Profile of the first grade child in Jefferson Elementary School in Muncie, Indiana

During the 1969-70 school year, the writer was a teacher in the public school system of Muncie, Indiana. She had in her classroom eighteen pupils who were at first glance completely atypical of the school children she had previously known. These eleven girls and seven boys were Caucasians of predominately lower class backgrounds. Their academic performance started off at a low level, and it soon became apparent to the teacher that she could not look forward to the "normal" school year. And so she conceived the idea of collecting information about her pupils which might enable her to serve them better, or, if that failed, to be more tolerant of their peculiarities.Understanding a child involves understanding his background and experiences. Hence, the problem which took shape was two-fold: a) What abilities and attitudes do these pupils show?b) What kinds of experiences have shaped these abilities and attitudes?In order to answer these questions, it was deemed advisable to establish a profile of the first grade pupil. The profile was to include home background, intellectual capacity and academic achievement, social attitudes, and self-concept.Thesis (M.A.E.