @ UNI
Availability
Open Access Thesis
Keywords
Slow learning children; Learning disabilities; Problem children--Education; Slow learning children;
Abstract
This study examined some of the behavioral and academic characteristics of students who were placed in transition rooms, program philosophies and goals, behavioral and academic benefits of the transition experience, and parental reactions to the programs.
Subjects were 43 white middle-class students who were enrolled in two transition rooms in a midwestern school district during two consecutive school years. Fall and spring data from teacher ratings on the Myklebust Pupil Rating Scale (PRS) were obtained and used as indices of behavioral characteristics and progress. Spring kindergarten and transition scores on the Clymer-Barrett Prereading Battery (C-B) were collected and utilized as measures of academic characteristics and progress. In addition, fall and spring classroom behavioral observations were made on four individual students, and teacher interviews were conducted to determine program philosophies and goals. Questionnaires were sent to the parents of all students in the spring of both school years to obtain their responses concerning the transition programs.
Data were analyzed to determine characteristics and progress, both of transition students as a group and of four individually selected students. Results indicated that both behavioral and academic characteristics are contributing factors in the high-risk status of transition students. When students entered the transition programs, the total group means on verbal, nonverbal, and total PRS ratings were approximately one standard deviation below the standardization means on the PRS. According to C-B norms, the students displayed average prereading skills.
Philosophies and goals differed to some degree for the two schools, with one school placing more emphasis on affective factors and the other stressing academic factors. As a group, students at both schools made significant (p<.001) academic gains on the C-B, whereas, students from the school which stressed affective factors received higher PRS ratings at the end of the year than students from the school which stressed academics. Questionnaire responses indicated that most parents had favorable reactions to the transition programs. Case study data indicated that these four students were referred for differing types and degrees of both behavioral and academic deficits and, while all made academic progress during the year, that behavioral changes were more individualized.
Findings indicated that transition students displayed a wide range of behavioral and academic characteristics, suggesting that both areas should be considered in the identification and referral process. Differing philosophies and goals of the two transition programs may have had an influence on the type of progress made by students in the different classes. Teacher attitudes and parental support toward the program can also be factors influencing the success of the transition experience.
Year of Submission
1980
Degree Name
Specialist in Education
Department
Department of Educational Psychology, Foundations, and Leadership Studies
Department
Department of Educational Psychology and Foundations
First Advisor
Barry J. Wilson
Date Original
1980
Object Description
1 PDF file (99 pages)
Copyright
©1980 Nancie Moyer Andreasen
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Andreasen, Nancie Moyer, "Efficacy of Transition Rooms: A Quantitative and Quasi-Qualitative Look" (1980). Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 1508.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd/1508
Comments
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