Teacher ratings of academic achievement of children between 6 and 12 years old from intact and non-intact families

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Date
2010Author
Molepo, Lephodisa S.
Maunganidze, Levison
Mudhovozi, Pilot
Sodi, Tholene
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We investigated teacher ratings of the impact of parental divorce on academic achievement of
children between 6 and 12 years old up to 12 months after their parents divorced. A purposive
sample of 120 children attending four different primary schools in a small South African town took
part in the study. One third (n 40) of the children had experienced parental divorce (male 14,
female 26) while two thirds had not. Teachers rated participating children in their class on
academic performance on the Conners rating scale ranging from 0 to 3. In addition, teachers ob
tained the average term score of each of the participating children in key academic areas, which
were converted to the Conners scale for classification. Chi square tests were used to analyse the
data. Results showed that the academic performance of children from non intact families within the
age range of 6 9 was inferior to that of their counterparts from intact families suggesting that the
experience of parental divorcee had a negative impact on children’s academic achievement. It is
recommended that future research compare teacher ratings with children’s ratings on standardised
tests.