STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF CHANGES IN SELF DURINGAN ALTERNATIVE SECONDARY SCHOOL PROCESS

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University Microfilms

International 300 N. ZEEB ROAD, ANN ARBOR, Ml 48106 18 BEDFORD ROW, LONDON WC1R 4EJ, ENGLAND

7917330

HALL , ALENE WIN IFRED BROWN STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF CHANGES IN SELF DURING AN ALTERNATIVE SECONDARY SCHOOL PROCESS.

THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA, PH .D . , 1979

University Microfilms

International 300 N. ZEEB ROAD, ANN ARBOR, Ml 48106

© 1979

ALENE WINIFRED BROWN HALL

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF CHANGES IN SELF DURING

AN ALTERNATIVE SECONDARY SCHOOL PROCESS

by

Alene Winifred Brown Hall

A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the

DEPARTMENT OF SECONDARY EDUCATION

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

In the Graduate College

THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

19 7 9

Copyright 1979 Alene Winifred Brown Hall

THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE

I hereby recommend that this dissertation prepared under my direction

by Alene Winifred Brown Hall

entitled Student Perceptions of Changes in Self during an

Alternative Secondary School Process

be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the Degree

of Doctor of Philosophy

(J ) v. I J. /7<7 Dissertation Director Date

As members of the Final Examination Committee, we certify that we have

read this dissertation and agree that it may be presented for final

defense.

Date

Date

i Date

DaT:e

Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent on the candidate's adequate performance and defense thereof at the final oral

examination.

11/78

STATEMENT BY AUTHOR

This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfill­ment of requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library.

Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quota­tion from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the copyright holder.

signed : (Mmj //j. '7y4y

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The writer would like to express appreciation to the mem­

bers of her committee—Don Barnes, Emil Gavlak, Paul Allen, Don

Clark, and Richard Krebs.

Special thanks are also offered to two people who as­

sisted in the preparation and organization of materials—Alison

Reichle and Jane Gillespie. I am also indebted to others who

promoted my growth as a professional teacher and researcher:

Ginny Moore, Elizabeth Puckett, Jamie Trainer, and Kris Tully,

and to the entire staff at Program NOW for their gracious

cooperation.

This manuscript is dedicated to my father, George E.

Brown, Sr., who is still growing and expanding at 80 years old,

and to the 23 teenagers who promoted my growth in listening, self

disclosure, and in the "I and Thou" relationship. Communication

in youth is especially exemplified by teenagers such as

Bernadette, Jamie, John, Brian, and Lillian Hall.

I am also indebted to Michelle Dickerson for library as­

sistance; to my husband, Henry; and my friend Jane for assisting

in the editing; and to Rita Mikula for her support and care in

the typing of this manuscript.

iii

I wish also to express my deepest appreciation to my

family—Henry, Joan, Doug, Lillian, Dorothy Anderholt, and

Mildred Godfrey—for their encouragement, faith and patience.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS i*

LIST OF TABLES x

ABSTRACT Xi

1. INTRODUCTION 1

Statement of the Problem 3 Statement of the Subproblems 3 Significance of the Problem 3 Assumptions Underlying the Problem 7 Limitations of the Study 8 Definitions of Terms . 8 Research Procedure 9 Research Problems Outlined 10

Demographic Data 10 Design of the Study 16

2. RESUME OF RELATED LITERATURE 21

Introduction 21 Discovering—the Self 22 Relating—to Others 32 Actualizing—the Self 42 Theoretical Framework 49 Summary 52

3. PRESENTATION AND EXAMINATION OF DATA IN TERMS OF THE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 53

Presentation of Data 53 Section One 54

Interview Statement Number One 54 Examination of Comments for Statement One ... 56 Analysis of Comments for Statement One 58 Statistical Analysis for Statement One 58

v

vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS—Continued

Page

Section Two—Category I: Discovering—the Self 59 Interview Statement Number Two 59 Examination of Comments for Statement Two 61

Analysis of Comments for Statement Two 62 Statistical Analysis for Statement Two 62 Interview Statement Number Three 62 Examination of Comments for Statement Three 64

Analysis of Comments for Statement Three .... 65 Statistical Analysis for Statement Three .... 66 Interview Statement Number Four 66 Examination of Comments for Statement Four 68

