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.

This study involving 43 intermediate and secondary level students with learning disabilities investigated two major areas. First, the relationship between four facets of self-concept and academic locus of control were examined. Second, the influences special education placement variables have on self-concept and locus of control were investigated. Academic self-concept, general self-concept, math self-concept and verbal self-concept were measured by the Self Description Questionnaire III. Academic locus of control was measured by the Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Questionnaire; it also gives scores for internal locus of control for success and internal locus of control for failure. The special education placement variables were: age at first placement in a learning assistance centre (resource room); number of years spent in learning assistance centre; age at first placement in a self-contained special education class; number of years in a self-contained special education class; present placement (intermediate grade level or secondary grade level) and grades repeated. The data indicated that general self-concept and academic self-concept were not related. Math self-concept, verbal self-concept and academic self-concept tended to be negative and general self-concept tended to be positive. No statistically significant relationship was found between academic self-concept and internal academic locus of control. The sample tended to have negative academic self-concepts and internal academic locus of control. A positive relationship was found between general self-concept and internal academic locus of control. Internal locus of control for academic failure was positively correlated with internal locus of control for academic success. A positive relationship was found between mathematics self-concept and verbal self-concept, with the majority of students having negative self-concept in both areas. The age of first placement in a learning assistance centre and the number of years spent in the program did not influence either self-concept or locus of control. Age at first placement in a self-contained special education class did not relate to self-concept or locus of control. The number of years a child spent in a self-contained special education class was inversely related to internal academic locus of control. No differences in self-concept or locus of control were found between intermediate and secondary grade level students. An inverse relationship was found between grades repeated and internal academic locus of control. After failing only one grade, students still had an internal academic locus of control, but failing two or more usually indicated an external academic locus of control. Limitations of this study were the problems with definition of the term learning disabilities and classification for the purposes of programming. As a result of this study, it was concluded that further study of the influence special education programming has on the self-concept and locus of control of learning disabled students should be of a longitudinal or ethnographic nature. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

Bibliography: pages 287-309. / There is a need for time-efficient screening assessment, preliminary to diagnostic evaluation, in order to identify learning disability children attending schools in the Cape Flats area. This practical issue needs to be addressed despite the controversy that rages concerning the theoretical aspects of learning disability, its problematic measurement issues and the confusion of research findings in the field. Three main issues are implicated when addressing this problem: (i) the theoretical controversy pertaining to the concept of learning disability. (ii) the theoretical issues concerning measurement and test theory related to the screening and prediction of learning disability. (iii) the practical issue of the validity and accuracy of a rating scale (in this research the Pupil Rating Scale) in relation to a standardized test used as a control (in this research the Aptitude Test for School Beginners). A literature survey indicated that the controversy pertaining to the field of learning disability is largely attributable to the lack of precise definition of the concept which affects research methodology and the interpretation of results. Using a psychological-educational definition of learning disability and attempting to avoid the methodological shortcomings of previous research, the present study adopted a longitudinal predictive approach to screening pupils of the Cape Flats area. These pupils all attended schools for the population group, designated Coloured (mixed blood) in South Africa.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship among the various scales of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised. Of particular interest was the degree to which the Wechsler Verbal and Performance IQ's contributed to the prediction of the K-ABC Mental Processing Composite and the K-ABC Achievement score respectively.The subjects were 51 students, aged 8-0 to 12-0, who had been referred for psychoeducational assessment because of suspected learning disabilities. They were evaluated with both the K-ABC and the WISC-R as part of a standard battery.Descriptive statistics and univariate correlations were computed. Multiple regression procedures revealed that significant relationships existed between the composite of predictor variables, the Wechsler Verbal and Performance IQ's, and the criterion variables, the K-ABC Mental Processing Composite and the K-ABC Achievement score when each was considered separately.Stepwise multiple regression procedures indicated that the unique contribution of the Wechsler Verbal IQ to the prediction of the K-ABC Mental Processing Composite was statistically significant. A significant relationship was not found, however, between the Performance IQ and the K-ABC Achievement score when the Verbal IQ had been statistically controlled.

This study identified factors related to solving mathematical word problems and then examined the differences in characteristics between students with low achievement in mathematics who were likely to have a learning disability and students with low achievement in mathematics who were unlikely to have a learning disability. Factoral analysis identified two significant factors: abstract thinking and long term retrieval from memory. Results indicated qualitative differences between sixth grade students with achievement in mathematics at or below the 25th percentile with indications of learning disabilities (MLD) and students with achievement in mathematics at or below the 25th percentile without an indication of a learning disability (Low Math/NLD). The Learning Disabilities Diagnostic Inventory, which measures intrinsic processing disorders indicative of learning disabilities, was used to differentiate between students with MLD (n = 13) and students with Low Math/NLD (n = 16). The Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement, Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-Fourth Edition, and the Informal Mathematics Assessment (IFA) were used to compare the two groups. In contrast to students with MLD, students with Low Math/NLD had a higher mathematical performance and had more difficulties with math fluency. When solving mathematics word problems on the IFA, a test composed of word problems, student interview, and error analysis, students with Low Math/NLD had more correct answers, more computational errors, and fewer translation errors than students with MLD did. Students with MLD had conceptual difficulties in the areas of analyzing, reasoning, and abstract thinking.

One of the U.S. Army's requirements for reenlistment of first term soldiers is a minimum score on the General Technical composite of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery of one hundred. The score is a measure of academic ability. The primary goal of the Basic Skills Education Program is to assist the soldier in gaining basic skills, with a secondary goal of enabling him or her to retest at a sufficient level to become eligible for reenlistment. While most soldiers are able to meet this goal, a few are unable to achieve an acceptable score on the retest. It was hypothesized that some of these soldiers are learning disabled. The Army has not recognized learning disabilities or the need of the learning disabled for special teaching and testing methods. This study was designed to identify students enrolled in the Basic Skills Education Program who are learning disabled. Two instruments were involved: the Revised BETA II, which yields a measure of aptitude, and the Tests of Adult Basic Education, which produce achievement scores in the areas of reading, mathematics, language, and spelling. The instruments were correlated on 112 soldiers from the Training Brigade at Fort Bliss, Texas. They were then administered to 100 first term soldiers enrolled in the Basic Skills Education Program at Fort Bliss. Two formulae acceptable in the field of learning disabilities were applied to the results. The Frequency of Regression Prediction Discrepancy model identified nine soldiers as learning disabled in ten academic areas. The Standard Score Difference model, which does not account for regression, identified sixteen soldiers in twenty four areas. With evidence that learning disabled soldiers exist in the Basic Skills Education Program, recommendations were made that the U. S. Army recognize and address learning disabilities and incorporate appropriate testing and teaching methods to accommodate those soldiers.