AN EXAMENATMN OF THE ATTITUEES OF A
SECONDARY SCHOOL STAFF CONCERNING CERTAIN
EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS A

Thesis for the Degree of Ph. D.
WOMAN STATE UNNERSKTY
LOWS P. GifLOB

1970

    

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Michigan State
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AN EXAMINATION OF THE ATTITUDES
OF A SECONDARY SCHOOL STAFF
CONCERNING CERTAIN EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS

presented by

Louis A. Golob

 

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for

P110 Do degree in Education

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Major professor

Date June 12, 1970

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ABSTRACT

AN EXAMINATION OF THE ATTITUDES OF A
SECONDARY SCHOOL STAFF CONCERNING
CERTAIN EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS

BY

Louis A. Golob

This study was undertaken at Eastern High School, which
is the site for the Training of Teachers of Teachers Project,
a joint Michigan State University/Lansing School District
federally funded program. The ninety—six teachers in
Eastern High School provided the population for the study.

The attitudes, values and beliefs of teachers in a
given setting must be critically considered if we are
attempting realistic educational change. Some commonality
of educational purpose and perspective among the members
of a teaching staff is essential in their visualization
of some common goals. Knowing the nature of these commonal—
ities and differences is a necessary step in prescribing an
approach to educational change.

A survey instrument was developed and administered to
examine, within the Eastern High School teaching staff, the

nature of:

Louis A. Golob

1. the diversity among the teachers in their
identification of educational problems,

2. the teachers beliefs about their role in
solving educational problems,

3. the teacher's agreement on the purposes of
school today, and

4. the relationship between the purposes teachers
have identified for schools: and the problems

teachers have identified for schools.

Significant‘Findings

The diversity of the Eastern High School teachers'
perceptions of educational problems was clearly demonstrated.
There was less than a majority agreement on any of the edu—
cational problems as being important or unimportant.

The majority of Eastern High School teachers feel
they do not play a major role in solving these educational
problems. This belief was consistent for all the problems
with one exception. The problem, "too much emphasis on
traditional rate learning and not enough emphasis on stu-
dents attitudes, values and beliefs,“ was felt by a

majority of teachers to be a teacher responsibility.

AN EXAMINATION OF THE ATTITUDES OF A
SECONDARY SCHOOL STAFF CONCERNING

CERTAIN EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS

BY

’l)‘ J

Louis AL Golob

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Department of Currrculum and
Secondary Education

1970

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES O O O 0 O O O O I O O O O 0

Chapter

I.

II.

III.

IV.

APPENDIX.

INTRODUCTION 0 O O O O O O O O O 0

Definition of Terms . . . . . . . .
Limitations . . . . . . . . .
Organization of the Study . . . . . .

RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY. . . . . . . .

Expressions of the Need for Educational
Change . . . . . . . . . . .

Some Problems of Educational Change . . .

Some Considerations for Educational Change.

THE SETTING O O O O O O O O O O I 0

Eastern High School . . . . . . . .
The TTT Project. . . . . . .
Discussion of TTT Goals and Objectives . .

METHODOLO GY O O O O I O O O O O O 0

Objectives . . . . . . . . . .
Population . . . . .
The Construction of the Survey Instrument
Administration of the Survey Instrument.
Analysis Of the Survey Responses . . .
Analysis of the Objectives . . . . .

SUMMARY, IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. .

Summary . . . . . . . . . .
Implications. . . . . . . . .
Recommendations for TTT . . . . .
Recommendations for Further Study. .

BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

ii

Page

iii

14.

23’

33
51
51
55
57
61
62
63
67
68
71
88
38
90

'91
93
95

100

Table

LIST OF TABLES

Categories for Two Demographic Items. . . .

Educational Problems as Ranked by Eastern High
School Teachers . . . . . . . . . .

Educational Purposes as Placed in Descending
Order of Importance by Eastern High School
Teachers . . . . . . . . . . . .

Distribution of Rankings for the Educational
Problem "New Teachers are not Adequately
Prepared" . . . . . . . . . . . .

Variable "Preparation of New Teachers" by
Variable Degree and Credits . . . . . .

Variable "Preparation Of New Teachers by
Variable Years of Experience. . . . . .

iii

Page
69

72

75

79

80

81

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

The concern of this dissertation is educational change;
the need for change, the difficulty of change, and the
implementation of change. The action part of this study
was undertaken at Eastern High School, which is the site
for the Training of Teachers of Teachers Project, a joint
Michigan State University/Lansing School District federally
funded program. My participation as an Experienced Teacher
Fellow provided the opportunity to view the behavior and
interaction of teachers with university professors, school
administrators and community workers. The purpose Of the
study was an analysis of expressions of opinions of the
Eastern High School staff as a first step in the process
of curricular change.

From every quarter the popular press charges the
modern school with failure to meet the needs of today's
youth. In a lengthy and heated debate the critics point
out that the present structure of the schools was created

to suit the needs of the agrarian society of fifty years

ago. Popular journals such as Life, ngk_and Saturday
Review call upon educational scholars, and a growing number
Of instant "pop" experts on education, to write articles
describing the urgent need for educational change.- Even
the professional journals in education have suggested
innovations designed to redeem the schools as quickly as
possible.

While there are causes for this journalistic heat
over education, it is instructive to note the inconsistencies
in the arguments for educational change. Criticisms range
from attacks upon schools as reflections of a sick society
to calls for increasing the quality of individual teachers.
On the left there are those who say that America is corrupt
and the schools are the most glaring symbol Of that cor-
ruption.l On the right there are those who say that the
ills of the schools are caused by the collective failures
Of individual teachers.2

The emotionalism often evidenced in articles on
educational change underscores not only the urgency with
which peOple view the educational crisis, but also shows
the bewilderment and confusion peOple feel about our

schools. The number of federally funded educational

 

1Beatrice Gross and Ronald Gross (ed.), Radical
School Reform (New York: Simon and Schuster, I5695.

2Rockefeller Brothers Fund, The Pursuit of Excellence
(New York: Doubleday and Co., Inc., I958}, p. 39.

programs indicates a desire for changes from still other
quarters.

One might anticipate profound changes when the Federal
government, with its vast resources, shows a concern and
desire for educational change. This has not been the case.
The National Defense Education Act Institutes, Elementary
and Secondary Education Act Title I compensatory education,
Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title III which
focused specifically on innovation, and the various fundings
for Headstart have all met with limited success in revolu—
tionizing education. President Nixon, in his address to
Congress in March of 1970, expressed his concern for lack
of significant educational change resulting from the federal
programs.3

Change in the school has been approached from many
perspectives. Very often change in educational programs
is viewed as a function of the staff who make up the
organization. Frequently the discussion is reduced to
concentrate on the attitudes, values, and beliefs of the
peOple involved.4 While newly developed methods or materials

may have a salutary effect on changing educational programs,

 

3President Richard Nixon, Presidents Message to Con-
ress, Message to the U. S. Congress, March 3, 1970
iWasEington, D. C., released by the office of the White
House Press Secretary, March 5, 1970), p. 2.
4Arthur R. King, Jr., "Curriculum Projects: A
Perspective," Educational Leadership, XXVI (February,
1969), P. 493.

 

 

it is clear that their impact on a teacher's total makeup
is coincidental.5 This is attested to by many educators.
Unless teachers themselves change, we will not witness much
change in what goes on in the classroom, despite out inter-
vention with methods and materials. Educators must, it would
seem, face the problem more squarely. There is some evidence
to give direction if our concern is modifying teachers' atti-
tudes. There are indications that people are more likely to
change in a group setting than if approached on an individual
basis.6 Available, also, is a sizable body of literature
about the pressures, such as threatening situations, which
are related to the individual's behavior.7

From the examination of the available knowledge in the
areas under discussion, some essentials of change become
evident. As a result, some basics for the creation of a

model for educational change can be outlined to include:

 

5H. S. Broudy, "Can We Define Good Teaching?" The
Record, LXX (April, 1969), p. 583.

6Bernard Berelson and Gary A. Steiner, Human Behavior:
An Inventory of Scientific Findin s (New YorE: Harcourt
Brace and WOrld, Inc., 1964), p. §54; Kurt Lewin, Resolving
Social Conflicts (New York: Harper and Brothers PubliShers,
1945).

7Arthur Pearl, Hobart W. Burns, and Richard L. Foster,
"Introduction," in Teachers for the Real WOrld, ed. by B.
Othanel Smith (washington, D. C.: The American Association
for the Colleges of Teacher Education, 1954); Rollo May,
Man's Search for Himself (New York: ‘W. W. Norton and Com-
pany, Inc., 1953); and, Carl Rogers, On Becoming a Person
(Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1961).

 

 

1. Provision for interaction of school personnel
to consider values, attitudes and beliefs and
the compatability of these to education.

2. The develOpment of group goals and Objectives
that can realisticly be strived for.

3. Procedures for supporting colleagues as fellow
professionals in the educational endeavor.

4. The modification of the existing structures to
accommodate the above and eliminate the identi-
fiable inhibiting pressures upon teachers.

Another factor to consider is that without commonal-
ity Of goals, school personnel cannot respond with any
decisiveness or clarity to the variety of pressures modern
urban life imposes upon the school.

The TTT project and Eastern High School provide an
ideal setting for the implementation of such a model for
change. The basic goal Of the TTT program is to positively
change the attitudes, methods and priorities of the graduate
professor who train the future teachers of teachers. In order
to achieve this goal it is necessary for projects to be
involved in educational change at various levels of the
educational spectrum: public school, teacher training and
graduate school levels. TTT represents a program to pursue
educational change from a perspective different from federal
programs referred to earlier which were intended to encompass

specifically the public schools. TTT must engage the whole

 

8TTT Planning and Development Team, "Outline of TTT
Pilot Year Activity," East Lansing, Michigan, Summer, 1969,
pp. 2-3. (Mimeographed.)

educational spectrum with the need for analysis Of school and
community problems in order to modify the higher education
preparation Of public school teachers. Some Options, not
presently open to the typical school, are open to the TTT
project.8

TTT can break from the traditional school structure;
in fact, the basic goals of the project almost necessitate
this. The school system can be modified as it relates to a
certain segment of the teacher population. TTT has the
impetus, money and other resources essential to accomplish
this structural change and free some personnel to work in
different ways.

What are the essential steps in implementing educa-
tional change in the TTT/Eastern High School setting? A
crucial element is the provision for bringing school
staff together to interact openly and honestly. This
implies a modification of the relationships of the person-
nel within a school. Further, provision must also be
made for develOpment and pursuit of goals and Objectives
generated by the group.

A model for interaction can be developed at the TTT
site; however, certain knowledge is the essential first
step. As a springboard, discovering something about the
attitudes of the teachers in this setting is essential.
Based on the assumption that educational change depends
upon the ability of educators to modify some of their

basic beliefs, this study focused on an examination of the

attitudes held by a group of teachers. The purpose of
the study was an analysis of expressions of opinions of
a selected staff as a first step in the process of
curricular change.

The survey was chosen as a means to gather these
attitudes. An instrument was designed to elicit teachers’
responses to three questions. The questions are: 1) Do
teachers see their role as solving large educational ques—
tions? 2) What are the purposes of schools? 3) What are
the major problems in education today?

The Eastern High School teachers comprise the popu-
1ation surveyed in this study. The objectives are to
examine:

l. The diversity of Opinion of teachers

concerning current educational problems.

2. The diversity of opinion of teachers

concerning the purposes of schools.

3. Expressions of the teachers concerning

their responsibility in the solving of
educational problems.

4. Expressions of the teachers concerning

the capability of schools in solving

educational problems.

Definition of Terms

Reference to the attitudes of individuals is very
central to the discussion within this study. The defini-
tion of this term has been the theme of a great deal of
scholarly effort.

In avoiding a completely arbitrary assignment of
meanings to the term attitude, I have focused on the area
Of social psychology in a quest for working definitions.
Such interpretation is provided by Daniel Katz.

Attitude is the predisposition of people to

evaluate some symbol or Object or aspect of

this world in a favorable or unfavorable manner.
Opinion is the verbal expression of an attitude,
but attitudes can also be expressed in nonverbal
behavior. Attitudes include both the affective,
or feeling core of liking or disliking, and the
cognitive, or belief, elements which describe the
object of the attitude, its characteristics, and
its relations to other objects. When specific
attitudes are organized into a hierarchical
structure, they comprise value systems.9

To further clarify we might note that while there
still exists a diversity of thought on many aspects of
the issue there is some general agreement on the nature

of attitudes. It is generally agreed that the nature of

 

fi

9Daniel Katz, "The Functional Approach to the Study
of Attitudes," Current Perspectives in Social Psychology,
ed. by Edwin P. Hollander and Raymond 5} Hunt (London:
Oxford University Press, Inc., 1963) , p. 339.

attitudes lie in the direction of learned sets or disposi-

tions to respond, often evaluatively.10

Limitations

 

It is important to note the humility which one feels
when attempting, to study, evaluate or make predictions
about fellow human beings. Certainly any one who chooses
to view man as a dynamic being must have similar feelings.
Important here is the fact that my direction in this study
is intended to be one of showing how people should be
freed from restraints and manipulation. That is, the
intent is to point to the possible modification of the
structure of schools to provide greater freedom to be
creative and responsive on the part of the people within
schools.

