WNORTW CHNDREN S Btunra w. V... 0F RENFORCEMENTS \N \NTELLECN MEMO V ' AHC H‘EVEMENT S‘TUNNONS Di sserta afion for the Degree of Ph. D M\CH\GAN STATE UNNERSHY ARINCC‘O DAN-\EL MORALES 1975 mu -_ "LIIllfllllflzlfilfllllllflllflllWWI ; T37?“ .25} OH 0 (e _ at , . m» r- r“ ,- a .1 d'- 4' 1";0a1 L'Mva’ O y I’ l. mama-:3; 5.1} ‘ K This is to certify that the thesis entitled MINORITY CHILDREN'S BELIEFS CONCERNING CONTROL OF REINFORCEMENTS IN INTELLECTUAL - ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT SITUATIONS presented by Ardiccio Daniel Morales has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for Ph .D . degree in Secondary Education and Curriculum dgafid 6/. 6ZMa/Ldvv Major professor Date October 13, 1975 0-7 639 ABSTRACT MINORITY CHILDREN'S BELIEFS CONCERNING CONTROL OF REINFORCEMENTS IN INTELLECTUAL-ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT SITUATIONS BY Ardiccio Daniel Morales Summary Purposes of the Study 1. The major purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of minority children concerning whether their intellectual-achievement development is internally controlled or externally controlled. To achieve this purpose the Intellectual Achievement Responsibility (IAR) Questionnaire and the I-E (internal-external) Scale were used. 2. The second purpose of this investigation was to examine whether some independent variables such as ethnicity, gender, or grade in school, could be measured by both the I-E and the IAR with comparable results. 3. An additional purpose was to determine if any ~of the following variables were related to internal- external control of reinforcement: Ardiccio Daniel Morales student's minority status grade level gender number of children and ordinal position counselor influence teacher's minority status g. whether the student lives with both parents or with a single parent CLOUD) Him In order to explore these related purposes, ten hypotheses were develoPed. Limitations of the Study 1. This study was limited to the 4th, 5th and 6th grades of a Midwestern elementary school. Students in grades K-3 were not considered for this study due to their inability to read and understand the questions and directions demanded by the instruments used. 2. The study does consider the socioeconomic status of the student since the area in which the school is located is classified as a lower income area. Review of Literature The review of literature in the area of reinforce- ment indicated that reinforcement is usually of external nature. This external nature is provided by significant others, usually teachers, parents, adults and peers. The review of literature in the area of internal versus external control indicated that whoever controls the reinforcement has influence over the internality or externality of the student. The review of literature in Ardiccio Daniel Morales the area of culture indicated that at this stage of development there is not a marked difference between the 4th, 5th and 6th graders. Design of the Study The Sample.--The sample from which this study was made consisted of 4th, 5th and 6th grade students from a Midwestern elementary school located in a low socio- economic area. Instrumentation.--Two instruments were used to measure the internal-external control of reinforcement: The Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Questionnaire (IAR), and the Internal versus External Control of Reinforcement Scale (the I-E Scale). Procedure.--The questions were tape recorded so that each child was presented verbal stimuli which had the same inflections, tone, and rate. The responses were Inarked on an answer sheet which had I+ and 1- choices. the instructions presented in the oral administration :requested the students to pick the answer "that best «describes what happens to how you feel." The child was 'told that there were no right or wrong answers and was assured that the responses would not be revealed to anyone else. Ardiccio Daniel Mbrales Analysis.--The ten statistical hypotheses were tested by analysis of variance'and appropriate Scheffe' comparisons. Conclusions 1. Children from low socioeconomic positions and subjects from different ethnic groups did not differ significantly with regard to their overall level of internal or external control of reinforcement. 2. When boys and girls were compared the boys did not reflect a higher percent of internality than the girls. 3. Ethnic distributions appear to be less useful than the cross-ethnic descriptor such as socioeconomic status. 4. The answers given by the minority students to the I—E Scale have a wider range of scores between external and internal control of reinforcement than the answers given to the IAR. 5. Whether the student lives with both parents <3r a single parent was not related to externality or internality. MINORITY CHILDREN'S BELIEFS CONCERNING CONTROL OF REINFORCEMENTS IN INTELLECTUAL-ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT SITUATIONS By Ardiccio Daniel Morales A DISSERTATION Presented to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Secondary Education and Curriculum 1975 © Copyright by ARDICCIO DANIEL MORALES 1975 DEDICATION Dedicated to the Almighty God and Creator, to the memory of my Father, to my Mbther, and to my lovely wife and my priceless children, Jennifer and Joy. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Acknowledgment is presented to all of the 'beautiful children who acted as subjects in this study and also to the Administration and Staff of the elemen- tary school who provided me with the opportunity to collect the data, and aided me during the data collection. I would especially like to thank my Guidance Committee: Dr. Ted Ward for sharing with me his magnitude of competence in the area of research; Dr. Ruth Useem for her enlightenment in the area of sociological develop- ment; Dr. Pettigrew for sharing her knowledge with me on cultural relationships. My sincere appreciation to Dr. Charles Blackman who was not only my academic advisor and Guidance Committee Chairman, but a wonderfully true friend as well. A very special thanks to my entire Committee who gave critical appraisal, moral support and friendship. Special gratitude is also expressed to Barbara Anderson and Jane Walker who spent many hours typing my manuscript. Lastly, I would like to acknowledge my family Whose strength and encouragement provided me with a foundation on which I could lean. To my wife, Lee, who iii stood by me during my period at Michigan State University. My father and mother who wanted so much for their children in all realms of life. To my sister and my brothers whose accomplishments in the academic world have made an impact on my life. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES Chapter I. II. III. 1‘7. INTRODUCTION . Background The Problem Purpose . Significance of the Study Methodology . Administrative Procedures Definition of Terms Summary REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE . Reinforcement . Internal Versus External Control Culture Summary METHODS OF STUDY The Sample Instrumentation . Dependent and Independent Variables Statistical Analyses Summary . . . ANALYSIS OF THE DATA Null Hypothesis I . Null Hypothesis II . Null Hypothesis III Null Hypothesis IV . Null Hypothesis V . Null Hypothesis VI . Null Hypothesis VII Null Hypothesis VIII Null Hypothesis IX . Null Hypothesis X Page vii Chapter Page V. SUMMARY, FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS . . . . . . . . . 88 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Conclusions . . . 102 Limitations and Suggestions for Further Research . . . . . . . . . . . 102 Reflections . . . . . . . . . . . 105 BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 APPENDIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 V1 Table 3.1 LIST OF TABLES Fourth, fifth and sixth grade student breakdown by grade, minority status and gender for Blacks, Mexican- Americans and Whites Analysis of variance of Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Internal (IARI) by minority status Analysis of variance of Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Internal Positive (IARIP) by minority status Scheffe's confidence interval for the Intellectual Responsibility Internal Positive by minority status . Analysis of variance of Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Internal Negative (IARIM) minority status Analysis of variance for I-E Scale Internal section by minority status Frequency and percentage results from student responses to the IAR and I-E Scale questionnaires, by minority status, grades and gender . . . Analysis of variance of Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Internal (IARI), by grade . . Scheffe' s confidence interval for the Intellectual Responsibility Internal by grade . . . . Analysis of variance of Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Internal Positive (IARIP) by grade . vii Page 52 S4 54 55 57 57 58 59 6O 6O Table 4.10 Scheffe' s confidence interval for the Intellectual Responsibility Internal Positive by grade . . . Analysis of variance of Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Internal Negative (IARIM) by grade . Scheffe' s confidence interval for the Intellectual Responsibility Internal Negative by grade . . . Analysis of variance for I-E Scale Internal section by grade . . Analysis of variance of Internal Achievement Responsibility Internal (IARI), gender . . Analysis of variance of Internal Achievement Responsibility Internal Positive (IARIP) by gender . . . . . . Analysis of variance of Internal Achieve- ment Responsibility Internal Negative (IARIM), by gender . . Analysis of variance for I-E Scale Internal section by gender Analysis of variance of Internal Achievement Responsibility Internal (IARI), by number of members in the family . Analysis of variance of Internal Achievement Responsibility Internal Positive (IARIP), by number of members in the family . Analysis of variance of Internal Achievement