bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
THE WPPSI AT FOUR YEARS: A SEX DIFFERENCE IN VERBAL‐PERFORMANCE DISCREPANCIES
Authors: FAIRWEATHER H. , BUTTERWORTH G.
Published: May 2011

Summary. 72 boys and 72 girls at age 4½ years were tested on the WPPSI. Boys out‐scored girls significantly on Mazes. Twenty per cent of the children had discrepancies between the Verbal and Performance sub‐scales of 15 points or more. Low verbal and low performance sub‐groups were equally represented across sexes; but their location with respect to normative sub‐scale scores was not. Boys' sub‐groups were distinguished by changes in performance scores alone whereas for girls both performance and verbal quotients deviated equally. The results underline the necessity for comprehensive control data on materials used in studies of cognitive development.
CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS OF PROPORTION: AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE CLAIMS OF BRYANT AND PIAGET
Authors: MULLER D. J.
Published: May 2011

Summary. An investigation of the different claims made by Bryant and Piaget about children's ability to make proportional judgments is presented. Using a sample of 59 children aged between 5 and 11 years, it was found that contrary to Piaget's predictions they could logically connect two discrete perceptual experiences as demanded by proportional type tasks. As suggested by Bryant's thesis, the difficulty young children found in making proportional judgments was one of analysing these initial perceptual relationships. Minor modifications to Bryant's thesis are proposed, which entail extending it to include relative x absolute coding as a higher level cognitive skill. This enables discrete levels of understanding the concept of proportion to be identified. From a theoretical viewpoint this study adds support to Bryant's critique of Piaget's work.
SOCIAL CLASS AND SEX CONTRASTS IN VERBAL PROCESSING STYLES
Authors: POOLE MILLICENT E.
Published: May 2011

Summary. It was hypothesised that specific styles or verbal processing would be characteristic of 96 high school students drawn from different social class/sex groups. Such distinctive patterns of functioning, it was posited, could be largely explained by earlier socialisation experiences. Individual structured interviews were transcribed verbatim and six dimensions of verbal processing examined: categories of processing; modes of expression; verbal content; ideational fluency; category breadth; and conceptual preference. Discriminant function analysis, extended and supplemented by analysis of variance, was used to test the hypothesis of style‐specific modes of functioning. Middle‐class boys and girls displayed similar overall verbal strategies: discriminating, tentative, abstract and person‐oriented. Middle‐class girls, however, preferred comparing/evaluating modes, while middle‐class boys used describing/explaining ones. Working‐class boys and girls were generally non‐differentiating and non‐discriminating and showed a distinct preference for closed‐categorical concepts. The notion of style‐specific patterns of verbal processing for the criterion groups was supported for social class but only partially for sex.
SCALOGRAM ANALYSIS AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT: EVIDENCE FROM A LONGITUDINAL STUDY
Authors: VERSEY J.
Published: May 2011

Summary. A battery of Piagetian‐type tasks were administered to a sample of 93 English primary school children four times at six‐monthly intervals from an average age of six years as part of a longitudinal study of cognitive development. From a series of scalogram analyses, hierarchies of difficulty were found which were significantly stable from testing to testing in respect of both items and subjects in the sample.
SPELLING ACCURACY AS A FUNCTION OF REPRESSION‐SENSITIZATION
Authors: COX W. M.
Published: May 2011

Summary. Whether an individual's spelling accuracy is related to personality apart from general intellectual capacity was investigated by giving a spelling test to 80 undergraduates, 40 repressers and 40 sensitizers identified on the basis of scores received on Byrne's Repression‐Sensitization Scale. The sensitizers were clearly superior to the repressers in their spelling accuracy, and this difference was not an artefact of differences in intellectual aptitude as determined by SAT verbal and quantitative scores. In fact, among the male subjects the repressers, with lower spelling scores, had higher quantitative SAT scores than sensitizers.
RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN LEARNING STRATEGY, ATTENTION DEPLOYMENT AND PERSONALITY
Authors: ROBERTSON I. T.
Published: May 2011

Summary— The work reported involved detailed study of 14 students learning a large and complex body of subject matter. A specific aspect of learning strategy (the extent to which students developed their understanding on a broad or narrow front) was examined. In general the results support hypotheses predicting positive relationships between a broad strategy in learning, wide attention deployment, a flexible approach to problem‐solving and cognitive complexity. The relationships of measures of intelligence, extraversion and neuroticism, to the above factors were also examined.
RECENT RESEARCH ON TEACHING: A DREAM, A BELIEF, AND A MODEL
Authors: BENNETT S. N.
Published: May 2011

Summary. An attempt is made to provide an interpretive framework for the findings of recent research on teaching at primary school level. A model of teaching/learning processes is outlined prior to an investigation of the empirical linkages between the element of the model. Following this, the implications of the model for teaching skills are explored.
SOME FACTORS AFFECTING DOCILITY IN PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN
Authors: PUNCH K. F. , RENNIE LEONIE
Published: May 2011