As we deal with the problem of educational change
and its relationship to people, it must be understood
that the research in many important areas is still rela—
tively undeveloped. In a dissertation study, Horace Smith
points to one of these voids. "The personality structure,

attitudes, and traits of teachers have been the subject

 

10D. T. Campbell, "Social Attitudes and Other
Acquired Behavioral Dispositions," in Psychology: A

Study of a Science, ed. by S. Koch (New York: McGraw-
Hl I ' V0 0 6' pp. 94-172.

10

of a considerable amount of empirical research. Unfor-
tunately, few of these efforts have proven fruitful."11
This is further supported by J. W. Getzels and P. W.
Jackson ". . . very little is known for certain about the
nature and measurement Of teacher personality, or about
the relation between teacher personality and teaching
effectiveness."12
It should be further noted that many of the research
findings which we must look to have not been conducted or
validated in an educational setting. W. W. Charters in
discussing the teacher—induction process points out that
our knowledge in this area has been drawn from studies
done in professional schools for lawyers, nurses and
physicians.13
Charters also comments on another area which is a

major concern in this paper. "Curiously, one of the most

significant of the teacher's relationships--the informal

 

11Horace L. Smith, "Predictive Ability of Elementary
Teachers: The Relationship Between Selected Personality
Variables and the Ability to Judge Ratings Pupils Make of
Themselves and Others" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation,
Michigan State University, 1969), p. 13.

12J. W. Getzels and P. W. Jackson, "The Teachers
Personality and Characteristics," Handbook on Research on
Teaching, ed. by N. L. Gage (Chicago: Rand McNally and
Company, 1963), p. 574.

13W. W. Charters, Jr., "The Social Background of
Teaching," in Handbookion Research on Teaching, ed. by
N. L. Gage (Chicago: Rand’McNaIly and Company, 1963),
p. 749.

 

ll

colleague relationship--has been virtually ignored in
educational research.14 Considering these limitations
in solid research data in many areas, I have approached
some aspects of this study cautiously.

A last note on limitations must be considered on
the survey instrument. It would be ideal to be able to
determine a wide scope of attitudes of the teachers sam-
pled. This study, however, has attempted to record only
attitudes in response to questions related to selected
educational problems. The survey does not attempt to
examine the whole gamit of teachers' attitudes or other
aspects of teachers’ personality. Consequently the
responses on the survey instrument used in this study
might best be termed "a survey of teacher's expressed

attitudes."

Organization of the Study
This chapter has been an overview of the study and
is intended to provide the reader with an orientation to
the following chapters. The limitations of the study
and definition of terms have also been included. The
chapters have been organized as follows: I--Introduction;
II-Rationale for the Study; III-~The Setting; IV--Methodo-

logy; and V--Summary, Implications and Recommendations.

 

14Ibid., p. 781.

12

The purpose of Chapter II is to Offer an analysis of the
underlying assumptions and purpose of the study. Three
facets of educational change are examined: 1) the
expressed need for educational change; 2) some problems
<>f change; and 3) some considerations for educational

change .

CHAPTER II

RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY

Prior to the description and evaluation of the study
carried out at the TTT site it is essential to outline
the basis upon which the objectives are established. The
purpose of this chapter is to examine three areas of con—
temporary concern which have a bearing on this study.

The first major area is concerned with the
expression, from many fronts, that schools are not meeting
the real needs of youth today. A sampling of the litera-
ture also indicates that many of our recent efforts to
implement educational change have met with limited success.

A second major division deals with alternatives to
approaching educational change. A major conclusion is
that educational change is dependent upon changes in
teachers.

A third area to be examined is that of promoting
teacher change. Reference to the fields of Education,
Social Psychology, Management Research and Psychology are

leed to indicate some of the basics for educational change.

13

l4

Expressions of the Need for Educational Change

Educators, legislators and the community at large
are raising questions about the purpose and quality Of
contemporary public education. A growing number of con-
cerned people have become involved in the educational
controvercies. All have interpreted the existing ills,
and some have proposed possible solutions. Throughout
this literature one notes a strong emotional tone lending
an urgency to the writers' pleas. While some common and
basic problems are evidenced throughout the writings of
contemporary educational critics there is a great deal
of puzzlement and ambiguity surrounding the precise pro-
blem and the route to educational change.

There is mounting evidence that schools are not
meeting the real needs of youth. The lay journals of our
day, particularly Saturday Review, but even Life, £22k.
and Saturday Evening Post, have repeatedly made this
point. Some authors have conducted polls of students,
educators, and community in efforts to assess present
educational conflicts. The outcome of one such poll is
presented by Life. "The key to what is going on among
high school students today," Louis Harris reports, "is
that a majority of students clearly want to participate
Inore in deciding their future."

They are willing to be taught, but they will
not abide by rules that put them down. They

are aware of the need for authority, but not
impressed by it for its own sake. They are

15
excited by the prospect of living in a
fast-changing modern society and they want
their school education to help prepare them
for it--not for some society of the past.1

Look editor, George B. Leonard, directs his atten-
tion to a more philosophical examination of the structure
of schools today. Leonard believes there is a fragmenta-
tion of education today and supports his belief by calling
upon the views of John Dewey.

Over the years, reformers have tried to

stop the fragmentation. The greatest among
them was John Dewey. Dewey recognized that
education is a process of living and not a
preparation for living. He believed that
education is the fundamental method of
social progress and reform.

Note the possible conflict between Harris“s state—
ment and that of Leonard's. The public is becoming
informed and concerned about the apparent shortcomings
of the school's ability to meet the needs of today's
youth. Peter Schrag in the Saturday Review comments on

the American's declining faith in the possibility of

school reform.

 

1Louis Harris, "What People Think About Their High
Schools," Life, May 16, 1969, p. 24; also James Cass,
"Public SchooIs Public, Gallup CFK Poll," Saturday Review,
October 18, 1969, p. 73.

 

2George B. Leonard, "How School Stunts Your Child,"
Look, September 17, 1968, p. 34; also, George B. Leonard,
"V1siting Day 2001 A.D.," Look, October 1, 1968, pp. 37-40,
45-58; also George B. Leonard, "The Future Now," Look,
October 15, 1968, pp. 57-60, 65-68.

16

Anyone who reviews American Educational
developments in the past decade is more likely
to be impressed by the vast changes in the
American attitude about schools than by con-
crete institutional or curricular transforma—
tions. Most of us probably still maintain our
faith in the common school and in the great
traditions of democratic education but the
beliefs are increasingly subject to qualifi—
cation and criticism. . . criticism of schools
and teachers has always been a great national
pastime, but there is something fundamentally
new in the declining faith in the possibilities
of reform, and particularly in the kind of
reform that can be accomplished within the
existing school structure.

The professional journals of the last several years
have published few issues that have not had at least one
article addressed to the school's inability to meet the
needs of contemporary youth. Richard Graham, writing in
the Phi Delta Kappan, confronts this issue squarely.
"Educational reform and, in particular, change in our
education institutions are sought by parents, promised
by reformers, desperately needed by kids."4

John Turano and Eugene Kelly reflect on a specific

aspect of the educators' concerns.

 

3Peter Shrag, "End of the Common School," Saturda
Review, April 20, 1968, p. 68; also Colin Greer, "PEBIic
ScHooIs: the Myth Of the Melting Pot," Saturday Review,
November 15, 1969, pp. 84-86, 102; also 36hn H61t,
"Speaking Out: School is Bad for Kids," SaturdayEvening
Post, February 8, 1969, pp. 12, 14-15; and—36hn Kozol,
"Speaking Out: Let the Ghetto Run Its Own Schools,"
Saturday Evening Post, June 1, 1968, pp. 10, 14.

4Richard A. Graham, "Educational Change and the
{Teacher Corps," Phi Delta Kappan, LI (February, 1970),

17

The long process of formal education is rapidly
becoming the norm with consequences of compelling
all to adhere to particular patterns of instruc-
tion and requirements. Students who normally
are pushed out of education find this exceedingly
difficult, both in terms of satisfying needs and
in meeting curricular and instructional demands.
Thus the misfits and the poorly endowed, as well
as the academically gifted are forced into unreal—
istic endeavors and into narrowed ranges of
choices.5

The editorials for Educational Leadership have indicated

 

similar concerns. Here Robert Leeper reflects on the
present state Of educational criticism.

We no longer find a largely passive or compliant

audience in the schools. Children and young

prople tend toward activism and toward a probing,

questioning attitude that puts on trial many of

the 'truths' so long accepted by most of the

present generation Of persons in school work.6

Many books and texts have dealt with the inadequacies

Of todays schools such as Goodman’s Compulsory Mis-Educa—

tion and the Community of Scholars.7 Jerome Bruner states

 

in Toward a New Theory Of Instruction, "The rate of change

 

in the society in which we live forces us to redefine how

I 8
to educate a new generat1on."

 

5John Turano and Eugene Kelly, "Contemporary Concerns
for the Secondary School," The Clearing House, XLIII (March,
1969). pp. 387-388.

6Robert R. Leeper, "New Understandings in Education,"
Educational Leadership, XXVII (October, 1969), p. 4.

 

 

7Paul Goodman, Compulsory Mis-Education and the Com-
ggnity of Scholars (New York: RandOm House, Inc., I963).

 

8Jerome S. Bruner, Toward a New Theory_2f Instruction
(New York: W. W. Norton and Co., 19667, p. 23.

 

18

Louis Rubin provides an interesting analysis of the
recent criticisms of our educational system. In so doing
he attempts to unravel the puzzle created by the wide
range of critical attacks on education.

In recent times the quality of the school's
service to the society has been examined by
a number of critics. In the main, the cri-
ticisms have taken two forms: 1. Some
critics allege that the school lacks rigor,
clarity of purpose, efficiency, and a
prudent economy. 2. Other critics charge
that schools are a monolithic bureauracy,
preoccupied with convenience and tradition,
depersonalized and uninterested in each
child's life environment unable to provide
for the child who is in any sense unusual,
and concerned more with the herding of the
young than with their nurture. Such criticisms
are not wholly without merit. It has become
increasingly clear that good schools differ
from bad ones, not so much because of their
organization, their curriculum and their
teaching methods, but more because of their
ability to accommodate particular educational
needs of their clientele.9

The debate and interest in these issues is becoming
both lengthy and heated. That the educational concerns
\nithin the lay journals is reflected in the Professional
¢educationa1 journals of today is significant. That many
<3f these articles are written with emotional overtones is
readily discernible.

The large amount of space being devoted to educa-

tional concerns in reputable publications implies that

‘

9Louis J. Rubin, "Prologue: New Skills for a New
Dayy" Life Skills in Schools and Society, Yearbook of
the AssoCiatiOn for SupervisiOn and*Curriculum Development
(Washington, D. C.: NBA, 1969), p. 506.

 

19

the concerns reflected by educators, community, and
students is not a mere popular fad, but an earnest plea
for honest and significant educational change. From the
more radical groups this plea takes on the nature of a
demand. Secondly, if these reflected educational conv
cerns are accurate, educators must move toward some
profound modifications within our present educational
system if schools are to meet the needs of today's and
tomorrow's society.

Mass education, which at one time was concerned

with creating a homogeneous nation by upgrading

the education of a wide variety of national

immigrant groups, continues to ignore the

special needs Of its students in a troubled

world. Again in Russell‘s terms, education

continues an out—moded and ineffective status

quo.

That meaningful change in the secondary schools is
difficult to bring about can be documented in that the
school has not changed much in form in the past fifty
years. Basically education maintains the same hierarchy
of administrators, the same concepts that confine instruc—
tion within four small walls and the same 3R“s as the
"real" reasons for the educational enterprise.

Throughout the history of education and change
there can be found constants which have reverent
overtones, but which have few empirical bases for

continued existence. Among these are the preser-
vation of the meaningless knowledge of the past,

0Irving N. Berlin, "Education for What?" The Record,
LXX (March, 1969), p. 506. fi

 

20

the traditional roles played in teacherestudent
relationships, in fact feeding proclivities of
teachers, and the monolithic course requirements
found in nearly all aspects of education.11
The superficiality of many educational innovations
and the suspicion that these innovations or new ideas
are often calculated to fit in rather than effect change
is evidence of a problem that has remained beyond the
educator's scope of influence. Attempts to cure the
problem of inadequacy tend to rest on unexamined assump—
tions. The kinds of special projects presently being
attempted, many federally sponsored or supported but also
many devised by private industry for "sale," usually have
a basis that is rationalized from concerns outside the
basic questions being asked of education today. These
practices open the door to a multitude of complications.
To cite Dewey, ". . . any theory and set of practices is
dogmatic which is not based upon critical examination of
its own underlying principles."12
The present approach to educational change is
clearly pointed out in Radical School Reform.
These 'innovative' programs were undertaken
in well—established schools with fairly conven-

tional philosophies. They were not based on
new ideas about the role of education, or the

 

11Turano and Kelly, "Contemporary Concerns for the
Secondary School," p. 387.

12John Dewey, Experience and Education, Collier
Books (New York: Macmillan Company, 1938), p. 22.