Analysis of Comments for Statement Four .... 69 Statistical Analysis for Statement Four .... 69 Summary for Category I 70

Section Three—Category II: Relating—to Others 70 Interview Statement Number Five 71 Examination of Comments for Statement Five 71

Analysis of Comments for Statement Five .... 73 Statistical Analysis for Statement Five .... 74 Interview Statement Number Six 74 Examination of Comments for Statement Six 76

Analysis of Comments for Statement Six 77 Statistical Analysis for Statement Six 78 Interview Statement Number Seven 78 Examination of Comments for Statement Seven 78

Analysis of Comments for Statement Seven .... 81 Statistical Analysis for Statement Seven .... 82 Summary for Category II 82

Section Four—Category III: Actualizing— the Self 83 Interview Statement Number Eight 83 Examination of Comments for Statement Eight 85

Analysis of Comments for Statement Eight .... 86 Statistical Analysis for Statement Eight .... 86

vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS—Continued

Page

Interview Statement Number Nine 87 Examination of Comments for Statement Nine 87

Analysis of Comments for Statement Nine .... 90 Statistical Analysis for Statement Nine .... 90 Interview Statement Number 10 90 Examination of Comments for Statement 10 ... . 91 Analysis of Comments for Statement 10 94 Statistical Analysis for Statement 10 94 Summary for Category III 94

Additional Statistical Analysis 96

4. TWO EXAMPLES OF DIFFERING LEVELS OF SELF-ACTUALIZATION 101

Introduction 101 Example One 102 Example Two 108 Summary 113

5. FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 116

Findings of the Study 116 Discovering 120 Relating 12 0 Actualizing 121

Recommendations 122

APPENDIX A: MASLOW'S HIERARCHY OF HUMAN NEEDS IN PYRAMID FORM 127

APPENDIX B: THE SELF-ACTUALIZATION PROCESS 128

APPENDIX C: THE BEING VALUES 129

APPENDIX D: MEAN SCORES FOR ALL 10 STUDENTS 131

APPENDIX E: AVERAGES BY ITEMS AND BY CATEGORIES . . . . 132

APPENDIX F: TABLE OF CORRELATION COEFFICIENTS 133

APPENDIX G: STUDENT T-TESTS 134

TABLE OF CONTENTS—Continued

viii

Page

APPENDIX H: CONSENT FORM 142

APPENDIX I: CHANGES IN PERCEPTION OF SELF DURING AN ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL EXPERIENCE QUESTIONNAIRE 143

LIST OF REFERENCES 146

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Figure Page

1. A Model of the Theoretical Framework as Derived from the Related Literature 23

2. A Model of the Statements and Categories 55

3. Statement One: Changes in Self since Entering the Program 57

4. Statement Two: New Interests since Enrolling .... 60

5. Statement Three: New Goals since Entering the Program 63

6. Statement Four: New Ways of Learning since Enrolling 67

7. Statement Five: Communicating since Entering the Program 72

8. Statement Six: Accepting Behavior since Enrolling 75

9. Statement Seven: Sharing Behavior since Entering the Program 79

10. Statement Eight: Choicing since Entering the Program 84

11. Statement Nine: Expanding since Enrolling 88

12. Statement 10: Openness since Entering the Program 92

13. Two Examples of Discovering, Relating, and Actualizing Behaviors 115

ix

LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

1. Ethnic Representation as Percentages of Population 15

2. Sex Distribution 15

3. Age Distribution 15

4. Total Percentages for Positive, Unsure and Negative Responses 97

5. Total Score of Discovering, Relating and Actualizing with Deviation from an Ideal Score (10 x 1) 98

x

ABSTRACT

The focus of this study was the perception of students

concerning changes in self in an alternative secondary school en­

vironment. The problem statement was: What perceptions do cer­

tain students have regarding changes in self as a student upon

completion of their first year in an alternative secondary

school?

A review of the related literature indicated that there

may be three categories in the self-actualizing process. A theo­

retical framework was devised and consisted of the following

categories and subcategories: (1) Discovering the Self, (a) new

goals, (b) new interests, (c) new ways of learning; (2) Relating

to Others, (a) communicating, (b) accepting, and (c) sharing; and

(3) Actualizing the Self, (a) choicing, (b) expanding, and

(c) openness.