Summary. The relationship between docility and age, sex, and the social structure of the school and the family is examined for a sample of 1184 children in primary schools of differing social structure. Two docility measures were developed, based on the notions of an uncritical accepting attitude towards the pronouncements of authority figures, a disposition to obey instructions without regard to their merit, and a tendency to condemn behaviour which is openly critical of authority figures. Correlation and regression analyses of the data show, firstly, that age is the most important variable affecting docility, correlating negatively with it; secondly, that social class is next in importance, also correlating negatively with docility; and thirdly, that there are additional small relationships between docility and sex, and between docility and school social structure. Taken together, the variables used here account for approximately 20 per cent of the variance between children in docility levels.
RELIABILITY OF MARKING IN EIGHT GCE EXAMINATIONS
Authors: MURPHY R. J. L.
Published: May 2011

Summary. Eight recent GCE examinations, containing mainly free‐response questions, were investigated in terms of their marking reliability. The scripts of 200 randomly selected candidates from each subject were re‐marked by a senior GCE examiner, and these marks were compared with the marks awarded previously as a result of team marking procedures. These comparisons revealed differences between the reliability of marking of examinations in different subject areas and also between different papers within individual examinations. These results are discussed in terms of differences between examinations in different subject areas, the effect of increasing the number of questions in an examination, and the effect of including questions other than free‐response questions. All of these factors appear to have an effect on the reliability of the marking of these examinations. The results are also compared with other estimates for similar examinations.
INTERACTIVE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN MEASURED PERSONALITY AND TEACHING STRATEGY VARIABLES
Authors: SHADBOLT D. R.
Published: May 2011

Summary. Reviews of recent aptitude‐treatment interaction research indicate a low level of consistency of results even when considered within a particular age level. It is suggested that an aspect of the problem may be the lack of comparability among the variables commonly employed. Two experiments are described where comparable teaching strategies were employed to teach students of similar ages material from two different subject areas. Comparable disordinal interactions between measured extroversion and teaching strategy were demonstrated across the two experiments where the criterion measure was a test of problem‐solving but not where it was a test of recall.
SIX REACTIONS TO SCHOOL TRANSFER
Authors: YOUNGMAN M. B.
Published: May 2011

Summary. TWO samples representing rural (N = 390) and city (N =454) children were tested before and after transferring to secondary school in an attempt to determine the nature of individual reactions to school transfer. Measures used included ability, achievement, attitude to school, and personality. Cluster analysis applied independently to these two samples identified six subgroups showing different patterns of adjustment. Two of these reactions were considered particularly important. One, labelled disenchanted, characterised able children showing poor adjustment and academic deterioration. The other, described as worried, associated low ability with high anxiety, and poor self‐concept. Since the six reactions were replicated across both samples it is suggested that they comprise widely occurring reactions to school transfer.
PERSONALITY CORRELATES OF OVER‐ACHIEVEMENT AND UNDER‐ACHIEVEMENT
Authors: BEHRENS L. T. , VERNON P. E.
Published: May 2011

Summary. 292 Canadian Grade 7 students were given a three‐part group intelligence test, a two‐part mathematics test, and a three‐part English test. Scores on these tests, together with teachers' grades for these subjects, were compared with personality questionnaire measures of aggression, positive and negative self‐concept, and a sentence completion test of attitudes to school and other areas. Substantial correlations were obtained between the ability and personality variables, with marked sex differences. However, when multiple correlations were calculated between intelligence and personality variables as predictors of mathematics and English achievement criteria, the beta weights for personality variables were mostly small and relatively inconsistent.
GIRLS AND MATHEMATICS: PARENTAL VARIABLES
Authors: STAMP PEGGY
Published: May 2011

Summary. 234 girls taking A‐level mathematics were compared with 265 girls taking A‐level French. They were more reserved (A), stable (C), tough‐minded (I), radical (Q1) and group‐dependent (Q2) on the 16PF, and less feminine on the CPI Fe Scale. Girls in both subjects tended to identify with their fathers rather than mothers. Father identification is related to tough‐mindedness and masculinity on tests, but with typically feminine leisure activities. So is choice of mathematics. Subject choice is related to both parent's attitudes, but subject attitudes are related only to the mothers' attitudes. Double Mathematics girls were both more conventional socially and more radical mentally than either of the other groups.
AN ASSOCIATION BETWEEN HIGH INTELLECTUAL ABILITY AND AN IMAGINATIVE AND ANALYTIC APPROACH TO THE DISCUSSION OF OPEN QUESTIONS
Authors: MICHELL LYNN , LAMBOURNE R. D.
Published: May 2011

Summary.— An experiment was designed to find out whether there were any quantitative and qualitative differences in the spoken discourse of 16‐year‐old pupils of ‘high’ and ‘low’ ability in discussions of problems arising from textual material. Cognitive, linguistic and qualitative analyses of the discourse were carried out. Results from the cognitive‐based method of analysis suggested that pupils in the ‘high’ ability groups sustained discussion for longer, achieved a higher cognitive level of discourse and asked more interpretative questions. At a linguistic level, these pupils used more expressions of tentativeness and included more general referents in their discussions. A qualitative analysis of the discussions revealed that individuals who operated at the higher cognitive levels were able, within discussion groups, to achieve a more complex understanding of issues.
THE EFFECTS OF CONCEPTUAL STYLE PREFERENCE, RELATED COGNITIVE VARIABLES AND SEX ON ACHIEVEMENT IN MATHEMATICS
Authors: ROACH D. A.
Published: May 2011