21

nature of the child, or the place of culture in
a democratic society. They focused on practical
methods of achieving the traditional end of
schooling——the mastery of basic skills and subject
matter——in schools strained by burgeoning enroll—
ments and shortages of first—rate teachers. They
were for the most part ingenious new techniques
rather than radical reforms.13

The large-scale curriculum project is a dominant
fact of contemporary schooling. Projects abound
in mathematics and the sciences; social studies,
English, and vocational studies are increasingly
being served; Fewer projects are undertaken in
art, music and health.

This criticism of the present approach to educational
change is by no means limited to a few radical authors.
In fact this concern is being reflected on a national
level. President Nixon, in his message to congress has
stated:

What makes a "good school?" The old answer was
a school that maintained high standards of plant
and equipment; that has a reasonable number of
children per classroom: whose teachers had good
college and often graduate training; a school
that kept up to date with new curriculum develop-
ments, and was alert to new techniques in instruc-
tion. This was a fair enough definition so long
as it was assumed that there was a direct connec-
tion between these school characteristics and the
actual amount of learning that takes place in a
school. Years of educational research, culminat-
ing in the Equal Opportunity survey of 1966 have,
however, demonstrated that this direct, uncompli-
cated relationship does not exist.1

In this same message the President goes on to ques-

tion the advisability of carving up federal aid to

 

13Gross and Gross, Radical School Reform, p. 18.

 

14King, "Curriculum Projects: A Perspective," p. 493.

15Nixon, Presidents Message to Congress, p. 2.

22

education into a series of distinct programs. As stated
by the President; ". . . our Federal education programs
are largely fragmented and disjointed and too often
administered in a way that frustrates local and private
efforts."16
In light of recent literature there is ample evidence

to warrant several assumptions. In the minds of an
increasing number of pe0ple not only from the professional
education ranks but the community at large and many levels
of government, the schools in general do not meet the
needs of today's youth or society. The second assumption
is that our approaches to modifying education more fre«
quently than not meet with limited success. The fact that
a large number of people feel committed to educational
change is not reflected by any significant changes in the
school. From this however, a note of optimism is reflected
by some authors.

(Educational) Change occurs most easily when

there is a national clamor for change, as there

is now: from students, from parents, from the

poor and the black who have found new voices

. . . It is sought by citizens who see our

society as out of joint and who blame our
educational system.17

 

16Nixon, Presidents Message to Congress, p. 3.

 

17
p. 306.

Graham, "Educational Change and the Teacher Corps,"

23

'Some Problems'of‘Educational'Change

There is pressure from a number of different sources
for fundamental educational change. A reaction to these
pressures is evidenced through such governmental efforts
as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the
National Defense Education Act and the Educational Pro—
fessions Development Act. Yet the tone of the recent
literature cited implies little general movement toward
changes of any significant magnitude.

Why is educational change so difficult? Contempo—
rary educational critics see many reasons. These critics‘
opinions range from those who see the schools as a
reflection of a sick society to some writers who concern
themselves with the individual teacher.

Perhaps the most global views Of this educational
puzzle are referred to by Gross and Gross in the intro-

duction to Radical School Reform.

 

The radical critics all start with some kind

of radical criticism of America as a sick
society. They come at it from many angles; its
competitive ethos, its cultural vulgarity, its
neglect or suppression of minority groups, its
inherent racism and imperialism, its failures

in compassion, let alone enterprise, in regard
to the wretched within its own boundaries and
throughout the rest of the world. Their critique
of the schools derives from this questioning of
society, for they see the schools as mere agents
of the society.1

 

18 _. -
Gross and Gross, Radical School Reform, p. 1}.

 

24

Another reflection on this concern is found in
Rollo May's Man's Search for Himself. He sees the values
and goals of Western society as being in a state of transi—
tion.

. . . the values and goals which provided a
unifying center for previous centuries in the
modern period no longer are cogent. We have

not yet found the new center which will enable
us to choose our goals constructively and thus
to overcome the painful bewilderment and anxiety
of not knowing which way to move.

In May‘s estimation the typical modern man is vulner—
able to several limiting conditions not the least of which
is a disabling anxiety. "Anxiety is the feeling of being
'caught,‘ “overwhelmed‘: and instead of becoming sharper
our perceptions generally become blurred or vague."20

Unlike many Of the radical critics referred to by
Gross and Gross, May hints at some constructive directions
people might take in coping with the problem he has
defined. "But the positive and hopeful side is that just
as anxiety destroys our self awareness, so awareness of
ourselves can destroy anxiety."21

One extension of May's reflections that involves the
realm of education is presented in Teachers for the Real

World. Although the problem is labeled “depersonalization”

there is some close connections with May‘s "anxiety.“

 

19May,‘Ma‘n‘”s“S‘ea‘r'ch for Himself, p. 49.

2°1b1d., p. 34.

ZlIbid., pp. 38-39.

25

If a major problem of modern man is how to c0pe
with depersonalization, then it is essential that

a teacher be human. If a student is to be prepared
for the evolving world, then an essential attri-
bute of the effective teacher is awareness of the
realities of that world. If modern man suffers
from intolerable feelings of uselessness, then the
teacher must be able to structure and supervise
situations where men can engage in useful activi-
ties.22

A number of implications stem from such perspectives.
One is that individuals are not at the complete mercy of
their environment. Man can overcome the "depersonaliza-
tion' or "anxiety" which the previous writers make mention
of. Abraham Maslow23 in his identification of self-actual-
izing people and Carl Rogers24 in "non-directive" teaching
give further support to the position that man need not be
a mere reflection of the pressures imposed by society.

A second implication from Teachers for the Real
WOrld is that the teacher plays an important role in the
total picture. There is, further, an assumption that
teachers can become those people who have risen above
"depersonalization" or "anxiety." Starting then from a
basic problem that permeates society, i.e., a sick society,

this perspective implies that a working approach might

well be concentrated at an individual level.

 

22Pearl, Burns, and Foster, "Introduction,“ in

' Teachers for'the Real WOrld, p. 7.

23A. H. Maslow, Motivation and Personalipy (New York:
Harper and Row, 1954), pp. 202—203.

24

 

Rogers, On Becoming a Person, p. 300.

26

There is however, ample indication that the pro—
blem of educational change is extremely complex. To
emphasize this point it might be helpful to look at what
some critics perceive the problem to be and what others
perceive it not to be. In the following excerpt by
Harvey Goldman note the complex relationship between
the organization and the people who make up the organi—
zation.

Large segments of the voting population seemingly
are unable to comprehend the inability of their
local schools to adjust curricula and teaching
methods promptly and efficiently. These same
individuals are, quite naturally, unaware of the
problems that periods of rapid change pose for a
large organization and are totally oblivious to
the formidable barriers inherent in any attempts
to modify the attitudes, behaviors and percep«
tions of those who comprise the organization.

Crucial to Goldman's idea Of organizational change
is the attitude, behavior and perception of the individuals
that make up the organization. Those who comprise the
organization, are seen as critical elements of organiza-
tional change. In our haste to locate a swift remedy
individual school administrators have frequently been
singled out as the crux of educational problems. Allen

Campbell sees such criticism as lacking depth or under—

standing.

 

5Harvey Goldman, "Conditions for Coequality," The
Clearing House, XLIII (April, 1969), p. 488.

 

27

The local school Officials—-the superintendent,
his staff, and to some extent principals--are
often cited as key to the quality of education
provided in any particular school district. In
one sense this is true, since they are responsi-
ble for the day-to-day performance of the educa-
tional enterprise. On the other hand, it is
probably unrealistic to look at these people to
introduce changes on their own initiative. In
many ways they are captives of the community in
which they operate. Further, their day-to-day
responsibilities are so great that their primary
role is to keep the system operating. They tend
to make every effort to avoid controversy and,
in general, to keep the boat from rocking. It
is ridiculous to be critical of this behavior,
for their positions make it inevitable.26

Realizing that there is no simple cure or key to
solving the total problems faced by today's schools, some
additional questions are raised. One of the most crucial
is where can we begin? Should we devote our energies
toward developing new programs, completely revamping the
existing school system or a better definition of the
problem? Certainly all these are important however,
there is indication that educational change hinges on
the classroom teacher. Further it is this teacher's
attitudes reflected in his behavior that implements or
defeats educational change.

That certain aspects of the teacher's personality
are crucial in teaching is suggested by a number of
writers. Ryans lists two major areas which must be con-

sidered in discussions of the competent teacher. The

 

26Alan K. Campbell, "Who Governs the Schools?"

Saturday Review, December 21, 1968, p. 50.

 

28

first deals with skills and mental ability. The second
encompasses ". . . those qualities stemming from the
teacher's personality; his interests, attitudes and
beliefs, his behavior in working relationships with pupils
and other individuals . . ."27 Symonds states, ". . .
teaching is an expression of personality. The teacher
adapts himself in a manner that is harmonious with his

expressions toward life situations in general."28

Similar conclusions are reached by Paul Witty.29

Teacher-personality traits are frequently narrowed
to the study of teacher attitudes. That these traits are
important to the teaching act is attested to by the num-

O O O 30
her of wr1ters who have shown a concern 1n this area.

 

27David Ryans, Characteristics of Teachers (Washing-
ton, D. C.: American Council of Education, 196 0). P. 3.

28Percival M. Symonds, "Teaching as a Function of
the Teacher's Personality," Journal of Teacher Education,
V (March, 1954), p. 83.

29Paul Witty, "Evaluation of Studies of Characteris-
tics of the Effective School Teacher," Improving Educational
Research (washington, D. C.: American Educational Research
AESOCIat tion, 1948), pp. 198- 204.

30The following references typify the work done in
this area: Henry L. Adams, Don P. Blood, and Herbert C.
Taylor, "Personality Differences Among Arts and Science
Students, Education Students, and Experienced Teachers,"
American Psychologist, XIV (Summer, 1957), pp. 176- -l92;
John R. Palacious,T A Validation Study Of Selected Tests
for Possible Use in Admissions to Professional Education
Sequence at Purdue University" (unpublished Ph.D. Disser-
tation, Purdue University, 1959); Earl W. Anderson and Alfreda
W. Rusher, "Staff Characteristics," in Chester W. Harris
(ed.), Encyclopedia of Educational Research (New York:
Macmillan and Company, 1960), pp. 1357-1361; and Lloyd E.
Fish, "A Study of Personality as Related to Choice of
College or Major Field of Study" (unpublished Ph.D. Disser-
tation, University of Tennessee, 1954).

 

 

29

It would seem reasonable to assume if certain
personality traits are critical to the teaching act that
these same traits must come under consideration if we are
interested in bringing about educational change. Changes
in instructional practices is the concern of a 1962
National Education Association study. The questions were
asked of a national sampling of elementary and secondary
school principals. From the principals' perspective it
was concluded that local school Officials and faculty were
the two most important groups in bringing changes in instruc~

31

tional practices. Harold and Elsie Alberty in Reorganiz—

 

ing the High School Curriculum, indicate that it is among

 

these same groups that the major barriers to change are
found.32 Lending further support to the notion that the
teacher plays a crucial role in the implementation or
rejection of educational changes.

Noda, in a dissertation study, finds that the most
important "block to curriculum change is associated with

the attitudes of teachers and the nature of their

 

31National Education Association Project in Instruc-
tion, The Principals Look at the Schools: A Status Study
of Selected Instructibnal Practices (Washington, D.C.:
National Education Association, 1962), pp. 28—29.

32Harold B. Alberty and Elsie J. Alberty, Reor an-
izing the High School Curriculum, Third Edition (Washing-
ton, D.C.: Macmillan Company, 1962), pp. 18-19.

 

30

33 Similarly Herbert

relationships with administrators."
Coon found that there is more likelihood of teachers
resisting significant curriculum change than either
administrators, students or parents.34
These surveys and studies deal with educational
change from a variety of perspectives. One point is
significant. The results or recommendations seem con-
sistently to hinge on changes in people: their attitudes,
perceptions or behavior.
The importance of the classroom teacher's role in
educational change is stressed by a number of writers.
The following statements typify many of the commentaries
of recent times. Harry Broudy states:
despite the efforts of some educational enter-
preneurs to produce teacher-proof materials,
the teacher is still the key to schooling; with
good teaching almost any curriculum, school
organization, and gdministrative invention
seems to succeed.3

A recent article in Educational Leadership is more defini-

tive in making the same point

 

3Daniel S. Noda, "A Study of Successful Practices
Used to Remove the Major Blocks to Curriculum Improvement
in the Secondary School" (unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation,
The Ohio State University, 1952), p. 78.

34Herbert Coon, "A Study of the Attitudes of Teachers
and Administrators Toward High School Curriculum Reorgani-
zation" (unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, The Ohio State
University, 1951), p. 298-305.

35Broudy, "Can We Define Good Teaching?", p. 583.

