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CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Chapter one provides the background to the present study. The need for a developmental assessment focus is argued followed by a discussion of the social context of South Africa, the problems faced when testing in a multi-cultural society, the Griffiths Scales, language development and the concept of intelligence. The research problem and aim of the study are presented. Finally an outline of the chapters is provided. DEVELOPMENTAL ASSESSMENT The term development is defined as "orderly and relatively enduring changes over time in physical and neurological structures, thought processes, and behaviour" (Mussen, Conger, Kagan & Huston, 1984, p.4). One goal of studying development is to understand changes that appear to be universal. Another is to explain individual differences among children, a third is to understand how a child's behaviour is influenced by the context or situation in which they live (Mussen, et al., 1984), and a fourth is the early identification of possible developmental delays. Perhaps the most distinguishing features of psychological approaches to the study of human development, are the assumptions of underlying continuities between behaviours at different points in the life span, and the attempt to understand how interactions between the individual and the environment at one point in time, make possible more elaborate interactions at some later point in time. A simple example concerns the question of continuities between early motor abilities, such a crawling and reaching, and later more sophisticated abilities, such as walking and pointing (Oskaar, 1983). Generally, developmentalists take the view that it should be possible to examine the ways in which infants and young children interact with the physical world and with other people, and to determine how they develop and change as a result. The behaviour of very young children is often highly complex, as for example in the case of language (Gesell & Ilg, 1946; Bloom, 1978). Needless to say, when developmental psychologists are studying language, the environment includes not only the physical environment provided by objects and materials, but also the social environment provided by other people (Bloom, 1978). 1
Holt (1979) has comprehensively summarized the necessity of assessment in childhood as follows: "Any child who is suspected of having congenital defect or deformity, a medical disorder, an impediment to educational progress or social activities or any deficiency of opportunities, is a potentially handicapped child and should be assessed" (p.151). Holt (1979) further adds that: Handicap is not a medical, educational or social problem to be treated, trained or counselled, but it is a burden which is impending a child's development. Our task is to ease this burden and so promote the development of the person. Comprehensive assessment is the cornerstone of this work (p.161). Hence, the need for developmental assessment of infants and young children is crucial in the early identification of any possible handicaps. Information gained from assessments, serves not only as a tool for the correct diagnosis of the handicap, but also assists in the construction of appropriate intervention programmes (Alridge-Smith, Bidder, Gardner & Gray, 1980; Griffiths, 1984). The early identification of children who have special needs, is widely recognised as being of primary importance in assisting them to realise their potential. The Griffiths Scales of Mental Development (Griffiths Scales) play a pivotal role in this process (Luiz, 1994). Developmental problems, which are first evident in infancy or early childhood, interfere with the future development of the child and may cause a life time of lowered untapped potential. Assessing a child incorrectly, because of an unreliable and/or invalid instrument ,due to for example cultural bias, is just as dangerous, if not more dangerous, than not assessing a child at all. Furthermore, utilizing items which are non- contemporaneous can also have far reaching negative outcomes for the individual being assessed. In this connection there is a strong awareness of the need for a reliable, valid and contemporary assessment instrument for pre-school children. This is especially true when one looks at the social situation of the children of South Africa (Allan, 1992; Bhamjee, 1991; Stewart, 1997). 2
Page 1 and 2: A REVISION OF A SECTION OF THE HEAR
Page 3 and 4: TABLE OF CONTENTS ii Page ACKNOWLED
Page 5 and 6: CHAPTER FOUR METHODOLOGY Problem fo
Page 7 and 8: LIST OF FIGURES vi Page Figure 1 Po
Page 9 and 10: Table 24 The responses given to the
Page 11 and 12: The major findings of the present s
Page 13: Die hoof bevindinge van die huidige
Page 17 and 18: Figure 1 Population of South Africa
Page 19 and 20: of disabled people increases slowly
Page 21 and 22: second language or culture. Hamblet
Page 23 and 24: ange from birth to three years of a
Page 25 and 26: Africa cannot be separated from the
Page 27 and 28: 14 Hence, this study was aimed at p
Page 29 and 30: highly verbal in nature which is li
Page 31 and 32: perceptual-performance, quantitativ
Page 33 and 34: acquisition of this complex ability
Page 35 and 36: assessment of young children in Sou
Page 37 and 38: Table 1 Griffiths (1960) scoring cr
Page 39 and 40: that the two scales produced signif
Page 41 and 42: 28 (GQ) and in their performance on
Page 43 and 44: 30 British counterparts with respec
Page 45 and 46: 32 concluded that the Griffiths Sca
Page 47 and 48: 34 languages are usually successful
Page 49 and 50: individual been assessed. Hence, wh
Page 51 and 52: Wilhelm Wundt, the founder of exper
Page 53 and 54: ecome evident. Questions include th
Page 55 and 56: Plays language games (pat-a-cake, p
Page 57 and 58: 36-54 months. Grammar developmental
Page 59 and 60: understands, and, if the child appe
Page 61 and 62: 48 the child's performance on each
Page 63 and 64: 50 manipulate simple toys according
Page 65 and 66:
children's verbal responses. The re
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CHAPTER FOUR METHODOLOGY PROBLEM FO
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Bailey (1987) lists several advanta
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espondents, many mailed questionnai
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he studied the 2 Griffiths manuals
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62 written responses of the complet
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Stage 5 The most frequently suggest
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66 The subjects in the present stud
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Table 6 Demographic data for Sample
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In the present study, parents were
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Stage 6 Stage 7 For the large revis
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number of stimuli from the revised
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Table 10 The responses given to the
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80 Table 13 indicates the responses
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Table 15 Frequency and percentages
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highest and lowest mean numbers of
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88 Table 21 indicates the frequency
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65 months elicited the highest mean
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Table 26 Means and Standard deviati
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impacted on the spread of obtained
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CHAPTER SIX CRITICAL EVALUATION AND
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proposed criteria. Regarding Griffi
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include: LIMITATIONS The limitation
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e included into the Hearing and Spe
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BIBLIOGRAPHY Aldridge-Smith, J., Bi
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110 Development Bank of South Afric
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112 Scale scores of 3-5 year old bo
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University Press. Lister, C. (1981)
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Kegan Paul. Kegan Paul. Kegan Paul.
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Minnesota Press. Thomas, H. (1970).
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APPENDIX A Letters and questionnair
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Questionnaire attached to above let
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APPENDIX C Letter to parents for th
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Biographical questionnaire for pare
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APPENDIX E Riordan (1978). The valu
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