I A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS or CONSERVATION ATTITVU-DES IN SITUATIONS WHERE CONSERVATION EDUCATIQN a Is A PART or THE EDUCATION“; EXPERIENCE Thai: for the Doom, of 'Ph‘. D. If; MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY Robert Worth George _ 1966 l i I .. - , _,.u.. A Ir . ”In ,- .g'..(_£«:';;_;.v '.1v.1 , ”I ‘u‘ I“ H ....L‘ I ' . 1" wk"! ‘ ', ‘ I ‘ ‘ 'I My... ,I IHESIS Ilfl'lIWlIIWIWflIflIflIWWII 31293 01733 0170 LIBRAR Y Michigan State University This is to certify that the thesis entitled A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF CONSERVATION ATTITUDES IN SITUATIONS WHERE CONSERVATION EDUCATION IS A PART‘OF THE EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE presented by ROBERT WORTH GEORGE has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for Ph.D degree mFisheries & Wildlife 7?]; 1W4. Major professor Date MAY 20, 1966 O~169 F; . “inking—1‘ .i ; O 'EJ' 4—- e sue-‘3... '1 I ‘V -_l. .‘I .J-g I J-\ I LI L} IJd“; “H. i FEB’i‘I'W “0’2! .c . | s." - , A. ,3. win .‘I _ L llJfi ..r ABSTRACT A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF CONSERVATION ATTITUDES IN SITUATIONS WHERE CONSERVATION EDUCATION IS A PART OF THE EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE by: Robert Worth George Many peOple are involved in conservation education. The problem is how effective is this effort. Is the exposure to knowledge and understanding resulting in more favorable atti- tudes toward conservation? A basic hypothesis prompting this investigation is that "when understanding results in knowledge- able appreciation of natural resources, there is associated a more favorable attitude toward conservation". Further, that "attitudes are a reflection of the acceptance of knowledge and understanding". The measuring device used in this study was a Likert-type attitude scale with 64 statements related to conservation. A total of 1618 observations were made, representing three dif- ferent age and educational levels; Group I-585 high school students, Group 11-462 college students, and Group III—571 adults. The conservation attitude scores were compared first, for differences between the groups. Second, the scores were re- lated to factors affecting conservation attitudes; personal Robert Worth George characteristics, extra curricular activities, and 4-H conserva- tion projects. The third phase dealt with attitude change re- sulting from a "special” conservation educational experience designed specifically for each of the three groups. * Two methods of comparative analysis were used; mean scores and percentage distribution of scores. The 5% level of confi— dence was accepted as significant, and the 1% level as very sig- nificant. To determine significance, the t—Test ("t") was used for analysis of mean score differences, and the Chi Square (X2) for score distribution differences. A comparison of the total mean scores of the three groups, showed very significant differences in attitudes. The high school students had a mean score of 184.08, while the college students had a score of 191.32, and the adults 196.93. In addition, analysis by percentage distribution of scores, also showed differences, significant at the 1% level of confidence. The study of factors affecting conservation attitudes re- vealed that certain factors affect attitudes more than others, and that many factors are interrelated. Of the four personal characteristics studied, it was found that age and education were associated with the most sig- nificant differences in attitudes of the high school students. Age and sex were the most significant characteristics in the college student group, and sex and residence background for the'adults. Robert Worth George The analysis of extra curricular activities in the develop- ment of conservation attitudes showed that the activities with an apparent conservation emphasis had the greatest effect. Con- servation clubs and nature camps had a most significant positive effect upon attitudes in all three groups. Summer camp and hike club activities were associated with significantly higher scores in the high school student group. Nature photography appeared to affect attitude scores of both the college students and adults, while participation in bird clubs was significant only for the adults. 4-H Club and Boy Scout experiences effected slightly higher scores (significant at the 10% level of confidence) for the high school students. The college students and adults, however, showed significantly higher scores for those with the Boy Scout experience. The Girl Scout and Camp Fire Girl experiences showed no significant score differences in any of the groups. In the high school student group, those with a 4—H con- servation project experience, had consistently more favorable attitudes toward conservation. The college students showed no significant difference for any of the project areas, while the adults involved with the projects did have higher scores as- sociated with four of the project areas. In the analysis of the "special" conservation educational ‘ Robert Worth George experiences, it was found that attitudes toward conservation do change, and that this change is associated with interest motivation and exposure to conservation knowledge. The results of the studies showed that in each case, significant attitude change could be identified and associated with the experience. A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF CONSERVATION ATTITUDES IN SITUATIONS WHERE CONSERVATION EDUCATION IS A PART OF THE EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE by Robert Worth George A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Fisheries and Wildlife 1966 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to express my sincere appreciation to Dr. Peter I. Tack for supervising this study; for his continued guidance and encouragement. To Dr. Eugene W. Roelofs, who served on my com- mittee and assisted greatly in the final editing and the analysis of the data, I extend my sincere thanks. I wish to thank Dr. Gilbert W. Mouser, Dr. Milton Stein- mueller and Dr. Ray L. Cook for their assistance and the time they spent in serving as members of my guidance committee. Also, I would like to express my appreciation to the many peOple who cooperated in making this study possible. Finally, my thanks to my wife, Bonnie, for her help in a multitude of ways. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LIST OF TABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . Definitions of Terms Used , . . . . . General Plan of the Investigation . . II. REVIEW OF RELATED STUDIES. . . . . . . . Literature on Conservation Education. Literature on Conservation Attitudes. Limitations of Previous Studies . . . III. MATERIALS USED AND GROUPS STUDIED. . . . Personal Data Survey. . . . . . . . . Sampling Procedures . . . . . . . . . Conservation Attitude Questionnaire . Method of Scoring. . . . . . . . . 0 0 Method of Grouping Scores and Score Range. Special Experience Analysis-Methods and Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . Statistical Treatment of Data . . . . IV. RESULTS OF THE INVESTIGATION . . . . . . Conservation Attitudes of the Respective Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Group I - High School Students . . Group II - College Students. . . . Group III - Adults . . . . . . . . Percentage Distribution of Scores for Each Group. . . . . . . . . . . . Factors Affecting Conservation Attitudes. iii 0 Page ii J>w 11 11 21 28 31 34 35 37 38 4O 42 45 48 50 51 53 56 59 61 CHAPTER Personal Characteristics Age as a Factor . . Sex: Male vs. Female The Education Characteristic. Residence Background. Extra Curricular Activities. . 4-H Club Work . . . Summer Camp . . . . Boy Scouts. . . . . Girl Scouts . . . . Camp Fire Girls . . Conservation Clubs. Nature Photography. Bird Clubs. . . . . Nature Camps. . . . Hike Clubs. . . . . 0 0 Conservation Projects in Special Conservation Experience Analysis. Conservation Camp. . . Conservation Education Conservation WorkshOp. V. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS. . . BIBLIOGRAPHY APPENDIX A APPENDIX B APPENDIX C sumary O O O O O O O O 0 Conclusions . . . . . . . iv 0 0 I O O O O 0 O O O I 0 0 O 0 O 4-H . . . . 0 0 Course. 6 O O O 0 O O O O Page 62 62 65 67 68 72 73 75 78 78 80 82 84 86 89 89 91 100 102 104 107 114 114 122 125 128 135 138 TABLE 4a. 4b. 10. 11. 12. l3. 14. LIST OF TABLES Comparison of Conservation Attitude Scores for the Six Sub-groups in Group I. . . . . . . . . . Comparison of Conservation Attitude Scores for the Eight Sub—groups in Group II . . . . . . . . Comparison of Mean Scores for the Six Identifiable Sub-groups within Group III. . . . . . . . . . . Percentage Distribution Using Nine Score Range Divisions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Percentage Distribution Using Five Score Range Divisions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Age as a Factor in Determining Attitudes Toward Conservation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Comparison of Male Versus Female Attitudes Toward Conservation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Education as a Factor in Conservation Attitudes. . Residence as a Factor in Shaping Conservation Attitudes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Comparative Analysis of 4-H Club Work as a Factor in Conservation Attitudes . . . . . . . . Effect of Summer Camp upon Conservation Attitudes. Boy Scouts - Scouting as a Factor in Conservation Attitudes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Girl Scouts - Scouting as a Factor in Conservation AttitudeSO O O O O O O O O O 0 O I o O O O O O 0 Effect of Camp Fire Girls Experience Upon Atti- tudes Toward Conservation. . . . . . . . . . . . The Conservation Club as a Factor in Conservation Attitudes. C O O O 0 O O O O O 0 O O O O O O O O Page 52 54 57 60 60 64 66 69 71 74 77 79 81 83 85 TABLE 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. Nature Photography as a Factor in Developing Conservation Attitudes . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bird Club Participation Related to Conservation Attitudes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nature Camps as a Factor in Developing Conserva- tion Attitudes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Comparative Analysis of Hike Clubs as a Factor in Developing Conservation Attitudes . . . . . . Comparative Analysis of 4-H Conservation Projects as Related to Attitudes in Group I . . . . . . . Effect of 4-H Conservation Projects upon Conserva- tion Attitudes in Group II . . . . . . . . . . . Analysis of Effect of 4-H Conservation Projects upon Conservation Attitudes in Group III . . . . Camp Counsellor or Conservation Leader as a Factor in Conservation Attitudes . . . . . . . . Conservation Attitude Mean Scores and Mean Differences of High School Students as Affected by the Conservation Camp Experience . . Analysis of 4-H Conservation Camp as a Factor in Conservation Attitudes . . . . . . . . . . . . . Evaluation of the Effect of the Conservation Education Course Experience upon Conservation Attitude Scores. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Evaluation of the Effect of the Conservation WorkshOp upon Conservation Attitudes . . . . . . vi Page 87 88 9O 92 94 96 98 101 103 105 108 111 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION For many years a difference of Opinion has existed regard- ing the relative effectiveness of different kinds of educational experiences upon conservation attitudes and understanding of young peOple. The majority of the efforts made by proponents of each of a number of conservation education programs have been based upon limited evaluation, and in only a few instances has experimental evidence been presented to support the contention of any one group. Generally, each educational group has accepted a role of "supporting" the Conservation Movement, rather than aggressively endeavoring to play a ”leadership" role in growth of understanding and development of attitudes favorable toward conservation. In Michigan as well as other states, one can find isolated islands of active conservation educational programs which are accepted as excellent and have proven to be outstanding in one or more areas of natural resource conservation. However, in spite of the numerous knowledge tests, evaluation programs and other measuring devices, there has been little experimental evi- dence presented to substantiate effectiveness of these programs. Conservation education has played an important part in the educational experience of many young peOple, yet has touched only lightly upon an evaluation of understandings and attitudes acquired through contact with various conservation programs. The variety and complexity of conservation issues and con- cerns evolved over the past half—century have directed renewed interest in how we effect a change in the attitudes of the gen- eral public toward conservation. Of major concern, has been the changing attitudes toward conservation as we have developed a great power structure of federal, state and a few local conservation agencies to direct the use, management and development of our natural resources. The Michigan COOperative Extension Service has been in- volved in conservation education in many ways. A noted effort is that which is carried out in Youth education through the 4-H Club program offering conservation projects, camps, leader training opportunities and a week-long conservation camp. This program reaches over 100,000 young people, ages 10-18, annually and undoubtedly plays a major role in the youth conservation- directed efforts in many school activities and other youth groups. In Spite of large numbers of 4—H Conservation projects and participants at conservation camps, there