The relationship of reading achievement and self-concept of educable retarded boys in three educational settings

Assuming that the academic needs of the exceptional child can be met in an educational setting, the question of whether or not his personal and emotional needs will be met remains unanswered. The self-concept of the handicapped child In an educational setting will, no doubt, be a contributing factor toward his academic success. The present study attempted to Investigate the effect that self-contained, regular, and Texas Plan A class placement might have on the self-concept and reading achievement of the educable mentally retarded child, Ainsworth (1959), Blatt (1958), and Goldstein, Jordan, and Koss (1965), found no significant differences In the reading achievement of retardates assigned to regular or special classes, Meyerowitz (1962) found that special class retardates, after one year, were more derogatory of themselves than the retardates who had remained in the regular grades. The specific research problem for the study had five parts; 1. Is there a relationship between reading achievement and self-concept in self-contained classes? 2. Is,there a relationship between reading achievement and self-concept in regular classes? 3. Is there a relationship between reading achievement and self-concept in Texas Plan A classes? Is there a difference in the average reading achievement of the groups within the sample population? 5. Is there a difference in the average self-concept of the groups within the sample population? A total of one hundred-ten educable mentally retarded subjects were randomly selected from a population of Ss who scored in the 50 to 70 range in I. Q. This population represents five elementary schools in Houston, Sample selection was made from a large geographical area of the district in order to provide a wider cross section of subjects. The subjects had been assigned to the identified setting for a period of at least three years for use in this study. The Otis Lennon Mental Abilities Test Form J was used to determine the intelligence classification range for subjects used in the sample. The Iowa Tests of Basic Skills was used as a measure of reading achievement. The Illinois Index of Self-Derogation (USD) was used to measure the self-concept of the sample. This instrument was selected because it is easily used with children who cannot read or do not read with competence. The pupil data were analyzed for differences in the average reading achievement and self-concept in the groups of the sample population with the Kruskal-Wallis one way analysis of variance design. The Pearson product-moment correlation was used to determine the relationship between reading achievement and self-concept within each group. Results of the data analyses showed that there is not a significant relationship between reading achievement and self-concept in self-contained classes; a significant relationship exists in regular classes; and no significant relationship exists in Texas Plan A classes. Research was completed on the different ethnic groups in the sample in order to determine the relationship between reading achievement and self-concept in each ethnic group. Results of the data analyses for ethnic groups showed that there is not a significant relationship between reading achievement and self-concept in the Negro group; and a significant relationship exists in the Spanish-surnamed and Other groups.