Summary. The Conceptual Style Test, a mathematics achievement test and an intelligence test were administered to grade 6 children, 206 boys and 212 girls, in five urban Jamaican elementary schools. Mathematics achievement had significant positive correlations to analytic conceptual style and intelligence; girls had higher mathematics achievement than boys. Analytic conceptual style had a significant positive correlation with intelligence, but had no relation to sex. When intelligence was partialled out, the relation between conceptual style preference and mathematics achievement became non‐significant.
EFFECTS OF DIFFERENTIAL FEEDBACK ON THE ANSWERING OF TWO TYPES OF QUESTIONS BY FIFTH‐ AND SIXTH‐GRADERS
Authors: PEECK J.
Published: May 2011

Summary. 52 fifth‐ and sixth‐grade children read a 900‐word text which was followed by a multiple‐choice test consisting of fact and inference questions. One and a half hours later, they were given feedback either with or without the original text present. Four days later all children were retested. On both the immediate and delayed test sixth‐graders performed better than fifth‐graders, while, especially in grade 5, more fact than inference questions were answered correctly. These results were interpreted as corroborating recent findings on developmental improvement in constructive cognition. Feedback on inference questions seemed somewhat more effective with the original text than without. The children correctly identified almost 90 per cent of their first‐test responses at the time of the delayed test. The identification patterns were interpreted as providing evidence against the interference‐perseveration explanation of the delay‐retention effect.
HYPOTHETICALITY AND THE OTHER OBSERVER IN A PERSPECTIVE TASK
Authors: FEHR L. A.
Published: May 2011

Summary. An analysis of the ramifications of using a doll as the other observer in a coordination of perspectives task is presented. The use of a doll was questioned due to its inanimacy as well as its hypotheticality as an observer. Children aged between 6 and 12 years were tested using a normal observer, a blindfolded observer, and a doll as the other observer. The lowest overall, as well as egocentric error, rates were noted in the normal observer condition with the remaining two conditions yielding similar trends. It was concluded that performance in a perspective task is diminished when the other observer is a hypothetical one.
SCHOOL INFLUENCE AND PUPIL ATTITUDE TOWARDS RELIGION
Authors: FRANCIS L.
Published: May 2011

Summary. Attitudes towards religion of 2,272 third and fourth year junior pupils were studied in relation to the type of religious education provided by their school. Comparisons were made between Roman Catholic aided, Church of England aided, and Local Education Authority schools. Comparisons were also made between schools which provide no religious education, schools which follow a ‘traditional’ syllabus, and schools which follow a ‘modern’ syllabus. It was found that there was no difference in pupil attitude in State schools which provide no religious education, State schools which follow the ‘traditional’ syllabus, State schools which follow the ‘modern’ syllabus, and Church of England Schools which follow the ‘traditional’ syllabus. Pupils in Roman Catholic schools scored higher on the attitude scale and pupils in Church of England schools which followed the ‘modern’ syllabus scored lower. These findings question both the effectiveness of syllabus revision in religious education, and the specifically religious contribution of certain Church of England aided primary schools.
EFFECT OF PICTURES ON LEARNING TO READ COMMON NOUNS
Authors: LANG R. J. , SOLMAN R. T.
Published: May 2011

Summary. Three experiments are reported to investigate the effects of pictures on learning to read common nouns with samples of kindergarten children. Comparisons were made between three conditions: the absence of a picture, the presence of a related picture; and the presence of an unrelated picture. Using large projected images, no differences were detected. To check whether this result was attributable to the method of presentation, the experiment was repeated using word cards, with similar results. Finally, besides further manipulation of the spacing effects, a third experiment investigated the effects of drawing children's attention to the link between word and picture. It was concluded that pictorial information could be used with advantage, if the child was aware of the relationship between word and picture, and that the use of spacing did appear to facilitate learning (as a post‐hoc analysis).
A LONGITUDINAL STUDY USING THE WPPSI AND WISC‐R WITH AN ENGLISH SAMPLE
Authors: BISHOP DOROTHY , BUTTERWORTH G. E.
Published: May 2011

Summary. An unselected sample of 139 English children from a rural area completed the WPPSI at the age of 4½ years and the WISC‐R four years later. Comparison of WISC‐R results for this sample and Wechsler's standardisation sample indicated that although this test yields IQ scores close to expected values, distributions of scores on some subtests, especially Similarities and Coding, are less satisfactory. Significant sex differences, in keeping with previous research, were found on some WPPSI and WISC‐R subtests. The association between verbal‐performance discrepancies on the two tests was statistically significant but relatively weak. The results indicated that children who refused to co‐operate with one or more of the WPPSI subtests were more likely than not to develop normally, but there was a raised incidence of WISC‐R IQs below 85 in this group. A high proportion of low IQs was also found among children who missed the pre‐school assessment because of family crises or parental refusal.
COGNITIVE STYLE AND ADVANCE ORGANIZERS IN LEARNING AND RETENTION
Authors: SATTERLY D. J. , TELFER I. G.
Published: May 2011