is the question of "just how well is the program doing in shaping attitudes toward conservation of natural resources." Little experimental evi- dence has been reported which shows a "changing of attitudes" as a result of these programs. Further, work directed at youth only, whether high school age or college, has failed to recognize the dynamics of our societal change. The adults of today were the youth of yesterday. They are living and working with certain attitudes toward con- servation. They are affording leadership for our youth, and thus should be recognized as an important part of an evaluation of attitudes toward conservation. I. THE PROBLEM Statement of the problem. It is the purpose of this study (l) to compare the conservation attitudes, in certain specific situations, of high school students, college students, and adults; (2) to show the relation between conservation attitudes in these situations and such factors as age. sex, education, living background (urban or rural) and various conservation experiences; and (3) to compare conservation attitudes as influ- enced by 4-H conservation projects, activities, and educational experiences. Importance of the study. Conservation attitudes are fre— quently stressed as one of the most important aims of conserva— tion education. However, in spite of the rather general recog- 4 nition of these aims by conservationists and educators, tools for measuring the effects of conservation education have been few and limited in sc0pe. Especially limited have been those tests of the actual expressed opinion of the individual in a variety of situations. Pencil and paper tests on which the individual expresses knowledge on conservation situations occur most frequently among the available tools. The limitations of these have been recognized; information, rather than conserva— tion attitudes, has been tested. In this study an attempt was made to employ techniques which more effectively evaluate con- servation education efforts by means of attitude studies. A basic hypothesis of this investigation is that "when understanding results in knowledgeable appreciation of natural resource conservation, there is associated a more favorable attitude toward conservation”. Further, that "conservation attitudes are a reflection of knowledgeable appreciation and understanding of natural resource conservation”. II. DEFINITION OF TERMS USED Conservation. The term “conservation" is interpreted in the study as meaning the use of natural resources so as to yield in so far as possible, maximum benefits on a sustained and per— manent basis for the good of society. Natural Resources. The term "natural resource" is inter- 5 preted to mean any natural feature of environment when it has value or usefulness to man. Opinion. An Opinion is interpreted as an expressed attitude. Attitude. The meaning of the term "attitude" was accepted in this investigation as the degree of positive or negative feeling associated with some psychological object. In as much as the "conservation attitude" test was the basic measurement tool in this investigation, a more thorough discussion of the term attitude is herewith offered. Characteristics of attitudes. The characteristics of atti- tudes as recognized by Remmers and Gage (1955) offer added under- standing of What is being measured when dealing with attitudes. The characteristic of "a feeling" differentiates attitudes from detailed, rational, intellectual, cognitive mental Opera- tions. Attitudes are linked to the emotions; pleasant and un- pleasant associations, all the variations and complications in these emotions brought about by learning, play a part in attitudes. The characteristic of "directionality" is found in the "for or against" nature of attitudes. It recognizes that attitudes are characterized by approach or withdrawal, likes or dislikes, avoidance or adient tendencies, favorable or unfavorable re— actions, as these are responses to specific or generalized stimuli. A third characteristic of attitudes is that they are dir- ected at ”something”. This characteristic signifies that atti- tudes are not merely mental images or verbalized ideas. They take on meaning only when they are considered in relation to some object, situation or stimulus. A further characteristic of attitudes is that they "have an effect on behavior” which may be so great that a knowledge of the attitude enables the prediction of behavior. However, this characteristic may be influenced in such a way by other forces that the behavior will not follow the expressed attitude, but rather some other social and attitudinal force or stimulus. A fifth characteristic of attitudes, and possibly one of the most important to this investigation is that they are learned.) Attitudes are linked to the emotions and all the variations and complications in these emotions brought about by learning. Attitudes and certain allied concepts. It is recognized by some investigators that attitudes are closely allied to and often used in pOpular discussion and technical literature as synonyms or near-synonyms to (l) interests, (2) motives, (3) values, (4) appreciation, (5) tastes, (6) mores, (7) moral— ity, (8) morals, (9) ideals, (10) social distance and character. In conservation education, a term often used as a synonym or near-synonym to attitudes is that of "appreciation". The statement, "to develOp an appreciation for the out—of—doors and the world in which we live", can be found in many statements of objectives dealing with natural resources and conservation. Thus, a knowledge test of understanding to serve as an ex- pression of "appreciation" or attitude, may not come-to-grips with the acceptance factor on the part of an individual concern— ing a fundamental so-called conservation principle or concept. Conservation attitude. The term "conservation attitude" was interpreted as meaning the "feeling for or against conserva- tion". Acceptance of this defintion was made after reviewing the characteristics and dimensions of the term "attitude". To measure the degree and intensity of feeling for or against a conservation situation involved a more thorough ex- amination of the dimensions of attitudes. Remmers and Gage (1955) reported that attitudes exhibit various dimensions as follows: (1) favorableness — the degree to which one is for or against a given attitude object; (2) intensity — "the strength of the feeling"; (3) Salience — the readiness with which the attitude can be aroused; its closeness to the sur- face in a person's mind, and (4) generality - the number and variety of attitude objects toward which a person has a single, internally consistent, overall attitude. Remmers and Gage further identify attitudes by "type" in their report of public vs. private and common vs. individual attitudes. "Public attitudes are those that people will talk about freely in almost any social situa— tion; the more a person thinks his attitudes are likely to be disapproved or punished, the more private he is likely to keep them." ”Common attitudes are when many peOple have attitudes of more or less favorableness, intensity, and the like, toward a given atti— tude object; individuals may however have attitudes toward things that no one else is aware of or cares about." It was with this recognition of attitudes and the term con- servation that the testing and measurement devices were developed for this investigation. III. GENERAL PLAN OF THE INVESTIGATION In developing the plan of study, a great deal of emphasis was directed to the "measuring device". It was desired to develop a program of investigation that would compliment on- going conservation education efforts and afford experimentally reliable evidence as a means for the inventory of conservation needs and to serve as a guideline to new and revised techniques and methods. An original objective of the study was an evaluation of the effectiveness of Extension Conservation Education, with a major emphasis on youth and leadership. The plan involved, first, an analysis of conservation programs in terms of material covered and emphasis given by teachers and leaders to various 9 aspects of resource conservation. The second part of the study was an evaluation of the students involved, by measurement of their understandings of fifty basic principles of conservation. The test used was similar to the one developed by Giles in Virginia. However, after months of work in the development and test- ing of the measurement device, certain limitations were recog— nized; namely, the questionable significance of this kind of testing in measuring understanding, and especially "appreciation" of natural resource conservation. Also, after repeated efforts to limit the study to a single conservation education effort such as the Extension 4-H conservation program, the plan was broadened to encompass conservation education efforts designed to supplement the educational experience of students and adults. Attention was directed to "conservation attitudes" rather than retained knowledge. Thus, as the objective was altered along with a change in the measuring device, the new and finalized "plan of the investigation" was develOped. Basic to this investigation was the identification of the variations and similarities existent between peOple relative to their conservation attitudes. It was recognized that every per— son, young or old, has been exposed to some conservation infor- mational or attitudinal situations. Further, it was accepted that "attitudes are learned", and that "attitudes are a reflec- 10 tion of understanding". A key to the measurement of attitudes was found in the realization that "when attitudes are expressed, they truly re- flect understanding only when expressed in an environment free from conflicting forces, social and attitudinal”. Thus, the measuring device and the method of testing acquired added im- portance in the testing of attitudes toward conservation if they were to be a reflection of conservation understandings. Such were the concerns and deliberations in the formation of the measuring device. l;The objective of the study, as revised, was "to develop a method of appraisal with adequate testing tools to (1) measure attitude levels of students and adults with varied backgrounds, (2) compare attitudes of students and adults with varied con- servation experiences, and (3) identify the specific educational conservation experience associated Wlth specific attitude levels and attitude change". CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED STUDIES Most of the early investigations of conservation education were inventories of the extent of conservation teaching through- out the country or in one geographic area. Numerous studies were carried out to determine the extent of general knowledge possessed by a certain group or grade level. Studies dealing with conservation attitudes have been relatively few and only in recent years has any real attention been so directed. I. LITERATURE ON CONSERVATION EDUCATION Shermanl considered the information possessed by elementary school teachers and related this to attitudes. He used a two- part multiple choice questionnaire for his study; one part dealing with information, the other directed to opinions and attitudes. His work correlated teacher background with conserva- tion knowledge and attitudes. This was one of the first studies directed to the effect of the "teacher factor" upon student knowledge. 1 Robert C. Sherman, "The Conservation Attitudes and Infor- mation Possessed by Elementary School Teachers in Training" (Un- published Ph.D. dissertation, University of Missouri, 1950). ll 12 Vessell2 studied conservation education in the rural areas of the United States. He pointed out that "more attention should be given to the social implications of conservation". Likewise, Quaintance3 doing conservation education research at Cornell University recognized the importance of attitudes and the social implications involved in effective conservation education. He cited "testing for attitudes” as needed research. His work brought out the possibility of using "both oral and written re— sponses" after conservation field trips or after conservation readings. Each of these investigations dealt with conservation edu- cation on the college level; however, it was recognized that they could apply to secondary and even elementary grade levels as well. Other studies which may be listed as general conservation education include such diverse areas as: "teacher improvement in conservation education as a result of attending a conserva— 4 tion summer camp" by Masters , and "deveIOping a method of 2Mathew Francis Vessel, "A Study of Conservation Education in the Rural Areas of the United States" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Cornell University, 1940). 3Charles Winfield Quaintance, "Conservation Education in the Schools and Colleges of the United States"(unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Cornell University, 1940), p. 472. William D. Masters, "The Nature and Sc0pe of Instruction in Conservation of Natural Resources in Grades 1—12 in Central Illinois" (unpublished Master's thesis, University of Illinois, 1953). l3 evaluating conservation programs in the elementary schools" by 5 . Messner in 1958. 6 . . . Hone carried out research on conservation education cur- riculums for elementary and secondary grades. However, though many of these investigators alluded to conservation attitudes, and the titles of their studies suggested relevance, no techniques or findings were applicable to this study. Studies Measuring Students Understandings of Conservation Five studies dealing with student understandings were re? viewed. Each attempted to analyze students' conservation under— standings or to measure knowledge of conservation. These in- vestigations had several common characteristics. They all used the multiple-choice testing technique. All were directed at the late elementary or secondary level. These studies were 7 . 