Pakistan Journal of Psychological Research, 2012, Vol. 27, No.

1, 135-151

Effect of Academic Interventions on the

Developmental Skills of Slow Learners

Najma Iqbal Malik

Quaid-i-Azam University and
University of Sargodha

Ghazala Rehman and Rubina Hanif

Quaid-i-Azam University
1

The present study was a single-group pre-test and post-test design;

it was conducted to see the effectiveness of academic interventions
(Shaw, 2005) on developmental skills (adaptive, personal-social,
communication, motor, and cognitive) of slow learners having
borderline intelligence. Eight slow learners were identified through
subjective ratings based on teacher’s appraisal and attained
achievement scores in respective grades and scores attained on
Raven’s Colored Progressive Matrices (CPM; Raven, Court, &
Raven, 1977) during screening. Boys (n = 6) and girls (n = 2) of
ages ranging from six years to six years and 11 months of age were
purposefully selected from two private-sector schools of District
and Tehsil Sargodha, Punjab, Pakistan. Developmental skills of
slow learners were measured by Battelle Developmental Inventory
(BDI-2; Newborg, 2004); assessment and screening was followed
by academic intervention. Quantitative analyses revealed that
academic interventions were highly effective in enhancing the
developmental skills of slow learners’ adaptive, communication,
and cognitive developmental skills. However, these interventions
remained silent and failed to show any positive effect on personal-
social and motor skills.

Keywords: Slow learners, academic interventions, developmental

skills

The challenge of identifying slow learners has been a topic of

increasing concern of researchers from last few decades (Khan, 2005;
Shaw, 2003; Sing, 2004). Academically slow learners are usually
identified based on their attained scores on intelligence tests, with IQs

Najma Iqbal Malik, National Institute of Psychology, Quaid-i-Azam University,

Islamabad, Pakistan and Department of Psychology, University of Sargodha,
Sargodha, Pakistan; Ghazala Rehman, and Rubina Hanif, National Institute of
Psychology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Najma Iqbal
Malik, Department of Psychology, University of Sargodha, Sargodha, Pakistan.
E-mail: [email protected]
136 MALIK, REHMAN, AND HANIF

between 75-89. A slow learner differs slightly from normal children in

learning ability and cannot meet average academic standards year to
year. Their intelligence test scores are likely to be low from average
test scores. However, not too low to meet the large discrepancy set as
an inclusion criterion for special educational services (Mercer, 1996).
Although slow learner may have special educational needs, yet they
do not fit neatly into the special education system and generally study
at normal schools (MacMillan, Gresham, Bocian, & Lambros, 1998).
Academic slow learners are also labeled as borderline mentally
retarded, dull, below average children. They are generally slow learner
when they are faced with tasks requiring abstract, symbolic, and
conceptual skills (Lowenstein, 2003).
Furthermore, rate of slow learning direct these children (slow
learners) to lag behind in their normal developmental skills acquisition
and they tend to grasp basic concepts of living (i.e., social interaction,
communication styles, memory skills, and thinking patterns) about 1-2
years later in comparison to peers (Carroll, 2002; Gouwens, 2002;
Kaznowski, 2004). Borderline intellectual functioning contributes
negatively in their life as they lack concentration, have poor memory,
imagination, and foresight; an inability to express ideas clearly
through the medium of language (Bhatt, 2009).
Research indicates that academically slow learners pose
significant educational and behavioral difficulties in the schools
because of their deficiencies in intellect and psychosocial skills
(Anastasia, Elein, & Effi, 2006; Shaw, 2008). They differ from
average students in the rate of learning and need much external
stimulation/encouragement to do the simple of work (Krishnakumar,
Geeta, & Palat, 2006; Stenhouse, 2005). This is also well documented
that slow learners do work at their ability level but below their grade
level, which in turn leads to their adjustment problems in mainstream
class rooms (Krishnakumar et al., 2006). Their deficit in skills (e.g.
inadequate coping mechanisms, poor self-image, immature
interpersonal relationships, troubled communications, and inappropriate
social role ideology) make them vulnerable or at risk of several
psychosocial problems. These problems could only be addressed by
incorporating interventional teaching strategies in the inclusive
classrooms for their accommodation and to enhance the rate of their
adequate psychosocial development i.e., better adult and peer
interactions, enhanced receptive and expressive communication, and
modesty of self-concept, and social role by expressing logical
reasoning and understanding of environmental demands (Anastasia
et al., 2006).
ACADEMIC INTERVENTIONS FOR SLOW LEARNERS 137

