M.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / In every classroom there are probably pupils with learning problems. If these children can be identified before they fail and appropriate assistance can be provided at that stage, learning failure can be prevented or curbed. This study was undertaken against the background of growing dissatisfaction with the current systems of remedial provision to a relatively limited number of pupils after learning problems have manifested and the prognostic outcome seems accordingly bleak, A study of the literature was undertaken to gain a perspective on the nature and extent of the current practices of identification, evaluation and remedial assistance as well as the sensibility of the implementation of a more preventive child guidance practice. Although prevention is the obvious answer in the fight against learning problems, a study of the relevant literature revealed that the accent within the field still lies on remediation after the manifestation of learning problems and scholastic underachievement - and not prevention. Intensive and time-consuming evaluation, diagnosis and subsequent categorization (according to certain definitions of so-called "remedial pupils"), deprive many pupils with learning problems of assistance. This is still to a great extent the reigning policy of the education departments in Southern Africa. Less than 5% of all pupils receive remedial help outside the regular classroom in addition to the work done in class. In the literature important changes are predicted in the remedial approach to learning problems. A pragmatic swing can be expected as more and more . experts in Southern Africa and abroad voice the opinion that it seems sensible to determine in general what a pupil can and cannot do, and then to try and stimulate what he cannot do by means of a specifically devised program. After a study of the literature to determine the sensibility of a more preventive approach to learning problems on a wider basis, a short test battery and a support program were compiled.

Ph.D. (Education) / The purpose of the study was to develop the educational strategies for the management of a culture of aggression in a Grade 10 class constructively in a secondary school in the Sedibeng District of the Gauteng Department of Education. A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual research design was used to explore and describe a culture of aggression in a Grade 10 class in the secondary school in the Sedibeng District of the Gauteng Department of Education. In order to achieve the study objectives and coherence, this study was organised into three phases. Phase one focused on the first objective namely: to explore and describe a culture of aggression in a Grade 10 class in the secondary school in the Sedibeng District in the Gauteng Department of Education. Phase two focused on the development of a conceptual framework. Phase three focused on the second objective namely: to develop the strategies for the management of a culture of aggression in a Grade 10 class in the Sedibeng District of the Gauteng Department of Education. In the first phase an ethnographic approach was followed. Purposive sampling was utilized to select participants who met the inclusion criteria. Data were collected using group and individual interviews. Tesch’s method of qualitative data analysis was utilized to identify themes. From the findings of the study the researcher and the independent coder identified the following patterns from the individual and group interviews with participants.

The large number of learning disabled children and dearth of appropriate professional resources in most communities have resulted in attempts, by concerned individuals and organizations, to develop community-centred summer programs for these children. This study presents a model for summer programs for learning disabled children that is based on the results of a pilot project designed for such a population. The pilot project provided a two month program for 120 children between the ages of 5 and 11 years. Each child was assigned to one of six groups designed to develop basic skills in the areas of audition, vision, language, attention, gross motor coordination or fine motor coordination. Group assignment was determined by the nature of each child's major disability. The project was designed and supervised by a professional consultant and two graduate students in the field of learning disabilities. Fifteen teenagers were trained to work directly with the children. The model is designed to accommodate 120 learning disabled children between the ages of 5 years 0 months and 8 years 6 months. One aim of the model summer program is to develop deficit basic skills by providing the children with success oriented, sequentially ordered experiences in all areas of sports, gymnastics, music, drama, and arts and crafts. A second aim is to include the children's parents as participant program observers in order to increase their understanding of learning disabilities and to acquaint them with methods of assisting their children at home. This suggested program makes use of the same type of personnel as did the pilot project. The model is designed to meet community-felt needs using the resources available in reality. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

Fundamental assumptions concerning the cognitive characteristics of gifted students in special education were presented. Prerequisites for operationalising them were extrapolated. The importance of clear parallels between identification and programming in gifted education, and of the role of informal and formal indicators was discussed. Guilford's Structure of Intellect model (1967) was examined in relation to the identification of cognitive ability. Achievement, measured by the Canadian Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS), and aptitude, as measured by the Structure of Intellect (SOI) Learning Abilities Test, identified differences between students who had been nominated to participate in an enrichment program. There were some who were also identified by the resource teachers as being gifted. Subjects were 100 students from grades three, five and, eight previously nominated for the program. Sixty were selected to participate in the program, and nineteen were identified as being gifted. The groups were age and gender balanced. The students were given the CTBS as part of the district's annual testing program. The SOI was given at the start of the enrichment program, at the end of the twelve-week program and at the end of the academic year. Analysis of variance and multiple regression analyses suggested significant relationships existed between various dimensions of achievement and aptitude, and that the treatment group differed significantly from the control group in aptitude. The gifted differed from the non-gifted in achievement (CTBS). Transformational ability on the SOI distinguished giftedness which supported Guilford's hypothesis of gifted ability. Teacher ratings of the objectives of the enrichment program were not predicted by either aptitude or achievement scores. Repeated measures ANOVA indicated that lower-level abilities were enhanced the most in the treatment group. Age contributed significantly to aptitude dimensions indicating non-school, or developmental factors were intertwined in the relationships. Findings were discussed and implications for subsequent research with the SOI in examining cognitive style in learning, and for both instruments use in special education identification programs were drawn. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

This study sought to investigate the relationship between hyperactive behavior and children's perceptions of teachers. Particular attention was paid to two aspects of teacher behavior — acceptance and demand. An extensive literature review supported the position of viewing hyperactive behavior from an interactional perspective. In this study the context was the teacher-child interaction within the classroom as viewed by the child. The literature also indicated that children's behavior is affected by their perceptions of adult behavior. This study sought to examine this view in greater detail. The sample consisted of 4 7 grade four boys and 45 grade five boys from eight regular classrooms in two schools, located in a major urban center in the interior of British Columbia. Children's perceptions of acceptance and demand of their teacher's behavior were measured by administering a partial form of the Teacher Behavior Questionnaire to classroom groups. Observed levels of hyperactive behavior were measured by having subjects' teachers complete the Conner's Abbreviated Questionnaire for each boy. Using correlational analyses, hyperactive behavior was found to be significantly related to both variables in the directions of less perceived acceptance and greater perceived demand. Hyperactive behavior ratings allowed for a retrospectively identified teacher-rated hyperactive group and a teacher- rated non-hyperactive group. On group comparison measures, hyperactive boys perceived significantly less acceptance and greater demand than their non-hyperactive peers. In conclusion, hyperactive children perceive teacher behavior as less accepting and more demanding than their non-hyperactive peers. The variable of perceived acceptance appears more critical to pdsitive teacher-child interaction than the demand variable. Individual teacher differences and cultural factors also appeared operative. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

This study investigated the effects of a precision teaching package on response rates of children with autism. Prior to both experiments a preference assessment was conducted to identify high preference activities for each participant. Experiment 1 investigated whether response rates would shift as a function of rate-contingent consequences during an academic task. Different activities were associated with different rates of responding. The experimental package of 1 minute timings, rate contingent consequences, and charting was successful in increasing the rates of responding when the most highly preferred activity was associated with high rates of responding. When the contingencies were switched and the most highly preferred activity was contingent on lower rates of responding, the participant's responding did not decrease. Experiment 2 was an attempt to replicate the results of Experiment 1 using a multiple baseline across tasks. The experimental package was not successful in increasing the rate of responding.

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