8 . 9 10 11 made by Capps , Wievel , and Giles , Donnelly , and Hanselman . 5Clarence J. Messner, "The DevelOpment and Try Out of a Set of Criteria for the Evaluation and Improvement of a Conser- vation Education Program in the Elementary School" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Michigan, 1958). Elizabeth B. Hone, "An Analysis of Conservation Education in Curriculums for Grades Kindergarden Through Twelve" (unpub- lished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Southern California, 1959). 7Forest Olin Capps, "A Study of the Conservation Informa- tion Possessed by Pupils in Missouri" (unpublished Ph.D. dis- sertation, University of Missouri, 1939). 8Bernard F. Wievel, "Attitude Toward and Knowledge of Con- servation Possessed by Students in Iowa High Schools" (unpub- lished Ph.D. dissertation, Iowa State University, 1947). 9'lo'llSee following page. 14 Each of the five studies was concerned primarily with the use and management of natural resources and did not consider, to any extent, the social and economic aspects of conservation. Capps12 stressed the lack of research regarding subject matter being taught in conservation. He states, "Experimenta- tion on the develOpment and grade placement of subject matter is a very essential element in the whole program of conservation education". He also cited the need for future studies related to the effectiveness of conservation education through mass media, such as newspapers, magazines, radio and movies. Of special interest to this study were the findings and methods used by Wievel.l3 Wievel's investigation was one of the early attempts to measure both attitudes toward and knowledge of conservations. His research was conducted on the high school level. 9Robert H. Giles, Jr., "Conservation Knowledge of Virginia School Pupils" (unpublished Master's thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, 1957). 10Rose A. Donnelly, "A Study of the Conservation Ideas of 282 Urban Children" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1957). 11David Lee Hanselman, "The Effectiveness of a Touring Con- servation Assembly Program and Follow—up Classroom Visits in Teaching Conservation in the New York State Secondary Schools" (unpublished Master's thesis, Cornell University, 1958). 12 . . Forrest Olin Capps, Op.c1t. 13Bernard F. Wievel, Op.cit. 15 The study took place in Iowa during the fall of 1946 and the high schools involved in his study sample were chosen at random. Both freshman and seniors were tested. These two groups were used in order to determine whether seniors who had received several years of secondary school instruction differed from freshmen who had just entered high school. Wievel was unable to find a suitable attitude scale or a desirable test of knowledge in conservation, and was forced to construct his own instrument. His test was composed of three parts, (1) a personal data sheet, (2) a twenty—five statement attitude scale of the Likert—type and (3) a seventy—five ques- tion multiple-choice achievement test. His test was designed so that all students could complete it in one class period. The attitude portion had a reliability coefficient of 0.71 and the achievement portion was 0.90. Some of the principle conclusions by Wievel that were germane to this study are: Grade level. Significant differences in attitude and general and specific achievement existed among the grade level groups, with seniors making higher scores on all parts of the test that freshmen. Sex. Boys made higher scores than girls on all parts of the test and these differences in scores were signifi- cant, except in the case of achievement in mineral con- servation. School grades. Students whose grades were above average made higher scores on the attitude scale and gen- eral achievement test than students whose grades were average or below average. 16 Place of residence; farm, non—farm. Place of resi- dence, when classified as farm and non-farm, was associated with significant differences in general achievement and achievement in soil conservation. Farm students made higher scores on these parts of the test. Students living on farms did not differ significantly in their attitudes, or in achievement in wildlife, forest, mineral or water conservation from non-farm students. Natural science courses. Students who had taken a greater number of courses in the natural sciences had more favorable attitudes toward conservation and made better scores on the general achievement test. Agriculture courses. Students who had taken some courses in agriculture made higher scores on all parts of the test than students who had not taken these courses. Social science courses. There was a tendency for students who had taken a greater number of courses in the social sciences to have slightly more favorable attitudes toward conservation and to make slightly lower scores on the general achievement test. Conservation activities. There was a significant tendency for students who had engaged in a greater number of conservation activities to achieve better scores on both the attitude scale and the general achievement test. The study made by Gilesl4 in Virginia was a noteworthy re- finement of the knowledge test, in that it was related to con— servation concepts and principles. His investigation further substantiated the importance of conservation activities and reading materials in increasing the knowledge of students in the sixth through the twelfth grades. Giles found the greatest 14Robert H. Giles, Jr., Conservation Knowledge of Virginia School Pupils, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and the United States Department of Agriculture CooPerating, Bulletin No. 257 (Blacksburg, Va.: Extension Service, 1958). pp. 7-17. 17 increase in conservation knowledge with the Junior High students, reinforcing the importance of effective conservation education at this age level. Comparisons of background and socio-economic factors showed significant differences based on school or home backgrounds. An important part of his work was the development of conservation concepts and principles upon which to base the questions in the knowledge test. In 1961 the Conservation Foundation made a major contribu- tion to the refinement and supplementation of earlier work on conservation knowledge testing. Working in COOperation with the Educational Testing Service of Princeton, they developed a new series of "Tests of Reasoning in Conservation". The tests have been adapted for use at either the high school or college level. They have greatly broadened the sc0pe of earlier tests and are readily available, thus adding to the effectiveness of many conservation education program activities. In addition to serving as an effective test, they may serve to Stimulate more careful identification of conservation teaching methods and objectives.15 Studies evaluating the extent and effectiveness of con- servation education were highlighted in 1955 by the investigation ‘_¥ .;5The Conservation Foundation, in c00peration with Educa- tional Testing Service of Princeton, New Jersey, Test of Reason- ing in Conservation.(New York: The Conservation Foundation, 1961). ..... 18 . . 16 by Lively and Preiss , under the sponsorship of the Conserva- tion Foundation. The investigation was a national survey of the teaching of conservation in the colleges and universities of the United States. Their survey showed how widely courses dealing with conservation are scattered throughout a number of existing departments, and how sharply teaching is influenced by the instructors' previous training and personal attitudes to- ward conservation. "No comprehensive survey of this sort has pre— viously been undertaken, and the findings which it brings to view are of importance to all who are in— terested in the develOpment of a constructive national attitude toward the conservation of this country's natural resources". In their survey the bulk of the data were obtained from mailed questionnaires answered by teachers and officials of a wide cross section of American colleges and universities. Additional data were obtained from official catalogues and other publications. In the Land Grant and large universities of over 7,000 enrollment, 94 percent were teaching some conservation. Of the other 1,024 schools participating in the survey, 55.3 per- cent were teaching some conservation. Of special interest were the findings of "how teachers 16 Charles E. Lively and Jack J. Preiss, Conservation Edu- cation in American Colleges (New York: The Ronald Press, 1957). 19 view conservation", and the "personal characteristics and pro— fessional attitude of conservation teachers". 1. Interest in the subject: 69% of the teachers of con- servation professed a strong interest, 28% a moderate interest and 2% claimed but slight interest in con- servation. Behavior of the American peOple toward Conservation: Nearly half of the teachers thought that we were un- necessarily wasteful, approximately 30 percent thought we are indifferent, and nearly 20 percent that we are moderately economical, or most economical. The outlook for resource supplies: 55 percent believed that we shall have temporary shortages, 27 percent believed that we shall have serious shortages, and 11 percent felt that we shall have no serious shortages. Teachers in Land Grant and large universities were reported to be more tolerant of our behavior toward resources, more op- tomistic about possibilities for future expansion and less ap— prehensive about resource shortages. Replies concerning "conservation's lack of popularity" were highly consistent for all types of institutions. The teach- ers believed that "ignorance of the rate at which our resources are used" was the major factor. Four other factors mentioned were: 1. "carryover of destructive attitudes of the past," 3. 4. 20 "Feeling of irresponsibility for the state of re- sources." "Pressures from industry to consume and discard," and "The belief that science will save us." Conclusions about the attitudes and opinions of teachers engaged in the teaching of conservation were reported as follows: 1. The teachers of conservation believed that natural science was the best field for teaching the subject, but that social science can also contribute; They saw the generalist as a person who deals with the economic, sociological, and educational aspects of conservation -- dealing with public relations and publicity rather than classroom teaching; They believed that conservation should be taught to all students, and that it is an essential subject for liberal arts students; They saw conservation as a subject to be integrated into related courses, although they did not reject special courses; Finally, they felt that the sociological and educa- tional aspects of the subject should be emphasized, closely related to the individual interests of the student. 7 . . , l Lively and Preiss, op.c1t., pp. 238—243. 21 II. LITERATURE ON CONSERVATION ATTITUDES The study of attitudes is a relatively young subject. Early studies in attitudes were carried on in the 1920's by Thurstone18 and his associates, with major emphasis directed at psychological interests and develOpment of new tools in psychology. In the 1930's this work was further investigated by Likert.19 He built upon the work of Thurstone, developing the "Likert Scale" which was much simpler to construct than the Thurstone "tools in psychology". The Likert attitude scale involves the method of "summated ratings". It deals with the use of statements of attitude toward some psychological object. The method of constructing the scale involves the use of five degrees of responses: SA meaning strongly agree; A mean- ing Agree; U meaning undecided; D meaning disagree; and SD meaning strongly disagree. The subject taking the test encir- cles the response which best fits his own attitude. The method of scoring the Likert scale is based upon first establishing which of the statements represent favorable atti— tudes and which represent unfavorable attitudes. Each state- ment is scored on the basis of 4 points for full agreement with 18H. H. Remmers, Introduction to Opinion and Attitude Mea- surements (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1954), pp. 8. l9 Rensie Likert, "A Technique for the Measurement of Attitudes," Archives of Psychology No. 140 (June, 1932), pp. 5— 52. 22 a favorable attitude, 3 points for one step removed from full agreement, 2 points for two steps removed, and 1 point for three steps removed from full agreement. For complete lack of agree- ment, or four steps removed, the score is 0. The scoring pro- cedure is reversed for statements expressing unfavorable atti- tudes. Thus, the attitude score for a number of statements is the sum of the weights of responses. During the past two decades Remmers20 at Purdue University has made further contributions to the field of attitude studies. His work has been in the refinement and "making practical ap— plication" of Thurstone's and Lickert's findings. His work is recognized as highly authoritative in the field of attitude re- search and measurement. 21 In 1936, McConnel using five attitude objects, made a study of attitude changes regarding conservation. Measurement of attitude toward conservation was made following fifteen minutes of classroom instruction. Attitude conditioning in the direction of the instructional materials was reported to be retained a year following instruction. Wievel22 in 1947 used a twenty—five question attitude test in conjunction with his knowledge test of Iowa High School stu- dents. Other investigators interested in conservation education 20Remmers, Op.cit., p. 8. 