Article Title: Effect of Academic Interventions on the Developmental Skills of Slow Learners
Author(s): Najma Iqbal Malik, Ghazala Rehman and Rubina Hanif
Institute(s): Department of Psychology, University of Sargodha, Sargodha; National Institute of Psychology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad
Journal: Pakistan Journal of Psychological Research, 2012, Vol. 27, No. 1, 135-151
Correspondence Address: Najma Iqbal Malik, Department of Psychology, University of Sargodha, Sargodha, Pakistan. E-mail: najmamalik@gmail.com
Abstract
The present study was a single-group pre-test and post-test design; it was conducted to see the effectiveness of academic interventions (Shaw, 2005) on developmental skills (adaptive, personal-social, communication, motor, and cognitive) of slow learners having borderline intelligence. Eight slow learners were identified through subjective ratings based on teacher’s appraisal and attained achievement scores in respective grades and scores attained on Raven’s Colored Progressive Matrices (CPM; Raven, Court, & Raven, 1977) during screening. Boys (n = 6) and girls (n = 2) of ages ranging from six years to six years and 11 months of age were purposefully selected from two private-sector schools of District and Tehsil Sargodha, Punjab, Pakistan. Developmental skills of slow learners were measured by Battelle Developmental Inventory (BDI-2; Newborg, 2004); assessment and screening was followed by academic intervention. Quantitative analyses revealed that academic interventions were highly effective in enhancing the developmental skills of slow learners’ adaptive, communication, and cognitive developmental skills. However, these interventions remained silent and failed to show any positive effect on personal social and motor skills.
Keywords: Slow learners, academic interventions, developmental skills