In the context of Pakistani academic setting, unfortunately there

is sparse empirical evidence which may assist academic settings
(schools) to identify slow learners (Aly, Taj, & Ibrahim, 2009), with
the help of standardized and objective measures (IQ tests scores)
(Hussein, 2009) and to develop and implement special educational
criteria and curriculum and provide interventions for associated
mental health issues (Haider, 2008).
Majority of these children, are initially not identified as slow
learners requiring special education and specifically designed
interventions (Shaw, 2008). This is probably because of the fact that
they are able to understand things up to some level and donot present
serious problems in their functional skills; these children function
normally and they have physical agility and adeptness in different
situations. Moreover, they also demonstrate common sense and appear
to have adequate memory (Mroczka, 2003). However, the typical
problems in general cognitive function are more evident, when they
are required to perform a task requiring higher mental processes; they
fail to accomplish the task, mainly due to deficits in abstract thinking,
organizational skills, and generalization of information, which creates
hurdles in their academic success (Balado, 2003).
To ensure slow learners’ success in schools, their rate of slower
learning needs to be accommodated through specifically designed
interventions in accordance with their ability level (Shaw, 2008).
Before going toward the intervention, it is critical that teachers and
parents should consider assessment through a number of sources
before assuming that poor school performance is due to a slower
learning ability (Carroll, 2002).
Hussein’s (2009) study supported the notion that; child’s mental
health is largely influenced by child’s home environment, child’s
schooling, and the society at large. This confirms the critical and
helpful role of parents and teachers in giving prime attention,
vigilance, and care to ensure sound mental health (Aly et al., 2009;
Haider, 2008; Rahman, Mubbashar, Harrington, & Gater, 2000;
Rehman, 2005; Yaqoob, Ferngren, Jalil, Nazir, & Karlberg, 2008).
Developmental psychologists have affirmed the importance and relation
of IQ with developmental skills acquisition. A firm view is that there
is strong interplay between environmental factors and person’s normal
functioning which determine his/her successful social life. Erickson
(1950) has given importance to cultural and social aspects of life and
describes the impact of social experience across the whole lifespan.
According to him one’s life is a series of lessons and challenges which
help us to grow in multiple stages of life. Further, Vygotsky (1978)
contributes that if theses leaning aids are give in a manner that they
138 MALIK, REHMAN, AND HANIF

relate with the cultural context of the child then profound impact on
the developmental skills becomes more visible.
It is evident from literature that while dealing with children with
borderline intelligence, theories of Erickson and Vygotsky are
valuable (Tudge, 1990; Wood, 1998). Based on Erickson and
Vygotsky’s theories, various models of slow learners and their related
risks have emerged and Shaw’s model of slow learners and mental
health issues is the one most widely used. Shaw (2000a) described the
slow learner’s borderline intellectual functioning in relation to their
developmental tasks. It also elaborates how deficiencies in these task
completions can lead to various kinds of mental health risks among
slow learners.
Keeping in view, the specified significance of research on slow
learners in Western community and effectiveness of Shaw’s academic
intervention plan, the dire need was felt to explore application of
academic interventions based on Shaw’s model in Pakistani settings.
The present research is designed to find out the effectiveness of
academic interventional teaching plan for developmental skills of slow
learners. On the basis of the objective of this study, following
hypothesis was formulated for the study:
Hypothesis 1: Slow learners will show higher level of adaptive
skills in post-test assessment in comparison to pre-test
assessment.
Hypothesis 2: Slow learners will show higher level of personal-
social skills in post-test assessment in comparison to pre-test
assessment.
Hypothesis 3: Slow learners will show higher level of communic-
ation skills in post-test assessment in comparison to pre-test
assessment.
Hypothesis 4: Slow learners will show higher level of motor
skills in post-test assessment as compared to pre-test assessment.
Hypothesis 5: Slow learners will show higher level of cognitive
skills in post-test assessment as compared to pre-test assessment.