21Remmers, 0p.cit., p. 20. 22Wievel, 0p.cit. 23 have used elementary methods of analysis and classified under- standings and attitudes together. The work of Laug23 in New York was a ground-breaking pro— ject in Conservation attitudes. His 66-question testing instru- ment, using the Likert attitude scale, enabled him to make sta- tistical analyses of college student attitudes toward conservation. His was the first attempt to develop a comprehensive "test" of attitudes toward conservation with measurable coefficients of reliability. The statements used in the attitude scale were largely re- corded by Laug as he heard them verbally expressed. Conservation literature was utilized to help determine whether the attitude statement was a common or uncommon one. Considerable care was taken to establish the validity of each statement and the reli- ability of the scale. A basic objective of Laug's study was to determine if a significant change in attitudes toward conservation could be achieved by means of "practical” conservation activities. A control group was established as the experimental group was organized. Each received a pre-test at the beginning of the investigation and a post—test at the termination. 3 . George M. Laug, "A Study of Expressed Attitudes of Pro- spective Teachers Taking Part in Practical Conservation Activi- ties" (unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, Syracuse University, 1960). 24 The college biology class was used, composed mostly of freshmen and a few SOphomores. The class was subdivided into sections of twenty—five students each. The Biology course covered two semesters, and the investigation took place during the spring semester of 1958. The experimental group received a special two—week class- room conservation unit. Special files on conservation were available for supplementing the lectures with visual aids. The major emphasis, however, was placed on the field experience which Laug thought would be very important in helping formulate favorable attitudes toward conservation. The control group received neither the two—week classroom conservation unit, nor the field experiences. Results of the study showed a significant difference be- tween the means of the pre-test and the post-test for the ex- perimental group. This group showed an advance of 11.51 points, established as significant by the use of the "t" test for correlated means. In the case of the control group, the mean attitude change was 3.16 points in an unfavorable direction. The results of a comparison of attitude score to personal and educational fac- tors will be discussed later in this report. Laug24 recognized the need for additional research in the 4George M. Laug, "Do It Yourself Conservation and Its Effect Upon Attitudes of Prospective Teachers," The American Biology Teacher, Vol. XXLV (January, 1962), pp. 50-55. 25 area of conservation attitudes. One suggested study was re- lated to the "retention of change of attitude." He asked the question, "if this attitude scale should be administered a year following the conservation experience, would the signifi- cant advances remain?" He suggests that a study to determine the "staying power of attitudes" over specific periods of time would be in order. A second suggested study was one showing how teachers alter their teaching in response to "attitude changing" con- servation experiences. Finally, Laug cites the need for fur- ther statistical treatment of certain factors in the background of students and their relationship to conservation attitude 25 change. A most recent investigation dealing with attitudes toward 26 conservation was completed by Whiteman in 1965. His study was carried out in Michigan working with the Freshman biology class at Spring Arbor College. Major attention was directed to the effect of course content upon conservation attitudes. He was concerned with attitude change and the possibility of modifying attitudes with new experiences. 25Laug, op.cit., p. 119. 26 ' Eldon Eugene Whiteman, "A comparative Study of a Tradi— tional and a Specially Designed College Course in Biology Upon Conservation Attitudes," (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Michi- gan State University, 1965). 26 Whiteman's experimental and control groups were so estab— lished as to determine whether it was possible to "change exist- ing attitudes toward conservation concepts by exposing the stu— dent to conservation subject matter that becomes a part of the college freshman biology course”. The second semester biology class was selected as the experimental group, and the first semester class was used as the control group. A biology class at Northwestern College, Iowa, was used as a second control group. The course content for the experimental group included a specially prepared five-week unit on conservation, whereas the course for the control groups contained no conservation unit. The ”testing” instrument used for measuring attitude change was the Likert—type scale develOped by Laug in New York. Cer— tain refinements were made to the scale to facilitate I.B.M. tabulation and scoring. Students in both the experimental and control groups were tested at the beginning and at the end of the course. Attitude measurements were made to study the difference between the means of the groups. There was no intent to diagnose individual scores or score-ratings on specific test items. As was the case with Laug's results, the findings reported by Whiteman showed a significant post-test difference between the means of the experimental group and the control groups. The pre-tests of all groups were not significantly different. 27 The 1% level of confidence was adOpted as the criterion for significance, with the 5% level considered as questionable significance. (Laug used the 1% level of confidence as signifi- cant in his statistical analysis). Some important findings resulting from Whiteman's study were: 1. 5. There was a positive attitude change in the experi- mental group: No statistically significant change in attitudes occurred in the control groups; Sex was not a statistically significant factor in attitude change; Students with a rural background showed significant change in attitudes while urban and suburban did not; A course in high school geography had no significant effect upon attitudes; Students with 4-H training had significantly higher scores on the pre—test than those without 4—H. Summer camp experience appeared to affect attitudes as those students scored higher on the pre—test; Scouting had no statistically significant effect upon attitudes at the time of beginning or termina— tion of the course. Of special interest to the present study is the close agree- ment'between the findings by Whiteman, and those of Laug who did 28 his research in an entirely different geographic area, eight years earlier. Further comparisons of their findings will be referred to in other portions of this report. III. LIMITATIONS OF PREVIOUS STUDIES Much work has been done to analyze and evaluate conserva- tion education. They are considered in two groups. Investigations using a knowledge test Most of the research in the field of conservation education has resorted to the school—type knowledge test in evaluating conservation courses, activities, special conservation programs, and general pOpulation understanding of conservation. While each work has made a contribution to the need for effective evaluation, only a few have been effective in focusing on the real objective of conservation education - the changing of attitudes based upon knowledgeable understanding. Further, even fewer have seriously come to grips with the part that con— servation education plays in the total educational and attitudi- nal experiences of the individual, the group and the community. Investigations using an attitude test Whiteman's findings effectively substantiated his thesis that a specially designed college course in biology can signi- ficantly enhance conservation attitudes. There is however, a 29 need to reach more varied age groups and educational levels. Little factual evidence was found by either Laug or Whiteman to show a difference in the changing of attitudes correlated with such factors as (l) age,(2) sex, (3) education, (4) background, or any of a number of educational extra—curricular activities. This does not indicate that a difference did not exist, but may mean rather that the instrument or method of testing was not sufficiently refined to distinguish such differences. Investigations dealing with conservation attitudes must recognize that in measuring attitude change one is hard pressed to refrain from influencing attitudes by reference to the ob- jective of attitude change in the conservation educational ex— perience. Whiteman made a special effort to limit his material in his "specially designed" biology course to factual material regarding conservation and resource use. At the same time, recognizing that in the teaching of the control group the pre— vious semester, his efforts were directed to keep from calling attention to conservation or conservation attitudes. The size of the sampled pOpulation, though large enough for measuring significantly the mean differences between the Pre and the post—test of the total groups, was not large enough to permit comparison of sub-groups based on age, past exper- ieEnces, etc. Selection of groups to be studied might be en- hiinced by larger sample pOpulations, directing attention to 30 groups with a higher prOportion of the characteristics to be studied. In earlier conservation attitude investigations, consider- ably more information regarding variables of sex, education, experiences and exposures has been obtained than has been ef— fectively measured or analyzed. Also, each of the studies has been directed at a narrow age or educational range. It would seem that these newer attitude testing instruments might be effectively used in investigations that (1) sample larger populations, (2) recognize specific population groups, and (3) reach a broader spectrum of age and education. CHAPTER III MATERIALS USED AND GROUPS STUDIED The materials used in carrying out this investigation were the result of considerable trial and exploration. Efforts to evaluate the affect of different factors and educational exper- iences upon attitudes toward conservation were of prime impor- tance in meeting the objectives of this study. The attitudes of both youth and adults were of concern in developing the pro- gram. It was noted that the findings by Wievell seemingly tend to disagree with the basic hypothesis upon which this study was founded. His findings were based upon an attitude test and knowledge achievement test. In his evaluation of the four var— iables (1) grade level, (2) sex, (3) school marks, and (4) resi- dence background, he reported that significant differences ex- isted in both attitude and knowledge achievement. Attitude and I I .knowledge appeared to be directly related, reinforcing his jmethod of measuring knowledge as an indicator of attitude. lHowever, the way the test was develOped and administered could ‘ 1Bernard F. Wievel, "Attitude Toward and Knowledge of Con- servation Possessed by Students in Iowa High Schools" (unpub- lished Ph.D. dissertation, Iowa State College, 1947). 31 32 well account for this relationship. For the most part, his attitude questions could be classified as "attitude-type know- ledge" questions. This understanding and evaluation is funda- mental, in my Opinion, to fully appreciate the merit of Wievel's study, while at the same time recognizing some of the limitations which he also recognized and reported. His work has served to motivate further work with attitudes toward conservation. Both Laug2 and Whiteman3 had closely reviewed the work Of Wievel in develOping their attitude studies for college students. Laug stated that Wievel's work was very helpful in develOping his attitude scale. Whiteman pointed out that Wievel's research was conducted on the high school level and that this made compari- sons difficult. He did not feel that college freshmen attitude studies should be compared with those Of high school students. The efforts of earlier investigators in seemingly different fields may well yield, on careful analysis, bases for new studies. In developing a new study, one must be careful to not dismiss some important study just because it is not dealing with exact- ly the same age group, educational background or social group. -—._ 2 0 George Milton Laug, ”A Study of Expressed Attitudes of Prospective Teachers Taking Part in Practical Conservation Activities," (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Syracuse Uni- verSitYp 1960) I p- 580 3Eldon Eugene Whiteman, "A Comparative Study of the Effect ofa Traditional and a Specially Designed College Course in Biology upon Conservation Attitudes," (unpublished Ph.D. dis- sEértation, Michigan State University, 1965), pp. 63—65. 33 It was with this philOSOphy, that the conceptual frame— work and develOpment of the testing tools was completed. After several months Of working to develOp a combination type evalua- tion tool similar to Wievel's, with some fundamental revisions, the program was tested on both high school age students and adults. It soon became evident that one type of question was conflicting with the other. Especially was it evident that the knowledge—type questions had to be geared to a specific age or educational level, while many of the attitude-type questions appeared to be satisfactory for varied ages and educational background. It was at this point that the writer re-investi- gated the work of Laug in New York and at the same time re- viewed the testing tool used by Whiteman in Michigan. Though both used the same test questions with minor variations, they were quite specific about the application Of this particular testing tool to college students. However, this appeared to be some Of the best work in the field of evaluation Of attitudes toward conservation. Even though it had only been used to date with college students, the testing tool was further reviewed for possible use with both high school students and adults. Whiteman made some of his unused tests available for this investigation as a possible testing instrument suitable for college students, yet adaptable for both adults and high school students. 