Responsibility Internal Negative (IARIM) Analysis of variance for I-E Scale Internal section by number of members in the family Analysis if variance of Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Internal (IARI), by ordinal position in the family. viii Page 61 61 62 62 64 64 65 65 67 67 68 Table 4.23 Analysis of variance of Internal Achieve- ment Responsibility Internal Positive (IARIP), by ordinal position in the family . . . . . . . . . Analysis of variance of Internal Achievement Responsibility Internal Negative (IARIM), by ordinal position in the family . Analysis of variance for I-E Scale Internal section by ordinal position in the family . Analysis of variance of Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Internal (IARI), by number of times the student has visited the elementary school counselor . Analysis of variance of Internal Achievement Responsibility Internal Positive (IARIP), by the number of times the student has visited the elementary school counselor Analysis of variance of Internal Achievement Responsibility Internal Negative (IARIM) by number of times the student has visited the elementary school counselor . Analysis of variance for I-E Scale Internal section by the number of times the student has visited the elementary school counselor Analysis of variance of Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Internal (IARI) by the number of Black teachers the student has had since Kindergarten . Analysis of variance of Internal Achieve- ment Responsibility Internal Positive (IARIP), by the number of Black teachers the student has had since Kindergarten Analysis of variance of Internal Achievement Responsibility Internal Negative, by the number of Black teachers the student has had since Kindergarten ix Page 71 71 72 74 74 75 75 77 78 78 Table 4.33 Analysis of variance for I-E Scale Internal section by the number of Black teachers the student has had since Kindergarten Analysis of variance of Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Internal (IARI), by the number of Mexican-American teachers the student has had since Kinder— garten Analysis of variance of Internal Achieve- ment Responsibility Internal Positive (IARIP), by the number of Mexican- American teachers the student has had since Kindergarten Analysis of variance of Internal Achieve- ment Responsibility Internal Negative (IARIM), by the number of Mexican- American teachers the student has had since Kindergarten Analysis of variance for I-E Scale Internal section by the number of Mexican-American teachers the student has had since Kindergarten Number of Black, Mexican-American and White teachers the minority student has had since Kindergarten . Analysis of variance of Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Internal (IARI), by the fact that the student lives with both parents or a single parent Analysis of variance of Internal Achieve- ment Responsibility Internal Positive (IARIP), by the fact that the student lievs with both parents or a single parent . . Analysis of variance of Internal Achievement Responsibility Internal Negative (IARIM), by the fact that the student lives with both parents or a single parent Page 79 80 81 82 82 84 84 85 85 W: Table Page 4.42 Analysis of variance for I-E Scale -Internal section by the fact that the student lives with both parents or a single parent . . . . . . . . . . 86 xi CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Background Individuals vary concerning the extent that they feel they are masters of their own fate (internal), or they are guided by fate alone (external). ' Whether an individual perceives sources of support (reinforcement or lack of it) as predominantly internal (within self) or external (in hands of others) is thought to be related to some extent to the individual's own culture. The accepted use of the term minority is in reference to ethnicity but in this study minority will refer to children who are different not only ethnically but culturally and socially from the majority of White American middle class people. Some White children will be included as minority children due to their socio- economic status. Oscar Lewis (1959) best defined the "culture of poverty" as the social, economic and cultural system of a person having a lOw level of social and economic attainment within a given society. He also empha- sized that there is a low level not only of achievement 'but of expectation also. Children in families receiving 1 Aid to Dependent Children monies might well be considered as in a minority even though ethnically they are viewed as in the majority. Minority children as they function in the school are under the influence of "significant others." The "significant others" perception of themselves, in turn, could be either that they are externally directed or internally directed. In conjunction with this perception there is also the way in which the "significant others" will perceive the minority children as being internally directed or externally directed. In reference to internal control and external control of reinforcement, Henry Weitz (l965:3) states: The individual's behavior, his acts, his thoughts, his feelings, are inextricably fused with the acts, thoughts, and attitudes of the culture which shaped him and which he in turn determines. Nor are these influences bounded by the temporal limits of the life of an individual. The expression "whatever will be, will be" (Que sera, sera), seems many times like a huge cloud covering the aspirations and dreams of many minority children. In a deeper soliloquy, the mind wonders about the future. Is this future already determined by the social position, the specific culture and the economic status of the individual? This attitude toward internal and external control could determine whether the minority children's aspirations could possibly be fulfilled and if there is in reality a possibility to overcome the present status quo. As used in this study, internal control refers to the perception of positive and/or negative events as being a consequence of one's own actions and thereby under one's personal control. External control refers to the percep- tion of positive and/or negative events as being unrelated to one's own behavior in certain situations and, therefore, beyond personal control. Educators and non-educators alike are now facing the reality of minority people who have the strong desire to succeed guided by internal control, but who face strug- gles because the external control is perceived as so powerful by these minority children. In reference to internal control and external control of reinforcement, Herbert M. Lefcourt (1966:204) states: Uhder various rubrics, and from diverse orienta- tions, investigators have concerned themselves repeatedly with man's ability to control his personal environment. Concepts such as competence, helplessness, hopelessness, mastery, and alienation have all been utilized in one way or another to describe the degree to which an individual is able to control important events occurring in his life space. In Rotter's social learning theory (1954), the potential for any behavior to occur in a given situation is a function of the person's expectancy that the given behavior will secure the available reinforcement and the 'value of the available reinforcements for that person. In a particular situation, the individual, though desirous of an available goal, may believe that there is no behavior in his repertoire that will allow him to be effective in securing his goal. Within this specific situation, the person may be described as anticipating no contingency between any effort on his part and the end results in the situation. In Rotter's theory, the control construct is considered to be a generalized expectancy operating across a large number of situations which relate to whether or not the individual possesses or lacks power over what happens to him. Thus, locus of control is an expectancy variable that describes the perception of personal control that one has over the reinforcements that follow his behavior. According to Rotter's (1963) theoretical formulation, an "internal person perceives that he is in control of his fate and that effort and reward will be positively corre- lated." An external person perceives that powerful others or "the system" determines how W611 he can do and that rewards are distributed by such powerful others in a random fashion. Investigators using the I-E (internal- external scale) indicate that internal people are: (1) more likely to make typical or rational shifts in their level of aspirations (Battle & Rotter, 1965; Feather, 1968; Rotter & Mulry, 1965); (2) take intermediate rather than extreme risks (DuCette & WOlk, 1972; Julian & Katz, 1961; Liverant & Scodel, 1960); (3) are more confident in their abilities (Lao, 1970); (4) make better use of environmental feedback (Phares, 1963; Ude & Vogler, 1971); and(5) are more likely to be social activists (Forward & William, 1970; Core & Rotter, 1963). The general conclusion from this research is that in most cases "internality" is an adaptive and positive personality characteristic--whereas "externality" is not. While it is clear that Rotter's statement must be qualified since current research indicates that this construct is more complex than originally thought, the above conclusion that internality is more adaptive would generally hold. It is evident, however, that a distinction must be made between different types of internality, especially for minority groups and that no simple or linear relation- ship exists between internality and adaptive behavior (DuCette, Wolk & Saucar, 1972). While research using the locus of control in predicting the type of educationally relevant variables (e.g., levels of aspiration, personal confidence, use of environmental information, etc.), has been extensive, the moderating effect of different social environments upon these predictor-criterion relationships has not been substantial. The