The objective of this study was to support the claim that drama education is no "mere frill" in the curriculum but is, in fact, important to the formation of attitudes and values in young people. The study moved in two directions. The literature was explored to establish a position on what is intended by the terms "attitude" and "drama education" and to demonstrate a connection between these two terms. Following a review of the literature which demonstrated that there was reason to believe that children's attitudes to ageing and to old people are less than ideal, the two strategies of a practical investigation were begun. In examining the attitudes of Grade 5 children to the elderly and to the ageing, quantitative and qualitative investigations were undertaken. The quantitative investigation employed the Children's Attitude Towards the Elderly (CATE) (Jantz, Seefeldt, Serock, and Galper, 1976) instrument to examine attitudes in one control and two experimental groups. The qualitative investigation consisted of the analyses of: (a) interviews with the teacher, and children of both experimental groups during and after the three units of drama education, (b) pre- and post-drawings by children from these groups, (c) the reflections written in their journals by children of the experimental groups after the drama education units, and (d) field notes taken during participant/observation in the drama classroom. The experimental groups were taught drama employing two different methods. Group A pursued the topic "Young People/Old People" in the drama classroom in child-directed drama, while Group B explored the same topic in teacher-directed drama. The results of both strategies were compared and contrasted under the rubrics of the theoretical positions on "attitudes" and on "drama education" adopted for the study. The research results converged to support the claim that, for the children of both experimental groups, doing drama had asssisted them as they rebuilt their attitudes to old people and to ageing. No such improvement had occurred for the Control Group. Positive attitude change consisted in (a) greater knowledge of old people and ageing, (b) a diminution in the fear of ageing and old people, (c) positive feelings toward the elderly, and (d) identification with the interests, feelings, goals, and means of elderly people. In addition, the qualitative study revealed that some children recognized that drama caused them to re-value the people in their own lives. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

Children???s attitudes towards school singing have been a growing concern in recent years. While negative attitudes towards school singing have been acknowledged as one of the factors contributing to the decline of singing in schools, these attitudes conflict directly with the socially acceptable, esteemed and desired status that children place on singing in the world in which they live. Given the popularity of singing outside of school, negativity towards singing is of particular concern. Identifying the factors that determine a child???s attitude towards singing in both the school and home context is crucial if positive attitudes towards singing are to be sustained through to adolescence. The purpose of this research was to explore children???s attitudes towards singing in each stage level between Kindergarten and Year 6 in the home and school context, to identify the factors which determine positive and negative attitudes towards singing and to consider the relationships between attitudes in relation to gender. Interviews were conducted with 147 children between Kindergarten and Year 6 in five New South Wales public schools and attitudes towards singing were tested using a three point attitude measurement scale. Further data were collected from 118 parents in order to gain an understanding of children???s singing experience within the home context. Results showed that children???s preference to sing at home, rather than at school, increases with age. While boys have a stronger preference to sing at home than girls, girls are more positive towards school singing. Relational reasons such as fear of criticism and singing in front of others were central reasons for children???s dislike of school singing. While children across all stage levels enjoy singing with CD???s and singing on their own, boys??? particularly enjoy having ownership over song choice and composing their own songs. Lack of song choice and singing in front of others evokes negative attitudes towards singing. Teachers have a strong influence on attitudes towards singing at ES1 and Stage 1 level, however by Year 6, there is a strong correlation between parents and children???s attitudes towards singing. These results provide new insights and implications for the teaching of singing in schools.

No description available.

Children enter kindergarten with many experiences and thoughts. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of preschool children concerning their entrance into kindergarten. A comparison of what children perceived and what parents and teachers have done to facilitate the children’s perception of kindergarten was completed. A treatment group of 31 students from a Head Start which provided a visit to the kindergarten classroom that their preschool children would be attending was compared to 29 students from a Title 1 early education program, the control group. The parents and teachers of these students were compared to determine what they had done to prepare these students for kindergarten. The quantitative aspect of the study compared the treatment student pre- and post- responses on the ‘What I Think about Kindergarten –R’ questionnaire to the control group, a Title 1 early education program. This questionnaire was adapted from the ‘What I Think about School’ (1998) used by Ramey, Lanzi, Phillips, & Ramey for the Head Start Public School Early Transition Demonstration Project in 1998. This study was not able to determine any difference in what the students perceived about kindergarten between and within groups. While there was no significant difference in what teachers had done to prepare their students for kindergarten, three individual questions had some difference in what the teachers from Head Start had done when compared to the Title 1 early education program. There was no significant difference in what parents did to prepare their children but differences within three questions on the parent surveys were found. A qualitative methodology was used to investigate what the students’ perceptions of kindergarten were. These perceptions included findings that most children were excited about attending kindergarten but a few anticipated kindergarten with negative feelings. Children also anticipated needing a backpack or lunchbox to attend kindergarten and looked forward to playing in the new school. Because this study was only done between Head Start and a Title 1 early education program, future research is needed to further understand what children think about going to kindergarten. / Department of Elementary Education

Children???s attitudes towards school singing have been a growing concern in recent years. While negative attitudes towards school singing have been acknowledged as one of the factors contributing to the decline of singing in schools, these attitudes conflict directly with the socially acceptable, esteemed and desired status that children place on singing in the world in which they live. Given the popularity of singing outside of school, negativity towards singing is of particular concern. Identifying the factors that determine a child???s attitude towards singing in both the school and home context is crucial if positive attitudes towards singing are to be sustained through to adolescence. The purpose of this research was to explore children???s attitudes towards singing in each stage level between Kindergarten and Year 6 in the home and school context, to identify the factors which determine positive and negative attitudes towards singing and to consider the relationships between attitudes in relation to gender. Interviews were conducted with 147 children between Kindergarten and Year 6 in five New South Wales public schools and attitudes towards singing were tested using a three point attitude measurement scale. Further data were collected from 118 parents in order to gain an understanding of children???s singing experience within the home context. Results showed that children???s preference to sing at home, rather than at school, increases with age. While boys have a stronger preference to sing at home than girls, girls are more positive towards school singing. Relational reasons such as fear of criticism and singing in front of others were central reasons for children???s dislike of school singing. While children across all stage levels enjoy singing with CD???s and singing on their own, boys??? particularly enjoy having ownership over song choice and composing their own songs. Lack of song choice and singing in front of others evokes negative attitudes towards singing. Teachers have a strong influence on attitudes towards singing at ES1 and Stage 1 level, however by Year 6, there is a strong correlation between parents and children???s attitudes towards singing. These results provide new insights and implications for the teaching of singing in schools.