31

The teacher remains the master of the instruc—
tional situation despite such innovations as
team teaching, instructional T.V., computer
scheduling: paraprofessional assistance, pro-
grammed materials, and now the products of
large curriculum ventures. The sum of the
teacher's professional knowledge, skill, com-
mitments, insight, experience, values, atti-
tudes, fears, aspirations, and other deeply
personal characteristics makes up a gestalt
which structures and permeates the instruc—
tional event.3

This contention, the teacher as a key to good or poor
education, is by no means a recent revelation. The
Rockefeller report Of 1958 echoes the same idea. This
report is quoted only in so far as it relates to the
fact that the classroom teacher is the key to change.
The other implications are to negative philosophically
to be supported here. The Rockefeller report on The
Pursuit of Excellence states that:

. . . no educational system will be any better

than the quality of its teachers. In the

efforts to bring about improvements, schools

do all kinds of things with such administrative

arrangements as 'ungraded schools' and 'team

teaching' and bring in machines and any new

device available, experience shows it will not

make much difference unless there is a change

in the quality of the teachers in the system.37

Upon reflection, one recognizes that the viewpoints

presented relate our present educational problems to a

larger social ill. The perspectives of some reputable

contemporary psychologists do not imply that individuals

 

36King, "Curriculum Projects: A Perspective," p. 493.

37Rockefeller Brothers Fund, The Pursuit of Excell-

ence, p. 49.

 

32

cannot overcome these pressures to conform. Individuals
can cope with "depersonalization" and "anxiety." Further,
there is the implication that teachers must be mentally
"healthy" and strong people if education is to make any
positive changes.

Viewed from another perspective, we see again that
the focus of educational change is a "human" problem.
Alice Miel sums up this point of view.

. . . curriculum change is something much more
subtle than revising statements written down on
paper. To change the curriculum of the school
is to change the factors interacting to shape
that curriculum. In each instance this means
bringing about changes in people . . . in their
desires, beliefs, and attitudes, in their know—
ledge and skill. Even changes in the physical
environment, to the extent that they can be
made at all, are dependent upon changes in the
persons who have some control over that environ-
ment. In short, the nature Of the curriculum
change should be seen for what it really is

. . . a type of social change in people, not
mere change on paper.

Throughout the discussion there is ample indication
as to the complexity of the problem of educational change.
Implied are many factors whiCh stimulate or reinforce
teachers' attitudes. From a variety of viewpoints how-
ever, many educational writers indicate that the class-
room teacher must change if we are to see changes within

schools.

 

38Alice Miel, Changing the Curriculum (New York:
Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc., 1946), p. 10.

33

Some Considerations for Educational Change

The challenges posed by the educational critics of
today take on the nature of revolution. Meeting these
challenges would mean the school Of tomorrow would bear
little resemblance to the school of today. Whether our
ultimate aim is a complete transition or is some lesser
modification one point seems clear. The schools must go
through some changes if they are to meet the needs of
‘youth.

The point has been made that any real changes in
schools, i.e. educational change, requires changes in
teachers' attitudes. Kimball Wiles contends that "a
teacher wants to be considered an adequate working member

of his staff."39

Superficially, it would seem merely a
matter of modifying the schools expectations of teachers
if we desired educational change. Such a solution, on
close examination, has a multitude of implications.

Hadley Cantril makes reference to Dewey and Bently when

he points out individual behavior is ". . . not a reaction
to stimulus in the environment but may be more accurately

described as a 'transaction with' an environment."40

 

39Kimball Wiles, The Changinngurriculum of the
American High School (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey:
PrentiEe Hall, 1963), pp. 260-261.

40Hadley Cantril, "Perception and Interpersonal
Relations," in Edwin P. Hollander and Raymond G. Hunt
(ed.) Current Perspectives in Social Psycholggy (London:
Oxford University Press, Inc., 1963), p. 284.

 

 

34

The individual however cannot be considered a free
entity in this "transaction with" his environment. Cart-
wright adds ". . . we may state that the behavior, atti-
tudes, beliefs, and values of the individual are all firmly
grounded in the groups to which he belongs."41

It would seem that the teacher is not free or auto-
nomous from the structure of schools but, from Cantril,
Dewey and Bently's perspectives, neither is the school
structure autonomous from those people who make up the
schools. Hollander points out that organizational struc-
tures have a self-sustaining quality.42 Yet according to

43

a number of authors it is the individual teacher who

controls the gate to educational change. An interplay of

 

41Dorwin Cartwright, "Achieving Change in People:
Some Applications of Group Dynamics," in Edwin P.
Hollander and Raymond G. Hung (ed.) Current Perspectives

 

 

inSocial Psycholo (London: Oxford University Press,
Inc.,‘l963), p. 52 .
42

Edwin P. Hollander, "Leadership, Innovation, and
Influence: An Overview," Edwin P. Hollander and Raymond
G. Hunt (eds.) Current Perspectives in Social Psychology
(London: Oxford University Press, Inc., 1963), p. 489.

43N.E.A. Project on Instruction, The Principals Look
at the Schools, pp. 28-29; Alberty and Alberty, Reorganizing
the High School Curriculum, pp. 18-19; Noda, "Major Block
to CurriCulum Change:1f p. 78; Coon, "Attitudes of Teachers
and Administrators," pp. 298-305; Broudy, "Can we Define
Good Teaching?" p. 583; King, "Curriculum Projects: A
Perspective," p. 493; and Rockefeller Brothers Fund, The
Pursuit of Excellence, p. 49.

 

 

 

35

the structure of schools seems to effectively inhibit
either from changing to any marked degree. Sorokin
comments on what the indoctrination into a specific occu-
pation does to an individual.

When the same occupational operations are

performed from day to day for many years, they

effectively modify the mental, moral, social,

physiological, and anatomical properties of

their members in accordance with the nature

and requirements of the occupation work. Each

occupation tends thus to remake its members in

its own image. And the longer an individual

stays in the same occupation the deeper is the

transformation.
We have, according to Sorokin, a structure which modifies
people "in its own image." Yet these same individuals are
the gatekeepers to the change process. We have in effect
a self-sustaining system that theoretically could not be
altered. In actuality some changes have occurred. While
one can debate the merits or magnitude Of certain
"innovations" they do represent some change. In recent
times we have introduced Headstart, modular scheduling
and interdisciplinary courses such as humanities, to name
a few.

Another complicating factor concerns the rationale

upon which the school is constantly evolving. Berelson
and Steiner conclude from their review of research find-

ings that, "the day-to-day decisions of an organization

tend to be taken as commitments and precedents, often

 

44F. A. Sorokin, Sociepyl Culture, and Personality:
I

Their Structure and Dynamics (New York: Harper, I
p. 211.

36

beyond the scope for which they were initially intended,

and thus come to affect the character of the organiza-

tion."45

In the analysis of his research Lionberger states
that many poor ideas are retained because they are not
objectively evaluated. We continue with many practices
merely because we have always utilized them and never
questioned their worth.46

The impact of these various organizational and indi-
vidual factors comes to bear on our efforts to make educa-
tional changes. This is evidenced in the following
statement by Urick and Frymer.

. . . the formal institutional patterns and
organizational arrangements of the school

may exert a negative influence on teachers'
attitudes with regard to change. Administra-
tive failure to initiate opportunity or
provide organizational structure for the
consideration of change may create a climate
in which change itself is actually considered
inappropriate.47

George Sharp sees another facet of the problem when

he reflects on the more individual aspects of educational

 

45Berelson and Steiner, Human Behavior: An Inven-
tory of Scientifid Findings, p. 367.

46Herbert F. Lionberger, "Diffussion of Innovations
in Agricultural Research and in Schools," Strategy for
gpgriculum Change, Robert R. Leeper (ed.)(Washington,
D.C.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Develop-
ment, 1965), p. 46.

47Ronald Urick and Jack R. Frymier, "Personalities,
Teachers, and Curriculum Change," Supervision: Emergipg
Profession (Washington, D.C.: Association for SuperVISion
and Curr1culum Development, 1969), p. 95. ‘

 

 

 

37

change. ". . . Probably the most difficult job of the
curriculum worker is that of bringing about a change in
the ego-involved values of a teacher without hurting his
ego."48
The point I wish to establish here is the complexity
of any attempts to implement educational change. Main-
taining a perspective of this complexity is essential if
we are to approach change in a rational rather than
haphazard way. While it would be difficult for the edu-
cational critics of today to agree on an approach to
change or the causes of our educational ills,49 most seem
to indicate or imply one point. Educational change
requires both change in people and change in school struc-
ture; in Urick and Frymers' terminology, "formal institu-
tional patterns and organizational arrangements." What
happens to individuals when they are removed from the
school setting in hopes that additional training will
stimulate educational changes is pointed out by Dorwin
Cartwright.
The approach to training (workshops, institutes,

and special training courses) which conceives of

its task as being merely that of changing the

individual probably produces frustrations, demoral-

ization, and disillusionment in as large a measure
as it accomplishes more positive results.

 

48George Sharp, Curriculum Deyelopment as Re-Education
of the Teacher (New York: Bureau of Publications, Teachers
College, COIumbia University, 1951), p. 31.

49

 

Documented throughout Chapter II.

50Dorwin Cartwright, "Achieving Change in PeOple:
Some Applications of Group Dynamics," p. 525.

38

If these approaches which Cartwright refers to do
in actuality, "change" people we might question the
failures in accomplishing the desired educational change.
As Arthur King Jr. points out, “Values, attitudes, and
beliefs where strongly held, continue to act, in the con-
temporary world, as an affective obstacle to man‘s ability
to modify his environment."51

If the workshops, institutes and special courses do
modify the individual's attitudes we would, on the surface,
seem to have found the key to our problem of change.

This, however, does not seem to be the case. The
failures or inadequacies of this approach rest on the
fact that it has only been directed at one facet of the
complexities referred to previously.

As I interpret the information presently available
I see a number of factors crucial to the problem of
approaches to educational change. First is the realiza-
tion that educational change requires changes in the
attitudes Of school personnel. These, however, are not
isolated qualities but are very much grounded in the
groups to which an individual belongs. This in part
explains the difficulties experienced by those people
who have attended the workshops, institutes and special

courses to which Dorwin Cartwright made reference. In

 

51King, "Curriculum Projects: A Perspective," p. 493.

39

the process of becoming "enlightened" they also became
alienated in terms of the attitudes of their fellow
teachers.

A second major point in my interpretation is that
there is a constant interplay between the structure of
schools and the school personnel. The structure of
schools affects the behavior of the teacher. However,
teachers to a great extent affect the structure of schools
by implementing or rejecting educational change.

The remainder of this chapter is devoted to an
examination of the merits and values from a variety of
practical standpoints, of approaching change through
group involvement. This appears to be the most fruitful
approach, i.e., it has been shown to be highly successful.

I see some logical reasons for this success. WOrk-
ing with a group of fellow teachers allows the whole group
to modify their attitudes thereby eliminating the problem
of alienating certain individuals from the rest of his
staff. Those structural aspects of schools which are
static, i.e., formal rules and traditional standards, can
be questioned when confronted by group strength whereas
this act may be too threatening for an individual to
confront. School rules which are perpetuated through the
group members can only be changed by changing the values

which the group holds. Approaching educational change

40

utilizing the involvement of the total group to be
affected is one way of working with the whole complex
involved in the change process.

One approach to examining the area of group process
is to first reflect on some critical aspects of the
individuals involved. Jersild offers the following advice.
"Self understanding requires something quite different
from the methods, study, plans and skills of a 'know-how'
sort that are usually emphasized in education."52

Jenkins and Lippit point out the difficulty encoun-
tered by the individual when he tries to analyze the
interpersonal situations in which he himself is involved.53
Combs writes, "It follows then, that in order to help an
individual explore and discover a more effective self,
we must begin by creating atmospheres sufficiently free
of threat so that the self can be explored and examined."54

The qualitative aspects of this same topic are

discussed by Daniel Katz. He points out, "If an atti-

tude is tied to a value system which is closely related

 

52Arthur T. Jersild, When Teacher's Face Themselves
(New York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 1955),
p. 3.

 

S3D. Jenkins and R. Lippit, Interpersonal Percep-
tions of Teachers, Students and Parents (Washington, D.C.:
Division of Adult Services, National Education Associa-
tion, 1962), p. 19.

54Arthur Combs, The Professional Education of
Teachers (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1965), p. 34.

 

 

41

to, or which consists of, the individual's conception of
himself, then the appropriate change procedure becomes
more complex."55

In an attempt to help individual's change their
behavior Stephen Corey states:

. . . learning that changes behavior substan-
tially is most likely to result when a person
himself tries to improve a situation that
makes a difference to him. He then does his
best to obtain and interpret some evidence
describing the consequences of his presumably
more adequate practice.

Raymond Hunt, however, makes the point that we must
realize that "large parts of individual social behavior
are formally determined and have little to do with the
specific intrapsychic aspects of the behaver."57 This
brings us to the examination of what happens to indi-
viduals in the group process. Daniel Katz offers an
explanation of how an individual can internalize the
values of a group.

The activities of the group in moving toward

its goal permit the individual genuine oppor-
tunity for participation, to become ego-involved

 

55Katz, "The Functional Approach to the Study of
Attitudes," p. 340.

56Stephen M. Corey, Action Research to Improve
Schools (New York: Bureau of Publications, Teachers
College, Columbia University, 1953), p. 9.

57Raymond G. Hunt, "Role and Role Conflict," Current
'PerepectiveS'in Social Psychology, ed. by Edwin P. Hollan-
der and Raymond G. Hunt (London: Oxford University Press,
Inc., 1963), p. 265.

