Comparative expectations of teachers and parents with regard to memory skills in children with intellectual disabilities

Abstract

It is generally assumed that teachers and parents assist children to develop their memory skills in primary school years. However, little is known about their views of cognitive and metacognitive skills in children with intellectual disabilities (ID). The ways in which teachers and parents expected their children to use, or to know how to use, memory skills were examined in this study. A questionnaire on memory strategies, memory knowledge and memory behaviour was given to 31 teachers and 31 parents of students with intellectual disability in special schools in Brisbane. In this questionnaire teachers and parents were asked to make judgments about whether or not children would be likely to show these skills. The mean item scores were compared with a 2 x 2 x 3 (respondents x disability level x memory component) analysis of variance with repeated measures on the last factor. The only significant main effect was for memory components. Next, the item scores were analysed with three 2 x 2 x 6 or 7 (respondent x disability level x items) with repeated measures on the third factor. The only significant difference was between items within each of the three memory components (strategies, knowledge, behaviour). However, both teachers and parents hold rather low expectations for the memory skills of children with intellectual disability and these expectations were lower for memory behaviour and memory strategies than for memory knowledge.