question then becomes: Is there an interaction between locus of control and environ- ment in predicting such educationally relevant variables as levels of aspiration and control of the environment? The Problem Educators are beginning to realize the implica- tions of elementary school minority children functioning in a majority White society. These implications could be studied under three aspects: (a) locus of control; (b) the background of the minority child; and (c) the environment in which he/she functions. First, in relation- ship to the locus of control, some questions come to mind. IHbW'much control does a person perceive he/she has to guide his/her own life? Is the school system in the (elementary phase so strong that it is impossible to have :Lndividual direction? Do schools and educators so influ- eruce the lives of the minorities that it is impossible ftxr the minorities to have control over their own lives? Second, in relationship to the background of the mianorities, there is the factor of the Mexican-Americans who traditionally organize as an economic unit in communi- ties, not as an individual; but, they are placed in a society in which individuals are very important. The following quote from Farmer (1968:49) is «descriptive of the background of the Chicanos and the situation in which they find themselves when they enter school: Many Mexican-American students are the descendents of an agrarian folk culture and, as such, have developed in a home where the parents have a reluctance to change. . . . Mexican-Americans are generally non-competitive. Competition is not in keeping with traditional folk values. The indi- vidual is all-important. . . . These students question not only their identity but also their adequacy, for they are relegated to the position of second-class citizens by many members of the dominant society. . . . The large number of Mexican-American students who are monolingual when they enter school are taught English by teachers who have no awareness of the student's native language or the principles involved in teaching them English as a second language. . . . The teacher should not criticize or minimize, should not place value judgment(s) on these students' means of seeking status, whether they be language, dress, mannerisms . . . In comparison with the Blacks and Mexican—Americans, the Native Americans (Indians) have a different problem. TTle Indians were here first; they possessed the land in general, and now numbers of them live on reservations in time United States and Canada. These segregated reserva- tiJons provide a way of life that the majority society has dixztated to the Indian. The Indian is now opposed to that way of life. The third area is the environment. The Mexican- American may come from a family which has lived under the tradition of Spanish culture without being influenced by other cultures. Also, in many families, the third or fourth generations of Mexican-Americans may become more .able to function in a White majority society. The Blacks, who because of ghetto or low-income environment, may be removed or isolated from the mainstream of American culture. Conversely, their environment is in more recent years bi-cultural--that is, both Black and American. The Indian, who because of reservation dwellings or very low-income environment, is also isolated from the mainstream of American culture. One of the major problems is that many of the Native Americans are still living and developing in the reservation, and are not being exposed to the trends of the cities, suburbs, and general develop- inent of the American culture, or are living off reserva- tions in depressed communities. Different cultural backgrounds give birth to dif- :Eerent beliefs of children concerning their own control of rcainforcement in intellectual-academic achievement situa- tions. One of the assumptions held by many is that an ethnic minority when reared in his/her own culture and errvironment is assumed to be inadequate to function in a Vflnite majority society. The Chicano in the Midwest is under the handicap (xf being the "second minority" since vast numbers of Blacks are settled there. As a result, Midwest school distmicts have focalized their energies on helping the iBlacks (Soriano & McClafferty, 1969). The Blacks' plight is also well documented with many Black and Anglo spokes- Inen working to upgrade their educational, economic, and social.position. In contrast, the Midwest Chicanos have few Anglo, Black, or Chicano spokesmen to present their case. While the Spanish-American population in the Southwest is almost completely Chicano, the Spanish- American population of the Midwest, in addition to Chicanos, has large numbers of persons of Cuban and Puerto Rican extraction. Some educators believe that the educational experiences of Chicanos are minimal due to the parents alienation from the Anglo culture which leads them to discourage their children from learning English. The Spanish-American home is often devoid of educational materials and, most of all, that because they speak another language and only that language, they must be at a disadvantage in functioning within the other culture or society. Their experiences are said to be meager. Their homes lack books, so it is thought that they must lack communication and other valuable qualities. Since Chicanos speak "only" the native language, they are assumed to lack the "important 1anguage"--that of the ethnic majority. A person's actions within a given culture (the basic social habits, emotions and values of any group of p60ple) usually will conform to a norm set for that culture although there is likely to be some deviation in behavior from the norms of that particular culture. Often patterns 10 based on one culture will be insufficient when trying to apply those patterns to another culture. Each has developed a way of life which is relatively independent of the other and has survived to be acknowledged as a culture. Cultural deprivation has been a vehicle used to justify one culture's imposition of its system upon another culture. The attitude of a minority toward the dominant culture is not standardized, but varies with the historical situation. Erasmus (1968) argues that Mexicans in America strongly tend to reject Anglo goals, penalizing their fellows who adopt Anglo methods even if they thereby attain high status. In contrast, Erasmus (1968) argues that the Japanese in America tend to respect the Japanese— Americans who do succeed, even if they do so by adopting Anglo standards . Henry G. Burger, in his book entitled Ethno- Pedagogy Cross-Cultural Teaching Techniques (1967), sug- gests that there seems to be a Mexican-American belief that one person cannot control his/her environment. This atti- tude is often labeled as fatalism. ‘Hispanic culture is alleged to say, "Que sera, sera," whatever will be, will be. Hispanic persons often see themselves as the hopeless «abjects to whom things happen, rather than masters of their OVHI:Eate. The frequent use of passive voice reflects this inability to act upon the environment. Preventive medicine 11 and life insurance are slighted. Attempts to avoid death are not made. Indeed, a familiar topic of conversation is death. Hispanic culture emphasizes duty and loyalty to the group rather than motivation, ambition, and success for the individual. This syndrome probably gives rise to the concept of postponed action, manana (tomorrow) as a dominating Hispanic culture trait. Manana (tomorrow) is the belief that nature will take its course, that the required matters of life will somehow get done tomorrow or thereabouts . Burger (1971:57) states the decision on melting {not or polyethnicity greatly affects the type of schooling tflLat should be given. What degree of commonality should tflie school provide? The answer is uncertain, but one would expect that within the United States there would generally supervene a common language and a common market. Mass ccunmunication and transportation will not be rolled back. Rather, the encouragement of ethnic diversity in such areas as vocation would, we believe, provide greater security for the single national government than the present procrustean fester. That the school educational system must broaden :its view from mere facts of curriculum to social climate is fOreseen in the 1967 report of the U.S. Commission on (Sivil Rights, Racial Isolation in the Public Schools (discussed by Orr & Pulsipher, l967c:56-58). It finds 12 that equal achievement is obtained only by sociocultural integration, and not merely by compensatory education held as a sort of special "hothouse." For example, the report mentioned in the preceding paragraph finds that "Negro children in predominantly White schools usually score higher on achievement tests than the children in majority Negro schools, even when the children in majority Negro schools are receiving compensatory education." The reasons are social: When disadvantaged children are racially isolated in the schools, they are deprived of one of the more significant ingredients of quality education: exposure to other children with strong educational backgrounds. . . . Another strong influence on achievement derives from the tendency of school administrators, teachers, parents, and the students themselves to regard ghetto schools as inferior. Reflecting this attitude, students attending such schools lose confidence in their ability to shape their future (U.S. Civil Disorders, 1968:238). Anthropology doubts that socialization alone would (mire the complex problem. The melting pot succeeds only 111 some sectors. One more alternative is to build on rather than suppress ethnic cultures, groups, and com— munities. The solutions may have to vary with the ecological situation. For example, it is easy to understand that the Rough Rock Demonstration School (Chinle Post Office, Arizona), a center of Navajo revitalism, has arisen near 'the center of the remote Navajo reservation. At