42

so that he can internalize group values, the new

member must find one of two conditions. The

group activity open to him must tap his talents

and abilities so that his chance to show what he

is worth can be tied into the group effort. Or

else the activities of the group must give him an

active voice in group decisions. His particular

talents and abilities may not be tapped but he

does have the Opportunity to enter into group

decisions, and thus his need for self-determination

is satisfied.5

So it would seem that an individual's involvement

in the group is an essential part of the individual's
internalization of the group's values. Lazarsfeld and
Thielens have concluded that "Sharing of beliefs which
are relevant to a group facilitates friendships among
that group and that, inversely, close personal contacts

"59 Klein in

lead to a similarity of relevant attitudes.
The Study of Groups points out that the shared values,
which are directly related to closeness of associations,

go beyond those associated with social position. These

shared values reflect such matters as attitudes, tastes,

beliefs, and behavioral norms.60 Kurt Lewin has proposed
that: ". . . complete acceptance of previously rejected

facts can be achieved best through the discovery of these

 

58Katz, "The Functional Approach to the Study of
Attitudes," p. 345.

59Paul F. Lazarsfeld and Wagner Thielens, Jr., The
Academic Mind (Glencoe, Illinois: Free Press, 1958),
p. 147.

 

60Josephine Klein, The Study of Groups (London:
Routledge and Paul, 1956), p. 106.

 

43

facts by the group members themselves. Then, and fre-

quently only then, do the facts become really 'their'
facts (as against other people's facts)."61
Much of Lewin's work deals with re-education of
social and reality deviations. The focus of his work,
however, is modification of values and value systems.
From this latter standpoint his work has implications for
this study. Lewin sees an individual's acceptance of a
new system of values as closely linked to new reference
points of group, role and authority.' The linkage between
the acceptance ". . . of new facts or values and accept-
ance of certain groups or roles is very intimate . . ."
He sees this as explanation of the "difficulty of chang-
ing beliefs and values in a piecemeal fashion."62

Earl Kelley points out the implications of many of

these statements.

. . . How the individual sees himself. This is
indeed the critical point, because it is what
the person sees that is enabling or disabling.
The crucial matter is not so much what you are,
but what you think you are, and all of this is
always in relationship to others.6

 

61Kurt Lewin, Resolving Social Conflicts (New York:
Harper and Brothers Publishers, 1945). p. 68.

621bid., p. 68.

63Earl Kelley, "The Fully Functioning Self," Per-
ceiving, Behaving, Becoming, ed. by Arthur Combs (Wash-
ington, D.C.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development, 1962), p. 9.

44

We have in essence returned to Jersild's implications con-
cerning self understanding.64 One experimental situation
in which teachers have been brought together to work on

some common problems is reported in The Record. This

 

article reflects several years of observational data and
provides some interesting information. "The Teachers'
Educational Process WOrkshop" has provided some proof of
the advisability Of bringing teachers together in a free
and non-threatening atmosphere. The nature of these
workshops is reflected in the following excerpt.

The workshop seems to facilitate better rela-
tionships among teachers and other colleagues
and it helps a teacher tO tap and gain insight
into himself and his students. Insight is
achieved by helping the teacher to see how he is
responding to students and to understand the
factors contributing to his responses. For
young and Old teachers, the workshop provides

a means of communication that is not otherwise
available.55

The subject Of group process has been approached

from a variety of perspectives. Argyle in The Scientific

 

Study of Social Behavior provides some insights into the

 

merits of working collectively.

The collective judgment of a group is superior
to the judgment of most of the individuals. Two
distinct processes are involved, firstly, dis-
cussion leads to the improvement of individaul

 

64Jersild, When Teachers Face Themselves, p. 3.

 

65Charles Winick, Asya L. Kadis and Eileen Clark,
"The Teachers Educational Workshop," The Record, LXX
(January, 1969), p. 299. '

 

45
judgments, and secondly, the combinatégn of
1nd1v1dual judgments 1s advantageous.

Coch and French indicate that experimentation has
shown that the productivity of work groups can be greatly
increased when organization and supervision are modified
to give work groups more participation in decision-making,
and which make stable groups the firm basis for support
of the individual's social needs.67

Regarding group process and change, Eicholz dis-
cusses environments which are conducive to experimentation.
"In such an environment change can be implemented as group
endeavor where an individual teacher's fears of failure

68 Berelson and Steiner, from their

would be alleviated."
interpretation of research findings state that, "when
change is desired, it is typically more effective to
influence people as group members than to do so in an
isolated individual-by-individual manner."69
There is some indication then that changes in

individuals might best be approached in a group setting.

 

66Argyle, The Scientific Study of Social Behavior
(London: Metheun, 1957), p. 119.

. 67L. Coch and J.R.P. French, Jr., "Overcoming
Resistance to Change," Human Factors iniManagement, ed.
by S. D. Haslett (New York} Harper, 1951), pp. 242-268.

68Gerard C. Eicholz, "Why do Teachers Reject Change?"
Theory into Practice, II (December, 1963), p. 267.

 

69Berelson and Steiner, Human Behavior, p. 354.

 

46

It is further pointed out in a study by Sidney Simon
that the origin of the goals, external or internal, has
a definite bearing on that groups activity. If the goals
are imposed from outside the norms set by the group are
likely to be limited in character. When the goals are
established from within the group they will typically
be seen as ideals.70
In summation it would seem that we must be basically
concerned with helping teachers modify their attitudes if
we intend to implement educational changes of any magni-
tude. Some of our traditional approaches to changing
people, lectures and information giving, seem inadequate
for the job. This is further documented by H. H. Hyman
and P. Sheatsley in their assembling of facts about infor-
mation campaigns directed at influencing public opinion.
The authors show conclusively that increasing the flow of
information to people does not necessarily increase the
knowledge absorbed or produce the attitude changes
desired.7l

An interrelationship exists between the teachers in

a school setting and the structural aspects of that

 

7oSidney Simon, "Value Clarification: Methodology
and Tests of an Hypothesis in an In-Service Program
Relating to Behavioral Changes in Secondary School Stu-
dents" (unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, New York City
University, 1958).

71Herbert H. Hyman and Paul B. Sheatsley, "Some
Reasons Why Information Campaigns Fail," Public Opinion
Quarterly, II (Fall, 1947), pp. 412-423.

 

 

47

setting. This is implied by Lewin when he states, "In
any situation we cannot help but act according to the
field we perceive . . ."72 Consequently any attempt at
educational change which does not concern itself with
modifying people and the structure, i.e., the organiza-
tion of people, is approaching the problem of change
from a limited perspective.

This study is based on several assumptions that have
been dealt with in this chapter. The most crucial of these
include:

1. The idea that the attitudes of school per-
sonnel and the structure of schools are
interrelated.

a. Without attitudinal changes in indi-
vidual teachers, educational change
is not likely. It has been demon-
strated that individual teachers are
the gatekeepers to educational change.

b. Individuals are not autonomous from
the groups to which they belong.
Certain values are perpetuated by
any given group of teachers. These
values are a part of the structure

of schools.

 

72Lewin, Resolving Social Conflict, p. 61.

48

Approaching educational change utilizing
the involvement of the total group to be
affected is essential for significant
change.

a. This approach is one method of
dealing with the whole complex
involved in the change process,
i.e., it confronts modification
of both individual attitudes and
group‘values.

b. Research has demonstrated group
methods are more successful in

modifying individual attitudes.

Such an overall approach emphasizes the development

of group procedures within the setting we wish to see

modified.

Providing a free and non-threatening environ-

ment for school personnel to examine educational problems

and set goals should provide:

1.

That individuals involved will pursue
increased self understanding.

That individuals involved will pursue
greater awareness and understanding of
the existing educational problems.

The develOpment of a perspective which
allows the total group to strive for some

common goals.

49

4. An Opportunity for group values to be
altered.

a. This is the modification of school
structure.

b. This altering of group values pro-
vides the opportunity for teachers
to change without being alienated
from their peers, a problem to which

Dorwin Cartwright makes reference.73
5. The personal involvement which Corey74 sees
as essential to ". . . learning that changes
behavior substantially . . ."
This chapter has attempted to point out that educa-
tional change is necessary and existing procedures for
change seem inadequate. The more specific attempts at

educational change through the TTT Project75 at Eastern

High School will be expanded on in Chapter III.

Summary

This chapter has been an examination of the methods
and the assumptions for the study. Three general areas

came under discussion.

 

73Cartwright, "Achieving Change in People," p. 5.

74Corey, Action Research to Improve Schools, p. 9.

75TTT Planning and Development Team, "Outline of
TTT Pilot Year Activity," pp. 2-3.

50

The first area dealt with the need for educational
change. The increasing amount of coverage this topic
has received in lay magazines and professional journals
was pointed out. A large number, possibly a majority,
of people in our country see the need for changes in our
schools.

The second major division was concerned with the
actual problem of educational change. Wide diversity of
contemporary educational criticism was noted. Many
educational writers indicate that the classroom teacher
must change if we are to see changes within schools.

The third area examined was that of promoting
teacher change. Emphasis was given to a way of working
with teachers as a group.

From these assumptions then, the main objective
for this study evolved. The Objectives involve examining
certain attitudes of the staff concerning education in
order to begin to bring about change in this setting.
These objectives will be delineated in Chapter IV.
Chapter III describes the setting for the action part of
this dissertation and is necessary to an understanding
of the study. Some discussion of the TTT goals will also

be included in this description.

CHAPTER III

THE SETTING

This study was undertaken at Eastern High School,
which is the site for the Training of Teachers of Teachers
Project, a joint Michigan State University/Lansing School
District federally funded program. Because the project
is based at Eastern High School, and because, university
personnel, community representatives, and public school
teachers are brought together there it is important to
acquaint the reader with the Eastern High School setting.
The purposes of TTT are also of major importance to this
study, particularly these purposes in light of the pre-
ceeding chapter. The direction in this chapter shall be
one of describing Eastern High School, the TTT project,

and a discussion of the TTT goals and objectives.

Eastern High School1

 

Eastern High School is one of Lansing's three compre-

hensive three-year high schools. It has an enrollment of

 

1Adapted from: Michigan State University/Lansing

School District TTT Project, "Overview, Lansing School
District, TTT Project," Lansing, Michigan, 1969. (Mimeo-
graphed.)

51

52

approximately 1700 and a professional staff of 105 (60
percent with Master's Degrees and beyond). It is accredited
by the North Central Association of Secondary Schools and
Colleges and the University of Michigan Bureau of School
Services. The building was constructed in 1928 and has
had periodic remodelings and additions.

The student body includes representation from all
socio-economic levels with the majority coming from the
middle class. Ethnically, the student body includes 94
Negroes, 110 Mexican-Americans, 1 American Indian, 2
Cubans, 5 Thais and l Iranian in its 1700 total. The
retention rate of Eastern has remained relatively stable
in the last decade with 7 of every 10 students entering
the 10th grade graduating.

The school population is in a period of rapid change.
Older, more economically stable families have moved from
the school service area, a significant portion of which is
included in the Lansing Model Cities area. Changes in
the school service area boundaries by the school BOard
will increase the number of minority group students.

Many white students in the school are from the South.
These families, as well as the Negro and Mexican-American
families, with children at Eastern, located in this area
for economic reasons.

Students, in general, express in Student Services

interviews that their main concern is in improving their

53

economic status. Approximately 60 percent of the student
body holds part-time jobs, 260 of which are part of a
school-sponsored co-operative education or pre-employment
program (Co-op and PEP).

Approximately 30 percent of the graduates each year
enroll in a college or university. The majority enroll
at Lansing Community College, with the intent of trans-
ferring to a four year college later. About 50 percent
of the entire student body is enrolled in a straight or
combination college preparatory curriculum. This high
percentage of college preparatory students is mainly
attributable to parental pressure according to the coun-
seling staff.

Increased militancy on the part of Black students
has caused a significant White reaction--especially notice-
able on the Senior Profile questionnaires. Mexican-Ameri-
can students join in protest over the seeming preferential
treatment Black students receive from the faculty and
administration, especially in matters of discipline. The
White reaction might be explained as the result of atti-
tudes gained from the recent Southern background of many
families. A Human Relations Effort ("Operation Dialogue")
was organized by the faculty and administration and
Operated during a period of the past school year in which
race tensions were high. Black and Mexican-American stu-

dents were actively involved in confronting one another

54

with their concerns, but the target group, the vast majority
of White students, expressed hostility or apathy toward this
organization. 1

Students enroll in one of four curricula which includes
Business Education, College Preparatory, General Education
and Trade Technology. Approximately 50 percent of the stu-
dent body is enrolled in a college preparatory program,

20 percent in Trade Technology, about 15 percent in Busi-
ness Education, and the remaining 15 percent in a combina-
tion of programs.

Special programs and subjects exist in the major
departments for slow learners and poor readers. Special
education classes for the mentally handicapped (73 stu-
dents), pre-employment for potential dropouts, economic
Opportunity assistance for needy students, food services,
service industries, and the Co-operative Work-Training
Program available to students in Business Education,

Service Industries, and Trade Technology classes also
exist. Enriched courses are offered in the area of
Humanities, Comparative Government, World Literature,
Creative Writing, and Advanced Biology.

