Relationship of Bender Gestalt Developmental Scores and Human Drawing Developmental Scores in a Sample of Turkish Preschool Children

Abstract

The Bender Gestalt test and Human Drawings are frequently utilized tests in assessing school readiness in children. This study was a pilot attempt to evaluate these two tests in a Turkish sample as they relate to first grade behaviour as measured by teacher ratings. One hundred and five children were evaluated at the end of kindergarten using the Bender Gestalt test and Draw A Person Test. The Koppitz (1968, 1975) system was utilized in the scoring of both tests. The children were followed-up and teacher ratings on three academic dimensions and three behavioural dimensions were obtained at the end of the first grade. Significant correlations were obtained between the Bender Gestalt and Human Drawings of the children and teacher ratings of academic achievement and behavioural adaptation at the end of first grade. It appears that the Bender Gestalt test performance at the end of kindergarten is strongly correlated with teacher observations at the end of first grade. Although the relationship between Human Drawing scores and teacher ratings of academic behaviour was not as strong, a relationship was observed between teacher ratings of peer relations and conduct and these scores.