the same 13 time, the Navajos going to an all-tribal school in a relatively large city (Albuquerque, New Mexico, Indian School) receive proportionately less training in cultural pluralism. According to Burger (1971:58), the trend is toward polyethnicity, or cultural pluralism. Members of each ethnic minority must realize that they cannot fully attain the core of the Anglo "style of life" (including all of its material benefits). Instead, they should proudly elaborate their own ethnic heritage, not a reactionary "back-to-the-blanket" retreat, but a reconciliation that enables their tradition to interweave with the complex mid-20th Century life. Consequently, the evidence is strongly suggestive, although not conclusive, that education should train people for their ethnic speciality providing that those specialities are likely to continue in the future and that the individuals are willing to study them and do not wish to change from their traditional kin network or occupation. In accordance with the concept of specialization, it may well be possible to teach a common core of subject matter, such as language, and then to go on and teach an lethnic speciality. This speciality need not be degrading, but may simply be traditional. It is not mere handiwork, lout a cultural heritage including great literature, human “relations and so on. Such an approach suggests that l4 domination of the educational establishment within the ethnic geographical areas will increasingly pass to the most competent leaders of minorities. In summary, the locus of control, the background and the environment of the minority child are factors which could be considered by significant others, espe- cially those involved in the school situation with the minority child, in the developing of education of minority children. Purpose It was the author's purpose in this study to examine the perceptions of minority children concerning whether their intellectual-achievement development is internally controlled or externally controlled. To achieve this purpose the Intellectual Achievement Responsi- bility (IAR) Questionnaire and the I-E (internal-external) Scale were used.1 The IAR assesses the beliefs (see Chapter III) that the children themselves, rather than other people, are responsible for their intellectual-academic successes and failures. I-E refers to the effects of reward or ‘reinforcement on subsequent behavior which depends in part ion whether the person perceives the reward as being con- ‘tingent on his behavior or independent of it (see Chapter :III). 1I-E (internal-external scale) will be known as I-E Scale. 15 On first examination, the two instruments appear to have some points in common; but they serve different groups. They have different immediate goals. I-E is considered to be a measure of general expectancy toward the internal-external control of reinforcement. The other, IAR, is in reference to internal-external control of reinforcement with special interest in children. A further purpose of this investigation is to examine whether some independent variables such as ethnicity, gender, grade in school, could be measured by both the I-E and the IAR with comparable results. The children included in this study are: Black, Mexican-American and White in a Midwest elementary school, grades 4, 5 and 6, in the school year 1974-1975. Significance of the Study The possibility that there are differences in the way minority children perceive the teacher, and perceive themselves, will make an impact on the way children relate to other minority children, and to the teachers in the school. If the children determine that the teacher is a representative of an internal control mode of reinforcement and the children are functioning in the external control mode of reinforcement, there will be conflicting attitudes. These conflicting attitudes affect 'what the children perceive as a learning situation since 16 the children are not functioning in the same frame of reference (internal-internal), or (external-external). As Burger (1971:57) says: When the teacher has acquired knowledge of the control of reinforcement that helps the children learn better, then the teacher can examine and determine his/her approach and methodology of teaching in order to communicate and improve relationships with the minority children. This change could avoid the perpetuation of the present system of education in which minority children find themselves in constant turmoil anddefeat. Turmoil and defeat are manifested in the forms of: dropping out, absenteeism, tardiness, low achievement, etc. This study is also significant because it takes into consideration not only the culture and grade level of the minority children but other independent variables which could determine the type of reinforcement which the children need in order to succeed. These independent variables include: the number of children in the family, the ordinal position in the family, the times the child has visited the counselor, and the teachers' race. Another important factor could be whether the minority children live with both parents or with a single parent; the household form. Methodology The design of this study, which was comparative and descriptive in nature, sought to analyze the responses 17 given to the IAR and I-E Scale by the 4th, 5th and 6th graders at a Midwestern elementary school located in a low socioeconomic area. The school is composed of about 33 percent Black children, 25 percent Mexican-American children and 39 percent White children. The three groups were found to be equal in terms of socioeconomic back- ground, in terms of Title I children. The intent of Title I is to assist students who are academically low achieving, who live in school attendance areas where there is a high incidence of poverty. The students answered the Intellectual Achieve— ment Responsibility Questionnaire. The children's IAR scale is composed of 34 forced-choice items. Each item stem describes either a positive or a negative achievement experience which routinely occurs in children's daily lives. This stem is followed by one alternative stating that the event was caused by the child and another stating that the event occurred because of the behavior of someone else in the child's immediate environment. Internal alternatives are designated by an "I". Positive-event items are indicated by a plus sign, and negative events by a minus sign following the "I". The child's I+ score is obtained by summing all positive events for which he/she assumes credit, and his/her I- score is the total of all negative events for which he/she assumes blame. The total I score is the sum of the 1+ and the I- subscores. 18 The Intellectual-Achievement Responsibility (IAR) Questionnaire, employed in the present investigation, attempts to measure beliefs in internal versus external reinforcement responsibility. It differs from other measures, however, in several respects. First, the techniques discussed so far contain items describing reinforcements in a number of motivational and behavioral areas such as affiliation, dominance, achievement, and dependency. However, there has been no demonstration so far that such beliefs are consistent across all areas of experience. The IAR, on the other hand, was developed ‘within the context of a larger research program dealing with children's achievement development. Thus, it is .ahned at assessing children's beliefs of reinforcement responsibility exclusively in intellectual-academic‘ achievement situations. The IAR also differs from the other assessment methods in the external environmental forces described. While previous scales include a variety of sources and agents such as luck, fate, impersonal social forces, more personal "significant others," etc., the IAR limits the source of external control to those persons who most often come in face-to-face contact with a child: parents, teachers, and peers. This restriction was based on two considerations. The first had to do with the possibility that a child may attribute different amounts of power or 19 control to various external agents. For example, he/she attributes a great deal of control to adults, but dis- counts the influence of luck or fate on experiences, or vice versa. There is no information yet available to determine whether children have any generality in their belief in the power of various kinds of external forces, although there is some evidence of such generality in adults' beliefs (Rotter et a1., 1962). Consequently, at this early stage of investigation, it was thought advisable to restrict the scale to one type of external control (the source of support is in the hands of signifi- cant others). A second reason was that it seemed impor- tant from a developmental point of view to focus particu- larly on children's beliefs in the instrumentality of their own actions compared with that of other people in their immediate environment. The dependence of young children upon others for instrumental help and emotional support is, of course, a necessary condition of early development. However, the resolution of dependence on such caretakers and the concomitant acquisition of independent problem-solving techniques are equally important requisites of normal personality development. It would not be surprising, then, to find that infants and preschool children--if they could report such beliefs--would ascribe reinforcement responsibility to the powerful others in their environment. 