Until the last five years, the faculty at Eastern
High School had a very low rate of turnover. Since that
time, the rate of turnover has averaged about 12 new
staff members per year. This rate of increase from 3 to

5 to 12 persons, is mainly attributable to the retirement

55

of the older teachers and the movement of younger
teachers due to transfers of husbands, completing of
education at Michigan State University, and of course,

wider opportunities in other areas.

The TTT Project2

TTT is the designation for the Training of Teachers
of Teachers Project, a project supported by the U. S.
Office of Education as authorized under the provisions
of the Education Professions Development Act of 1967.
The Lansing School District/Michigan State University
project is one of 57 such programs in the United States.

TTT is a high-priority interest of the United States
Office of Education currently. It is primarily concerned
with the in-service development of teacher trainers. The
project proceeds on the premise that teacher training is
not the sole responsibility of the college of education:
rather, that it shares responsibilities with the academic
colleges and other agencies. In fact, training relevant
to contemporary society requires the resources of the
total university along with contributions from school
systems and state educational agencies. The Michigan

State University/Lansing School District TTT project

 

2Adapted from: TTT Planning and Development Team,
"Outline of TTT Pilot Year Activity," East Lansing,
Michigan, Summer, 1969, pp. 2-3. (Mimeographed.)

56

attempts to coordinate the resources of such educational
agencies through the vehicle of the ”school clinic."

The "school clinic" is defined as a place where
representatives of the university, the school and the
community can be brought together in the setting of a
secondary school complex, to learn by means of a system-
atic analysis of the school environment. The representa-
tives work on teams to solve specific problems of the
schools which are determined in process and cooperatively
while developing a procedure for the training of teacher
trainers. The "school clinic," then, is the locus of a
cooperative, problem-oriented effort. It is expected that
there will be significant contributions to the University
teacher education programs from local school personnel
and community representatives.

The clinic operates by means of teams involving
public school personnel, community representatives and
university personnel. The project established three such
teams for the pilot year: the Humanities Clinic Team,
the Natural Science Clinic Team and the Social Science
Clinic Team. Each team includes Michigan State Univer-
sity professorial fellows, graduate student fellows, a
Lansing teacher, a Lansing consultant and a community
representative, associated on a parity basis. The asso-
ciation in parity of community representatives with

professional educators from different parts of the

57

teacher education enterprise is intended to create both

a combination of resources and a new climate of coopera-

tion among the school, the university and the community.

this project during the summer of 1969.

1.

Following are the specific goals established for
3

Designing, operating and testing a new program for
the training of educational specialists by pro-
viding an intern experience in the school clinic,
at the same time providing a means for the senior
professors (T3) to become immersed in the work of
teachers and students in local schools.

Stimulating graduate and undergraduate programs
which encompass educational problems of inner city
education that would include diagnosing environ-
mental strengths, producing community-developed
materials for teaching and providing on-the-spot
consultation when analytical help is needed.

Establishing better communication between school
and university faculties.

Providing in-service experiences for school
faculties and school-related experiences for
university faculties.

Diagnosing priority problems upon which the
university and school can act jointly.

Exploring with the school staff the ways in which
subject-matter courses in the schools can be per-
ceived by students to be responsive to their needs.
Exploring with the university faculty the ways in
which university programs should be and can be
more responsive to the needs of teachers.

Discussion of TTT Goals and Objectives

The purpose here is to point out first that the

present public school problems, as expressed by the

 

3From the "Outline of TTT Pilot Year Activity," p. 3.

58

writers cited in Chapter II, are a central concern of the
TTT Project. Secondly, the success of the TTT goals are
dependent upon changes in the attitudes, values and
beliefs of all those involved in the project.

It is easy to assume that the major thrust of TTT is
intended to get the graduate professor into the public
school classroom. This informs him of what its "really"
'like to be a teacher and consequently increases the
chances that he will better prepare teachers, or teacher
trainers. If the line of reasoning stops at this super-
ficial level however, we can become trapped into some-
thing that only entrenches deeper, the present status
quo. That is, such a procedure is primarily concerned
with doing better what we are already doing. This I
think misses the point of the actual intent of the TTT
Project.

One Of the expressed purposes of TTT, which appeared
in the original plan and was used as a criterion in the
first years evaluation, was to ". . . make subject-
matter courses more responsive to the needs of students."4
Other purposes, also appearing in the same documents,
include diagnosing environmental strengths, producing

community-developed materials, on-the-spot consultation,

 

4TTT Planning and Development Team, "Outline of TTT
Pilot Year Activity," pp. 2-3.

59

providing in-service experiences and diagnosing priority
problems.5

The kind of activities implied by these goals is
indicative of the fact that TTT is very much concerned
with the here-and-now problems of today's schools. The
expressed need for educational change, expanded upon in
Chapter II and the timeliness of the TTT Project further
reinforces this idea.

Within the TTT description the "school clinic,"6
referred to as the primary vehicle, has been charged with
the task of working on specific problems of the schools.
Further, the fact that a parity basis between the repre-
sentatives of the university, the school, and the commun-
ity has received a strong emphasis7 implies the desire
for something that goes beyond the mere exchange of
information. All these factors indicate clearly that
TTT is directed at significant educational changes not
simply the upgrading of what "is." Whether these changes
are intended to be immediate or in the future is not

crucial to this study. The important factor is that TTT

is intended to stimulate changes in public schools.

 

5Ibid., pp. 2-3.

6Ibid., pp. 2-3.
7Leadership Training Institute, "A Statement by

Leadership Training Institute (TTT) on Community Parti-
cipation in TTT," New York, 1969. (Mimeographed.)

60

Changes in public schools hinge on the classroom
teacher. This has been pointed to in Chapter II. Whether
we are interested in future or immediate educational
changes it seems logical to assume that the classroom
teacher must be involved. The parity emphasis of TTT
also suggests this. If we wish to move beyond the upgrad-
ing of "what is" and consider alternatives of more magni-
tude we must be concerned with some basic changes in those
people involved in TTT. Combs has aptly pointed out "It
is becoming more and more clear that the key to effective
behavioral change is an individual's personal discovery
of meaning. It is values, beliefs and personal meanings
which affect behavior most markedly."8

It has been necessary to establish an understanding
of the setting for the action part Of this study. Chap-
ter IV will explore and examine the attitudes of the

teachers in this setting as a first step in bringing.

about educational change.

 

8Arthur W. Combs (ed.), PerceivingJ‘Behaving, Becoming
(Washington, D.C.: Association for SuperviSion and Curr1-
culum Development, 1962), p. 119.

CHAPTER IV

METHODOLOGY

This chapter will report the design of the study,
describe how it was conducted and present the survey
findings. The major focus of the investigation is the
attitudes of teachers in the TTT setting at Eastern
High School.

Frequently educators seem to operate in a project,
such as TTT under the assumption that the priorities of
the project are seen as priorities by all those affected
by the project. Seldom does anyone assess the commonali-
ties Or divergencies existent within the group under
consideration. These factors might be considered closely
linked to teacher attitudes.

My survey instrument focused on three basic questions
(although they were not presented in this present form):

1. What are the major educational problems today?

2. Who has a major responsibility in solving these

educational problems?

3. What are the major purposes Of schools today?

61

62

An analysis of the Eastern High School teacher's
responses to these basic questions should provide
insights into what directions might prove most fruitful

for bringing about essential attitudinal changes.

Objectives

An assumption Of this study is that the attitudes
of teachers in a given setting must be critically con-
sidered if we are attempting realistic educational change.
Some commonality of educational purpose and perspective
among the members of a teaching staff is essential in
visualizing some common goals. Knowing the nature of
these commonalities and differences is a necessary step
in prescribing an approach to educational change.

The Eastern High School teachers comprise the
population surveyed in this study. The objectives are
to examine:

l. the diversity of opinion of teachers con-

cerning current educational problems;

2. the diversity of opinion of teachers con-

cerning the purposes of schools;

3. expressions of the teachers concerning

their responsibility in the solving of
educational problems; and

4. expressions of the teachers concerning

the capability of schools in solving

educational problems.

63

Population
This study focused on the teachers in Eastern High
school. Teachers are one important element in any con-
sideration of educational change. For this reason, the
population surveyed was restricted to the 96 persons within
Eastern High School who are regularly engaged in normal

teaching.

The Construction of the Survey Instrument
Teacher's attitudes are part of the broader aspect--

teacher personality. Getzels and Jackson, using 1950 as a
starting point, compiled a list of over 800 references
related to teacher personality.1 The Minnesota Teacher
Attitude Inventory (MTAI) is probably the most frequently
used instrument for measuring teacher attitudes. Cook,
Leeds and Callis point out the purpose of this instru-
ment.

It (MTAI) is designed to measure those attitudes

of a teacher which predicts how well he will get

along with pupils in interpersonal relationships,

and indirectly how well satisfied he will be with

teaching as a vocation.

The MTAI typifies the direction of most of the

instrumentation in the study of teacher personality. That

 

1
Getzels and Jackson, "The Teacher's Personality
and Characteristics," p. 506.

2w. W. Cook, C. H. Leeds and R. Callis, The Minnesota
Teacher Attitude Invento (New York: Psychological
Corporation, 1951). P. .

 

64

is, it is directed at identifying good--as opposed to bad,
or effective--as opposed to ineffective teachers or
prospective teachers.3

Existing instruments seemed inappropriate for the
purposes of this study. Consequently, I constructed an
instrument compatible with the stated objectives,4 based
upon a preliminary study in which three questions provided
the basis upon which the instrument was constructed.

These questions were formulated as follows:
1. What are the major educational problems today?
2. Do teachers feel that they have a major
responsibility in solving the educational
problems of today?

3. What are the purposes of schools today?

From these questions basic teacher understandings could
be elicited concerning educational problems, responsi-
bilities and purposes.

The preliminary work and pilot testing of the instru-
ment was done in Leslie High School, Leslie, Michigan.
This school had an enrollment of 450 students and a staff
of 30 teachers. These teachers assisted in two ways.

One was in the formulation of the first question on

 

3Getzels and Jackson, "The Teacher's Personality
and Characteristics," p. 575.

4The survey instrument used in this study is
included in Appendix A.

65

educational problems. Secondly this group responded to
the pilot survey instrument.

The first task given to the group of teachers in the
pilot setting was the establishment of the categories of
educational problems. The teachers were confronted with
the open-ended question, "What are the major educational
problems today?" The responses were categorized and the
frequency distribution which resulted was taken into
account in listing the chief educational problems. .Using
several educators, chosen for their backgrounds in educa-
tional psychology and administration as a sounding board,
several decisions were made. The most useful format
for the purposes of this study seemed to be a rank order-
ing of a list of statements of educational problems. The
use of this format necessitated a limit of seven statements
of educational problems to maintain validity in the mid-
range of responses. This procedure then was used to
formulate the first question in the survey instrument.

The second question in the survey instrument focused
on the responsibility for solving the seven educational
problems.

Six possible alternatives were provided. The list
included:

1. Students
Teachers
School Administrators
Local Community

College or University
Federal or State Government

O‘U'IQUJN
ooooo

66

The last question to be dealt with in the survey
instrument was the purposes of schools. In the first form
of the instrument, seven educational purposes were selected
from the contemporary literature. An effort was made to
have these statements provide a diversity of viewpoints
about today's schools. The seven statements of purpose
were organized in a form similar to the educational pro-
blems, i.e., they were to be rank ordered by the respon-
dents.

The second major task given the teachers in the
pilot setting was the pretesting of the survey instrument.
The first form was administered to the thirty teachers.
Ample space was provided and the request was made for
respondents to make comments and suggestions. From these
comments, and the analysis of the responses, the follow-
ing revisions were incorporated into the final survey
form.

1. The instructions for completing the ques-

tionnaire were expanded and clarified.

2. The actual layout of the form was modified
for more clarification.

3. The statements of educational problems were
changed from complete sentences to sentence
fragments to simplify the respondents' task.

4. The responses on the pretest instrument

indicated that rank ordering the list of

67

"purposes of schools" was not appropriate.
The decision was made to have the respon-
dents mark each purpose on a one to three
scale. The instructions state:
Using the space provided to the left of
each statement of purpose place:

#1 by all those items that you think

should be a major purpose of schools

today.

#2 by all the items that are a concern

Of schools but not a major purpose.

#3 by all those items that may or may

not be important but that schools are

not responsible for.

In this new context there was no need to limit the
possible responses to seven. Two additional statements

were added.

Administration of the Survey Instrument

To facilitate any necessary follow-up procedures,
each name on the list of Eastern High School teachers
was arbitrarily assigned a number. These identification
numbers were used on the survey materials distributed to
teachers.

A cover letter was developed which briefly explained
the nature and need for the survey and requested the
teachers' cooperation. Mr. Joseph Vellanti, Co-director
of the TTT project, endorsed the letter with his signa-
ture.

The cover letter, survey instrument and addressed

return envelope were distributed to each of the 96

68

Eastern High School teachers. A response was requested
to be returned within seven days.

Two weeks from the initial distribution, approxi-
mately 50 percent of the questionnaires had been returned
to the TTT Office. At this time, the non-responding
teachers were sent additional materials. This included
another letter, again signed by Mr. Vellanti, a new ques-
tionnaire form and a return envelope. The initial and
follow-up request yielded 74 completed questionnaires for

a 76 percent return.

