Institutions offering graduate training in school psychology: 1973–1974

Based on a detailed questionnaire sent to 180 institutions of higher education believed to offer training in school psychology during 1973–74, a list was compiled of all responding programs in the United States and Canada. Information is presented by state for programs in the following format: (a) name and address of institution, (b) responsible administrative unit, (c) degree(s) conferred, (d) type and quantity of financial assistance available, Fall, 1973, (e) program emphases.     

Ethical implications in the allocation of scarce medical resources in Poland

The health care system in Poland is undergoing major change and it is possible that these changes could affect clinical research. Therefore, the situation of funding of health care is important for the future of medical research in this country. Some questions relevant in this field will be addressed. Since funds for health care and scientific research remain inadequate, their allocation raises moral, economic, legal and organisational dilemmas. The clinical aspects of resource allocation also include physicians’ responsibilities towards their patients. Scientific research, clinical medicine, and clinical research have a common denominator: they rely on trust. The physician should be a fiduciary of the patient as well as being a researcher for the benefit of the patient and for society. Some physicians and researchers, despite unethical conduct, escape disclosure and punishment, but decision-makers who wrongly allocate funds for health care and research are never held accountable for their actions. An earlier version of this paper was presented at a symposium, Scientific Misconduct: An International Perspective, organised by The Medical University of Warsaw, 16 November, 1998.     

Comparative differences in the self-perceptions of disadvantaged and advantaged students

Previous research had indicated positive and significantly higher self-perceptions for disadvantaged children in comparison to advantaged children in grades four through eight. The intention of this research was to determine whether disadvantaged children maintain their more positive self-images when they enter the more integrated environment with advantaged children. It was discovered that both disadvantaged and advantaged high school students had significantly lower self-perception scores than did the elementary school pupils. The importance of the study is in the continued non-support of the hypothesis that disadvantaged children of all ages have negative self concepts—whether in segregated or integrated situations. However, the study further shows that high school students' self-images are not as high as those of younger children—whether they are disadvantaged or advantaged.     

Variations in the intelligence test performance of referred boys of differing racial and socioeconomic backgrounds as a function of feedback or monetary reinforcement

One hundred fifty-six elementary school males referred to school psychologists were characterized as lower-class whites, lower-class Negroes, or middle-class whites. Each of these groups was tested with the verbal scale of the WISC under either standardized conditions, feedback concerning correct answers, or contingent monetary reinforcement for correct answers. Middle-class whites and lower-class Negroes did not differ across treatments. However, lower-class whites tested under feedback or monetary conditions performed significantly better than lower-class whites tested under standardized conditions. Implications for testing procedures or the interpretation of test scores were evident.     

Use of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test with the educationally handicapped

Despite widespread use of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) as a measure of intelligence for educationally handicapped students, few studies have related PPVT scores of such students to their scores on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC). Using 100 public school students consecutively referred for learning difficulties, their mean PPVT IQ (97.75) was found to be consistently and significantly higher than WISC Full Scale IQ (89.65), Verbal IQ (88.68), and Performance IQ (92.73). Correlations between the PPVT IQ and the WISC Full Scale, Verbal, and Performance IQs were .70, .69, and .54, respectively. A tabular summary of previous studies comparing PPVT and WISC IQs is included.     

Video tape recording: A provocative tool for the school psychologist

The video-tape recorder (VTR) is one of the newest and most versatile instruments available for collection of assessment and research data. It has been used by a psychological consultant to the schools (a) to collect observational data in order to complete referral information and formal test data, (b) to facilitate multiple consultation, and (c) to provide models for test administration for teachers or paraprofessionals. Innovative and imaginative use of the VTR is encouraged.     

Assumptions underlying psychological testing

Tests purporting to reflect the learning aptitudes of school children differ much more than generally is recognized. However, error in assesing such learning aptitude inheres much more in the users of the tests than in the tests themselves. Assumptions fundamental to such assessment, or even testing, are considered. It is particularly important that the assessor, or tester, constantly be sensitive to the nature of the relationship between the psychological demands of test items or tests and the learning demands confronting the child. Even tests that generally are grossly or crudely used often can yield psychoeducationally meaninful information if their results are differentially perceived in terms of the light they throw on the psychological operations fundamental to learning, “process,” as contrasted with that thrown on the results of the functioning of such operations, “product.”