Summary.— The interaction of field independence and advance organizer in learning and retention was studied in 96 boys and 84 girls aged 14–15 years. Field independence was stratified into three levels and pupils randomly assigned to twelve teaching groups, followed by random allocation of teachers to groups and groups to one of three treatments (lessons; lessons plus advance organizer; lessons plus advance organizer plus specific reference to its organizing properties). Two lessons on meaning, analysis, and construction of words were taught and the groups compared in recall and transfer. Four‐way analysis of variance gave significant differences between cognitive styles in recall and transfer and between learning and retention. Residual estimates of learning were obtained and a significant interaction of style with treatment observed. Field dependent pupils achieved greatest gains where the organizer was used with specific reference to its organizing properties.
SEX DIFFERENCES IN CLASSROOM BEHAVIOUR OF INFANTS: THE VIEWS OF TEACHERS AND PUPILS
Authors: HARTLEY D.
Published: May 2011

Summary. Within each classroom in two urban infant schools, views of the behaviour of boys and girls were obtained from classmates and the teacher. The behaviour of boys was regarded as less appropriate than that of girls, particularly by classmates. In the majority of classes there were significant positive correlations between the teacher's and pupils' views. Despite the different social class composition of the two schools, the results in both were similar.
ATTENTION AND ACTIVITY IN THE YOUNG CHILD
Authors: TYLER S. , FOY HELEN , HUTT CORINNE
Published: May 2011

Summary. The attentive capacities of young children were studied in terms of spans of activity and of attention. The first study examined activity spans in four types of pre‐school establishment and the second study examined attention in the infant school. In both pre‐school and infant school the influence of the adult in focusing the children's attention was demonstrated.
VERBAL INTERACTION IN NURSERY SCHOOLS
Authors: COOPER MARGERY G.
Published: May 2011

Summary. An ecological study of the quantity and distribution of language among children in nursery schools is reported. Two different situations, one when the presence of the adult is incidental and the other where she assumes a teaching role, are analysed for categories of verbalisation by the children. The interactive effect of the adult in both situations is examined. It appears that she may be responsible for a re‐distribution of amounts of verbalisation over the categories, for drawing quantity towards herself and for adopting a didactic role. She in turn verbalises most with individual children. Age and sex differences are not significant and there is consistency in her verbalising procedures.
THE HEN OR THE EGG? WHICH COMES FIRST—ANTISOCIAL EMOTIONAL DISORDERS OR READING DISABILITY?
Authors: McMICHAEL PAQUITA
Published: May 2011

Summary. The sequential relationship of antisocial emotional disorders and reading difficulties was examined in a longitudinal study of a sample of 198 boys in their first two years at school. Teachers completed behaviour questionnaires at school entry and at the end of Primary One and Two. The children were tested for reading readiness at school entry and for reading performance at the end of Primary One and Two. Antisocial deviance was shown to precede later reading difficulties, but was associated at school entry with poor performance on the tests of reading readiness. An examination of the predictive effects of low performance on reading readiness tests and the reading test at the end of Primary One indicated that later antisocial deviance was not related at this stage of school to earlier poor performance. These results call into question, for this age group, the suggestion that reading backwardness leads to antisocial emotional disorders.
CULTURAL CHANGE AND MATHEMATICAL THOUGHT
Authors: TANNER R. , TROWN E. ANNE
Published: May 2011

Summary. Sixty children of Indian, Pakistani or Bangladeshi origin who had spent all their school lives in England, 60 who had arrived within the past three years and 60 British children were randomly selected in two age groups (10/11 years and 12/13 years) from the pupils of 22 schools in 11 towns in the industrial north‐west of England. Individual mathematical tasks called for ‘relational thinking’ rather than instrumental technique. No significant difference was found in the ability to abstract the nature of a pattern, to use this abstraction in the face of pattern disturbance or in the ability to generalise. The ability to employ hypotheses in the formulation of a number concept was significantly affected by age. It was only when overt verbal reasoning in English was required that length of exposure to host culture proved to be a significant factor. An interaction between length of stay and sex had a strong effect upon the quality of hypothesis orientated questioning in the English language. Asian girls who had completed a full British primary education showed marked superiority over their male counterparts at age 10/11 and marginal superiority at 12/13.
THE EDUCATIONAL UTILITY OF PIAGET: A REPLY TO SHAYER
Authors: DESFORGES C. , BROWN G.
Published: May 2011

Summary. Shayer's article argues for the utility of Piagetian stages. We contend that the case has not been made. It is argued that the pursuit of accuracy in identifying Piagetian stages may be counterproductive to the more important task of providing appropriate curriculum sequences.
THE CONSERVATION TASK AS AN INTERACTIONAL SETTING
Authors: LIGHT P. H. , BUCKINGHAM N. , ROBBINS A. H.
Published: May 2011