Analyeis of the Survey Responses

The purpose here is to first show how the data was
coded for analysis. It should be noted that certain
interpretations were essential to the analysis and these
will be clarified. The second purpose is to present the
findings of the data and the third purpose is to discuss
these findings.

The coding of two of the demographic items is
provided in Table 1. For these two items, "years of
experience" and "degree and credits beyond degree," the
categories for each item were developed so that each
represented approximately 25 percent of the sample.
Division into more categories (total sample 74) would
have reduced each group to such a small size that an
examination of relationships between groups would be

questionable.

69

TABLE l.--Categories for Two Demographic Items

 

Demographic Item Number Description of Category
Code

 

Years of Teaching

Experience #1 1-4 years
#2 5-8 years
#3 9-17 years
#4 17 years and beyond
Degree and Credits
beyond degree #1 up to Bacelors + 15
credits
#2 from Bachelors + 15
credits to Masters
#3 from Masters degree to
Masters + 15
#4 beyond Masters + 15

 

The remaining demographic data did not lend itself
to such categorization. Consequently identification
numbers were arbitrarily assigned without application
of the criteria used to construct the categories in
Table 1.

1. Educational Problems

The seven items comprising educational problems were
to be rank ordered by the respondents. A space was pro-
vided for teachers to add any items they felt were omitted
from the list. The respondents' limited use of this
Option made the development of additional categories imprac-
tical. These additions are, however, quoted in the pre-

sentation of the findings.

70

Some respondents failed to use the complete range of
numbers (1-7) in rank ordering the educational problems.
Upon advice from our research consultation service the
average of the unused rank numbers were assigned to the
unmarked items. For instance, if a respondent ranked
three items with the numbers 1 through 3, the unused
rankings 4, 5, 6 and 7 were added and averaged. In this
instance a weight of 5.5 was assigned to each unmarked

item.

2. Educational Responsibilipy

 

The respondents were directed to check one area of
responsibility for each educational problem. Many
teachers, however, checked more than one area of responsi-
bility for a single educational problem. Based on the
fact that my concern focused on whether teachers felt
they play a mjaor role in solving educational problems,
several interpretations in coding were made.

For analysis, the responses were coded as a teacher
responsibility when:

l. The item was marked as a teacher responsibility.

2. There was more than one area checked, but one

of the areas marked was teacher responsibility.

An additional category was also developed to include

multiple responses that did not include teacher responsi-

bility.

71

3. Purposes of Schools

Any items listed under purposes of schools that were
left unmarked were assigned a three weight, i.e., not a
concern Of schools.

Two separate computer processes were used in analyz-
ing the data. The information was first subjected to the
basic statistics program. A resume' of the significant
figures from this process are provided in Table 2 and
Table 3. From these figures, certain of the variables
were selected for further comparative analysis. The
second process involved the development of an analysis of

contingency tables for selected variables.
Analysis of the Objectives

Objective One

 

The first objective was to examine the diversity of
Opinion of Eastern High School teachers concerning cur-
rent educational problems. Referring to Table 2, it might
first be noted that each of the seven educational pro-
blems had a range of responses from 1-7. The mean of
the score for each problem did not indicate strong ten-
dencies that would clearly identify any one problem as

being more crucial than the others. The mathematical

mean of the 7 point scale is 4. The means as computed
from the responses, ranged from .74 above this mid-point

of 4 to .38 below it. Examination of the contingency

72

 

 

 

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73

tables further supports the random appearance of the
responses on the educational problems.

As pointed out previously some commonality of per-
spective within a teaching staff would seem essential to
implementing common efforts at educational change. To
the extent that this instrument could ascertain, little
commonality was evidenced within this staff. In no case
was there a majority agreement on any of the educational
problems. Yet approaches to educational change are fre-
quently based on the assumption that specific priorities
are seen as such by all those affected by the changes.

The preparation of teachers was a major item in
the TTT public relations efforts with Eastern High
School teachers. Any significant impact of these efforts
should evidence itself in the survey responses. In light
of this, the educational problem "new teachers are not
adequately prepared," was critically examined. This
problem was ranked sixth in importance by the mean of
the responses. The range of these means, however, is
not spread far enough to lend itself to meaningful inter-
pretation Of such rankings. Examination of the contin-
gency tables did not reveal any tendencies of a polarization
of responses which might have been anticipated. Apparently
these public relations efforts had little impact of

either a positive or negative nature.

74

If closeness of association can be linked with shared
values, as Klein5 seems to think, it might safely be stated
that teachers within this setting do not benefit from such
sharing. The further implication is that this group does

not work together very closely.

Objective Two
The second objective was to examine the diversity
of Opinion of Eastern High School teachers concerning the
purposes of schools. The tabulation of these responses
is presented in Table 3. The nine items Of purposes of
schools were to be numbered by the following scale:
#1 by all those items that you think should be a
'major purpose of the schools today.
#2 by all those items that are a concern Of
schools but not a major purpose.
#3 by all those items that may or may not be
important but that schools are not responsible
for. *
It should be noted that there was a range of 1-3
responses for each of the nine items. Within this group,
one item is clearly identified as a major purpose of

schools. This purpose is, "learn the basic skills of

 

5Klein, The Study of Groups, p. 106.

 

75

TABLE 3.--Educational Purposes as Placed in Descending

Order of Importance by Eastern High School

Teachers.

 

 

Standard
Educational Purpose Mean Deviation
learn the basic skills of reading,
writing, and computation. 1.05 2.81
become critical thinkers. 1.26 5.50
learn to be competent citizens
in a democracy. 1.28 5.11
adjust socially and emotionally:
understand themselves. 1.37 5.66
reach their creative potential. 1.37 5.66
achieve occupational competence. 1.58 6.62
identify and clarify the major
issues of today. 1.62 6.76
learn discipline. 1.85 6.76
learn cultural orientation. 1.90 6.86

 

reading, writing and computation." The mean of the

responses for this item is 1.05 with a standard deviation

Of only 2.81. With a range of means from 1.05 to 1.90 it

can be stated that these teachers, as a group, see all

nine items as appropriate purposes of schools today.

The variance in the range of means does not indi-

cate extreme diversity on the purposes of schools.

Despite this lack Of variance several interesting ques-

tions and speculations can be made.

76

It is interesting to note, during a period when
student unrest appears to be a national concern, that
"learning discipline" is ranked eighth in a listing of
nine purposes of schools. Perhaps teachers basically
do not see a direct connection between student unrest
and learning discipline. One can only speculate from
this data that teachers see student unrest as related
to more basic problems with today's schools.

A discrepancy seems to exist in the rankings
between "critical thinking," ranked as the second impor-
tant purpose, and "identifying and clarifying the major
issues of today," which was ranked seventh. The ques-
tion might be raised, "What are critical thinkers
supposed to think critically about?"

The first three purposes, by virtue of the mean
rankings of 1.05 to 1.28, could legitimately be said
to be considered major purposes of schools by this
group of teachers. The inconsistencies as evidenced
by the examples in the preceeding paragraph, raises
some doubt as to the understanding with which the

teachers have perceived these purposes.

Objective Three

 

The third objective is to examine the expressions
of the Eastern High School teachers concerning the
responsibility in the solving of educational problems.

As specified on the survey instrument, the respondents

77

were to check the one area in which they felt the major
responsibility resided for each of the seven educational
problems. These figures are presented in Table 2 on
page 72.

The results indicate a logical division into three
categories. One category, encompassing a range of 0%-5%
teacher responsibility, indicated that teachers feel they
have a limited range of influence in these areas which
include: educational planning, preparation of teachers,
and school funds.

A second category, with a range of 27%-36%, teacher
responsibility included: the communication between
various levels of the public schools, course content_and
the discipline of\students.

The second ranked educational problem is a third
category. Fifty-four percent of the respondents marked
this as a teacher responsibility. The problem was
stated, "too much emphasis is on traditional rote learn-
ing and not enough emphasis on students attitudes, values,
and beliefs." One interpretation is that the teachers
feel this to be one educational problem that is dealt
with quite exclusively in each individual room. The
majority of Eastern High School teachers feel they do
not play a major role in solving the other educational

problems.

78

The findings support the notion that teachers feel
they do not exercise much control in the destiny of schools.
In terms Of educational planning and the financing of
schools not one teacher felt they played a major role._
These survey findings do not flatter the present educa-
tional association efforts to gain professional recogni-
tion for teachers.

If we look to some of the previously cited litera-
ture, Coch and French,6 Argyle,7 Klein8 and Lewin,9 the

situation revealed by this research in Eastern High

School is not one conducive to change.

Objective Four

 

The fourth Objective was to examine expressions of
Eastern High School teachers concerning the capability
Of schools in solving educational problems. This entails
examination of the relationship between the purposes the
teachers have identified for schools and the problems they
have identified for schools. The relatively high ratings

that the teachers gave to all nine purposes of schools

 

Coch and French, "Overcoming Resistance to Change."
Argyle, The Scientific Study of Social Behavior.

Klein, The Study of Groups.

£0QO

Lewin, Resolving Social Conflicts.

79

makes any comparative analysis between the educational

problems and the purposes of schools impractical.

Analysis of Demographic Data

The educational problem, "new teachers not ade-
quately prepared," is so directly related to the TTT
project that a resume' of certain of the contingency
tables seems in order. Table 4 shows the distribution

of rankings by the Eastern High School teachers.

TABLE 4.--Distribution of Rankings for the Educational
Problem "New Teachers are not Adequately
Prepared."

 

Rank Number 1 2 3 4 5 6

 

Number of Teacher Responses 3 14 5 15 19 12

 

The relationship between the responses to the pre-
paration of new teachers and the degree and credits of
the respondents is provided in Table 5.

It should be noted that in the #3 category, Masters
to Masters plus 15 credits, 62 percent of the group listed
this educational problem as less important (ranked 5, 6
and 7). Whereas 50 percent of #1, up to Bachelors plus

15 credits, ranked it as an important item (ranked 2).

80

TABLE 5.--Variab1e “Preparation of New Teachers" by
Variable Degree and Credits.

 

Degree and Credits Numeral Ranking for "new
teachers not adequately
prepared"

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

 

#1 up to Bachelors + 15
credits 0 7 0 4 2 l 0

#2 Bachelors + 15 to
Masters 2 1 l 5 5 0 2

#3 Masters to Masters
+ 15 credits 0 4 3 4 8 8 2

#4 beyond Masters + 15
credits 1 2 1 2 4 3 2

 

The most significant fact would seem to be the actual
diversity between these two groups. A fact which implies,
as did the results in Objectives 1 and 3, that there
exists a real need to stimulate more meaningful interaction

within this staff.

That a pattern does develop, however, raises certain
questions. That the teachers with the least amount of
academic training, group one, feel that new teachers are
not adequately prepared could imply a lack of confidence

on their part. From such a perspective teaching compet-
ence might be equated with academic training.
The lack of importance of this item for the group
with the most academic preparation, group four, could

denote the attitude that: l) the present system of

 

81

panic schooling does not need to be modified; 2) new
teamers are already adequately prepared; or 3) other
emxmtional problems are more acute than the preparation
of teachers .

These findings should be of particular interest for
flmafuture involvement of teachers in the TTT project.
mmmasis of teacher preparation to that group of teachers
that are beyond a Masters degree plus IS credits, group
fOur, is probably not the best procedure in encouraging
their involvement. However, the group of teachers with
less than a Bachelors degree plus 15 hours of credit,
group one, is probably the group that could be most
readily involved in the TTT project.

A pattern is also evidenced when we relate the same
educational problem to the years of teaching experience.

This breakdown of responses is provided in Table 6.

{HABLE 6.--Variab1e ”Preparation of New Teachers" by
Variable Years of Experience.

Years of Teaching Experience Numerical rankings for "new
teachers are not adequately

prepared"
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

 

#1. 1-4 years 1 7 l 4 3 2 0
#2 5-8 years 1 2 l 3 4 5 2
#3 9-17 years 0 1 l 3 9 2 l
#4 17 years and beyond 1 4 2 5 3 3 3

 

82

Fifty percent of group #1 (1-4 years experience)
see teacher preparation as important (ranked 1-3); whereas,
61 percent of group #2 (5-8 years experience) see it as
less important (ranked 5, 6 and 7). Seventy percent of
group #3 (9-17 years experience) also see it as less
important (ranked 5, 6 and 7). Group #4 shows no signi-
ficant tendencies.

Certainly group #1, 1-4 years teaching experience,
have some concerns about this educational problem. It
is conceivable that this concern parallels some feelings
of uncertainty about their teaching abilities.

Group #2, 5-8 years experience, and group #3,

9-17 years experience, show a decreasing concern for this
educational problem. These groups have possibly devel-
oped certain skills and accepted certain conditions that
have minimized initial uncertainties in their individual
teaching abilities, i.e., they see certain experiences
more crucial to teaching competency than formal academic
preparation.

Group #4, beyond 17 years of teaching experience,
respond more as individuals than in any group pattern.
The demographic data elicited with this survey instru-
ment is not sufficient for the further interpretation
of the group #4 responses.

