Socioeconomic inputs versus school inputs related to grade six written language achievement in a rural area of Newfoundland

• Main Author: Ralph, Joseph Stewart
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Memorial University of Newfoundland 1971
• Subjects: Newfoundland
• Online Access: https://research.library.mun.ca/7116/; https://research.library.mun.ca/7116/1/Ralph_JosephStewart.pdf; https://research.library.mun.ca/7116/3/Ralph_JosephStewart.pdf

The present study was designed to discover which of socioeconomic factors or school input factors were more closely associated with written language achievement on the part of Grade Six students in a rural Newfoundland area. Complete data was secured and used for 361 boys and 323 girls. -- Two measures of language achievement were selected. They were, the Canadian Tests of Basic Skills Language subtests and a paragraph writing test. Ten hypotheses were set up and tested. -- The first hypothesis predicted sex differences in language achievement and that girls would achieve more highly than boys. This proved to be an acceptable hypothesis. Subsequent hypotheses were tested for boys and girls separately as well as for both groups combined. -- The second hypothesis predicted that higher verbal intelligence would be associated with higher pupil language scores. This proved to be an acceptable hypothesis. Subsequent hypotheses were tested with the effects of intelligence controlled by the statistical technique of partialing. The acceptance of the first two hypotheses determined the format for testing and reporting the remainder. That is, the remaining hypotheses were tested for boys and girls separately and with intelligence statistically controlled. -- Hypothesis 3 predicted that fathers' occupations would be positively associated with pupils' language achievement, and Hypothesis 4 predicted that mothers' education would be positively associated with pupils' language achievement. Both proved to be acceptable hypotheses for both sexes on both language measures until intelligence was partialled out. Then the significance disappeared. -- Hypothesis 5 predicted that children from larger families would do less well on each of the language measures than children from smaller families. This proved to be true for the sub-group of girls and the whole group on the language skills measure, but not on the paragraph writing measure. With the effects of intelligence removed the significance disappeared. -- Hypothesis 6 predicted ...