Visual abilities of children 9-11 years of age

Abstract

The quality of visual perception influences the process of learning and the formation of concepts and notions, especially in childhood, when most visual functions reach their developmental optimum. Undetected problems in visual functions are significantly more frequent in children at risk of difficulties in acquiring academic skills, which indicates the need for a detailed insight into the state of visual functions. The aim of this research was to determine the level of development and developmental departures in visual abilities of children 9-11 years of age. The sample included 540 typically developing children attending the 3rd and 4th grade of elementary school, of both genders (270/50% each), aged 9.0-11 (M = 9.61; SD = 0.51). The participants were equal with regard to gender and age (p = 0.197). In accordance with the main selection criterion, the sample included children of typical intellectual development (Raven's progressive matrices: M = 39.82; SD = 8.759). The following four subtests from the Acadia test of developmental abilities were used to assess visual abilities: Visuomotor coordination and sequencing, Visual discrimination, Shapes drawing, and Visual memory. The maximum raw score on each of the applied subtests was 20. Raw scores were converted into standardized according to age, with 50 being the average value of the standard score, and 10 being standard deviation. The subtests can be applied individually or in a group. They are not speed tests, and can be adapted to the rhythm of every child. Central tendency measures, variability measures, the linear correlation coefficient, χ² test, one-way (ANOVA) and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) were used in data processing. Average values of participants' achievements on the subtests assessing visual functions were relatively equal and in the expected range with regard to age. The biggest dispersion of the results was determined in visuo-constructive abilities (Shapes drawing subtest), and somewhat smaller in visuomotor coordination (Visuomotor coordination and sequencing subtest), which indicates the possible difficulties in more complex processes of intramodal and intermodal integration. Low and moderate (between the results of Visuomotor coordination and sequencing and Shapes drawing subtests) statistically significant correlations were determined between all applied subtests assessing visual functions, which additionally confirms the importance of visual and motor abilities integration. With regard to age norms, the participants' achievements were ranged in the following four categories: achievements that were lower than average by two or more SD, achievements lower than average by one SD, average achievements, and above-average achievements. The results lower than expected by one SD point to some elements of disorders, while departures for two or more SD indicate the existence of specific difficulties which can influence the process of learning. Departures from age norms for more than one SD were most frequent on Shapes drawing (21.6% of participants) and Visuomotor coordination and sequencing (18% of participants), while they were significantly smaller on Visual memory (18% of participants) and Visual discrimination (4.6% of participants). Analysis of variance determined the existence of statistically significant differences in achievements between girls and boys on Visuomotor coordination and sequencing and Visual discrimination subtests. The absence of gender-based differences on Shapes drawing and Visual memory subtests was in accordance with most previous findings. Even though there were more boys in the categories of scores departing from age norms for one or two SD, no statistically significant difference was determined between boys and girls on the applied subtests for assessing visual abilities. By summing up the results, we can conclude that departures from age norms in visual abilities appeared in 4.6-21.6% of the participants 9-11 years of age, and their frequency, character, and expression in the period when maturation of most assessed functions is expected, indicate the need for a timely evaluation of visuo-perceptive abilities and creating contents of corrective-pedagogical work based on a child's visual profile.

Neotkriveni problemi u domenu vizuelnih funkcija, koji mogu da budu važan činilac usvajanja akademskih veština, značajno su učestaliji u populaciji dece kod koje postoji rizik za pojavu teškoća u učenju. Cilj ovog rada je da se utvrde nivo razvoja i razvojna odstupanja u oblasti vizuelnih sposobnosti kod dece uzrasta od devet do jedanaest godina. Uzorak je činilo petsto četrdesetoro dece tipičnog intelektualnog razvoja, učenika III i IV razreda osnovne škole, oba pola (po 270, odnosno 50% devojčica i dečaka), uzrasta 9,0-10,8 godina (AS = 9,61; SD = 0,51). Za procenu vizuelnih sposobnosti primenjena je grupa od četiri suptesta koji pripadaju Akadija testu razvojnih sposobnosti: Vizuomotorička koordinacija i mogućnost sleda, Vizuelna diskriminacija, Crtanje oblika i Vizuelno pamćenje. U obradi dobijenih podataka korišćeni su koeficijent linearne korelacije, χ² test, jednosmerna (ANOVA) i multivarijatna analiza varijanse (MANOVA). Analizom rezultata utvrđeno je da se srednje vrednosti postignuća većine ispitanika na suptestovima za procenu vizuelnih sposobnosti kreću u okviru očekivanih prema uzrastu. Odstupanja od uzrasnih normi za više od jedne SD najzastupljenija su na suptestu Crtanje oblika (21,6% ispitanika) i Vizuomotorička koordinacija i mogućnost sleda (18% ispitanika), dok su na suptestovima Vizuelno pamćenje (18% ispitanika) i Vizuelna diskriminacija (4,6% ispitanika) uočljivo manja. Na polu zasnovane razlike utvrđene su na suptestovima Vizuomotorička koordinacija i mogućnost sleda (p = 0,026) i Vizuelna diskriminacija (p = 0,009), ali analizom odstupanja od uzrasnih normi nisu potvrđene.