Method

Sample

Slow learners (N = 08), both boys (n = 6) and girls (n = 2), were

purposefully selected from two private sector schools of urban area of
District and Tehsil Sargodha, Punjab, Pakistan. In order to have a
ACADEMIC INTERVENTIONS FOR SLOW LEARNERS 139

homogeneous control sample for comparison, the children were

matched for age (6 year to 6 years & 11 months of age), grade (1st
grade), high socioeconomic status (above Rs. 31, 000/- per month),
and mother tongue as Urdu. Eight participants were identified as slow
learners on the basis of Raven’s Colored Progressive Matrices (CPM;
Raven et al., 1977) scores i.e., scoring between 10th to below 25th
percentile and teacher’s appraisal; teacher appraisals based on the
consideration of the child performance in curricular and recreational
interests and overall academic performance in the class, designated as
dull or below average in comparison to class mates.

Instruments

Colored Progressive Matrices (CPM). It is an internationally

recognized culture-fair, nonverbal IQ test, to measure the ‘g’ factor. It
is specially designed for use with children between ages of 5 ½ and 11
½ years. This easily administered, paper and pencil test is comprises
of three sets of twelve problems, arranged to “assess mental
development up to a stage where a person is sufficiently able to reason
by analogy to adopt this way of thinking as a consistent methods of
inference” (Raven et al.). In the present study children having the raw
scores and corresponding percentiles between 10th to below 25th
percentile were identified as slow learners. Literature supports that
(Gatti, 2004; Li, Gamlin, Jain, & Luther, 2001; Pujar & Gaonkar,
2008) Raven’s CPM is a reliable source to identify slow
learners/intellectually subnormal or have deteriorated cognitive
abilities.

Battelle Developmental Inventory-2. Slow learners were

assessed for their key developmental skills through the second edition
of Battelle Developmental Inventory (BDI-2; Newborg, 2005). The
full BDI-2 battery consists of 450 test items grouped into the
following five domains (i) adaptive domain i.e., child’s ability to use
the information and skills acquired in the other domains, (ii) personal-
social domain i.e., abilities and characteristics that allow a child to
engage in meaningful social interaction with adults and peers and to
develop his or her own self-concept and sense of social role, (iii)
communication domain i.e., how effectively a child receives and
expresses information and ideas through verbal and nonverbal means,
(iv) motor domain i.e., the child’s ability to control and use the large
and small body muscles, and (v) cognitive domain i.e., those skills and
abilities most commonly thought as mental or intellectual, with the
140 MALIK, REHMAN, AND HANIF

exception of language and communication skills. BDI-2 has been

successfully used by medical and health professionals for the
assessment of psychomotor developmental delays (HOPE, 2009a,
2009b), assessment of disabilities, and assessment of typical
developmental rate of children in Pakistan (Aly et al., 2009).

Academic interventional teaching plan. It is essential for

educational sector to accommodate every child in productive
environment and it is desired to have best method of teaching and
training of slow learners/at risk students to be incorporated with the
traditional ones to enforce the learned material. For this purpose in the
light of four broader themes given by Shaw (2000b), an academic
interventional teaching plan was designed and implemented in
mainstream classrooms. The following steps were undertaken to
implement the academic interventional teaching plan:

1. Modification in the curriculum and study material: The

standard curriculum of Punjab Text Book Board, Punjab,
Pakistan of first grade was modified as more pictures books,
charts, models, and educational blocks (made of thermopile,
plaster of paris and wood), educational software of games
(e.g., rays package of learning aid, old mac-dot farm etc.), and
puzzles (letter and picture matching exercises in math,
english, and urdu; count and tell, tell before and after,
hundreds, tens, and ones, find the largest number, find the
same or spot the different one) with the help of computers,
educational rhymes, short stories, crayons, poster colors, and
playful dough (clay) along with paper and pencil, were made
part of study. This was accomplished with the help of art
teacher and a professional artist.
2. Modification in classroom environment: A regular seat change
plan was designed to be implementing on weekly basis. Slow
learners were stipulated to be sitting in front whereas their
peers had a weekly seat change program by rotation. Walls
were decorated and painted with teaching material models,
charts, pictures, and story characters. This was furnished with
the help of an artist and art teacher, who were assisted by the
researcher and class teachers for generating ideas.
3. Modification in time demands: The deadlines for task
completion/performance were designed to be lenient for slow
learners as compare to other class fellows i.e., if normal
average child needed 5 minutes for one problem solution then
7-8 minutes were given to slow learners.
ACADEMIC INTERVENTIONS FOR SLOW LEARNERS 141

