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Abstract

Using teachers and counselors attending an eight week insti tute on problems of school desegregation as subjects, this study sought to estimate the degree of change in ethnic attitudes on the rational-irrational and anti-pro minority dimensions of prejudice as related to participation in an intensive adult education experience. Systematic procedures were employed to relate degree of change on these dimensions of prejudice to group learning method, social attitude set, and characteristics of race, age, and sex. Findings supported a fundamental postulate of the study that attitude change is related to participation in intensive educational experi ences. The degree of change varied on the anti-minority dimension of prejudice as related to social attitude set and to age. The degree of change on the rational (cognitive) pro-minority dimension was greater among older subjects than among younger subjects. There was little evidence to support hypotheses on the relation of attitude change to group learning methods.

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Adult Education and the Rational-Irrational Dimension of Prejudice

Abstract

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