Comprehension of Proverbs by Average Children and Children with Learning Disorders

Abstract

Learning disabled and average learners in grades 2, 4, and 6 were asked to tell the meanings of 12 proverbs. Responses were evaluated for correctness, metaphoric quality, articulation, and awareness of task demand. Results indicated a moderately significant difference in metaphoric correctness of response between the two ability groups only at the 6th grade. Subsequently, quality of responses was analyzed using scoring dimensions derived from Piagetian theory. Those analyses revealed developmental lags in the learning disabled group, one which seemed to disappear by the 6th grade, and one which did not, and which may involve factors necessary but not sufficient for proverbial comprehension. Educational implications and directions for future research are suggested in the light of current metacognitive and brain lateralization approaches to the education of learning disabled children.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bass, B. (1957). Validity studies of a proverbs personality test. Journal of Applied Psychology, 41, 158–160.

Billow, R. (1975). A cognitive developmental study of metaphor comprehension. Developmental Psychology, 11(4), 415–423.

Billow, R. (1977). Metaphor: A review of the psychological literature. Psychological Bulletin, 84(1), 81–92.

Demerest, A. , Silberstein, L. , Gardner, H. , & Winner, E. (1983). Telling it as it isn't: Children's understanding of figurative language. British Journal of Developmental Psychology 1, 121–134.

Elmore, G. , & Gorham, D. (1957). Measuring the impairment of the abstracting function with the proverbs test. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 13, 263–266.

Fisher, L. , White, J.M. , & Fisher, H. (1984). Teaching figurative language. Academic Therapy, 19, 403–407.

Fox, E. , Telzrow, C. , Kabler, M. , & Sanders, K. (1983). Ohio guidelines for the identification of children with specific learning disabilities. Columbus: State of Ohio Department of Education.

Gardner, H. (1974). Metaphors and modalities: How children project polar adjectives onto diverse domains. Child Development, 45, 84–91.

Gorham, D. (1956). A proverbs test for clinical and experimental use. Psychological Reports, 2, 1–12. (Monograph).

10.

Hallahan, D.P. , Kauffman, J.M. , & Lloyd, J.W. (1985). Introduction to learning disabilities. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

11.

Honeck, R. , Sowry, B. , & Voegtle, K. (1978). Proverbial understanding in a pictorial context. Child Development, 49, 327–331.

12.

Piaget, J. 1955. The language and thought of the child. New York: World. (Original work published 1926)

13.

Piaget, J. 1959. Judgment and reasoning in the child. Patterson, NJ: Littlefield, Adams & Co. (Original work publsihed 1928)

14.

Rabin, A. , & Broida, D. (1948). Projection via proverbs: Follow-up of a suggestion. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 12, 246–250.

15.

Resnick, D. (1982). A developmental study of proverb comprehension. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 11(5), 521–538.

16.

Richardson, C. , & Church, J. (1959). A developmental analysis of proverb interpretations. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 94, 169–179.

17.

Sanders, D.A. , & Sanders, J.A. (1984). Teaching creativity through metaphor. New York: Longman.

18.

Smith, C. (1983). Learning disabilities: The interaction of learner, task and setting. Boston: Little, Brown.

19.

Thorndike, R. , & Hagen, E. (1978). Cognitive abilities test. Chicago: Riverside.

20.

Torgesen, J. , & Kail, R.V (1980). Memory processes in exceptional children. Advances in Special Education, 1, 55–99.

21.

Wechsler, D. (1974). Wechsler intelligence scale for children-Revised. New York: Psychological Corp.