4. Peer tutoring and use of groups in learning: Class

assignments were gradually made easy for slow learners and
were given in small parts/units. In this activity, slow learners
from advanced classes were asked to ‘tutor’ the younger grade
students. In addition, complex and technical educational tasks
related to subject area were distributed among groups.
5. Daily good behavior exercise: In daily routine a ‘model good
behavior’ was exercised through peer role play, which was
monitored (through observation by researcher and teacher)
and was incorporated (imitated) in their routine behavior as a
mode of social-skills training and social problem solving
exercises. For example “how to take permission”, “how to say
good morning and good bye”, “how to say sorry on your
mistakes by accepting them”, “how to pay gratitude by saying
thank you”, etc. These exercises aimed at helping slow
learners in resolving problems related to interpersonal
communication, problematic relations, and poor initiative-
taking and motivation issues.
6. Differential reinforcement and immediate feedback to reward
(every) desirable behavior: On each successful task
accomplishment and initiative, immediate feedback (in form
of praise from teacher and clapping from the peers was
initiated) and encouragement were made part of intervention
plan; to help boost their self-esteem and self-confidence.
7. Review of concepts on weekly basis: At the last working day
of week (on Friday’s), the week plan was reviewed in a
light/fun way with the help of various techniques such as
drama, role-play, storytelling, and presentations. This exercise
aimed at assisting children to develop associations between
concepts with help of pictorial presentation of each concept
and models of learning material.

Procedure

Written informed consent from the schools, teachers and parent

of slow learners was obtained before the start of this intervention
program. At first step after sample selection of eight slow learners,
baseline measurement (pre-test) of developmental skills was carried
out and slow learners were assessed through BDI-2 for their
developmental skills prior to interventions.
Only those two schools were selected whose principals allowed
imparting interventions, agreed to spend finances on teaching aids,
142 MALIK, REHMAN, AND HANIF

and their teachers expressed commitment for the intervention. Both

the schools run from play group to grade 10, and follow the standard
curriculum of Punjab Text Book Board, Lahore, Pakistan for the year
2008. They had 30 teachers as a total teaching staff whose education
rages from Bachelors of Arts (BA) to Masters of Science (MSc). The
selected teachers (n = 4) for interventions had the education level of
BA or Bachelors of Education and were acknowledged by their school
administration for having good communication skills and tactfulness
in dealing with challenging situations. Prior to intervention they
received a six-day training program that was inspired by teaching aid
manuals of UNESCO (2007) and UNICEF (2007), and Shaw’s guide
of educational programming framework (2005, 2008, & 2010) and
teaching resources for teaching slow learners (Shaw, 2001). Teachers’
training was carried out to ensure the proper implementation of
intervention plan. Parents of all eight slow learners were also
involved; regular parents, teacher, and researcher meetings were
arranged.
At second step, participants were exposed to academic
interventional teaching plan for a period of four months for five
days/week and four hours/day in a mainstream room setup, which was
inclusive of different abilities level. At third step, after the completion
of the intervention period, second baseline measurement (post-test) of
developmental skills of slow learners was taken through BDI-2. To
assess the difference between two baseline measurements as an effect
of academic interventions Wilcoxon Signed Rank test was applied on
data.

Results and Discussion

Different instructional strategies used in the academic

interventional teaching plan for slow learners were found to be
effective in terms of enhancing the developmental skills level of slow
learners in inclusive classrooms. The findings indicate an expected
increase in the range of scores on BDI-2 in post-test, compared to the
pre-test scores. Hence, these findings support study assumption that
slow learners will score higher on BDI-2 after having exposure to
academic interventions.
Table 1 shows enhanced scores of the slow learners on all
developmental skills. There appears to be a shift in the ranges of
scores on all indices of development. Similar trends were observed in
the median effect size and Wilcoxon Signed Ranks values of pre-test
and post-test of slow learners on BDI-2, its domain and sub-domains.
ACADEMIC INTERVENTIONS FOR SLOW LEARNERS 143