An interview schedule was constructed consisting of one

statement for each subcategory and one umbrella statement. Addi­

tionally, spaces were provided for comments, and these comments

were taped as well as written. The respondents were asked to se­

lect one of the five possible positions on the Likert scale which

most nearly represented their feelings and to make comments re­

garding that selection.

xi

xii

Thirty students were randomly selected from a group of 90

students entering an alternative school. Due to attrition, 23

were ultimately included as participants. The 23 .students were

interviewed in October to initiate a relationship which would be

personal and self-disclosing. Changes in perceptions of self

were measured in May.

The quantitative data for all 10 scaled response items

showed a pattern of clear agreement throughout. Discovering the

Self agreement was: discovering new interests, 82.81% agreement;

discovering new goals, 78.25% agreement; discovering new ways of

learning, 91.30% agreement. Overall category agreement was

84.5%.

Relating to Others agreement was: changes in communicat­

ing, 87.04% agreement; changes in accepting behavior, 78.25%

agreement; changes in sharing behavior, 73.90% agreement. Over­

all agreement was 83.03%.

Actualizing the Self agreement was: changes in choicing,

86.94% agreement; expanding, 86.94% agreement; and changes in

openness, 82.60% agreement. Overall agreement was 85.46%.

The qualitative data derived from the "comments" were

useful in ascertaining respondents' perceptions concerning the

"actualization" process. Under the category of Discovering the

Self, the students commented: new interests—taken on a new in­

terest in painting, developed a concern for personal autonomy,

created a skill in organizing self; new goals—set a goal of

xiii

graduation, avoid fearing failure, attending school, set higher

expectations of self; and new ways of learning—learn by doing,

by listening, by independent study, learn effective communica­

tions with teachers, learn how to learn.

Under the category Relating to Others, the students com­

mented: communicating—communicate better with teachers and par­

ents, communicate easier in alternative environment; accepting—

learned to accept all kinds of people, don't hate Blacks and

Mexicans now, not bothered by strange people now, it's all .right to

be different here; and sharing—not too shy to share here, find

myself helping people here, I'm involved, and the teachers are

sharing and caring.

Under the category of Actualizing the Self, the students

commented: choicing—making choice to stay in school, learning

to take the risk of choicing, choosing to do photography or to go

to college, accepting responsibility for choices; expanding—dis­

covering I'm a learner, learning to see myself more clearly,

growing in new ideas, developing more interests, experiencing

more, not afraid to try new things, learning to like math, learn­

ing to enjoy my growth; and openness—more open with people here,

still afraid, but learning to be open, to speak up, to accept

blame, to criticize the teacher, standing up for what I believe

in, seeing myself as more patient, learning to come out of my

world, to express myself.

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

For the past three decades a major trend in education has

been a humanistic orientation directed toward enhancing society

and the human condition. Considerable literature has appeared

treating such humanistic subjects as values clarification, demo­

cratic processes and related ethical and moral concerns. This

literature reexamined the underlying assumption regarding the

function and purpose of a school. A related problem of concern

to educators is what happens to the self during the classroom

processes. Although the subject is of considerable concern to

educators and psychologists, to date a limited amount of investi­

gations have been conducted on this subject. Furthermore, inves­

tigations in this area have dealt with conventional school

settings and have centered on self-concept, self-esteem, or self.

Few investigators have explored these three concepts among stu­

dents in alternative learning situations. Perrone (1972, p. 26)

stated:

There really has been little intensive evaluation of open classrooms. Part of the difficulty lies in the lack of instruments which measure adequately the goals of open education—critical thinking, independence in learning, trust, ability to face new problems with confidence, com­mitment to reading, and positive attitudes about learning.

1

2

A number of observational instruments are being developed, but they tend to call for judgments by the observers. And judgments of this kind seem to carry less weight in traditional testing circles then do "objective" testing, such as standardized achievement tests and I. Q.

Thus far studies of self in alternative learning situa­

tions focused on the elementary and middle school levels and have

utilized objective type inventories of various aspects of student

personalities with normed based criteria for assessment. Recent­

ly, however, studies have been conducted which have explored and

utilized a person's disclosures about his world and himself.

Jourard (1964, p. 29) stated:

Self-disclosure provides a source of information which is relevant. This information has often been over­looked. Where it has not been overlooked, it has often been misinterpreted by observers and practitioners through such devices as projection or attribution. It seems to be difficult for people to accept the fact that they do not know the very person whom they are confronting at any given moment.