20 Unlike the other I-E scales, the scale used in this research was constructed to sample an equal number of positive and negative events. It was felt that the dynamics operative in assuming credit for causing good things to happen might be very different from those operative in accepting blame for unpleasant consequences. It is possible that belief in personal responsibility for the two kinds of events may develop at differential rates, or that this may be so for some children but not others. Thus, the IAR was so constructed that, in addition to a total "1" (internal or self) responsibility score, separate subscores could be obtained for beliefs in internal respon- sibility for successes (I+ score) and for failures (I- score). Administrative Procedures One aim of this study was to investigate children's beliefs in intellectual-academic reinforcement responsi- bility throughout as broad an age range as possible. Ideally, it would have been desirable to examine these beliefs from the time children enter elementary school until they graduate from high school. However, preliminary research (Crandall, 1965) indicated that children of average intelligence in the first two elementary grades often had difficulty in responding to the questionnaire, primarily because they could not keep an item and its two 21 alternatives in mind long enough to make meaningful responses. Since some of the 4th, 5th and 6th grades were not able to read well enough to take the test in written form, it was decided that individual oral pre- sentation would be desirable. The questions were tape recorded, so that each child was presented verbal stimuli which had the same inflections, tone, and rate. The responses were marked on an answer sheet which had 1+ and I- choices. The instructions presented in the oral administration requested the students to pick the answer "that best describes what happens to you or how you feel." The child was told that there were no right or wrong answers and was assured that the responses would not be revealed to anyone else. Definition of Terms Culture.--The basic social habits and values of any group of people. Culture is social, not individual. Culture is historical, not universal. Culture is con- ceptual, not immediate. Culture is repeated, not unique. Ethnic.--Possessing continuity through descent whereby one shares in a distinctive social, race, linguistic and cultural tradition. External Locus of ControlsmThe perception which persons have that the reinforcements they obtain are primarily determined by factors beyond their control and are due to chance, fate, or powerful others. 22 Internal Locus of Control.--The perception which persons have that the reinforcements they obtain are pri- marily the consequences of their own efforts. Minorities.--Those individuals who are of Black descent; Mexican-American: Person of Mexican extraction (both parents must be of Mexican extraction; Spanish- American: Person of Mexican, Cuban, or Puerto Rican extraction. White: one whose socioeconomic level excludes him/her from the majority of the middle class American people. Risk Taking.--Degree to which an individual chooses an option which has a high reward but a low probability of payoff. Social System.--A social system is a group of persons in which the action of one affects the actions of others. Society.--A group of people who have lived together long enough to organize themselves and to think of themselves as a social unit. Valug.--An enduring belief that dictates a specific mode of behavior or end-state of existence. Variables of Interest.--Those independent vari- ables used in this study by which the results determine if they influence the internality or externality of the minority child. 23 Basic Assumptions 1. If individuals see themselves as having responsibility for successes or failures, then they per- ceive themselves as possessing an internal locus of control. 2. If individuals see themselves not respon- sible for their own successes or failures, then they perceive themselves as possessing an external locus of control. Hypotheses The hypotheses are stated in the null form. Hypothesis I: There will be no differences between the mean scores on measuring varying aspects of the internal-external control of rein- forcement given by Blacks, Mexican-Americans and Whites. H othesis II: There wiIl be no differences between the mean scores on the independent variable of interest measuring varying aspects of the internal-external control of reinforcement given by students of the 4th, 5th and 6th grades. Hypothesis III: There will be no differences between the mean scores on the independent variable of interest measuring varying aspects of the internal-external control of reinforcement among boys and girls. H othesis IV: There wiIl be no differences between the mean scores on the independent variable of interest measuring varying aspects of the internal- external control of reinforcement in relation- ship to the number of members in the family. 24 Hypothesis V: There will be no differences between the mean scores on the independent variable of interest measuring varying aspects of the internal- external control of reinforcement according to the ordinal position of the child in the family. Hypothesis VI: There will be no differences between the mean scores on the independent variable of interest measuring varying aspects of the internal— external control of reinforcement according to the number of times the student has visited the counselor. Hypothesis VII: There will be no differences between the mean scores on the independent variable of interest measuring varying aspects of the internal- external control of reinforcement according to whether or not the student had any Black teachers since Kindergarten. Hypothesis VIII: There will be no differences between the mean scores on the independent variable of interest measuring varying aspects of the internal- external control of reinforcement according to whether or not the student had any Mexican— American teachers since Kindergarten. H othesis IX: There wiIl be no differences between the mean scores on the independent variable of interest measuring varying aspects of the internal- external control of reinforcement according to whether or not the student had any White teachers since Kindergarten. Hypothesis X: There will be no differences between the mean scores on the independent variable of interest measuring varying aspects of the internal- external control of reinforcement according to the fact that the student lives with both parents or with a single parent. 25 Summary Chapter I included the background and significance of the problem, a description of the population and the basic assumptions of the study. The hypotheses, and the definition of terms were included. Pertinent literature dealing with the locus of internal-external control of reinforcement will be reviewed in Chapter II. The population, instrumentation, testable hypoth- eses, dependent and independent variables and statistical analysis will be described in Chapter III. In Chapter IV each of the hypotheses will be pre- sented and analyzed in detail. The thesis will conclude “in Chapter V with a summary, interpretation of the find- ings, and educational implications of the findings. CHAPTER II REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE The review of the literature will be divided into three distinct areas: first, in the area of reinforcement; second, in the area of internal versus external control; and third, in the area of culture in reference to minority children, including Black children, Mexican-American children and White children. Each of these areas will also contain some observations made by the author through participation in the school and community. These partici— pant observations are related to the fact that the author is working as a counselor at a midwestern elementary school located in a low socioeconomic area which has about equal numbers of different minority student groups. Studies were found which related to reinforcement, minorities and culture. Also, studies have been done relating to internal-external control applied to different topics, such as social influence, self-perception theory, decision making, anxiety, etc. In this literature review special attention will be given to the work done by Virginia C. Crandall, Walter Katkovsky and Vaughn J. Crandall (1965) in their article entitled "Children's 26 27 Beliefs in Their Own Control of Reinforcements in Intellectual-Academic Achievement Situations." The other work to which special attention will be paid is, "Generalized Expectancies for Internal Versus External Control of Reinforcement" by Julian B. Rotter (1966). These studies have been chosen because many studies have been done by others based on them; Julian Rotter due to his study on generalized expectancies for every age bracket, and Virginia Crandall for her work done especially with children's beliefs on their own control of reinforce- ment 0 Reinforcement Glaser and Cooley (1973) suggest that reinforcement has long been considered a key variable in the instruc- tional process. The principle of reinforcement stems from the observation that environmental consequences can increase or decrease the probability with which future behavior will occur. Furthermore, the particular kind of behavior that an individual learns or the kind of per- formance that he/she exhibits often depends on the details of these environmental consequences. A reinforcing conse- quence is defined as an event or state of affairs that changes subsequent behavior when it temporarily follows an instance of that behavior. Throughout all the various theoretical interpretations of how the mechanisms of 28 reinforcement work, the operational description of rein- forcing situations is clear. Behavior is acquired and its occurrence regulated as a result of a contingent relationship between the response of an individual and a consequent event. The pervasiveness of the influence of reinforcement in our daily lives leaves little doubt of the significance of the management of reinforcing opera- tions for educational and instructional practice. Principles of reinforcement have been applied with increasing frequency in the context of clinical psychology and in education in the classroom (Bandura, 1969; WOlf & Risley, 1971). A number of guidebooks for teachers interested in applying behavior modification techniques have appeared (Buckley & Walker, 