34 An early revision was made of the complete test, altering the wording in some cases to ”ease" interpretation and to clarify or "intensify" the statement or concept. This was done to justify the method of scoring, and to try to make the testing tool adapt— able to a wider range of ages and educational background. The final revision and reorganization was completed in March, 1965. Two questions were eliminated, making a total of 64 questions in the test. The program was organized into four parts. Each part was a separate page, color-coded, and identi— fiable as to attitudes toward some specific conservation prin- ciples, concepts or conflicts. Further, the test was so or- ganized as to Offer 16 questions in each part, with the scoring such that in addition to a total score for the entire attitude test, it was possible to measure the score for each Of the four parts. See Appendix A. In addition, the personal data sheet was revised. Spe- cific course work as a variable was eliminated, and conservation project work for 4—H was added to the personal data information. I. PERSONAL DATA SURVEY Information on the personal data sheet was divided into three main sections: Section A dealt with personal character— istics; Section B with extra curricular activities, and; Section C with 4-H Conservation projects and activities. It should be 35 noted that the adult personal data sheet (Section A) was slightly altered. Section B and C were the same for both stu- dents and adults. Examples of each section of the Personal Data Sheets are shown in Appendix A. Data for this study were obtained by the stratified sam- pling method. Snedecor4 described the stratified sampling method as follows, "The experimenter usually sets up controlled conditions, or describes actual conditions, thus limiting his populations to approximate homogeneity. . . . These investi- gators (economists and sociologists) attempt to segregate their various populations into subdivisions or strata, each stratum approximating homogeneity." By using three different age groups (high school students, college students and adults) representing three homogeneous age ranges and three separate "special" education experiences (conservation camp, college course and leader-teacher workshOp) it was felt that the requirements of stratified sampling had been satisfied. Inasmuch as each group to be sampled had com- mon characteristics but of varying magnitude and degree, each was analyzed as a separate part of the whole pOpulation sample. II. SAMPLING PROCEDURES No particular attention was given to Observing "spot 4George W. Snedecor, Statistical Methods (The Iowa State College Press, Ames, Iowa, l946),p. 454. 36 locations", or obtaining samples that would represent the entire spectrum of conditions that might effect conservation attitudes. Rather, the samples were chosen with respect to particular ex- periences and personal characteristics. Each sampled popula- tion was first evaluated as follows: 1. How well they might represent the characteristics being studied; 2. How well they represented a geographic cross-section of the state; 3. The existence of sample variation in personal chara- cteristics, seeking at least a twenty percent repre- sentation for a majority of the variables; 4. Identifiable as to participation in one Of the designated "special" conservation experiences; and 5. The existence of a control sample representing at least 20 percent of a total group. It should be pointed out that in the case Of the adult group, a mailed questionnaire was used to sample a "control group" - teachers and leaders who had not had the conservation workshOp experience. This was accomplished by incorporating the control sampling with the questionnaire sent to each Of the participants of the 1964 conservation workshOp. They were asked to complete the personal data sheet and fill out the attitude questionnaire, and also to choose a person in their 37 area of interest who had never attended the workshOp. Of the 230 questionnaires sent, 105 were returned for the participants and 95 returned for the "control sample". Attention is directed to the cover letter used, as shown in Appendix B. With the high school students a mailed questionnaire was also used. This was sent to the delegates Of the 1963 and 1964 State 4—H Conservation Camp. It was the Opinion Of the investi- gator that this added sampling of those having had the conserva- tion camp experience 1 and 2 years earlier could add insight, comparative analysis and strength to the quality of the sample. In order to identify and validate the overall population sample, the various characteristics of the groups tested were analyzed and compared. Each of three broad groups were analyzed separately and identified as follows: Group I - High school students; Group II - College students; and Group III - Adults The information taken from the personal data sheet, com- pleted by each individual participant, was used. This was coded and transferred to punch cards for sorting and I.B.M. tabulation. III. CONSERVATION ATTITUDE QUESTIONNAIRE As was stated earlier, the conservation attitude question- naire used in this study was a revision and rearrangement of 38 the testing instrument develOped by Laug, and later refined by Whiteman. The questionnaire was organized into four parts and color-coded as follows: Part I (white) - Sixteen statements dealing with general attitudes regarding conservation problems, the importance of conservation in our society, and the recognition Of what we mean when we see or use the term conservation. Part 2 (pink) - Sixteen attitudinal statements dealing with conservation problems of our forest resources and wildlife resources. Attention is directed to attitudes concerning management Of the resources and to their inter- relationships, as well as further recognition Of the mean- ing of conservation and conservation practices. Part 3 (green) - Sixteen statements related to attitudes toward soil and water resources, the need for conservation practices, and the conservation movement in a democracy, as related to personal freedom and economics. Part 4 (yellow) - Sixteen attitudinal statements concern- ing the role of the individual in conservation, as well as general attitudes toward conservation problems, the importance of conservation and what we mean when we use the term conservation. Method of Scoring In an effort to further explain and identify the nature 39 of the statements, as revised, in each of the four parts of the questionnaire, attention is directed to two sample statements from each part. Associated with each is an example of the method of scoring. The following examples show the first and eleventh state- ment for each part of the questionnaire. The underlined re- sponse indicates full agreement with a most favorable attitude toward conservation. Part 1 (white page): SA-Strongly Agree; A-Agree; U—Undecided; D—Disagree; SD-Strongly Disagree; SA A U D SD 1. Progress in our country will be retarded if we use effective conservation measures. SA A U D SD 11. The subject of conservation just doesn't interest me. Part 2 (pink page): SA A U D SD 17. Hunting is very poor conservation. SA A U D §2_ 27. When a forest is managed for conservation purposes, it means that no trees should be cut. Part 3 (green page): SA A U D §2_ 33. A man should be allowed to use his land as he sees fit. .§A_ A U D SD 43. An effective method to bring about con- servation measures is to prove to the farmer that they will make the farmer more prosperous. 40 Part 4 (yellow page): SA A U D .§2 49. I am only concerned with our present standard of living. Future generations will be able to take care of their own. SA A U D .§2 59. To practice conservation within the home is too time consuming. In scoring the questionnaire statements, 4 points are given for each item that is in full agreement with the underlined re- sponse. Thus, a participant selecting all the responses as underlined, would receive a total of 32 points for the eight items. If, for example, the response Of Agree (A) was selected for all eight items, the scoring would be one point for each Of seven items and 3 points for the item numbered 43, making a total score of 10 points. A response of Undecided (U) is scored with 2 points, being just two steps removed from full agreement with the Strongly Disagree (SD) or Strongly Agree (SA) response, and Wbuld give a total score Of 16. Method Of Grouping Scores and Score Range As was stated earlier, the sampling device was composed of a four—page questionnaire, with sixteen questions or state- ments on each page. Each question had a maximum score of 4 points, thus each page had a maximum score of 64 points, making a total of 256 points. A maximum score reflected strong agree- ment or strong disagreement with each question or statement. In analyzing the method of scoring it is seen that an 41 undecided (U) answer was scored with 2 points. Thus, if all questions were scored as (U) undecided, the potential score would be equal to 128. Where all of the questions were marked favorable to conservation such as an Ag£§§_(A) or Disagree (D), the potential score of three points per question would equal a total score of 192. In establishing a "Medium" score range, for a reference point, the distribution of scores in Group I was used, for this showed 1/3 in the ”Medium" range, with 1/3 below and 1/3 above the medium. Thus, in setting a scale Of "degree Of favorability", it was assumed that a score range of 177 to 192 could be accept— able as a "medium" degree of favorability. The mean score of the high school group (184.08) was used as the reference point for mean score comparisons, and the score range of 177-192 as the reference point for percentage distribution differences. Scores of 193 to 224 were considered as representing a ”high"degree of favorability and scores Of 225 and above, were considered as representing attitudes Of "very high" degree of favorability toward conservation. In establishing the range for the "low" and "very low" degrees of favorability, the scores ranging from 145 to 176 were considered "low", and scores below 145 were regarded as "very low" degree of favorability toward conservation. 42 Score Range Degree of Favorability Below 145. . . . . . . . . . . . Very low 145-176 . . . . . . . . . . . . Low 177-192 . . . . . . . . . . . . Medium 193-224 . . . . . . . . . . . . High 225 and above. . . . . . . . . . Very high This method Of grouping was used in reporting the Analysis of the Contingency Tables (cross tabulations) for data for all three groups, in an effort to make it possible to investigate and relate attitudes more effectively. IV. SPECIAL EXPERIENCE ANALYSIS-METHODS AND PROCEDURES In order to assess the value of conservation educational experiences upon attitude change, a "special" situation was evaluated for each of the groups. In group I, the "special” experience studied was the state 4-H conservation camp, held annually in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The sampling was structured to compare attitudes of those with and without this experience. For group II, the "special situation investigated was a conservation oriented college course. Comparisons were made by means Of a pre-test at the beginning of the term, and a post- test at the end of the term. Four conservation oriented classes were studied, with major emphasis directed at two classes of 43 prospective teachers taking (for the first time,) a "conserva- tion education course?. The "special" situation used for the adults in group III, was the summer conservation workshOp for teachers and leaders, held annually at Higgins Lake. Three samplings were made for the comparative analysis. One sampling represented those who had attended the workshOp in 1964. A second sampling represented teachers and leaders who had never attended the workshOp. The third sampling was taken during the 1965 workshop, representing teachers and leaders while attending. The three "special” situations were selected to Offer an educational experience specifically designed for each group, which would afford evaluation of effectiveness of an important conservation education effort. Retention of Conservation Attitudes As reported by Laug in his study of "Expressed Attitudes of Prospective Teachers Taking Part in Practical Conservation Activities," a major concern is the retention of these attitudes over a period of time. As part of this investigation, the sampling and survey Of High School students involved the additional feature of "reten- tion". The sampling was designed to reach and test a large percentage Of youth having a 4-H Club experience. Associated with 4-H Club work and conservation projects is a special 44 conservation experience offered to a select group of 4-H Club members each year — the week-long annual State 4-H Conservation Camp, held traditionally in June. Many varied activities are associated with instruction and assistance by 20 to 25 out— standing conservation specialists. As program resource peOple, these specialists cooperate to afford a well integrated con- servation educational experience. As a partial measure of the effect of this program, the High School youth were given the attitude "test" at the beginning Of the program and then ”post—tested" at the end