Table 1
Means, Standard Deviations, Minimum, and Maximum Range of
Scores on Battelle Development Inventory (N = 8)
Pre-test Post-test
Developmental Skillsa
Min Max Min Max
Adaptive (ADP) 80 85 98 98
Self-care 56 59 62 62
Personal responsibility 24 26 36 36
Personal-Social (P-S) 136 149 147 156
Adult interaction 50 52 51 51
Peer Interaction 30 33 35 37
Self-concept and social role 56 64 61 68
Communication (COM) 110 113 127 139
Receptive communication 51 52 56 67
Expressive communication 58 62 71 72
Motor (MOT) 152 162 160 168
Gross motor 77 80 78 79
Fine motor 49 53 50 53
Perceptual motor 26 29 32 36
Cognitive (COG) 128 134 154 164
Attention and memory 48 50 52 52
Reasoning and academic skills 32 33 42 50
Perception and concepts 48 51 60 62
Total 607 641 686 725
Note. The scores depicted in the table are scored by slow learners; the ages ranged
from six years to six years and 11 months. The term ‘total’ refers to composite scores,
calculated by adding up scores on each domain of Battelle Development Inventory
(Newborg, 2005).
a
the study measures five developmental skills. The major categories have their
abbreviations in parentheses.

The findings in Table 2 reveal significant differences between the

pre-test and post-test scores of slow learners after the exposition of
academic interventions especially in the domains of adaptive, socio-
personal, communication, and cognitive which confirms the study
hypotheses no. 1, 2, 3, and 5.
144 MALIK, REHMAN, AND HANIF

Table 2
Median, Effect Size, and Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Values of Pre-test
Post-test Assessment of Slow Learners on Developmental Skills (N=8)

Developmental Skillsa Pre-test Posttest

Mdn Mdn z r p
Adaptive (ADP) 83 98 -2.46 -.63 .01
Self-care 59 62 -2.64 -.65 .01
Personal responsibility 25 36 -2.6 -.64 .01
Personal-Social (P-S) 146 148 -1.10 -.4 .19
Adult interaction 52 51 -1.41 -.31 .48
Peer interaction 31 37 -2.55 -.63 .01
Self-concept and social role 62 62 -.42 -.14 .37
Communication (COM) 111 137 -2.55 -.63 .01
Receptive communication 52 66 -2.57 -.63 .01
Expressive communication 59 71 -2.57 -.63 .01
Motor (MOT) 161 161 -.44 -.15 .39
Gross motor 80 78 -1.41 -.3 .14
Fine motor 53 50 -.90 -.06 .28
Perceptual motor 28 33 -2.64 -.65 .01
Cognitive (COG) 131 158 -2.55 -.63 .01
Attention and memory 49 52 -2.57 -.64 .01
Reasoning and academic skills 32 44 -2.55 -.63 .01
Perception and concepts 49 61 -2.55 -.63 .01
Total 629 703 -2.55 -.63 .01
Note. The scores depicted in the table are scored by slow learners; the ages ranged
from six years to six years and 11 months. The term ‘total’ refers to composite scores,
calculated by adding up scores on each domain of Battelle Development Inventory
(Newborg, 2005).
a
the study measures five developmental skills. The major categories have their
abbreviations in parentheses.

This further indicate that adaptive skills (self-care and personal

responsibility), personal-social skills (peer interaction), communication
skills (receptive and expressive communication), motor skills
ACADEMIC INTERVENTIONS FOR SLOW LEARNERS 145

(perceptual motor), and cognitive skills (attention and memory,

reasoning and academic skills, and perception and concepts skills)
were significantly enhanced as a result of profound effect of academic
interventions.
However, adult interaction, self-concept, and social role
(personal-social skills), gross and fine motor skills (motor skills)
failed to get any benefit from the interventions. This partially confirms
the study hypotheses that slow learners get benefit in their domains of
personal-social, communication, and cognitive skills. However, peer
interaction shows profound and significant effect of interventions with
exception to total domain of personal-social, adult interaction, and
self-concept and social role.
Furthermore similar findings were obtained through the daily
feedback of teachers (they were instructed prior to the interventions
implementation that they would prepare feed back by checking each
and every behavior) and researcher’s observations.
These interventions were new for the participants to the study;
they seem to appear more confident and displayed positive sense of
self-worth and feeling of belongingness which help them integrating
well in their class and peers. Also it was observed that exposure to
concrete instructions and immediate feedback on goal-directed
behaviors, helped these students in following instructions and
establishing the efficacy to complete daily tasks with minimal
prompting.
Peer tutoring (Behera, 2009; Clattenburg, 2003; Hussein, 2009)
and social skills exercises helped them learn the skill of asking, taking
permission, paying gratitude, and coping with challenges. Moreover,
receptive and expressive communications skills seemed to have
benefited from the multilevel interventions and they were observed
displaying empathy towards others i.e., understanding feelings,
thoughts, and emotions of others; recognizing facial expressions and
maintaining appropriate eye contact while communicating with others.
Moreover, these interventions helped to build their sense of
safety by understanding the model behavior to safeguard them from
danger; they appear more aware about morality and took pride in their
self-accomplishments.
This is fair to say that the participants seem to have maximum
benefit of this intervention i.e., review of concepts on a weekly basis
helped boosting up their minor level leads by maximum course of
revisions. These reviews were in the form of educational rhymes,
stories, play, drama and fun activities set them free from the burdens
of educational life. They in fact learned significantly, by the use of
146 MALIK, REHMAN, AND HANIF