1970; Homme, Csanyi, Gonzales & Rechs, 1969), as well as some recent collections of readings on behavioral modification in education (Fargo, Behrna & Nolen, 1970; Roden, Klein & Hapkiewicz, 1971). The effective application and scheduling of reinforcing events, such as the results of one's work, praise, social approval, attention or leadership have been established as important variables to be considered in the design of educational environments. Julian Rotter (1966:1) has said of reinforcement: The role of reinforcement, reward, or gratification is universally recognized by students of human nature as a crucial one in the acquisition and performance of skills and knowledge. However, an event regarded by some persons as a reward or 29 reinforcement may be differently perceived and reacted to by others. One of the determinants of this reaction is the degree to which the individual perceives that the reward follows from, or is contingent upon, his own behavior or attributes versus the degree to which he feels the reward is controlled by forces outside of himself and may occur independently of his own actions. The effect of a reinforcement following some behavior on the part of a human subject, in other words, is not a simple stamping- in process but depends upon whether or not the person perceives a causal relationship between his own behavior and the reward. A perception of causal relationship need not be all or none but can vary in degree. When a reinforcement is perceived by the subject as following some action of his own but not being entirely con- tingent upon his action, then, in our culture, it is typically perceived as the result of luck, chance, fate, as under the control of the power- ful others, or as unpredictable because of the great complexity of the forces surrounding him. When the event is interpreted in this way by an individual, we have labeled this a belief in external control. If the person perceives that the event is contingent upon his own behavior or his own relatively permanent characteristics, we have termed this a belief in internal control. V. C. Crandall, Katkovsky and V. J. Crandall (1965) suggest that individuals have been found to differ in the degree to which they believe that they are usually able to influence the outcome of situations. They may believe that their actions produce the reinforcements which follow their efforts, or they may feel that the rewards and jpunishments meted out to them are at the discretion of powerful others or are in the hands of luck or fate. In fact, the same reinforcement in the same situation may be perceived by one individual as within his/her own control and by another as outside his/her own influence. The 30. personal beliefs could be important determinants of the reinforcing effects of many experiences. If, for example, individuals are convinced that they have little control over the rewards and punishments they receive, then they have little reason to modify their behavior in an attempt to alter the probability that those events will occur. Rewards and punishments, then, will have lost much of their reinforcing value and effectiveness in strengthening or weakening the child's response. Internal Versus External Control There have been a number of studies demonstrating differences in behavior as a function of internal-external control. In one series of investigations, acquisition and extinction of expectancies has been shown to vary depend- ing on whether the individual perceives task performance as determined by skill as opposed to chance or luck factors (James & Rotter, 1958; Phares, 1957, 1962; Rotter, Liverant & Crowne, 1961). Concurrent with studies manipu- lating skill and chance in a situational context has been the development of a scale to measure individual differ- ences in a generalized expectancy regarding the nature of causal relationships between behavior and the occurrence of reinforcement (Rotter, 1966). Rotter (1954) has suggested that individuals behave not only in accordance with the relative value of 31 goals and the nature of the reinforcement they receive, but also with the degree of expectation they have of achieving those goals. Phares (1957) suggests that students who feel they have little control over the situations are less likely to exhibit the behavior that will enable them to cope more successfully with potentially threatening situations (referred to as external students) than those who feel they have substantial control over the situation (referred to as internal students). Herbert Lefcourt (1966) suggests that the "control of reinforcement" construct is a dimension of belief or expectancy about the locus of reinforcing consequences for behavior. This belief is presumed to represent a generalized or transituational disposition to ascribe behavior-reinforcement contingencies either to "external," and hence uncontrollable, factors (such as chance, fate, powerful others, or an enigmatic world, and so on), or to "internal" sources (in which case the individuals per— ceive themselves as the effective determinants of rein- forcing events). Lefcourt (1966:206), has said of control of reinforcement: Under various rubrics, and from diverse orienta- tions, investigators have concerned themselves repeatedly with man's ability to control his personal environment. Concepts such as compe- tence, helplessness, hopelessness, mastery, and 32 alienation have all been utilized in one way or another to describe the degree to which an individual is able to control the important events occurring in his life space. Rotter (1954) states, on the basis of the con- struct properties and empirically determined behavioral correlates of I-E Scale scores, differential predictions can be made about responsiveness of internal and external subjects and about the effectiveness of internal and external experimenters as agents of social reinforcement in the verbal conditioning situation. There is evidence, for example, that if "suggestions or manipulations are not to (the internal's) benefit or if he perceives them as subtle attempts to influence him without his awareness, he reacts resistively." In subtle behavior-shaping situa- tions, such as verbal conditioning, internals would be expected to be less responsive to experimenter's attempts to influence than externals who presumably base their performance on cues from an experimenter and would thereby evidence performance gains. Another study somewhat related to internality- externality and personal control is one described by Ryckman and Sherman (1973). These experimenters asked internal and external subjects to select partners or opponents with superior, equal, or inferior abilities for cooperative or competitive tasks. Results indicated that internals were willing to relinquish much of their per- sonal control over the outcome by selecting superior 33 partners for cooperative ventures but only after they had become thoroughly convinced of their own lack of ability on the task. When they perceived themselves as having good ability, internals selected partners of equal ability for cooperative activities. Externals tended to select inferior-ability partners under the same conditions, thus virtually ensuring defeat for their teams. If internal locus of control is related to per- ceived power and external beliefs to powerlessness, as Ryckman and Seeman suggested as early as 1959, then further investigation considering how internals and externals use power, particularly in relation to other people, may open new doors of understanding cooperative and competitive behavior both in inter-personal and group situations. Feelings of personal power or helplessness in conjunction with externality have been demonstrated to be influential in achievement situations. Dweck and Repucci (1973) had children persist in tasks after pro- longed noncontingent failure and found externals, who took less personal responsibility for outcomes, to exhibit a worsening of performance in contrast to internal children. One significant reason for looking at locus of control is that there appears to be a relationship between internal-external control and school success or achievement. Several studies have suggested this relationship to achieve- ment. In one such study by McGhee and Crandall (1968) 34 using the students in both elementary and high school grades, an Intellectual Achievement Responsibility scale was administered to each child. The researchers then compared the IAR scores with mean scores. They also found I-E to be a better predictor of course grades than the achievement test scores. They found gender differ- ences with high achieving girls consistently more accept— ing of both success and failure situations while high achieving boys were more accepting of failure situations. W. B. Brookover and associates (1973:4,5) in their research and writing, conscientiously try to explain the effect of significant others on the child's academic behavior and expectations. Clearly under the heading of symbolic interaction and of great importance to the present research is expectation theory and the relationship between academic behavior and the student perceived academic expectations held by "others" who may be 81 nificant to his beliefs. Rosenthal and Jacobson (1568) call this phenomenon a "self-fulfilling prophecy" as coined by Merton (1957), and referred to by Myrdal (1944), as the "theory of vicious cycle." When such significant others as parents, school officials, teachers, and peers, are perceived by the individual as viewing his failure as an imminent reality, and he accepts those views, the chances are greatly enhanced that failure will follow. If any "significant other" is perceived by that individual as having more positive beliefs about the chances of academic success, the prospects of failure become diminished. Although Rosenthal and Jacobson do not identify this study of expectation effects in the interactionist frame of reference, it may be appropriately classified in this context. 