Participation of the Adult Learner in Program Planning

Abstract

This study investigated the influence of participation in program planning on achievement and attitude. Two experimental groups participated in planning their educational programs. Two control groups completed courses identical to the corresponding experi mental groups, but they did not help plan them. A two hundred item achievement measure and a twelve concept semantic differ ential attitude measure were administered to both groups. The results of a t-test analysis of group mean scores permitted two conclusions. First, adults who participate in program planning appear to have more positive attitudes about their educational experience than those who do not. Second, no evidence was found to support the notion that participation in program planning affects achievement.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Brinton, James E. , "Deriving an Attitude Scale from Semantic Differential Data," Semantic Differential Technique: A Sourcebook, (Eds.) Snyder, James G. , and Osgood, Charles E. , (Chicago: Aldine, 1969), pp. 467-473.

Kerlinger, Fred N. , Foundations of Behavioral Research ( New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1964), pp. 303-304.

London, Jack , "Program Development in Adult Education," Handbook of Adult Education in the United States (Ed.), Knowles, Malcolm S. , (Washington, D. C.: Adult Education Association of the U.S.A., 1960), pp. 66-76.

Rehage, Kenneth J. , "A Comparison of Pupil-Teacher Planning and Teacher-Directed Procedures in Eighth Grade Social Studies Classes," Journal of Educational Research, XLV ( 1951), pp. 111-115.

Verner, Coolie , and Kulich, Jindra , "Programming," Review of Educational Research, XXXV ( 1965), pp. 177-8.

Welden, Eugene J. , "Program Planning and Program Effectiveness in University Residential Centers" (Unpublished Doctor's dissertation, University of Chicago, June 1966), pp. 104-109.