Patterns of Task Persistence Among Handicapped and Nonhandicapped Preschoolers

To determine if handicapped and nonhandicapped children differ in their ability to persist on a task, and to determine if an interaction exists between sex and handicapped status on task persistence, 30 3- to 5-year-old handicapped and nonhandicapped preschool children were studied. As measures of task persistence, children engaged in two tasks, a motor task (a marble dropping activity) and a cognitively oriented task (a lego design copying activity). Task persistence was measured by the time (a 10-minute limit) the children engaged in a task, and by the number of pieces handled. Results showed that: (1) there were no statistically significant differences among handicapped and nonhandicapped children in the time spent on task for either the motor activity or the cognitively oriented activity; (2) with respect to rate of production, the nonhandicapped children averaged significantly more lego models per minute than the handicapped children; and (3) with respect to sex and task persistence, male children assembled significantly more lego models per minute than female children. Results are discussed with regard to the fact that there were only minimal differences between handicapped and nonhandicapped children in terms of task persistence. Suggestions for future research are also presented.

Name thesis:degree_name

Educat.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Education

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2014

Author dc:creator

• Myles, Gloria Parsee

• Education, Special

Identifier

(UMI)AAI8302938

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/68831