A number Of comments were written on the survey

forms by the teacher respondents. It is questionable,

83

in many instances, how the respondent intended his comment

to be used, i.e., as an educational problem, purpose or

merely as a commentary. I have nevertheless, listed

them under the heading of the category in Which they

were written. These are listed complete and unedited.

Each numbered comment represents the total statements of

an individual respondent under that heading.

Educational Problems.

 

1.

Students are not taught basic subject matter
as reading and English in grade schools, can't
read and comprehend in High School.

Children are rigid by "forced" education, they
don't have any ideas on how to think. Teachers
are rigid--I think we have a real mess!

Lack of curricula for non college students who
are very poorly prepared for the present high
school program. (non-achievers)

The average student has become the forgotten
man and I firmly believe that he holds the
fate of our country--not the so called
superior intellect.

More emphasis on vocational education.

Preparation load too heavy when lab classes
are involved, not enough preparation time,
no teacher aid assistance.

Minimum quotas of students/class is often
harmful. -

Too much planning and filing, (also) there
should be enough materials accumulated from
the hundreds of projects conducted over the
past 10 years to satisfy educational needs
for the next 10,000 years if it were used.

84

9. Wasted research effort.

10. Lets have federal government money spent for
worthwhile projects, and see some concrete
results. Too many pork barrel projects in
the colleges today.

11. Poor materials.

12. Textbook publishers mainly responsible for
course content.

13. Teachers actually implementing what they
know they should. 1

l4. Degenerating image of teacher. i

15. Indifferent parents.

 

V—Tfifl "

Purposes of Schools 1

 

1. Prepare students to fulfill leadership roles
in helping to bring about social change.

2. DevelOp characteristics of responsibility
and dedication toward self, others, nation,
and mankind.
3. Provide a liveable education for all students.
4. Spend our tax dollars on necessary programs
and forget the big grants to programs just
to provide salaries to a group of non-contri-
buting people.

5. Identify and clarify why only part of the
world is "free world.“

The purpose of this study was to examine some of the
attitudes of the Eastern High School Teachers as a first
step in the process of curricular change. These free
comments represent some attitudes which are extremely
important and should not be overlooked. First, these
expressions must represent strong opinions to have been

volunteered. Secondly, any assumption that these

85

expressions represent a small minority is a dangerous
conclusion for the issues represented by the comments
have a very direct bearing on the TTT project. Had the
teachers been confronted with these particular issues
we have no basis to conclude that there would not have
been majority agreements.

Reading was not listed when the teachers in the
pilot study were asked to identify the major educational

problems today. Consequently, reading was not included

 

as one of the options in the Eastern High School survey
of educational problems. As evidenced from the list of
comments by the Eastern High School Teachers, there was
only one mention of reading skills being an educational
problem.
1. Students are not taught basic subject matter
as reading and English in grade schools, can’t
read and comprehend in High School.
This is interesting at a time when reading is gain-
ing increased recognition as a major educational problem.
In comment one again, and in comments two through
five, the teachers are referring to students in relation
to the school program. These teachers are noting that
the curriculum is not suited to the students.
2. Children are rigid by "forced education,
they don't have any ideas on how to think.
Teachers are rigid--I think we have a
real mess.
3. Lack of curricula for non college students

who are very poorly prepared for the present
high school program. (non-achievers)

86

4. The average student has become the forgotten
man and I firmly believe that he holds the
fate of our country--not the so called
superior intellect.
S. More emphasis on vocational education.
Comments six, seven and partly in eight point out
that teachers are doing the beSt they can, yet nobody is
changing anything. Teachers do not get any more time for
planning.
6. Preparation load too heavy when lab classes 1

are involved, not enough preparation time,
no teacher aid assistance.

 

7. Minimum quotas of students/class is Often I
harmful.

8. Too much planning and filing, (also) there
should be enough materials accumulated from
the hundreds of projects conducted over the
past 10 years to satisfy educational needs
for the next 10,000 years if it were used.

In comment eight again, and in comments nine and
ten, the question is raised, "are colleges and projects
such as TTT being helpful to teachers?" Teachers are
asked to do things but do not have a part in making things
better.

9. Wasted research effort.

10. Lets have Federal government money spent for
worthwhile projects, and see some concrete

results. Too many pork barrel_projects in
the colleges today.

 

Some comments that are stated under both problems
and purposes reflect a real antagonism toward projects such

as TTT. This has been evidenced in problems eight, nine

and ten and is also reflected in purpose four.

87

4. Spend our tax dollars on necessary programs
and forget the big grants to programs just
to provide salaries to a group of non-contri-
buting people.

Quite basic to these comments is that teachers don't
have much Opportunity to bring about change. That is,
their comments seem to reflect things that are super-
imposed On teachers. This fact would seem to reinforce

the findings of objective three which related to the

teachers' feelings of lack of involvement in the solving

 

of educational problems.

Chapter IV has been concerned with the development,
administration and analysis Of the survey instrument.
Chapter V focuses on the Summary, Implications and

Recommendations.

CHAPTER V

SUMMARY, IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Much of our idealism about America, democracy and
public schools is grounded in diversity; yet, there comes
a point at which extreme diversity in perceptions and
attitudes stifles change and consequently operates to
maintain the status quo. It would be neither desirable
nor realistic to expect teachers to agree to the letter

on the seven educational problems posed in the survey.

Summaryr

In the examination of the first objective, "the
diversity of opinion of Eastern High School teachers
concerning current educational problems," the responses
were dispersed quite evenly over the range of possibili-
ties. One alternate explanation is that none of the
items was very important to this group Of teachers, yet,
all the educational problems listed on the survey were
developed from open ended responses given by a group of

secondary teachers from another setting. Secondly, the

88

89

attention these topics have received in professional
journals and popular magazines should have brought these
issues into focus as major problems.

Certainly some commonalities must exist. This is
basic to the contention that the school personnel, to a
large extent, perpetuates the structure of schools. It
would be a logical step to conclude that it is an all
encompassing commonality that keeps schools from changing.
However, the inability of a group to visualize common
goals or ideals to be strived for can also be a limiting
factor in bringing about the change. To the extent that
the instrument could ascertain slight commonality on
educational problems was evident within the Eastern High
School teaching staff. This diversity poses one pro-
blem to be confronted by anyone attempting to bring
about change in this setting.

In examining the third objective, "expressions of
the Eastern High School teachers concerning their
responsibility in the solving of educational problems,"
it becomes clear that the teachers do not feel they play
a major role in solving these problems. This idea is
extended when one reviews the comments which teachers
wrote on the surveys they returned. These comments seem
to basically reflect things that are superimposed on
teachers. Further, the teachers seem to be saying that
they do not have much Opportunity to bring about change

themselves.

90

.......

Attitudinal changes are assumed to be a requirement
for significant educational change. Some of the basics
to such change1 seems to be lacking in the Eastern High
School setting. These findings imply that teachers do
not worktogether toward common goals nor do they feel that
they as individuals can be a part of improving the exist-
ing situation.

From a review Of the literature2 some basics for
the creation of a model for educational change can be
outlined to include:

1. Provision for interaction of school per-

sonnel to consider values, attitudes and
beliefs and the compatability of these
to education.

2. The development of group goals and objec-

tives that can realisticly be strived for.

3. Procedures for supporting colleagues as

fellow professionals in the educational

endeavor.

 

1Combs, Perceiving, Behaving, Becoming; Coch and
French, "Overcoming Resistance to Change; Argyle, The
Scientific Study of Social Behavior; Klein, The St_d_
of Groups; and Lewin, Resolving Social Conflict.

2Lewin, Resolving Social Conflicts; King, "Curriculum
Projects: A Perspective"; Broudy, "Can We Define Good
Teaching"; Berelson and Steiner, Human Behavior; Pearl,
Burns and Foster, Teachers for the Real World; May, Man's
Search for Himself;‘and Rogers, On Becoming a Person.

 

 

 

91

To suppose that a general model for change can be
rigidly defined or outlined would defy some of the basic
tenets of this dissertation. What is needed is some con-
ception of where to begin. In making a recommendation
for the TTT project a review of one facet of structure
might illustrate a beginning point. The federal guide-
lines for TTT projects establish the first broad area
within which decisions can be made. In the process of
submitting proposals for specific projects this area of
decision making is further reduced. This process con-
tinues through established channels until eventually the
project is operational and in process. If we are to work
within the existing structure much of this reality must
be accepted. Despite these restrictions there still
exists an area where decisions must be made. Traditionally
it has been the practice on the local level to further
structure this last area and approach the teaching staff
with a paternal attitude of what is best for them. This,
in my opinion, is what has happened at Eastern High
School this year. The teachers have been told what TTT

is going to do for them.

Recommendations for‘TTT
An alternative to this is to provide a "real"
Opportunity for teachers to be a part of the decision

making within the realm of possible decisions. Informing

92

the teachers of what the built—in possibilities and
limitations of the project are would seem to be step number
one.

A review of the comments which teachers wrote on the
returned surveys raises some additional questions. While
these comments do not lend themselves to rigid evaluative
measures they do represent some attitudes which are
extremely important and should not be overlooked. In
the staffing for next years' TTT project a great deal of
emphasis was placed on securing a reading specialist.
Yet, there seems to be little indication by the teachers
that reading is a major problem. While these particular
findings might be too limited to draw such specific
conclusions they do indicate that more research about
TTT staffing needs are in order. Does this represent
the kind of paternal attitude that alienates teachers?

The alienation by some teachers toward projects,
such as TTT, is another item that should not be over-
looked. Had the teachers been confronted with this issue
as an educational problem we have no basis to conclude
that there would not have been a majority agreement.
These comments then open up some important areas for
further questioning. Based on the assumption that edu~
cational change requires changes in teachers attitudes,
facilitating educational change in this setting requires

more direct involvement of the teachers. As previously

93

discussed, the success of the TTT project is dependent
upon identifying and working toward solutions to many of
our current public school problems. Certain of the sur—
vey findings give some insights into where to begin this
involvement. It was found when relating the variable
"new teachers are not adequately prepared," to the vari-
able degree and credits, that those teachers having less
than a Bachelors degree plus 15 credits felt this to be
an important item. Given the present focus of the TTT
project this group should be the most easily involved
group. .The lesser concern for this problem by the
teachers with more credits and higher degrees would imply
the need for using a different focus with these latter
groups.

This study has pointed to the need for greater
involvement of teachers in the TTT project if the major
concern is bringing about significant educational change.
Several questions have been raised that deserve further
investigation. (The findings have also indicated some
direction to be taken in involving more teachers in this

particular project.)

Recommendations for Further Study
The findings of this study have raised some ques—
tions about prior assumptions concerning teachers.

Perhaps some existing assumptions about the other TTT

94

components, community, professorial fellows and graduate
fellows, are also unfounded. It is suggested that the
attitudes of these groups should also be assessed in an
effort to gain more insights into this attempt to bring
about educational change. It should also be noted that
the whole area of community involvement is relatively

unexamined.

APPENDICES

95

APPENDIX A

96

SURVEY OF TEACHER PERCEPTIONS ON EDUCATION

As part of the TTT Project at Eastern High School, I am attempting
to collect the views of teachers about educational problems the schools
of today face. Your early response to this brief questionnaire will
be appreciated. Please use the enclosed enve10pe and return to the TTT

box in the mail room.

Lou Golob

 

 

GENERAL INFORMATION

1. Years of teaching including this academic year?

 

2. What degree do you hold?

 

3. How many additional hours of college credit do you have beyond your

degree? (designate, semester or term)

 

4. In what organizations do you have an active role?

 

 

5. With what subject area department do you feel most closely associated?

 

6. How often does your department meet?

 

7. What would you say are the primary concerns of most of these meetings?

 

 

-2-

PART (A) focuses on the major educational problems today. The list of seven
prtflalems was selected from the most frequent responses given by a group of secondary
teachers.

Please rank the items in part (A) in order of their importance as educational
prtflalems today. Place #1 by the most important item, a #2 by the second most important
itenn, and so on. Do not number the items that you feel ARE NOT educational problems
today.

PART (B) is aimed at finding where the major responsibility exists for correcting
each of the educational problems listed in part (A). In part (B), please check the
ONE area in which you think the major responsibility exists for the corresponding

educational problem.

PIUTI (A) EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS PART (B) RESPONSIBILITY

(check one each

     
   

    
 
 

lem)

'other, fill in
if necessary

___ course content has not kept pace with the

too much emphasis on traditional rote
learning and not enough emphasis on

 

___ inadequate communication between the

    
  
 

   
  
  
 

-3-

Below is a list of nine purposes of schools today. All of these
have been advocated as purposes of schools in the educational literature
within recent years.

Using the space provided to the left of each statement of purpose
place:

#1 by all those items that you think should be a major purpose of
the schools today.

#2 by all those items that are a concern of schools but not a
major purpose.

#3 by all those items that may or may not be important but that
schools are not responsible for.

Space is provided for any additional items that you feel have been

omitted.

THE PURPOSES OF SCHOOLS ARE TO HELP STUDENTS:

identify and clarify the major issues of today.

learn cultural orientation.

learn the basic skills of reading, writing, and computation.
learn discipline.

reach their creative potential.

adjust socially and emotionally; understand themselves.
become critical thinkers.

achieve occupational competence.

learn to be competent citizens in a democracy.

(other)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

100

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