35 Expectation theory becomes extremely informative when we discuss the complementary construct of "aspirations." Individuals who experience con- sistent negative reinforcement within a particu- lar area will also develop limited aspirations concerning their future plans within the area of endeavor. For example, a student who is expected by "others" to be a failure and experi- ences some difficulty early in his education will rarely attain a high "self-concept of academic ability." His level of future educa- tional aspirations will remain quite low. Culture Dwayne Huebner (1975) says that his intention behind his original choice to be a teacher was to help individual children be more self-fulfilling, more power- ful, more capable of recognizing and realizing their own possibilities as human beings. Huebner assumed that the possibilities of the young were native to them, and that the school merely developed these possibilities. The 60's destroyed that illusion. They are disadvantaged because human possibility is not fairly nor even randomly dis- tributed. Mercer (1973) in her analysis of the processes by which institutions such as schools label individuals as, say, "mentally retarded," confirms this picture. Children with "non-modal" sociocultural backgrounds and from minority groups predominate to a disproportionate degree in being so labeled. This is primarily due to diagnostic procedures in schools that were drawn almost totally from what she has called the dominance of "Anglocentrism" in 36 schools, a form of ethnocentrism that causes school people to act as if their own group's life style, language, history, and value and normative structure were the "proper" guidelines against which all other people's activity should be measured. One of the basic needs common to all children is the need to achieve, to accom- plish, to experience success. Failure deprives them of the satisfaction of that need. Then some pupils fight back with patterns of violent aggression. Others with- draw; they stop trying and become non-learners. Some get physically sick. Success to the school child means, "I got it right!" All children need to get something right every day, to learn something and to know that their teacher is pleased with them. Success and praise are profoundly motivating. They turn children on. They free the energy needed to make an effort. They convince pupils that they can learn. Once a child perceives him- self as able to learn, and knows the teacher cares, he usually does learn. ' Thomas P. Carter in his book Mexican Americans in School, A History of Educational Neglect (1970:208), suggests that: One not-so-startling conclusion can be drawn from analysis of the kind of children who succeed in schools: those who do so tend to be children who are culturally and personally similar to what the school expects. They are almost invariably the "normal" children from "normal" homes, average middle-class American youngsters. The "different" 37 child, whether he be Anglo, Negro, lower class, or whatever, rarely measures up at school entrance or exit to the normal or "standard" child. It is easy to conclude that the cultural, social-class, or personality differences of "different" children, faced with an undifferentiated or standard middle- class-oriented school, cause them to fail in school. Mest educators, with the support of the vocal elements within the middle class, assume that the school is adequate and validly represents the core values and content of American culture. Therefore, it is not difficult to understand why school people, when given a choice between seeing Mexican-Americans' poor school performance as attributable to either their home or the nature fif the school, readily opt to blame the "deficient" ome. Susan S. Stodolsky and Gerald Lesser (1967:546) suggest that the data on general intelligence, mental abilities and school achievement all give indications that general learning, first in the home and community and later within the school as well, is clearly associated with socioeconomic status. The level of such learning is generally lower for children of most minority groups and children in low socioeconomic status. Important varia- tions in patterning of such learnings have yet to be studied systematically, with a few notable exceptions. Even in the school achievement area, data regarding progress in school subjects other than reading and mathe- matics are not readily available. It can perhaps be safely assumed that achievement in social studies, science, and other academic areas will be highly correlated with achievement in reading and arithmetic. Nevertheless, 38 studies of performance of disadvantaged children in these areas should be carried out. Culturally different students are special only in that they are different, and like all students possess unique interests, talents, and feelings. Teachers should be encouraged to make possible a larger variety of achieve- ments, and develop a system to reward and reinforce each. The picture of educational disadvantage which emerges with examination of achievement data is a clear indication of the failure of the school systems. When intelligence test data and early achievement data are com- bined, we have a predictor's paradise, but an abysmal prognosis for most children who enter the school system from disadvantaged backgrounds. At the very least, this ability to predict school failure should be better exploited by the schools in an effort to remedy the situa- tion. Kenneth T. Henson (1975) states that to overcome these barriers we must find ways of making school more personal to culturally different students. Schools must create more success channels, whereby these students can earn recognition for their achievements. Schools must provide tasks which will permit them to reveal their knowledge and express their feelings. Since these goals are not likely to occur for many in a keenly competitive environment, we must tone down classroom competition and 39 tune in classroom cooperation. The fact that multi- cultural classes have built-in problems is as obvious as is the fact that multicultural classes possess unique opportunities for young people to learn how to become modern Americans. However, until teachers take the initiative necessary to capitalize on this uniqueness, the potentials will remain hidden and the problems will remain the dominating characteristics of multicultural classes. Summary In this chapter, important points have been high- lighted in three distinct areas--the area of reinforce- ment, the area of internal versus external control, and the area of culture as it refers to minority children as used in this study. Different behavior patterns and success and failure of minority children have been viewed as a result of the study in these three areas. It is evident that more study and research should be done in relation to the learning process of minority children as it relates to reinforcement, internal versus external control and cultural background. Reinforcement presumably is provided to the minority children by significant others and not by the children themselves. The literature also shows that many social and cultural factors which minority children 40 bring with them to school bear a great importance in the beliefs of their academic success. Variations in these beliefs could be attributed to different practices of family socialization and different patterns and values in the culture of the minority child. Some evidence was also presented that the minority children see themselves as more externally controlled and less capable of determining their own destiny. CHAPTER III METHODS OF STUDY This chapter contains a description of the population represented in the study, instruments used for data gathering, the testable hypotheses, and sta- tistical analysis. The Sample The sample from.which this study was made con- sisted of 4th, 5th and 6th grade students from a Mid- western elementary school located in a low socioeconomic area. This school was chosen because it has almost equal percentages of Black, MexicanrAmerican and White students. Also, the author was an elementary school counselor at the school and had easy access to the students. Thirdly, the principal and teachers at the school were enthusiastic about the study. There is a total of 39 students in the 4th grade, consisting of 11 Black students, 8 Mexican-Americans and 20 White students. There are 6 Black boys, 3 Mexican- American boys, and 13 White boys. The female population is composed of 5 Black girls, 5 Mexican-American girls 41 42 and 7 White girls. Thus there are 22 boys and 17 girls in the 4th grade. There is a total of 32 students in the 5th grade, consisting of 8 Black students, 11 Mexican-American stu- dents and 13 White students. There are 3 Black boys, 5 Mexican-American boys and 6 White boys. The female population is composed of 5 Black girls, 6 Mexican-American girls, and 7 White girls. Thus, there are 14 boys and 18 girls in the 5th grade. There is a total of 41 students in the 6th grade consisting of 19 Black students, 9 Mexican-American and 13 White students. The male population is composed of 11 Black boys, 7 Mexican-American boys and 9 White boys. The female population is composed of 8 Black girls, 2 Mexican-American girls, and 4 White girls. Thus, there are 27 boys and 14 girls in the 6th grade. In summary, there is a total of 112 students in the 4th, 5th and 6th grades in this Midwestern elementary school. This figure consists of 38 Black students, 28 Mexican-American students, and 46 White students which, when broken down, shows 20 Black boys, 15 Mexican-American boys and 28 White boys. The female population is broken down in the following manner: 18 Black girls, 13 Mexican-American girls, and 18 White girls, with a total of 63 boys, and 49 girls. The percentage of the 112 students which is Black is 33.9 percent; Mexican-American 43 25 percent; and White, 41.0 percent. Combining the Black and Mexican-American percentages, the percentage of the three grades which are minority described ethnically, is 61 percent. Instrumentation Two instruments were used to measure the internal-external control of reinforcement: The Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Questionnaire (IAR), and the Internal versus External control of reinforcement (the I-E Scale). The Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Questionnaire (IAR) The Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Questionnaire (IAR), developed by Crandall, Katkovsky and Crandall (1965) was designed to measure the degree of control an individual receives regarding the reinforce- ment responsibility in academic situations. In essence the IAR assesses whether or not an individual perceives himself/herself as the controlling agent of reinforcement. This perception makes him/her feel reSponsible for suc- cesses as well as failures. In the IAR this assumption is called internal control of reinforcement. If the individuals perceive that a system or another person is responsible for successes and failures then they possess external control of reinforcement. 