of the conserva- tion camp. In addition to this sampling of the 1965 conservation camp delegates, the alumni Of both the 1964 and 1963 conservation camp were surveyed. Questionnaires with apprOpriate explanation and cover-letter, were sent to each 1964 and 1963 alumnus. Of the 130 questionnaires mailed to the 1964 alumni, there were 86 returned, representing a 66.1 percent return. Of the 148 ques- tionnaires sent to the 1963 alumni, 74 were completed and re- turned, making a 50.0 percent return. With the results of this mail survey, there was an Oppor— tunity to compare levels of attitudes Of these two additional groups having a similar conservation experience, one and two years earlier. Dr; 45 V. STATISTICAL TREATMENT OF DATA Two methods of comparative analysis were used: the mean score analysis, and the percentage distribution of scores. For determination of significance of differences, the t-test was used for mean score comparisons, and the Chi square (X2) was used for score distribution differences. The null hypothesis is a useful tool in testing the signi- ficance of differences. This hypothesis asserts that there is no true difference between two pOpulations, and that the differ- ence found between samples is, therefore, accidental and unim- portant. It constitutes a challenge. The function of an ex- periment is to give the facts a chance to refute, or fail to refute this challenge. t-Test To determine whether a difference between two mean scores was significant the "t" test was utilized. The formula used was as follows: H tn : w E : Mean score SI 3% S - Standard deviation N1 N2 N 3 NO. Of Observations A primary concern in this investigation was to determine if there was a significant difference between the mean scores of groups and situations tested, identifying varied educational 46 conditions and backgrounds. The 5% level of confidence was adOpted as the criterion Of significance for this study, with the 1% level accepted as very significant. The term 1% level Of confidence is inter— preted as an indication that there is less than one chance in a hundred that the computed "t” value, or larger, could have occurred by chance. This affords the rejection of the null hypothesis with the confidence of being correct ninety-nine times in one hundred at the 1% level, and ninety—five times in one hundred at the 5% level of confidence. Guilford (1950) reported the generalized criteria for sig- nificance or confidence levels of "t", in a normal distribution, as follows: Value of "t" Level of Confidence Rough Conclusions 2.58 At the 1% level Very significant 1.96 At the 5% level Significant 1.65 At the 10% level Not significant Chi Square (X2) TO determine whether the differences in score distribution were significant, the chi square (X2) was utilized. The for- mula used was as follows: k X2 E ”1 ‘ F1) 1 2 1" ll H = Observed frequency F. 3 Expected frequency 47 The criteria for significance or confidence levels Of X2 with different degrees of freedom (d.f.) is shown as follows: Percentiles of the X2 Distribution d.f. Percentiles 90 95 99 3 6.25 7.81 11.34 4 7.78 9.49* 13.28 6 10.64 10.59 16.81 8 13.36 15.51 20.09 9 14.68 16.92 21.67 12 18.55 21.03 26.22 * Note: An X2 = 9.49 with 4 d.f. would show Significance at the 5% level of confidence. CHAPTER IV RESULTS OF THE INVESTIGATION The main objectives Of the investigation were, first, to survey the conservation attitudes of different groups, second, to investigate the factors affecting conservation attitudes, and third, to study the effect of special experiences upon atti- tude change. Thus, the investigation was developed in three phases. Testing the Instrument It seemed necessary to compare the revised questionnaire designed for this study with that used by Laug and Whiteman. Recognizing that Whiteman's questionnaire was essentially the same as Laug's, the specific comparisons were directed to Whiteman's attitude instrument which was available for compara- tive analysis. A trial group was tested using the Whiteman questionnaire, with the two items eliminated that were not included in the revised scale for this study. The "trial group" was composed of college juniors and seniors enrolled in a conservation edu- cation course designed for prospective teachers. The Whiteman "test" was administered as a pre-test at the 48 49 beginning of the term in January, 1965. A post-test was made in March, 1965, at the end Of the term. Results of the pre-test and the post-test of the "trial group" were compared to the results found by Whiteman. The pre- test Of the ”trial group” had a mean score of 183.5. This com- pared tO the pre-test for Whiteman's experimental group Of 179.1, showing a difference Of 4.4 points in the mean scores. In the post—test Of the trial group, the mean score was 196.8. With Whiteman's post-test of his experimental group, the mean score was 188.2, showing a difference of 8.6 points in the mean scores of the two groups. After considering the size and character of the sampled ”trial group" as compared to Whiteman's experimental group, it was concluded that the sampling device was reliable with this slightly Older age group and was not significantly changed by the elimination Of two items from the questionnaire. With further testing of "trial groups" using the revised questionnaire Of 64 items, it was concluded that results were being achieved similar to those Of the original questionnaire used by Whiteman and Laug. The "trial" tests with high school students and with adults, also gave acceptable results indi— cating the adaptability of the revised scale for each of these groups. 50 I. CONSERVATION ATTITUDES OF THE RESPECTIVE GROUPS Each Of the three broad groups studied represented a differ- ent age and educational level. The measured attitude scores of each group were therefore viewed as a reflection of this age and educational difference. The first aim Of this study was to determine whether differ- ences in conservation attitudes existed between the groups, and to what degree. The mean score for each group is briefly sum- marized as follows: Group I with 585 individuals had a mean score of 184.08; Group II with 462 individuals had a mean score Of 191.32; Group III with 571 individuals had a mean score Of 196.93. The age and educational difference between the groups appar— ently contributed to a difference in attitude levels. In com- paring the scores of the high school age students and the col- lege students, there was a difference of 6.24 points. The adult group had a mean score of 11.85 points above the high school students, and 5.61 points above that of the college students. In a statistical treatment, the differences were found to be significant at the 1% level Of confidence? A summary and * t-Test for Analysis of Mean Score Differences: Group I and II — "t" = 6.23 - Significant at 1% Group II and III - "t" = 5.07 - Significant at 1% 51 explanation of the statistical treatment of the data is shown in Appendix C. TO further identify the character of each group, the atti— tude score of each sampled sub-group was compared and related to the mean score Of the total group. Group I - High School Students There was a total of 585 observations in this group repre- senting six identifiable sub-groups. See Table 1. Sub—grogp l - Biology class, largely without 4-H or any conservation project work had a mean score of 178.50. This sub— group represented the total biology course work (six sections) in Richland High School. It was hOped that this sub-group would ‘be representative of the high school age group and could serve as a "control group" in comparing results of those who had had 4-H conservation projects and activities. Sub—group 2 - Delegates to the 1965 Conservation Camp. Their mean score of 179.69 represents their "pre-test" attitudes, before attending the camp. Sub—group 3 — Alumni of the 1965 Conservation Camp, tested immediately after attending the camp, had a mean score of 187.11. Sub-group 4 - Alumni of the 1964 conservation camp, tested one year after attending, had a mean score of 193.28 which was 9.20 above the total group mean. Sub—group 5 - Alumni of the 1963 conservation camp, tested 52 TABLE 1 COMPARISON OF CONSERVATION ATTITUDE SCORES FOR THE SIX SUB-GROUPS IN GROUP I (HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS) Mean (Part) Score Mean NO. Score 4(1) (21, (3) (4l_ 1. Biology Class 132 178.50 47.12 46.15 38.89 46.33 2. Conservation Camp Delegates (1965) 138 179.69 48.12 45.45 39.60 46.51 3. 1965 Conservation Camp Alumni 103 187.11 49.18 47.91 40.80 49.21 4. 1964 Conservation Camp Alumni 86 193.28 51.63 48.95 41.94 50.98- 5. 1963 Conservation Camp Alumni 74 195.66 51.35 49.61 43.36 51.61 6. Junior Leaders 52 172.19 46.56 43.50 37.67 44.42 Group I - Total 585 184.08 48.87 46.91 40.30 48.06 53 two years after attending, had a mean score Of 195.66, which was 11.58 above the total group mean. Sub-group 6 - Junior leaders in 4—H largely without con- servation projects, had a mean score of 172.19, which was 11.89 below the total group mean; the lowest score of the six sub- groups. Group II - College Students The college-student group contained 462 observations repre- senting eight identifiable sub-groups. A summary Of the com- parison of conservation attitude scores for these sub—groups is shown in Table 2. Sub—group 1 (Class la) - A pre-test of enrolled prospective teachers, largely juniors and seniors who had no previous con- servation course work. Their pre—test mean score was 185.42. Sub—group 2 (Class 1b) - A post-test of the prospective teachers tested immediately after completing a conservation edu- cation course (FW 403) designed specifically for elementary teachers. Their post—test mean score was 194.55, showing an increase Of 9.13 points above the pre—test in sub-group l. Subegroup 3 (Class 2a) - A pre-test of prospective teachers, largely juniors and seniors with limited conservation experience. Their pre-test mean score was 183.22. Sub—group 4 (Class 2b) - A post—test Of the prospective teachers, taken at the completion of a conservation education 54 TABLE 2 COMPARISON OF CONSERVATION ATTITUDE SCORES FOR THE EIGHT SUB-GROUPS IN GROUP II (COLLEGE STUDENTS) Mean Mean (Part) Score No. Score (1) (2) (3) (4) Class la 69 185.42 49.43 46.09 40.96 48.93 Class lb 63 194.55 51.70 48.32 44.59 50.30 Class 2a 93 183.22 48.73 46.05 40.68 47.74 Class 2b 91 200.66 53.34 49.22 44.81 53.39 Class 3a 52 190.21 48.90 49.44 43.38 48.46 Class 3b 50 186.00 48.78 49.90 40.04 47.28 Class 4a 25 200.32 50.36 53.00 44.72 51.72 Class 4b 19 202.00 51.10 52.53 47.47 50.89 Group II — Total 462 191.32 50.36 48.43 42.76 49.32 55 course (FW 403) designed Specifically for elementary teachers, showed a mean score of 200.66; a 13.33 point increase above the pre-test in sub-group 3. Sub-group 5 (Class 3a) - Students with varied curriculum majors, enrolled in a cultural conservation course. Their pre- test mean score was 190.21. Sub—group 6 (Class 3b) - Post—test, after completing the cultural conservation course (RD 301), showed a mean score of 186.00, which was 4.21 points below the pre-test mean score in sub-group 5. Subjgroup 7 (Class 4a) — A pre—test of enrolled forestry majors, largely seniors with considerable conservation course work, showed a mean score of 200.32, indicative Of their in— tensive conservation educational experiences. Sub—group 8 (Class 4b) - A post—test for forestry majors, after completing a wildlife management course (FW 425) showed a mean score of 202.00. This was 10.68 points above the total group mean, and 1.68 points above the mean score of the pre— test in sub—group 7, indicating the strong conservation back— ground Of these students and the reinforcement afforded by the management course in wildlife. An analysis of the mean (part) score for each of the four parts of the "test" was made. The part scores were found to be directly correlated to the total mean scores, and served as c a‘U 56 a reflection of the conservation oriented course work completed by the different sub-groups. Group III - Adults A total of 571 observations were Obtained in the adult group, representing six identifiable sub-groups. A comparison of the conservation attitude scores for these sub—groups is shown in Table 3. An analysis of the mean (part) score for each of the four parts of the "test", is also shown. Subjgroup_l — Teachers and leaders, tested one year after attending the 1964 conservation workshop, had a mean score of 202.02. Sub-group 2 - Teachers and leaders who had never had the conservation workshop experience, showed a mean score of 187.39. It was noted that the mean score of sub-group 1 was 14.63 points above the mean score of sub—group 2. Also, the mean (part) scores showed approximately 3.00 points higher for each part of the "test", for those in sub-group l, with the conservation workshOp experience. Sub-group 3 - Soil Conservation District Directors en- gaged in youth activities, had a mean score of 194.15. This was 2.78 points below the total group mean, although they scored the highest of any sub-group for part 3 of the "test" dealing with soil and water conservation. Sub-group 4 — Extension Agents involved in youth work, 57 TABLE 3 COMPARISON OF MEAN SCORES FOR THE SIX IDENTIFIABLE SUB-GROUPS WITHIN GROUP III (ADULTS) Mean Mean (Part) Score NO. Score (1) (2L, (3)__ 4(4L l. 1964 Conservation Workshop 105 202.02 53.90 49.71 44.97 53.28 2. Without Conser- vation Workshop 95 187.39 50.43 46.54 41.38 49.04 3. Soil Conservation District Director 33 194.15 51.91 46.94 45.85 49.45 4. Extension Agents 31 194.35 50.06 49.06 44.84 50.39 5. 