Biomedical subjects

B G Klicpera

Publications and source records attributed to B G Klicpera.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

[Does intelligence make a difference? Spelling and phonological readiness in specific and nonspecific reading/spelling disabilities].

OBJECTIVES: In an investigation involving, 1800 second-to-fourth graders, the children were divided into three groups according to their reading and spelling achievement and the results of a nonverbal intelligence test: children with average achievement in oral reading and spelling, and those with poor achievements in both which were either discrepant or non-discrepant to their good-to-average scores on the intelligence test. METHODS: Results for all three groups on a number of spelling tests were compiled to assess two component spelling skills: phonological recoding and application of orthographical knowledge. RESULTS: Children with either specific or nonspecific reading and spelling disabilities performed at the same level of phonological recoding, while both groups were worse than younger children of average ability at the same spelling level. Children with IQ-discrepant reading and spelling disabilities hat, on the other hand, a certain advantage over children with the same number of difficulties in spelling but a lower IQ on tasks requiring a knowledge of orthography. Though particularly evident in the lower grades, this advantage declined with advancing grade level. Additional comparison of the three groups in tests of phonological awareness and other phonological skills revealed a similar pattern of great differences between the two groups of poor readers and spellers and the average children, but slight non-significant differences between children with IQ-discrepant and non-discrepant reading and spelling disabilities.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2001

[Victimization by peers as a developmental risk factor].

The phenomenon of victimization in the peer group has received considerable attention in recent years. This review examines the current state of research in this area. About 10% of all students are affected by peer victimization and are repeatedly verbally or physically attacked by one or more of their fellow students. The causes are to be sought in the social context as well as in individual deficits in social skills, but also in the social-cognitive attributional patterns of the children. The parent-child relationship is another important risk factor. The stability of victimization is relatively high. Its short-term consequences consist of a negative mood and low self-esteem. In the long-term children feel lonely, helpless and sad. Recent research underscores a connection between victimization and the development of depressive disorders. Protective factors are composure in conflict situations, and especially the availability of at least one good friend. Therapeutic interventions are to be considered at the individual level as well as at the level of the classroom unit. Training in certain areas of social competence would be helpful for the children, but consultation for their parents and teachers is important in order to interrupt certain group dynamic processes in the classroom. Future research should address the topic of peer victimization in clinical samples.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

[Perception of the problems of poor readers and spellers by parents; Pygmalion in the living room?].

The reading and spelling development of 1800 children from grade 2 to 4 in Vienna and Lower Austria was investigated longitudinally over a school year. Teacher and parent judgements of the reading and spelling achievement was compared with test results. The parents were also interviewed by questionnaire about the home work situation, the reading behavior of the children and the possibilities to help the children outside school. A moderate concordance was found between parent and teacher judgements of the achievement levels and the results of readings and spelling tests. According to a structural equation model the judgement of the parents was only influenced by the judgements of the teachers and not by the achievement levels indicated in the test results. The comparison of children with different achievement levels, where the parents either assumed that the children had reading and spell-ing difficulties or not, showed that children with difficulties in the eyes of the parents had motivation problems in the homework situation and with reading. Despite the increased practice with the parents and the higher frequency of professional help for these children their progress in reading and spelling during the school year was less than that of other children. This reminds us to be careful in counseling parents of children with reading and spelling difficulties. It emphasizes the danger, that some parents exert to much pressure when they become aware of the reading and spelling difficulties of their children. A detailed analysis of the handling of academic achievement problems in the family seems indicated and this should also be stressed in the further education of teachers.

Austria↗

PubMed2000

[Therapy motivation of students: the desire for pedagogic-therapeutic help].

As part of an investigation of Austrian school counseling services 9-to-14-years-old students of 25 classes in primary and secondary schools answered a questionnaire regarding their classroom situation which included questions about the wish for pedagogical-therapeutic help by a counseling teacher. Through a pupil nomination inventory an independent evaluation of the student behavior was achieved. The results revealed that about a fourth of all pupils had the wish for a possibility to talk over their concerns and a sixth had the wish for support in their relationships with their fellow students. A detailed analysis of the characteristics of students with a wish for support revealed that loneliness and depression as well as victimization by other students were important motives for the wish for support. Aggressive behavior was not a reason for wishing support in the relationship with other students. Consequences for the organization of counseling services in schools are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1996

[The status of aggressive children and victims of aggression in school].

In a representative sample of 1594 pupils of the eight grade in Vienna and lower Austria the experiences of conflicts among pupils and the other school experiences were explored. Based on the reports of their own involvement in aggressive acts 4 groups of pupils were formed--a group which was themself aggressive against other pupils in their class but was no target of aggression (bullies); a group which was frequently a target of aggression; a group which was both--aggressive and target of aggression and finally an uninvolved group. It was shown that aggressive children had a high self-reported readiness to solve conflicts through physical power and that they were often involved in other dissocial acts in school. A major part of these pupils had a rather negative image of their school and of the teachers. The self-concept and the perception of their own role in class depended very much on their being a target of aggression or not. Parallels between these two subgroups and the distinction between socialized and undersocialized aggression are highlighted. In addition the special situation of those pupils who are a target of aggression without being aggressive is considered.

Aggression↗