Perrone, Jourard and similar studies exemplify a growing concern

in humanistic education in constrast to content approaches and

emphasize self-realization or self-actualization rather than

self-alienation.

A survey of the literature indicates that while there has

been both increased interest in humanistic alternative learning

situations and in research about self in learning environments,

little, inquiry was .conducted regarding students' perceptions of

self in alternative educational settings. With the expanding of

alternative schools into the mainstream of public education and

the utilization of alternative programs within traditional

schools has come the need for further description and assessment.

The problem this investigation was devised to consider was di­

rectly concerned with the perceptions of self by students in an

alternative environment.

Statement of the Problem

The purpose of this study was to investigate the follow­

ing question: What perceptions did certain students have re­

garding changes in self as a student upon completion of their

first year in an alternative secondary school program?

Statement of the Subproblems

The following subproblems were derived from the problem

above:

1. Has the person noticed any changes in self as a student

during the school year?

2. What changes have occurred in discovery of self, if number

one is so?

3. What changes have occurred in relating to others, if num­

ber one is so?

4. What changes have occurred in the actualizing process, if

number one is so?

Significance of the Problem

Some of the significant concepts of the alternative sec­

ondary schools include the importance of the individual, his

uniqueness, and his growth. Mason (1972, pp. 246-247) stated:

4

Inasmuch as the self is achieved, wrought out, or learned, school should provide an atmosphere where selves can develop in a healthy way. Children thrive better, so we are told, when relieved from intense competition, harsh discipline, fear of failure. Thus can each child grow to understand his own needs and values and take charge of the experiences for changing them. This way, self-evaluation is the beginning and end of the learning process; as learning proceeds, children become freely growing, non fearful, understanding individuals. In classrooms characterized by such atmosphere, young people proceed naturally and without fear, it is alleged, to be­come active, responsible, and trustworthy. There is no undue emphasis on obedience and conformity. Encourage­ment and acceptance by teachers foster trustworthiness and a sense of security. The protective overlay of defen-siveness which too often has characterized relationships between teachers and students is gone ....

Democracy, it is said, must be the soil in which the self-actualizating individual grows—not the democracy of the mediocre average but a democracy of unique individuals who value differences and respect one another. Children and young people come"to value difference and change, and also to share in mutual respect for the value of work and the creativity of man. Creativity does not grow through restraint and conformity,and authoritarian schooling can but produce conforming, not creative pupils . . . the fun­damental purpose of education is individual growth and self-actualization .... The teacher, committed to the view that all learning is self learning, believes that human beings want to grow .... An individual's behavior is a function of how he perceives himself and his world. The individual is continuously engaged in striving toward self-actualization or self-realization. Thus, a "fully functioning" or "adequate" person is characterized by his openness to all experience and his full acceptance of himself.

These concepts have been additionally explored by Fantini (1972),

Illich (1971), DeTurk (n.d.), Bremer and von Maschzisker (1971),

Kohl (1967), and Dennison (1969).

A major force behind the alternative school movement is

the branch of psychology called humanistic. Dr. Willis Harmon

(1971, p. 118) observed: "It is characteristic of the existential

humanistic perspective that education would be perceived as cen­

trally concerned with increasing the individual's capability to

actualize his own choice."

Maslow (1976, p. 162), whose ideas have significantly in­

fluenced alternative education, added:

Generated by this new humanistic philosophy is also a new conception of learning, of teaching, and of education. Stated simply, such concept holds that the function of education, the goal of education, the human goal, the humanistic goal, the goal so far as human beings are con­cerned is ultimately the "self actualization of a person, the becoming fully human, the development of the fullest height that a human species can stand up to or that a particular individual can come to.

Fitts (1971, p. 31) has supplemented the concept of self-

actualization in investigations of the relationship between

self-actualization and self-concept. He noted that the self-

concept can function as a criterion of self-actualization. He

(1970, p. 4) stated:

As one progresses toward self-actualization, self-esteem becomes more important than esteem from others. This requires that one get in closer touch with himself, own and experience his own feelings and urges, sort out his own goals and values, and find ways of being himself so that he earns his own self-esteem.

