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New insights into cognitive abilities of adjudicated youths

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Date Issued:
1995
Summary:
The purpose of this study was to investigate the justification of using Full Scale IQ scores as the principal means of determining whether adjudicated youths are as capable of engaging in higher-order thinking processes as youths in public schools. This study examined the performance of a group of adjudicated youths (N = 50) in a correctional training school and a comparative group in a public school district (N = 50) on 4 of 10 mandatory subtests which comprise the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-R, WISC-III). The criteria for the subjective selection of subtests to be examined focused on choosing those which measured cognitive abilities and were not heavily influenced by acquired academic skills and socioeconomic factors. For each of the selected subtests, an inferential statistical analysis was made at a.01 level of significance using independent sample two-tailed t tests to compare the difference between the means of subtest scaled scores for subjects from the correctional training school and the public school district. The results of this analysis indicated that there was no significant difference between the cognitive abilities of the youths in the correctional training school and a comparative group in a public school district as measured by the selected subtests. This study supports the conclusion that the use of a Full Scale IQ score from a standardized intelligence test may not accurately reflect the individual cognitive abilities of adjudicated youth to engage in higher-order thinking processes. Recommendations were made for correctional educators to identify approaches which could be used that better target the higher-order thinking skills of an adjudicated youth population.
Title: New insights into cognitive abilities of adjudicated youths.
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Name(s): Landrum, Fred Ray.
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Kerensky, Vasil M., Thesis advisor
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Issuance: monographic
Date Issued: 1995
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 94 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: The purpose of this study was to investigate the justification of using Full Scale IQ scores as the principal means of determining whether adjudicated youths are as capable of engaging in higher-order thinking processes as youths in public schools. This study examined the performance of a group of adjudicated youths (N = 50) in a correctional training school and a comparative group in a public school district (N = 50) on 4 of 10 mandatory subtests which comprise the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-R, WISC-III). The criteria for the subjective selection of subtests to be examined focused on choosing those which measured cognitive abilities and were not heavily influenced by acquired academic skills and socioeconomic factors. For each of the selected subtests, an inferential statistical analysis was made at a.01 level of significance using independent sample two-tailed t tests to compare the difference between the means of subtest scaled scores for subjects from the correctional training school and the public school district. The results of this analysis indicated that there was no significant difference between the cognitive abilities of the youths in the correctional training school and a comparative group in a public school district as measured by the selected subtests. This study supports the conclusion that the use of a Full Scale IQ score from a standardized intelligence test may not accurately reflect the individual cognitive abilities of adjudicated youth to engage in higher-order thinking processes. Recommendations were made for correctional educators to identify approaches which could be used that better target the higher-order thinking skills of an adjudicated youth population.
Identifier: 12431 (digitool), FADT12431 (IID), fau:9326 (fedora)
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Thesis (Ed.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1995.
College of Education
Subject(s): Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children
Juvenile delinquents--Education
Cognition in children
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12431
Sublocation: Digital Library
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.