1965 Conservation WorkshOp 241 197.42 52.20 48.94 43.74 52.56 6. Conservation Department 66 203.41 53.77 52.00 45.74 52.04 Group III - Total 571 196.93 52.27 48.93 43.98 51.75 58 showed a conservation attitude mean score of 194.35, which was 2.58 points below the total group mean. Many of these peOple are engaged in training and giving leadership to 4-H conserva- tion leaders. Sub—group 5 - Teachers and leaders, tested while attending the 1965 conservation workshop, had a mean score of 197.42. It should be pointed out that these teachers and leaders were mainly "chosen representatives" because of their interest or past work in conservation. The mean score of this sub—group was found to be 10.03 points above the mean score of the teachers and leaders in sub-group 2, who did not have conservation workshop experience. Sub-group 6 - Employees of the Michigan Department of Con— servation, tested at the 1965 conservation workshop, had a mean score of 203.41, which was 6.48 points above the total group mean, and the highest mean score of any sub-group tested. Internal Comparative Analysis In the analysis of these data, questions arose on how to treat the attitude scores in order to more effectively make comparisons. Were there any high and very high scores in the high school group where they had the lowest mean score of the three groups? Was the instrument well enough adapted for this younger group to effectively "test", or was it "over their heads"? Of special interest to this study was the question of, "what was the percentage distribution of the scores?" To find I?“ run \ 59 the answer to these questions, the data was coded and analyzed by a percentage distribution of scores. The entire sc0pe of the scores measured was originally grouped into nine "score ranges" to facilitate the analysis using contingency tables. After the data were analyzed, the nine score—range divi- sions were consolidated into five broad score-range division to denote "degree of favorability" toward conservation. These divisions showing degree of favorability were related to the individual scores measured. The original results of the analysis of contingency tables (with the nine score-range divisions) for the attitude levels of the three groups studied, are shown in Table 4a, page 60. Also, in comparison, the findings using the consolidated "five score range divisions" are shown in Table 4b, on the same page. Percentage Distribution of Scores for Each Group Analysis of percentage distribution showed not only the relative level of attitude scores, but also how individual samples contributed to the mean score of the group. This type of analysis was helpful in determining the character of the distribution curve. For group 1, there was a normal distribution of scores, with 1.88 percent in the Very High score range and 31.29 per— cent in the High. The percentage distribution in the Medium score range was similar to that of both the college students 6O .XH um ucmonHcmHm I .m.© v :uH3 00.0m I :E um 63323.0. u .M.© v LUH3 m0.mN I Nx I HHH paw HH macaw Nx n HH cam H QSOHU umwocwanMHQ mo mHmhamc< ANNM wumdmm H£U mm.m mm.hv mm.mm om.m 00.0 0.00H Hum HHH msouo mo.m vo.mv nh.mm m0.mH 00.0 0.00H No¢ HH msouo mm.H 0N.Hm mw.mm mo.Hm mm.m 0.00H mmm H QSOHU x x x x. 8 fl .02 a hum 0H Eda m 30 30 hum cm: > n .m .6 z a a g onemonHmmfio mmmnmmm vmmummH mmHlnnH onHumvH mvH Hmpco mwzHQ m02¢m mmOUm m>Hm QdeQHAOmZOU Mme UZHmD ZOHBDmHmBmHQ mo¢92mummm 9v mqmfifi mm.0 00.5 00.nH 0m.0m mm.mm m0.m hm.0 00.0 00.0 00.00H Hum HHH QDOHG mmuo ©¢.m VM.NH 0m.0m hn.mm v0.vH HH.V m©.0 HN.0 00.00H m©¢ HH QSOHO NH.0 HB.H mm.m Hm.mm mm.mm mm.mm mm.m mm.H mm.0 00.00H mmm H Awfiomw x x x x x a x. m. x 8 .oz ammuagm ovmlmmm VNNIGON momlmma NmHohhH omHIHoH 0®HIm¢H ¢VH|0NH mmav 80 80 A: 80 A3 :0 2; To; :0 mZOHmH>HQ mOZHQ HUZ¢M mmoom NZHZ UZHmD ZOHBDmHmBmHQ mwéfizmommm av mam<9 61 in group II and the adults in group III. All approximated 33.3 percent in the narrow Medium score range. In group II, the college students had 3.68 percent in the Very High score range, and 42.64 percent in the High, showing a percentage distribution in the High and Very High score range of 13.15 percent more than the high school students. The adults in group III had 8.23 percent in the Very High score range, and 47.99 percent in the High. This represented a distribution in the High and Very High score range of 23.05 per- cent more than the high school students, and 9.90 percent more than the college student group. A summary of the results for each group total is shown in Tables 4a and 4b. The percentage distribution of scores for each group, asso- ciated with the mean score, is used as a reference and compari- son in the following discussion of results concerning "factors affecting conservation attitudes." II. FACTORS AFFECTING CONSERVATION ATTITUDES Imperative to the objectives of this study was an investi— gation of the relative effect of different factors such as per— sonal characteristics, extra curricular activities and exper- iences, upon conservation attitudes. It was recognized that associated with a factor such as age, are many other factors which may or may not have an accompanying or interacting effect 62 upon attitudes. Of interest to this study was, "what factors have contributed to favorable conservation attitudes, and are there any indications or measurable trends of the relative magnitude of this effect?" Personal Characteristics The role of personal characteristics in affecting conserva- tion attitudes was studied by means of an internal comparative analysis relating each characteristic to attitude scores. The specific personal characteristics studied were age, sex, educa- tion and residence background. Each group was treated sepa- rately, comparing the effect of a single personal characteristic upon attitude levels by means of percentage distribution of the scores . Age as a Factor The three broad groups studied had sufficient age varia— tion within each group pOpulation to warrant detailed analysis for each age division. Thus, an internal comparative analysis was made by means of the percentage distribution of scores, recognizing six age divisions; 14-15, 16—18, 19—22, 23—29, 30-39 and over 39 years. The results were largely in agreement with the hypothesis that attitudes toward conservation improve with increasing age. However, certain departures from the "rule" were observed. In 63 some instances the interaction of characteristics affecting attitudes, could also be recognized. The results of the analy- sis of age as a factor in determining attitudes are shown in Table 5. The high school students 14-15 years old had 26 percent in the High and Very High score range, while the l6—18 age divi- sion had 38 percent. These differences were found to be yery significant, at the 1% level of confidence. With the college students, the 19-22 age division had 42 percent in the High and Very High while those in the 23—29 age division had 52 percent, and those 30-39 years old had 79 per- cent. Differences were found to be significant at the 5% level of confidence. In the adult group there were three main age divisions. Those 23-29 years old had 50 percent in the High and Very High score range, while those 30-39 had 59 percent and those over 39 years old had 58 percent. These differences, however, were found to be not significant at the 5% level of confidence. It was noted that the 23-29 age sample in the adult group showed lower attitudes than in the college group. This may express trends or indications of the associative effect of some other personal characteristic, such as education. The characteristic of age is so closely associated to both educa- tion, implying knowledge, and to maturity which implies under- 64 TABLE 5 AGE AS A FACTOR IN DETERMINING ATTITUDES TOWARD CONSERVATION SCORE RANGE Very Very Low Low Medium High High VARIABLE No. % % % % % Group I 1) 14—15 214 4.21 38.78 30.84 25.70 0.47 2) 16-18 353 1.14 27.19 33.71 35.13 2.83 Group II 3) 19-22 358 1.11 22.07 34.36 41.06 1.40 4) 23—29 54 0.00 12.97 35.19 46.29 5.55 5) 30—39 19 0.00 5.26 15.79 47.37 31.58 Group III 4) 23-29 123 0.00 12.20 38.21 39.03 10.56 5) 30-39 132 0.00 8.32 32.58 49.25 9.85 6) >39 316 0.00 9.49 32.91 50.95 6.65 Chi Square (X2) Analysis of Differences: Group I - X2 3 18.66 with 4 d.f. Group II - x2 = 17.48 with 8 d.f. = 6.79 with 6 d.f. Group III - x2 Significant at 1% Significant at 5% Not significant 65 standing, that it should be expected to show a direct corre- lation. Comparable trends were noted concerning the effect of age upon attitudes, both in the age divisions within each group and the age difference between the groups. Sex: Male vs. Female Many studies have been directed to the effect of sex upon knowledge and understanding. However, to date, little analysis has been made of this characteristic as related to conservation attitudes. Laug reported no significant difference in attitude scores between males and females. Whiteman, likewise, found no signi- ficant difference, though he did report a slightly higher mean score for the women than for the men in his college freshman biology class. In this study, the personal characteristic of sex did ap- pear to have some effect upon the conservation attitudes of the adults in group III and college students in group II. By com- paring the percentage distribution of scores of the males vs. the females, it was found that the males had a higher percent— age in the High and Very High score range than the females. Also, the males showed a smaller percentage in the Low and Very Low scores. A comparison of male vs. female attitudes toward conservation is shown in Table 6. Further analysis of the results, showed that a very 66 TABLE 6 COMPARISON OF MALE VERSUS FEMALE ATTITUDES TOWARD CONSERVATION SCORE RANGE Very Very Low Low Medium High High VARIABLE No . % % % % % Group I 585 2.38 31.63 32.82 31.29 1.88 Male 294 3.07 28.57 32.99 33.33 2.04 Female 290 1.73 34.48 32.76 29.31 1.72 Group II 462 0.86 19.05 33.77 42.64 3.68 Male 168 0.00 13.09 33.93 48.81 4.17 Female 291 1.37 22.68 33.68 39.18 3.09 Group III 571 0.00 9.80 33.98 47.99 8.23 Male 271 0.00 8.49 28.41 52.03 11.07 Female 298 0.00 11.08 38.59 44.63 5.70 Chi Square (X2) Analysis of Differences: Group I - X2 = 6.43 with 4 d.f. = Not significant Group II — X = 8.98 with 4 d.f. = Significant at 10% Group III - X2 = 12.14 with 3 d.f. = Significant at 1% 67 significant difference between male and female attitude scores was found in group III, while the college students showed some differences (significant above the 10% level but below the 5% levaD and the high school students no significant difference. The male adults had 12.8 percent more in the High and Very High scores, while the male college students had 10.2 percent more than the females. The male high school students in group I had 4.3 percent more in the High and Very High scores than fe- males, and 4.6 percent less in the Low and Very Low scores; differences that were not significant. The Education Characteristic The role of education as a personal characteristic affect- ing conservation attitudes is of utmost concern to everyone involved in conservation education. Education has long been accepted as a "changer" of attitudes, but has been most diffi— cult to evaluate. Common testing procedures in education have measured the knowledge or degree of understanding, and then made certain assumptions to correlate these results to attitudes. In this study, attitudes were measured as a reflection of understanding and knowledge. A specific objective was to deter- mine if there was a correlation between education and attitudes; if attitude levels and attitude change were directly associated with varying educational characteristics. In a comparison of education as a factor in conservation 68 attitudes, some specific trends could be recognized. Education appeared to be a significant factor in the results of group I, but not significant for the college students or adults. The percentage distribution of attitude scores within each group showed only slight variations, but with definite trends of higher scores with a higher grade level in group I. These trends within the group were marked by a distinct variation between the groups. Consistently more favorable attitudes were found in the groups representing more or higher education. Two discrepancies in the otherwise consistent trend of higher scores with higher education, were noted in the small freshman (college) sample, and the high school graduate (adult) sample. It should be pointed out that no significant differ- ences in conservation attitudes were found in either the college or the adult group. This was accepted as an indication of other factors or characteristics being effective in "shaping" attitudes toward conservation. Comparisons of percentage distributions in the various score ranges for each group and each educational level, are summarized in Table 7. Residence Background Much has been written about the importance of ”background" upon knowledge and understanding of natural resources. It is recognized that an ever growing portion of our population has EDUCATION AS 69 TABLE 7 A FACTOR IN CONSERVATION ATTITUDES SCORE RANGE Very Very Low Low Medium High High VARIABLE No. % % % % 1% Group I 585 2.38 31.63 32.82 31.29 1.88 1) 9th Grade 121 4.14 38.84 31.40 25.62 0.00 2) 10th Grade 206 2.41 39.81 29.13 26.22 2.43 3) 11th Grade 120 2.50 25.84 35.83 32.50 3.33 4) 12th Grade 116 0.00 16.39 38.79 43.10 1.72 Group II 462 0.86 19.05 33.77 42.64 3.68 5) Freshmen 12 0.00 8.34 33.33 50.00 8.33 6) SOphomore 41 0.00 19.52 39.02 39.02 2.44 7) Junior 191 1.05 21.46 30.89 41.36 5.24 8) Senior 218 0.92 17.43 35.32 44.04 2.29 Group III 571 0.00 9.80 33.98 47.99 8.23 9) H.S. Graduate 88 0.00 11.36 31.82 54.55 2.27 10) College Grad. 482 0.00 9.55 34.44 46.68 9.33 Chi Sguaresz) Analysis of Differences: Group I - x2 = 36.78 with 12 d.f. Group II - x2 - 7.92 with 12 d.f. Group III - x2 - 5.22 with 3 d.f. Significant at 1% Not significant Not significant 70 never lived on a farm, been part of a small town or community, or realized many experiences close to nature and the problems of conservation. However, the American urban and suburban population has shown considerable interest in the products of natural resource- use and management such as "outdoor recreation". Today, it is becoming increasingly evident that this growing segment of our population, representing urban and suburban backgrounds, will be making the decisions on resource use and management. Herein lies the importance of an evaluation of conservation attitudes as related to residence background. In the results of this study, residence as a factor in shaping conservation attitudes appeared to be of some impor- tance, though only the adults showed a significant difference in scores. The trends, however, for higher attitude scores for those with a rural background, were consistent in all three groups. (See Table 8). The high school students with a rural background had 15 percent more in the High and Very High score range than the urban students. It should be pointed out, however, that the urban students had 8.84 percent more than the rural in the Medium score range. College students with a rural background had 6 percent more in the High and Very High score range than for the urban. 