Personality source traits of intermediate elementary students selected as emotionally handicapped and their nonhandicapped peers
✍ Scribed by Dennis R. King; Walter J. Harris; Robert J. Drummond
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1980
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 354 KB
- Volume
- 17
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0033-3085
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Ninety-eight students in grades four through six in a rural Maine school were administered the Children's Personality Questionnaire (CPQ). Following a brief review of characteristics of emotionally handicapped children, the teachers of these students were asked to list the students in their classroom who they felt might be emotionally handicapped. Analysis of variance on the 14 CPQ factor scores between selected and nonselected groups indicate five significant differences: Factor A (Reserved vs. Warmhearted), C (Affected by Feelings vs. Emotionally Stable), G (Expedient vs. Conscientious), Q8 (Undisciplined Self-Conflict vs. Highly Controlled) and Q, (Relaxed vs. Tense). Implications of this study were for preservice and in-service teacher training and future research on comparisons of teacher, student, peer, and parent perceptions of emotional handicaps to learning.
Recent state and federal legislation has reinforced the need to detect learning and behavior handicaps in children that are potential impediments to academic and social development. The responsibility for this detection has generally been assigned to teachers because of their unique opportunity to observe many same-age children under similar conditions (Balow, 1966; Glavin & Quay, 1969; Morse, Finger, & Gilmae, 1968). Yet some doubt does exist about total reliance on teacher judgement (Bower, 1969; Lambert, 1967; Lambert & Bower, 1961). Particular concern has been expressed about the reliability and validity of many of the rating scales used by teachers to determine whether or not a potentially handicapping condition exists (Spivak & Swift, 1973). Clearly, then, the assignment to teachers of the responsibility of identifying learning and behavior handicaps in children remains a somewhat questionable practice.
This study sought to determine whether or not students selected by their teachers as emotionally handicapped differed from their nonselected peers on measures of personality source traits. If teacher judgement is a reliable indicator of emotional handicaps, then significant differences in personality source trait measures should be apparent between selected and nonselected groups. In a previous study of primary grade children, Harris, found that selected and nonselected groups differed on three factors of the Early School Personality Questionnaire (Coan & Cattell, 1966).
Children selected by their teachers as emotionally handicapped were guilt prone, apprehensive, insecure, and troubled (Factor 0); shy, timid, and threat-sensitive (Factor H); and more dull and concrete than bright (Factor B).
Since the identification of students with handicapping conditions continues to be dependent on subjective teacher judgements, additional study is warranted. The identification of factors that lead to such judgements, and an assessment of their validity, may contribute directly to preservice teacher training, screening and referral processes in public schools, and to the training of counselors, parents, and paraprofessionals who might participate invaluably in the screening, identification, and assessment process.