Summary. Two experiments are reported, the first being a partial replication of McGarrigle and Donaldson (1975). Sixty children, average age 5 years 6 months, were tested on conservation of length both in a standard condition where the transformation was clearly a deliberate act of the tester and in an ‘accidental’ condition, where the transformation was occasioned by an errant teddy bear. Overall frequency of conserving judgments was lower than that obtained by McGarrigle and Donaldson, but their findings of a higher success rate in the accidental condition was confirmed. The second experiment represents a different approach to the same issue. Eighty children, average age 6 years 0 months, were tested on conservation of discontinuous quantity in pairs. Half of the children were given a standard presentation, while for the other half the transformation was made to seem incidental to a competitive game. Conservation rates were 5 and 70 per cent respectively. The implications of these results for our understanding of the transition to operational thinking are discussed.
SCALING SMALL GROUPS AT THE O‐GRADE STAGE
Authors: WALKER D. A.
Published: May 2011

Summary. The Dunning Report, while advocating the use of scaled internal assessments in the award of certificates at the 16‐year‐old level in Scotland, has doubts on its practicability where the number of presentations from a school in a particular subject is small. The investigation reported in this article may dispel some of these doubts and also throw some light on the inferences that may, and may not, be drawn from the size of the correlation between internal and external assessments.
SOME FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO INTELLIGENCE AT AGE OF SCHOOL ENTRY
Authors: SILVA P. A. , BRADSHAW J.
Published: May 2011

Summary. This study reports the contribution of maternal general ability, some developmental milestones, early motor development, language development, and experiences to intelligence as measured at age five. The results confirm that there is a relatively low level of prediction of intelligence as the multiple correlation of all the independent variables is only 0–61. The implications of the low level of the variance of intelligence explained is discussed.
THE ITPA VISUAL SEQUENTIAL MEMORY TASK: AN ALTERNATIVE INTERPRETATION AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR GOOD AND POOR READERS
Authors: HICKS CAROLYN
Published: May 2011

Summary. Four experiments were carried out to examine the different recall strategies employed in a diagnostic test of visual sequential memory (VSM). Briefly the results were as follows: Experiment 1 indicated that competent readers tend to use a verbal labelling strategy in the recall of visual stimuli, rather than visual memory per se. Experiment 2 suggested that the retention of the visual stimuli could be improved by the adoption of a verbal labelling strategy. Experiment 3 suggested that when verbal labelling was suppressed the performance of competent readers on the VSM task deteriorated to a level similar to that of poor readers. Experiment 4 suggested that if retarded readers were instructed to use a verbal labelling strategy their retention of visual symbols improved significantly. Taken together, the principal implication from these results is that good and poor readers may differ not with respect to visual memory but their differential ability to employ a verbal labelling strategy in the retention of visual stimuli.
ADJUSTMENT FROM PRIMARY TO SECONDARY SCHOOL: A ONE YEAR FOLLOW‐UP
Authors: DOWLING J. R.
Published: May 2011

Summary. Four hundred and eighty‐two children aged 10 and 11 years who were in their final year in primary school were followed up a year later to determine the extent to which personality, behavioural and educational variables as measured by tests, questionnaires and ratings, related to their social, emotional and educational adjustment in the secondary school. In general, correlations between the primary school variables and criterion variables were low. Behaviour in the primary school showed the highest correlation with adjustment after transfer whilst personality measures were unrelated to the criteria. Multiple regression analyses showed that the predictive efficiency of the primary variables in combination was also poor.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LOCUS OF CONTROL AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT, ANXIETY, AND LEVEL OF ASPIRATION
Authors: BAR‐TAL D. , KFIR D. , BAR‐ZOHAR Y. , CHEN M.
Published: May 2011

Summary. While holding the influence of socio‐economic status constant, the relationship between locus of control and academic achievement, anxiety, and level of aspiration was examined among 2,438 ninth grade Israel‐Jewish students of Asian or African background and European, American, or Israeli backgrounds. It was observed that, in general, internals tend to attain greater academic achievement, to express less anxiety, and to have higher level of aspiration. The relationship between academic achievement, level of aspiration, and the perception of locus of control appears to be accentuated among students of Asian or African origin to a greater extent than among students of European, American, or Israeli origin.
VISUAL AND OCULAR CONTROL ANOMALIES IN RELATION TO READING DIFFICULTY*
Authors: BEDWELL C. H. , GRANT R. , McKEOWN J. R.
Published: May 2011

Summary. The visual behaviour under both static and dynamic viewing conditions was examined in a group of 13‐year‐old successful readers, compared with a group of the same age retarded in reading. Each group was video recorded reading aloud, without sound, a passage on the Neale Analysis that was well within their capacity to read. Criteria for selection and experimental controls are described. Each group was assessed for letter chart visual acuity, and examined on the full range of tests on a standard vision screener. The range of fusion that could be obtained before binocular vision broke down was assessed using polarised vectographs. Each pupil was asked whether vision tended to become double when reading. Dynamic visual behaviour, ocular control, and associated postural compensation and muscular stress while actually reading were investigated. The data obtained from these static and dynamic tests were then compared for the successful and retarded reading groups. It was found that the group retarded in reading indicated a significant relationship between anomalies of dynamic binocular viewing and their reading attainment. On the tests under static viewing only one significant difference—poor stereopsis—could be found between the two groups. Research supports the notion that problems of dynamic binocular vision and control while reading are important.
CHILDREN'S EXPECTATIONS AND REALISATIONS OF SCIENCE
Authors: HARVEY T. J. , EDWARDS PAULA
Published: May 2011

