An Investigation of the Effects of Tutoring Preschool Handicapped Children Upon the Self-Concept and Academic Achievement of Fifth and Sixth Grade Elementary School Students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of tutoring preschool-age handicapped students upon the self-concept and academic achivement of upper elementary age students. Forty fifth/sixth grad students were randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. The twenty students in the treatment group served for sixteen weeks as tutors to sixteen preschool handicapped children two to five years of age. This treatment group was divided into two different subtreatment and control groups. This grouping made it possible to study the effect first, of praise upon the tutor's self-concept and/or academic performance and second, the effect of the tutor planning, teaching and evaluating his/her own teaching sessions. The study also examined the effect upon self-concept and academic progress of (1) the number of sessions taught, (2) the initial attitude of the tutor toward his tutee, (3) observable progress made by the tutee, and (4) initial low self-concept and/or low academic performance. The classroom teacher's estimate of the tutor's academic performance and self-concept was compared to the student's estimate of his/her self-concept and his/her academic performance. Gains made following pre and post administrations of The Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale and as reflected by grade point averages provided the basic data for the study. Data was analyzed using a two-tailed t test, Pearson Product Moment Correlations, and multiple linear regression. Results of the analysis indicated that (1) students in the treatment group maintained higher grades than students not involved in tutoring a preschool student, (2) grades of tutors who spent more time with their tutees dropped, (3) lower pre self-concept scores were associated with higher tutor self-concept gain scores, (4) the classroom teacher's prejudgement of the student's self-concept correlated significantly with the tutor's final self-concept score, and (5) a high correlation existed between the teacher's judgement of the tutor's self-concept and his/her judgement of the tutor 's academic ability. Noting the apparent strong influence of the classroom teacher upon a student's concept of himself, we should perhaps closely examine the strong initial correlation between the teacher's view of the child's self-concept and the level of academic performance within which she sees him functioning. Perhaps it would be more reasonable to consider providing students with several components to determine their academic performance. The most influential element with respect to both grades and self-concept appeared to be an attachment factor which occurred as a friendship developed between the tutor and tutee.