44 The IAR scale is composed of 34 forced—choice items. Seventeen items describe positive achievement experiences and seventeen items describe negative achieve- ment experiences. The experiences are supposed to repre- sent routine occurrences for a child. The stem of each item is followed by two alternatives--one stating that the event occurred because of the behavior of someone else in the child's immediate environment, the other indicating the child as responsible for the event. Positive event items are indicated by a plus sign (+) and negative event items by a minus sign (~). The higher the internal score, the greater the indication that the child believes in personal control of reinforcement in an intellectual-academic achievement situation (Crandall, Katkovsky & Crandall, 1965). The following are two examples of positive and negative event items from the 34 forced choice item IAR scale: If a teacher passes you to the next grade, would it probably be a. Because she liked you, or b. Because of the work you did? When you have trouble understanding something in school, is it usually a. Because the teacher didn't explain clearly b. Because you didn't listen carefully 45 Internal-External Scale A careful reading of the items will make it clear that the items deal exclusively with the subject's belief about the nature of the world. That is, they are concerned with the subjects' expectations about how reinforcement is controlled. Consequently, the test is considered to be a measure of a generalized expectancy. Such a generalized expectancy may correlate with the value the subject places on internal control but none of the items is directly addressed to the preference for internal or external control. The I-E Scale (Rotter, 1966) is composed of 29 forced-choice items. Included in this scale are 6 filler items intended to make somewhat more ambiguous the purpose of the test. The letter preceding the external choice in every item is italicized. The score is the total number of external choices. Instructions for Rotter's internal-external scale (1966:80) are: This is a questionnaire to find out the way in which certain important events in our society affect different people. Each item consists of a pair of alternatives lettered a or 2. Please select the one statement of each pair (and only one) which you more strongly believe to be the case as far as you are concerned. Be sure to select the one you actually believe to be more true rather than the one you think you should choose or the one you would like to be true. This is a measure of personal belief; obviously, ,there are no right or wrong answers. * Rotters Scale is the I-E Scale. 46 erendent and Independent Variables The variables related to the hypotheses which might affect the amount of responses to the dependent variables [The Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Questionnaire (IAR) and the Internal-External Scale (I-E)] are: 1. Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Internal (IARI). a. Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Internal Positive (IARIP). b. Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Internal Minus or Negative (IARIM). 2. Rotter's Scale Internal (ROTE I), (I-E Scale).* The following are the independent variables: 1. Students race: a. Black b. Mexican-American c. White 2. Grade level: a. 4th b. 5th c. 6th 3. Gender a. Female b. Male 4. How many children in the family? (0 CLO U‘m mwar—I * ‘ ROTE I is used here to indicate only the Internal section of the I-E Scale. 10. 47 Ordinal position in the family? a. 1st b. 2nd c. 3rd d. 4th e. 5th or more in the family How many times have you visited the counselor at your school? a. 0 b. 1 c. 2 d. 3 e. 4 or more How many Black teachers have you had since Kindergarten? (‘0 Q0 0‘91 CONE-'0 4 or more How many Mexican-American teachers have you had since Kindergarten? (D (10 0‘93 le-‘O 4 or more How many White teachers have you had since Kindergarten? a. 0 b. l c. 2 d. 3 e. 4 or more Do you live with both your father and mother or a single parent? a. both b. single parent 48 Testable Hypotheses The testable hypotheses are stated in null form. Hypothesis I: ’There will be no differences between the mean scores on the independent variable of interest measuring varying aspects of the internal- external control of reinforcement given by Blacks, Mexican-Americans and Whites. Hypothesis II: There will be no differences between the mean scores on the independent variable of interest measuring varying aspects of the internal- external control of reinforcement given by students of the 4th, 5th and 6th grades. Hypothesis III: There will be no differences between the mean scores on the independent variable of interest measuring varying aspects of the internal- external control of reinforcement between boys and girls. Hypothesis IV: There will be no differences between the mean scores on the independent variable of interest measuring varying aspects of the internal- external control of reinforcement in relation- ship to the number of members in the family. H othesis V: There will be no differences between the mean scores on the independent variable of interest measuring varying aspects of the internal- external control of reinforcement according to the ordinal position in the family. Hypothesis VI: There will be no differences between the mean scores on the independent variable of interest measuring varying aspects of the internal- external control of reinforcement according to the number of times the student has visited the counselor. 49 Hypothesis VII: There will be no differences between the mean scores on the independent variable of interest measuring varying aspects of the internal- external control of reinforcement according to the number of Black teachers the student has had since Kindergarten. Hypothesis VIII: There will be no differences between the mean scores on the independent variable of interest ‘measuring varying aspects of the internal- external control of reinforcement according to the number of Mexican-American teachers the student has had since Kindergarten. Hypothesis IX: There will be no differences between the mean scores on the independent variable of interest measuring varying aspects of the internal- external control of reinforcement according to the number of White teachers the student has had since Kindergarten. Hypothesis X: There will be no differences between the mean scores on the independent variable of interest measuring varying aspects of the internal- external control of reinforcement according to the fact that the student lives with both parents or with a single parent. Statistical Analyses The analysis of variance was employed. For any hypothesis concerning an independent variable with more than two levels which is found to be significant, the Scheffe' post hoc procedure for comparison between groups would follow. The probability of a Type I error will be controlled at the .05 level throughout (i.e., alpha equals .05). 50 Statistical treatment of the data was executed through the facilities of the Computer Laboratory of Michigan State University. The responses IARI, IARIP, IARIM, IARE, ROTE I, ROTE E and independent variables of each individual student were tabulated and placed on IBM cards. The SPSS system.was used to produce cross tabulations of various combinations of independent and dependent variables. The SPSS system was also used to produce tests of the hypotheses (using one-way ANOVA program). To test the general hypotheses of interest in a one-way analysis of variance using the SPSS program the decision was made to compare the chosen alpha level to the P value of the particular test. If the chosen alpha level is less than the value of F probability (also called P value) the test is p95 significant, i.e., the null hypothesis cannot be rejected. If the chosen alpha level is greater than the value of F probability the test is deemed significant, i.e., the null hypothesis is rejected in favor of the alternate hypothesis. If the alternate hypothesis is favored, and this hypothesis is composed of different groups, then further investigation into the nature of the differences between the groups necessitates the use of Scheffe post-hoc comparison test. 51 Summary The purpose of this chapter has been to describe the population represented in this study and the basis for using this population. The two instruments used in this study were then considered, including uses of the instruments and the reasons why they were used. The testable hypotheses were stated in null form. Each hypothesis had two subhypotheses for the following dependent variables: IARI, IARIP, IARIM, and ROTE I. The following chapter will be devoted to the presentation and analysis of the data gathered in this study. 52 as no ma ma ma mm ma om NHH sq wN mm a n.sc u