Date of Award

12-1982

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Education

Department

Education

First Advisor

Jeanne Donovan

Second Advisor

Gene Henderson

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of selected value clarifying/analyzing strategies on the self concept and critical reading/thinking ability of low achieving ninth grade students. The clarifying strategies are designed around seven subprocesses of a value clarifying process developed primarily by Dr. Louis E. Raths to assist students in acquiring skill in choosing, prizing, and acting on value related issues. The analyzing strategies are designed around six subprocesses of a value analyzing process developed by Jerrold R. Coombs and Milton Meux to assist students in acquiring skills in evaluative decision making.

The major research hypotheses are:

  • 1. Significantly higher gain scores in critical reading/thinking ability as measured by the Cornell Critical Thinking Test will be demonstrated by the treatment group which experiences selected value clarifying/ analyzing strategies than by the control group which does not experience the strategies.

  • 2. Significantly higher gain scores in overall self concept as measured by the Children's Self Concept Scale will be demonstrated by the treatment group which experiences selected value clarifying/ analyzing strategies than by the control group which does not experience the strategies.

  • 3. There will be a significant difference between the posttest scores of the experimental and control groups in critical reading/thinking ability as a result of the treatment.

  • 4. There will be a significant difference between the posttest scores of the experimental and control groups in overall self concept as a result of the treatment.

The sample for the study consisted of all students in the two classes assigned to "Expressions and Ideas", a remedial language arts section at St. Dominic High School in O'Fallon, Missouri. A total of fifty-four students participated in the study. The treatment group experienced thirteen sessions, one hour per week, of selected value clarifying and analyzing strategies adapted from the books Values and Teaching, 2d ed. and Values Education. The control group did not experience a treatment, but otherwise was given the same learning experiences as the treatment group. At the end of thirteen sessions, the posttests were administered.

A nonequivalent control group design with two intact groups was utilized. A simple t test was used to analyze the data.

The results of the data analyses showed that the treatment group achieved significantly higher gain scores (.05 level) than the control group on the Cornell Critical Thinking Test and the Children's Self Concept Scale. Therefore the first two hypotheses were confirmed.

There was no significant difference between the posttest scores of the experimental and control groups on the two measuring instruments. Therefore hypotheses 3 and 4 were rejected.

While there were no clear cut significant results in this study, a relationship between self concept and critical reading/thinking is indicated and further research is called for in this area.

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