casual teaching styles and non-formal remediation teaching strategies;

rather than learning in more structured classroom setup.
The researcher was aware of their limited cognitive abilities, and
giving them large amount of information in paper-pencil form in one
setting was very difficult (Haskvitz, 2007). However, this teaching
was incorporated and internalized through creative activities to meet
their unique needs for attaining achievement and success (Shaw,
Grimes, & Bulman, 2005).
As expected these academic interventions and modified
curriculum with a blend of charts, pictures, and models provided
opportunities for effective integration, adjustment, and better learning
opportunities (Pujar & Gaonkar, 2008). These made participants more
alert, prompt, and active; they were highly motivated and interested in
learning. This helped improving their speed of learning and provided
them with knowledge and a strong base for understanding and
conceptualization. Several previous studies (Mohansundaram &
Dharmashekar, 2001; Philip & Marcia, 2002; Reddy & Ramar, 1995;
Singh, 2004) have also revealed that interventions through different
stimulating and enriching instructional strategies and multimodel
approaches are certainly effective than the traditional method of
teaching for slow learners in mainstream classrooms.
Similar feedback was received by the parents in parent-teacher
and parent-researcher meetings that these children showed remarkable
progress in interpersonal and social skills. These results were also in
line with the findings of Davis and Williams (1972) that slow learners
got maximum advantage by multi-model approach instead of uni-
model approach i.e., if they are taught by using different strategies
then it particularly help them in creating a favorable attitude toward
learning and promote a sound conceptual understanding of the taught
material.
These findings also confirm the Vygotsky’s (1978) concept of
practical intelligence in one’s own cultural context i.e., proximal
zones. Thus etiology of learning is social interaction. A concept is first
presented to a child socially (inter psychologically) either by parent,
peer, or teacher which is later internalized by the child; who then
appears to employ it for problem solving. According to this concept if
the cultural context/proximal zones of the slow learners weather in
educational paradigms or in home setting is more facilitating in nature
then the chances of their practical intelligence can be raised. It can be
done with the help of intervention as and if early identification and
special needs advocacy is going to be taken into account then one can
safe guard slow learners for indulging in several metal health issues
and their adjustment in the society can be enhanced.
ACADEMIC INTERVENTIONS FOR SLOW LEARNERS 147

Present research supported that slow learners were enrolled in

mainstream schools; due to deficit in developmental skills they needed
extra attention of teacher, policy makers, and psychologists. They
were also found to be at risk of several mental health problems
because of their below average intellectual abilities and deficit
developmental skills. However, an early identification, assessment of
developmental skills, and supportive interventional plan can safeguard
this large minority form various adversities of school and social life;
yet this a neglected area of Pakistani education reforms so far. These
interventions boosted the rate of developmental skills and worked as
an enhancer in this way, which proved that interventional teaching
plan works is very much effective in enhancing the developmental
skills of slow learners studying in mainstream classroom. In addition,
it not only improved their mental health but also increased the levels
of adjustment in the mainstream classroom and helped them become
part of progressive community. This gives an implication for the need
of interventional training of academic nature for slow learners that can
assist them to advance so that they can parallel children without
learning problems.

Conclusion and Implications

The findings of the study confirmed that the academic

interventions were very effective in enhancing the developmental
skills of slow learners. It was also found that slow learners got
maximum benefit of academic interventions for their sociocultural
settings. Majority of students benefited from academic intervention
applied in a creative manner i.e., with the help of drama, role play,
rhymes, and storytelling. It was also felt that review of concepts on the
last working day was found to be of greatest help to students. Present
study also had practical and theoretical implications; it not only adds
up to the theoretical constructs of educational and school psychology
but also for the persons of academia, policy makers, educational, and
child psychologist and counselors in special needs advocacy.

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Received May 06, 2010

Revision received January 03, 2012