Correlations among Perceptual-Motor Ability, Self-Concept and Reading Achievement in Early Elementary Grades

Abstract

This study investigated the correlations among measures of perceptual-motor abilities, self-concept, and reading achievement and determined whether perceptual-motor ability and self-concept can predict reading achievement in the early elementary grades. A total of 105 boys and 108 girls from the first, second and third grades were tested on the stabilometer, a modified Minnesota Manual Dexterity Test, a tapping test, the Primary Self-concept Inventoty, and the Science Research Associates Assessment Survey. Intercorrelations across grade levels tended to be low and nonsignificant. The multiple regression procedures yielded no strong predictions of reading achievement. These findings tended to confirm the specificity of perceptual-motor ability, self-concept, and reading achievement.