Abstract
This study reports on the relationships between community college students' responses on three school-related criterion variables and their classifications on the RAM Scale in terms of relative, absolute, or mixed orientations. As part of a larger investigation, two samples of 177 and 125 subjects were administered the RAM Scale in forced-choice and Likert formats, respectively. Both groups then responded to three dichotomous criterion variables: (1) student reasons for dropping classes (teacher-centered or student-centered); (2) student preferences for school environments which provide opportunities for minimizing or accepting tension and frustration; and (3) student preferences for instructors with philosophical and religious views similar to or different from those of the student. Statistically significant indices of association were found between RAM classifications and student preferences on the third criterion variable. On this third criterion variable, use of planned comparisons for data from each form resulted in a statistically significant difference between the mean of subjects classified as relative on the RAM Scale and that of the combined subgroup of students categorized as mixed or absolute. Specifically, students in the subgroup identified as relative demonstrated a greater preference for a teacher with views different from their own than did students in a subgroup representing a mixed or absolute classification.
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