A Bi-Racial Comparison of Teacher Attitudes toward Topics Related to School Desegregation

This study measured the effectiveness of teacher education programs in modifying cross-cultural attitudes through Osgood's Semantic Differential (SD) techniques, coupled with factor and pattern similarity analyses. The five concepts rated were desegregation, discipline, instructional technique,...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author Erickson, Lawrence
Format Publication
LanguageEnglish
Published 1972
Subjects
Factor Analysis
Institutes (Training Programs)
Integration Studies
Racial Integration
School Desegregation
Summer Programs
Teacher Attitudes
Teacher Education
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Summary:This study measured the effectiveness of teacher education programs in modifying cross-cultural attitudes through Osgood's Semantic Differential (SD) techniques, coupled with factor and pattern similarity analyses. The five concepts rated were desegregation, discipline, instructional technique, professionalism, and students. Subjects were 51 black and 76 white teachers from Alabama who volunteered to attend the Summer Institute of the University of South Alabama School Desegregation Center. The teachers were administered tests on the first and last days of the Institute and a follow-up test 6 weeks later. The research substantiated the effectiveness of SD techniques in describing the factors of subjects' attitudes toward topics on desegregation. Data revealed that fundamental differences in attitudes remained across racial groups and after the experiment was completed. Male and female groupings indicated a divergence into dissimilar response patterns. Different modes or intensities of treatment seem to be indicated. Ten references are included together with four tables of data. (BRB)