Summary. The evidence suggests that children in their first year of comprehensive school education in physics and biology did not display any increase in their interest in these subjects during the academic year. This is seen as particularly problematic for girls since they have, in any case, a low expectation in physics at the beginning of the year which was not affected by a year's experience in science.
PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT AND READING ATTAINMENT
Authors: HEWISON JENNY , TIZARD J.
Published: May 2011

Summary.— The relationship between a number of home background factors and reading ability was studied in three samples (samples of 63, 100 and 104) of working‐class children aged 7–8, using standardised tests given to the children and parental interviews. The home background factor which emerged as most strongly related to reading achievement was whether or not the mother regularly heard the child read (‘coached’). WISC IQ scores were obtained on one of the samples (N = 100), and it was established that IQ differences did not account for the superior reading performance of the coached children. Controlling for maternal language behaviour, as assessed using scales devised by Bernstein's colleagues, had little effect on the association between coaching and reading performance; controlling for coaching, however, markedly reduced the correlation between maternal language behaviour and reading performance. When the amount of coaching which the children had received was related to reading test score, a highly significant positive association was found. The lack of attention paid in the past to parental involvement in children's school work is commented upon in discussion of the implications of the findings.
PRINCIPAL COMPONENTS ANALYSIS OF THE REVISED BRISTOL SOCIAL ADJUSTMENT GUIDES
Authors: McDERMOTT P. A.
Published: May 2011

Summary. In clinical and research application, the various syndromes and syndrome combinations of the Bristol Social Adjustment Guides (BSAG) are used in the initial identification and subsequent classification of behavioural and social maladjustment in school children. It is important to test the validity of the assumptions that the overall BSAG scales, i.e., under‐ and over‐reaction, retain sufficient factorial integrity for use as general indicators of maladjustment and that the several contributing syndromes evidence a satisfactory degree of specificity to be considered as individual dimensions of maladaptive behaviour. Data for the standardisation sample of 2,527 randomly chosen children for the revised BSAG were submitted to principal components factor analysis with varimax rotation of significant factors. A two‐factor solution was found with the resulting factor structure clearly substantiating the validity of an under‐ vs. over‐reactive dichotomy of maladjusted behaviours. Moreover, significant syndromic specificity was established for the majority of syndromes, with conjoint and reciprocal variation being suggested in the case of two of the syndromes. The findings, in general, support the uses of the BSAG as advised by the developer in the test manual and associated research.
MODE OF STIMULUS PRESENTATION AND SHORT‐TERM MEMORY EFFICIENCY IN PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN
Authors: FONTANA D. , EVANS HILARY
Published: May 2011

Summary. A sample of primary school children was given a range of short‐term memory tests to determine whether recall was optimised by aural or by visual stimuli presentation. Results showed that for both sexes and for each age group aural presentation was consistently superior to visual. These results have important potential implications both for theories on the working of short‐term memory and for teaching techniques in the primary school.
THE HERITABILITY OF FLUID, gf, AND CRYSTALLISED, gc, INTELLIGENCE, ESTIMATED BY A LEAST SQUARES USE OF THE MAVA METHOD
Authors: CATTELL R. B.
Published: May 2011

Summary. The heritability of the two second order general intelligence factors gc and gf, was studied by the MAVA design, employing 470 brothers reared together, 94 identical twins reared together, 124 fraternal twins reared together, and 1,543 boys (fluid intelligence) and 2,579 (crystallised intelligence) unrelated. All were in the 12–18 age range.

The model and the empirical data on four constellations give seven simultaneous equations for predicting expected values of the concrete, empirical variances from seven abstract, unknown variances and correlations. The best fit was obtained, using a least squares solution by computer program, CAMALS, and evaluated by a Q statistic analogous to chi‐square. Two models offering reduced, parsimonious modifications of the full MAVA, were also tried but MAVA gave the highest index of good fit.