A review of the literature reveals that nothing has been done at the pre-school level in the measurement of attitudes; yet Gesell in his studies recognizes that young children do have attitudes even though many are short-lived and developmental. This lack plus the writer's interest led to the present study of the attitudes of the children enrolled in the Florida State University Nursery School. / Typescript. / "May, 1949." / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts under Plan II." / Advisor: Ralph L. Witherspoon, Professor Directing Paper. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 43).

This study investigated the attitudes toward disability on the part of children with special needs, average-achieving children, and high-achieving children as well as the latter two groups' experiences in inclusive elementary school classes. According to the Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons Questionnaire (ATDP), attitudes toward disability did not differ according to achievement level (p = .099). However, females were significantly more accepting than males (p = .008). In classes where the most severe disability was a mental handicap, children held significantly more positive attitudes toward disability than those who had classmates with learning, behavioral, or severe developmental disorders (p = .026). Based on interview data, average- and high-achieving children shared similar perceptions about their experiences in inclusive classes. Both groups frequently noted that classmates with disabilities enjoyed similar activities as nondisabled classmates yet exhibited more frequent inappropriate behavior. Interviewees most often acknowledged as their first response that making new friends was a benefit for children with special needs and that dealing with their disability was difficult. Learning about disabilities was viewed as a benefit for nondisabled children while feeling comfortable with their classmate with disabilities was seen as challenging. When questioned about the ramifications of inclusion on their academics, high-achievers were significantly more likely to report that they learned less (p = .01). Results are discussed in light of sensitivity theories that would predict high-achievers to be more accepting of disability because they are attuned to their classmates with disabilities' needs, and theories suggesting that high-achieving children whose academic needs are unmet may develop negative attitudes toward children with disabilities.

The purpose of this study was to contribute to the research on school dropout by exploring the manner in which school policies and practices affect students' behavior. Four groups, each composed of 12 (6 male, 6 female) secondary students were interviewed. These involved an engaged group, an at-risk group, a group enrolled in alternative programs, and a group who had dropped out of school. The study had two goals. The first was to determine how these participants differed in their perceptions of their scholastic experiences. The second was to compare how males and females perceived their experiences. Significant differences were found by group and gender in perceptions of scholastic abilities. Clear distinctions were also found by group and gender in how the participants made sense of their academic experiences. Suggestions for preventative and remedial programming are offered. Implications for counselling psychology, in general, and school counselling, in particular, are discussed.

This study was designed to investigate the relative contributions of cognitive level, age, and verbal ability to the prediction of children's concepts of health and illness. The rationale for the study was based on the premise that children's cognitive developmental level would have relevance when preparing programs for child health education. The sample consisted of 40 subjects ranging in age from 5 to 13 years who were already participants in the Preadmission Preparation Programs Study, a research project being conducted at B.C.'s Children's Hospital in Vancouver. There were 10 children selected from each of four age groups: 5-6; 7-8; 9-10; and 11-13. The subjects were administered a Health Questionnaire and a battery of Piagetian tasks representing both the concrete operational and formal operational stages of cognitive development. Verbal ability was measured by the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test - Revised (PPVT-R). In a stepwise multiple regression equation, with level of health concept as the criterion variable and cognitive level, age, and verbal ability as the predictor variables, it was hypothesized that, (1) cognitive level would be a stronger predictor of level of health concept than the predictors of age and verbal ability, (2) cognitive level together with age would be a stronger predictor than either index on its own, and (3) verbal ability would account for a significant portion of the variance with regard to level of health concept over and above that already accounted for by cognitive level and age. The expected entry sequence into the prediction equation was cognitive level on step 1, age on step 2, and verbal ability on step 3. The results indicated that all three predictor variables, taken individually, were significantly correlated with the criterion variable; however, the expected entry sequence of variables into the prediction equation and the expected net effect of combined variables were not supported by the data analyses. Age was selected for entry on step 1 and verbal ability was selected for entry on step 2; cognitive level was not selected to enter the prediction equation. When forced into the equation on step 3, cognitive level contributed a negligible additional amount of variance to the efficacy of prediction. Although cognitive level correlates highly with level of concept, when the effects of age are partialed out, the contribution of cognitive level is not significant. Given some of the limitations of the study, small sample size and restricted range of scores for level of health concept and for the Piagetian assessment, it was suggested that in a further study with a greater representation of formal operational thinkers, there may be more support for the hypotheses. Directions for future research were discussed in terms of conducting a similar study with a sample that has a good representation of both concrete and formal operational thinkers so that the prediction strength of cognitive level can be tested within a restricted age limit. Another suggestion was that research focus on the interaction of specific cognitive concepts with health concepts to provide a greater understanding of the developmental sequence of conceptualization of health and illness. Implications for child health education were discussed in terms of knowledge of cognitive developmental level enabling medical personnel to communicate more effectively with children and plan appropriate intervention strategies for them. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

No description available.