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Open Access Thesis

Keywords

Education, Preschool;

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of membership in a large or small family to the patterns of achievement as revealed by the results of the subtests of the Iowa Test of Preschool Development (ITPD). Of interest also was the study of the relationship of membership in subgroups based on both race and family size to patterns of achievement.

The subjects of the study were eighty black and white preschool children. There were twenty children in each subgroup small black family, large black family, small white family, and large white family). The subgroups were similar in respect to age and sex ratio.

The ITPD was used to assess patterns of achievement. This test includes the subtests of Language, Visual-motor, Memory, and Concepts.

A two-dimensional analysis of variance was used to determine the relationship between family size and the means of each subtest. None of the resultant F ratios were significant, indicating that family size is not related to success on the four subtests of the ITPD.

The Duncan Multiple Range Test was calculated to ascertain the significance of the difference between the means of each pair of subgroup means. These subgroups were based on both family size and race. Comparisons between all possible combinations of subgroups allowed for the investigation of the differences between subgroup means based on family size within race, race within family size, and family size between races.

Family size within race was significant in one of the eight possible comparisons. The children in large white families scored significantly higher than the children in small white families on the Visual-motor subtest.

Race within family size us significant in several comparisons. On all four subtests of the ITPD, children in large white families scored significantly higher than children in large black families. The other significant difference was between the small family subgroups in which the white children scored higher than the black children on the Concepts subtest.

Family size between races was also significant in several comparisons. The small white subgroup mean was significantly higher than the large black subgroup mean on the Language, Memory, and Concepts subtests. The other significant differences were between the small black and large white subgroups in which the large white subgroup scored significantly higher than the small black subgroup on both the Visual-motor and Concepts subtests.

These results suggest that family size alone or family size within one race is not as significant in assessing patterns of achievement as is race when family size is held constant or the interaction of family size and race when both family size and race differ.

Year of Submission

1972

Degree Name

Specialist in Education

Department

Department of Educational Psychology, Foundations, and Leadership Studies

Department

Department of Educational Psychology and Foundations

First Advisor

Ralph Scott

Comments

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Date Original

1972

Object Description

1 PDF file (70 pages)

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

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