Substantial differences exist between the heritability of gf and gc, alike in the present and in earlier MAVA studies, using differing methods of solution. H for crystallised intelligence is highest for within family variance and the mean value stands at only 0–45 for the general population—lower still by the present method. Fluid intelligence, on the other hand, has the highest heritability between families, reaching a mean of 0·92. Its general population value is 0·58 closely approaching the 0·60 which has tended to be the lower end of the range by the twin method. (The reason for the usual higher twin method values is exposed by the finding of higher sib than twin within family threptic variance.) Some support is found for a negative genothreptic correlation between families, fitting the socio‐psychological law of environmental coercion toward the mean.
CHURCH AIDED SECONDARY SCHOOLS, RELIGIOUS EDUCATION AS AN EXAMINATION SUBJECT AND PUPIL ATTITUDE TOWARDS RELIGION
Authors: FRANCIS L. , CARTER MARIAN
Published: May 2011

Summary. Attitudes towards religion of 802 fifth‐year secondary pupils were studied in relationship to whether they attended a church voluntary aided or Local Education Authority school and whether they belonged to a CSE/GCE examination group in religious education. Comparisons were made between pupils in Local Education Authority schools taking RE as an examination subject, pupils in Local Education Authority schools not taking RE, pupils in Church of England voluntary aided schools taking RE, pupils of Church of England voluntary aided schools not taking RE and pupils in Roman Catholic voluntary aided schools taking RE. It was found that there was no difference in pupil attitude in the Church of England RE and non‐RE groups, the Roman Catholic group and the Local Education Authority non‐RE group. The Local Education Authority RE group scored significantly higher on the attitude scale. These findings provide no support for the notion that church voluntary aided secondary schools exert a positive influence on their pupils' attitudes towards religion.
A SIMPLE FORM OF TAILORED TESTING
Authors: NISBET J. , ADAMS MURIEL , ARTHUR JEAN
Published: May 2011

Summary. Short versions of Vernon's Arithmetic‐Mathematics Test for pupils in the first and second years of secondary school were identified from the difficulty indices of items calculated from a sample of 100 pupils. In an independent sample, scores on ten ‘best items’ showed correlations over +0·90 with scores on the full 65‐item test.
THE INFANT RATING SCALE
Authors: LINDSAY G. A.
Published: May 2011

Summary. A study of the Infant Rating Scale (IRS) was made to examine its usefulness as an instrument for the early identification of learning difficulties. 1,341 children, divided into three samples by terms of entry, were rated by their teachers after one term in school. The structure of the IRS, its reliability and predictive validity are examined. It is concluded that the IRS is a useful aid to the teacher of young children in the early identification of learning problems.
THE COMPARATIVE EFFECTS OF ADULT AND PEER GROUP INFLUENCE ON CHILDREN'S MORAL JUDGMENTS
Authors: SIEGAL M. , BOYES M. C.
Published: May 2011

Summary. This paper examines the comparative effects of adult and peer group influence on children's moral judgment development. Little support is found for Piaget's claim that with increasing peer group interaction the authority of the adult becomes less legitimate and influential to the child. The possibility is suggested that the adult exerts increasing influence with age on children's moral judgments, and that perhaps less emphasis should be placed on peer group centred moral education programmes and more stress put on the effectiveness of direct adult intervention.
THE KEYWORD METHOD AND CHILDREN'S VOCABULARY LEARNING IN THE CLASSROOM
Authors: MERRY R.
Published: May 2011

Summary. In an attempt to relate recent experimental findings of the effectiveness of the keyword technique in vocabulary learning more closely to actual classroom practice, an exploratory questionnaire suggested that many teachers probably do set vocabulary learning in spite of the objections to it from the currently popular audio‐visual courses. A pilot experiment showed that the keyword technique, adapted for a group setting, improved both the immediate and delayed recall of 11‐year‐olds, while textual analysis suggested that the method might be applied to a useful portion of the words which children actually have to learn. A second experiment suggested that poor and successful learners approach vocabulary learning rather differently when left to their own devices, and further experimental groups confirmed the value of the technique for children of various levels of ability.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF A CO‐OPERATIVE, COMPETITIVE, AND INDIVIDUALISED LEARNING PREFERENCE SCALE FOR STUDENTS
Authors: OWENS L. , STRATON R. G.
Published: May 2011

Summary. An important variable in the effectiveness of learning is the preference of the student for a mode of learning, i.e., co‐operative, competitive, or individualised. A Learning Preference Scale is therefore an asset, both to teachers as they try to suit the mode of classroom activity to student preferences, and to researchers as they investigate the dynamics of learning, especially aptitude‐treatment interaction. The Learning Preference Scale—Students (LPSS) was developed with a sample of 1,643 Sydney school‐children. Internal consistency, test‐retest stability, sub‐scale inter‐correlations, and factor analysis show that the LPSS has considerable promise as a valid and reliable instrument. Results show clear and significant differences between the preferences of boys and girls over the range of grades from Year 4 to Year 11.
THE ATTITUDES OF TEACHERS IN FURTHER EDUCATION
Authors: YOUNG G. M.
Published: May 2011

Summary. On the basis of earlier research in the primary and secondary sectors, three dimensions of educational attitude were hypothesised to exist among teachers in further education. Principal components analysis of the scores on a questionnaire of teachers and tutors in this sector uncovered three factors resembling the characteristics of the predicted constructs.
SYMPOSIUM: EXAMINATIONS O‐LEVEL GRADES AND TEACHERS' ESTIMATES AS PREDICTORS OF THE A‐LEVEL RESULTS OF UCCA APPLICANTS
Authors: MURPHY R. J. L.
Published: May 2011