71 TABLE 8 RESIDENCE AS A FACTOR IN SHAPING CONSERVATION ATTITUDES SCORE RANGE Very Very Low Low Medium High High VARIABQL No . y. % jg % 96 Group I Total 585 2.38 31.63 32.82 31.29 1.88 Rural 511 2.34 30.92 31.70 32.88 2.16 Urban 74 2.70 36.49 40.54 20.27 0.00 Group II Total 462 0.86 19.05 33.77 42.64 3.68 Rural 161 0.00 16.13 33.54 45.34 4.97 Urban 301 1.33 20.59 33.89 41.20 2.99 Group III Total 569 0.00 9.68 34.09 47.97 8.26 Rural 301 0.00 8.30 32.23 47.84 11.63 Urban 268 0.00 11.21 36.19 48.13 4.47 Chi Sggare (leygpalysis ongifferences: Group I - X2 = 6.79 with 4 d.f. = Not significant Group II - x2 = 3.97 with 4 d.f. - Not significant Group III - x2 = 10.66 with 3 d.f. = Significant at 5% 72 Likewise, the rural adults showed a larger percentage in the High and Very High score range than the urban residents. Extra Curricular Activities Associated with personal characteristics are the many edu- cational experiences that are realized through extra curricular activities. The importance of extra curricular activities has {ma long been accepted as an integral part of the "educational development of the individual”. In the field of conservation education, these types of educational experiences have played an important role. An effective out-of—doors experience is recognized as having superior breadth and depth dimensions in realizing such objectives as "knowledgeable understanding and appreciation of natural resource conservation." "Learning by doing” is a basic objective in many youth educational programs, such as 4—H club work, scouts, and other clubs and brganizations. Some of these programs take great pride in their "conservation projects”, "conservation merit badge","conservation activities", and their "community con— servation programs”. Basic to the goals of many of the extra curricular activi- ties studied in this investigation, is the "development of favorable attitudes toward conservation". In an effort to evaluate their effectiveness in changing or affecting conservation 73 a detailed analysis was made with the results shown attitudes, Each activity was treated separately, as it ill tabular fornh ‘unas taken from the personal data survey and correlated with czcoqiservation attitude scores. The results were analyzed sta— t::L:stica11y by means of the Chi Square (X2) for determination of £3;i_§3nificance of differences. <4—-—nfi Club Work This activity is characterized as a program designed to ereauaich.youth, both boys and girls, ten to eighteen years of age. TITIfiiea: develOpment of the total individual is inherent in the ob— :j €E=<::t:ives, with emphasis directed toward effective citizenship. (:2<:>1:L£3ervation is only one of many project areas in the program, and many 4—H club members may never have participated in any con servation projects. It was found that 4-H club work did play a role in the c: on servation attitudes of the high school student group. No es - . :1“E3VITLificant differences, however, were found in the college E; tudent and adult groups (See Table 9). In group I, those with 4—H experience had 35.64 percent Ln itihe High and Very High score range, while those without hl£53~<53 only 20.21 percent. Also, those without 4—H experience Tia-Q 11.44 percent more in the Low and Very Low score range :11 ‘EEKJFL those with 4—H. These differences were not significant ESL“:; ‘tlhe 5% level, but were at the 10% level of confidence. 74 TABLE 9 COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF 4-H CLUB WORK AS A FACTOR IN CONSERVATION ATTITUDES SCORE RANGE Very Very Low Low Medium High High VARIABLE No. % % % % % Group I: Total 585 2.38 31.63 32.82 31.29 1.88 With 4—H 491 2.24 29.94 32.18 33.61 2.03 Without 94 3.19 40.43 36.17 19.15 1.06 <33-I':‘c>up II: TotaI 462 0.86 19.05 33.77 42.64 3.68 With 4-H 104 0.00 12.49 34.62 49.04 3.85 without 358 1.12 20.95 33.52 40.78 3.63 \ G3'=‘Qup III: I ©ta1 571 0.00 9.80 33.98 47.99 8.23 5" i th 4-H 209 0.00 10.04 35.41 43.54 11.01 E ‘7 i thout 361 0.00 9.70 33.24 50.41 6.65 \ “‘;1§:L;i Square (X2),Ana1y§is of Differences: Group I - x2 = 9.04 with 4 d.f. = Significant at 10% Group II - X2 = 5.97 with 4 d.f. = Not significant Group III - X2 = 4.80 with 3 d.f. = Not significant 1 4c._-... —— ). 75 The college students with 4-H background had 52.89 percent - in High and Very High score range, as compared to 44.41 percent for those without 4-H. The percentage distribution in the Low and Very Low score range showed 12.49 percent for those with 4—H, and 22.07 percent for those without; a 9.58 percent difference. In the adult group, no difference was found between the attitude scores of those with 4—H and those without, when the High and Very High score ranges were combined. However, those wi th 4-H did have 4.36 percent more in the Very High score range. S urnrner Camp In evaluating the effect of summer camp upon conservation attitudes, it was recognized that associated with this extra cur r icular activity may well be many other factors. The indi- ‘\7 ‘ . . . . . . ldual who was Interested In partICIpatIng in a summer camp, have had a higher interest in the out-of-doors and a back- may ground of experiences more favorable to conservation than those v - 3‘ thout the experience. Like many activities, there can be extreme differences in thQ . . . ‘type of experience obtained In a summer camp. However, the exp . . . . . QIience common to all summer camps Is that time 15 spent In thQ . - out—of—doors, close to nature. The resulting motivated Lh‘: Q:rest and acceptance of natural resource concepts may well ISQSE 1reflected in the conservation attitudes of those attending. In comparing the scores of those with and without summer 76 camp, some differences in conservation attitudes were recog— riized. See Table 10. The high school students in group I, .slaowed the most marked difference. The 335 students with sum- .nnear'camp had 38.51 percent in the High and Very High score ;z-air1ge, while the 250 students with summer camp had 26.00 per- <3u5211t in the same score range. This 12.51 percent difference ;i,rj, the High and Very High score range, was found to be signifi- <::Ea;r1t at the 5% level of confidence. In the college student group, those without the summer <33E11111> experience appeared to have the higher attitude scores, ‘tir1<:>ligh the difference was not significant. Students with sum- ITIGEJIT' camp had 44.36 percent in the High and Very High score range, as compared to 49.19 percent for those without. Summer camp appeared to have some effect upon the attitude S‘:=<:>3ET‘53»€e without had 53.62 percent, representing a difference of 7 - (:)‘ “;11:ing as a factor in shaping conservation attitudes. The scouting program is carried out through the two main 77 TABLE 10 EFFECT OF SUMMER CAMP UPON CONSERVATION ATTITUDES SCORE RANGE Very Very Low Low Medium High High VARIABLE No. % % % % % Group I 585 2.38 31.63 32.82 31.29 1.88 With Summer Camp 335 2.08 28.96 30.45 36.42 2.09 ‘NTJLthout Summer Camp 250 2.80 35.20 36.00 24.40 1.60 — Group II 462 0.86 19.05 33.77 42.64 3.68 ‘hifii_th.Summer Camp 275 1.10 18.54 36.00 41.45 2.91 'FVVJLnthout Summer Camp 187 0.55 19.78 30.48 44.38 4.81 \ <3=Jcr11t experience had 39.31 percent in the High and Very High SCOre range, while those without had 31.62 percent. This, how— ee . . . . “’3z Scouts 95 0.00 9.47 33.68 54.74 2.11 ‘N7zi.1:hout Boy Scouts 367 1.10 21.52 33.79 39.51 4.08 \ <3===r<25up III 571 0.00 9.80 33.98 47.99 8.23 iE3<=>zgr Scouts 171 0.00 7.61 30.41 49.12 12.86 ”q :1—‘t1hout Boy Scouts 400 0.00 10.75 35.50 47.50 6.25 \ ‘1;23:3L£!:Square (X2) Analysis of Differences: 2 Group I - X = 7.65 with 4 d.f. = Not significant (Note: x2,9o = 7.78) Significant at 5% Significant at 5% Group II - x22: Group III - X = 11.77 with 4 d.f. 8.81 with 3 d.f. 80 attitudes showed no significant differences in groups I, II or Though the percentage differences were not large, there .III. for those with .algpeared to be a consistent tendency throughout, ea Curl Scout experience to have a lower conservation attitude s;<:<3re. The comparative results are shown in Table 12. High school students with the Girl Scout experience, had cfiistribution of 31.77 percent in the High and Very High score ea .Irasizage, while those without had 33.47 percent in the High and ‘V7cszlry'High. Those with the Girl Scout experience had a slightly ;1.Eagzrgem percentage in the Low and Very Low score range. The college students in group II, with the experience, had ‘1-33 - S38 percent in the High and Very High score range, while those wi thout had 47.98 percent. the adults with a Girl Scout experience had In group III, and those with- is 55 - E31 percent with High and Very High scores. representing again, no CD‘él‘t: the experience had 56.31 percent, In interpreting $3 ' . . . . :L‘QEFJTIificant difference in attitude scores. t:.f) ‘53 data it should be mentioned that the scores of those with C3»‘ :L‘JCI-JL Scouts is compared, not with just the other females, but he" :L‘itljbl the total in each group who did not have the experience. C2 Est .HHHHHEIEEE9 Fire Girls The size of the sampling for this extra curricular acti- \)~ - :lc . 7t:¥§g was relatively small for effective analySIS. There were 1% iLn group 1,45 in group II, and 46 in group III who had 81 TABLE 12 GIRL SCOUTS - SCOUTING AS A FACTOR IN CONSERVATION ATTITUDES SCORE RANGE Very Very Low Low Medium High High ‘XIARIABLE No. % % % % % 1C3roup I 585 2.38 31.63 32.82 31.29 1.88 ‘N’ith Girl Scouts 107 3.75 33.64 30.84 31.77 0.00 Without Girl Scouts 478 2.10 31.17 33.26 31.17 2.30 your cooperation. RUG 3/65 APPENDIX C CHI SQUARE VALUES FOR SIGNIFICANCE OF SCORE DISTRIBUTION DIFFERENCES AND "t" TEST FOR SIGNIFICANCE OF MEAN SCORE DIFFERENCES 138 139 CHI SQUARE (x2) DISTRIBUTION OF SCORES RELATED TO 4-H CONSERVATION PROJECTS COMPARING THOSE WITH AND WITHOUT THE PROJECT EXPERIENCE Conservation Group I Group II Group III Project x2 with 4 d.f. x2 with 3 d.f. x2 with 3 d.f. Basic 11.79 * 5.23 7.74 0 Soil & Water 13.67 ** 2.48 7.42 0 Wildlife 11.27 * 3.71 8.01 * Forests 15.49 ** 0.35 8.66 * Nature Study 12.97 * 1.98 5.91 Wildflower 7.02 4.50 1.39 Rock-Minerals 8.94 O 3.02 0.86 Outdoor Apprec. 6.14 2.55 0.40 ** Significant at 1% level of confidence * Significant at 5% level of confidence 0 Sig. at 10% (not accepted as sig. in this study.) Note: Percentiles of the X2 Distribution: x2 with 4 d.f. x2 with 3 d.f. 99% 13.28 11.34 95% 9.49 7.81 90% 7.78 6.25 140 t-TEST FOR UNCORRELATED MEANS OF GROUPS I AND II AND GROUPS II AND III N E i Diff. Std. D, "t" Group I 585 184.08 19.58 Group II 462 191.32 7.42 17.91 6.23 ** **Significant at 1% level of Confidence + - = d.f. (N1 N2) 2 585 + 462 - 2 Z 1045 (t 2.58) N 7c i Diff. Std. D. "t" Group II 462 191.32 17.91 Group III 571 196.93 5.61 17.28 5.07 ** **Significant at 1% level of confidence - 2 = d.f. (N1 + N2) 462 + 571 - 2 = 1031 141 t-TEST FOR MEAN SCORES IN GROUP I RELATED TO THE CONSERVATION CAMP EXPERIENCE N x E Diff. Std.D. "t" Cons. Camp (Pre-test) 138 179.69 17.11 1965 Cons. C. (Post-test) 103 187.11 7.42 22.59 2.05* *Significant at 5% level of confidence N 1+ N - 2 = d.f. 1 2 138 + 103 - 2 3 239 (t = 1.96) .95 Cons. Camp (Pre—test) 138 179.69 17.11 1964 Cons. C. (Post-test) 86 193.28 13.59 15.19 6.21** **Significant at 1% level of confidence - = .f. Ni + N2 2 d 138 + 86 - 2 3 222 (t = 2.58) .99 Cons. Camp (Pre-test) 138 179.69 17.11 1963 Cons. C. (Post—test) 74 195.66 15.97 15.23 6.97** N '+ N - 2 = d.f. 1 2 138 + 74 - 2 = 210 **Significant at T% level of confidence 142 t-TEST FOR MEAN SCORES IN GROUP II RELATED TO THE CONSERVATION EDUCATION COURSE EXPERIENCE Section 1 N x i Diff. Std.D. "t" 1a Pre-test 69 185.42 14.76 1h Post-test 63 194.55 9.13 20.37 2.92** **Significant at 1% level of confidence N+N —2=d.f. 1 2 6 + 6 - 2 = 130 t = 2. 8 9 3 ( .99 5 ) Section 2 N 'i i Diff. Std.D. "t" 2a Pre—test 93 183.22 17.39 2h Post-test 91 200.66 17.44 15.23 7.24** **Significant at 1% level of confidence N -+ N - 2 = d.f. 1 2 93 + 91 - 2 = 182 143 t-TEST FOR MEAN SCORES IN GROUP III RELATED TO THE CONSERVATION WORKSHOP EXPERIENCE N x E Diff. Std.D. "t" 1964 WorkshOp 105 202.02 14.63 16.49 6.31** Control (With— out workshOp) 95 187.39 16.28 **Significant at 1% level of confidence N + N - 2 3 d.f l 2 105 + 95 - 2 Z 198 (t 99 = 2.58) Control (With— out workshop) 95 187.39 16.28 1965 WorkshOp 241 197.42 10.03 17.46 4.99** **Significant at 1% level of confidence Nl'f N2 - 2 = d.f. 95‘? 241 — 2 = 334 1964 WorkshOp 105 202.02 4.60 16.49 2.35* 1965 WorkshOp 241 197.42 17.46 *Significant at 5% level of confidence Nl-f N2 - 2 = d.f. 105‘+ 241 - 2 = 344 (t 95 = 1.96) "llllllllllliflfilflr