Summary. The investigation reported in this paper studied the relationship between both GCE O‐level grades and teachers' estimates of A‐level grades, and the actual A‐level grades obtained, in individual subjects, by a sample of applicants for university places. Moderate levels of correlation were reported in both cases, although the teachers' estimates appeared to be slightly better predictors of the A‐level grades. There also appeared, in both cases, to be some important differences between the levels of correlation reported in individual subjects. In addition it was observed that the teachers, on average, tended to over‐predict the A‐level grades. It was noticeable that both the O‐level grades and the teachers' estimates of the A‐level grades were bunched together in a very narrow range at the top of the grading scale. The effect of this restriction amongst the predictor variables is discussed in terms of its influence on the levels of correlations reported. The application of certain corrections that are intended to compensate for this effect is also considered.
HOW VALID ARE SCHOOL EXAMINATIONS? AN EXPLORATION INTO CONTENT VALIDITY
Authors: HOSTE R.
Published: May 2011

Summary. It is generally accepted that quantification of content validity is not possible. In this paper, a proposal is made by which a content validity coefficient, Ccv can be calculated. An example of the use of the coefficient is given, demonstrating that different question combinations in a CSE biology examination in which a choice of questions was given gave different levels of content validity. The coefficient was used to demonstrate that deficiencies in validity in the examination are due more often to inadequate sampling of the educational objectives which the examination might be expected to test rather than to inadequate sampling of the subject matter.
EXPECTED TIME OF TEST AND THE ACQUISITION OF KNOWLEDGE
Authors: D'YDEWALLE G. , DEGRYSE MARLEEN , DE CORTE E.
Published: May 2011

Summary. Subjects from four classes (two classes in physics and two classes in Dutch literature) expected to receive either a delayed test (one or two weeks later) or a test immediately after their class. For all subjects, the test was given at the same time (immediate test). Male subjects expecting an immediate test performed better than male subjects expecting a delayed test. No clear findings were obtained with female subjects. While the data were inconclusive about a hypothesis derived from information processing studies, the absence of interaction effects with various personality measurements and the data from the post‐experimental questionnaire strongly suggested the inadequacy of the goal gradient hypothesis.
HIGHLY ANXIOUS PUPILS IN FORMAL AND INFORMAL PRIMARY CLASSROOMS; THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INFERRED COPING STRATEGIES AND: II—CLASSROOM BEHAVIOUR
Authors: WADE BARBARA E.
Published: May 2011

Summary. This study was carried out in conjunction with the Teaching Styles project (Bennett, 1976). A behaviour observation schedule was devised and utilised to investigate pupil classroom behaviour in relation to differing levels of anxiety and achievement motivation. The observation sample comprised 104 10‐ and 11‐year‐old pupils in formal and informal classrooms. Based on the premise that self‐report measures of anxiety and achievement motivation may be indicative of coping strategies, zonal analyses were carried out separately by sex and within teaching style. Results, which varied slightly according to teaching style, indicated that an inferred coping strategy of ‘approach’ (high anxiety, high motivation) was associated with a higher frequency of work activity whereas an inferred coping strategy of ‘avoidance’ (high anxiety, low motivation) was associated with a higher frequency of social interaction, negative behaviour, watching other pupils, gazing into space, fidgeting and moving around the classroom. These results were much less marked for girls than for boys. Information on the home backgrounds of high anxious, low motivated pupils suggested a higher incidence of home problems. The parents of high anxious, high motivated pupils were frequently described by teachers as ‘pushing’ or ‘over keen’. The educational implications of these findings, together with the previously reported findings relating the inferred coping strategies to cognitive attainment, are discussed.
SELF‐CONCEPT AND ATTITUDE TO SCHOOL
Authors: METCALFE BEVERLY M. ALBAN
Published: May 2011

Summary. The present research was concerned with three issues: (i) possible changes in children's self‐concepts as a result of their transferring from primary to secondary school; (ii) possible relationship between self‐concept and attitude to school; (iii) possible differences in the attitudes to school of children with high self‐concepts compared to those with low self‐concepts. No significant differences were detected in the mean self‐concept scores for the experimental group of boys and the experimental group of girls between first and second testings. However, when the children were divided into high or low self‐concept scorers, both boys and girls in the top quartile for self‐concept obtained significantly lower scores at second testing. Girls in the bottom quartile at first testing obtained significantly higher scores at second testing. Significant differences were found in the attitudes to school of children who held high positive self‐concepts compared to those who held low self‐concepts.
CAPACITY AND STRATEGIES OF EDUCATIONALLY SUBNORMAL BOYS ON SERIAL AND DISCRETE TASKS INVOLVING MOVEMENT SPEED
Authors: SUGDEN D. A. , GRAY SUSAN M.
Published: May 2011

Summary. Serial and discrete tasks were employed to investigate movement speed in ESN boys. Different movement difficulties were presented and Fitts' Law was confirmed, with a linear relationship between movement time and information load. Reaction time was unaffected by an increase in the difficulty of the required movement. Measures of capacity placed the ESN boys at least 5 years behind chronologically age matched normal boys. Performance was lower than that of normal boys yet strategies used on the serial task followed similar patterns.