Young (1972, p. 10) reinforced these ideas by stressing the de­

velopment of the private self and remarked: "As man turns to new

sources of self, he will emerge more an individual and more human.

There has been, to date, virtually no agreed upon meth­

odology for assessment of self-perceived changes in self-

actualization levels of students in secondary alternative schools

Purkey (1970) and LaBenne and Green (1969) have agreed that there

is a relationship between self-concept and school achievement,

and that teachers need to consider teaching styles which will en­

hance the student's self-concept. They do not, however, relate

enhanced self-concept to the self-actualization process.

There is a lack of instrumentation designed either in

whole or in part to measure the self-actualization levels of sec­

ondary alternative school students. A search of the literature

revealed that one attempt to conduct this type of evaluation has

been made with self-actualizing values on the Shostrom (1966)

Personal Orientation Inventory. The inventory consists of num­

bered statements. The participant selects the statment most like

him/herself. The self-actualizing values on this instrument are

related to spontaneity, living by values, who determines values,

self-trust, the value of self-interest, bearing the consequences

of being one's self, dedication to work, the value of aloneness,

the difference between liking and approving of people, and basic

assumptions about the goodness of man. This inventory, however,

was a forced choice. High school type (i.e., conventional/

alternative) was not specified, and data on high school students

appeared to be derived from ancillary research (Weir 1965). It

was not made clear whether the data were based on high school

students or alcoholics in out-patient treatment.

One of the apparent problems is the methodology of social

science. Nagel (1961, p. 447) observed: . . in no area of

social inquiry has a body of general laws been established,

7

comparable with outstanding theories in the natural sciences in

scope of explanatory power or in capacity to yield precise and

reliable predictions." Mischel (1968, p. 300) in dealing with

this same problem remarked that: . . it is important to in­

clude the subject's own phenomenology and constructs as data

sources since he construes, abstracts, and experiences behavior,

as well as performing overtly, just as much as the psychologist

who tries to study him."

In view of these concerns about the function and goals of

alternative secondary education, it seems appropriate to ask

students what their perceptions are concerning changes in them­

selves as students in an alternative secondary school environ­

ment. For those recognizing a gap between the stated philosophy

and the associated behavior with the alternative learning environ­

ments, and specifically the lack of possible shifts in perception

of self, this study may be informative.

Assumptions Underlying the Problem

The following assumptions underly the problem:

1. All behavior, without exception, is completely determined

by and pertinent to the phenomenal field of the behaving

organism (Combs and Syngg 1949, p. 20).

2. The self's position, or self-concept, is important in the

phenomenal field (Kelly 1963, p. 40).

3. Students' statements about their perceptions or changes

in self constitutes valid data (Jersild 1952, p. 4).

8

4. Students will reveal their perceptions of self to an

interviewer.

Limitations of the Study

These limitations underly the problem:

1. The study was limited to one secondary alternative school

in the southwestern United States called Program NOW.

2. The study was limited to a selected number of students

who were in their first year in the alternative program.

3. The study was limited to verbal and written responses to

an interview schedule and did not involve behavioral

observations.

4. The study was descriptive in nature and causality was not

treated.

5. Academic performance or other ranking systems were not

considered.

Definitions of Terms

The following definitions were used in this study:

1. Self: "The self consists of, in part at least, the ac­

cumulated experiential background or backlog of the indi­

vidual. It has been built, since his life began, through

unique experiences and unique purpose, on the individual's

unique biological structure (Kelly 1963, p. 9)."

2. Self-concept: Self-concept consists of perceptions one

has of one's own behavior. It is a construct developed

by psychologists to help make these perceptions acces­

sible to study (LaBenne and Green 1969, p. 15).

3.' Self-esteem: Self-esteem is value that is placed on

one's behaviors by the self (Coopersmith 1967, p. 17).

4. Self-actualization: Self-actualization is the healthy

acceptance and expression of one's needs and interests

(Maslow 1968, p. 197).

5. Alternative secondary school: Schools which have more

student freedom and choicing than is available in a

traditional school setting. The classrooms and the

learning may be in the larger community and are designed

to encourage student development in individualized

activities (Fantini 1972, pp. 121, 123).

6. Content school: A content school is one which has a

fixed curriculum requirement incorporating a prescribed

body of knowledge to which students and faculty are ex­

pected to give priority.

7. Contact school: A contact school is one which gives

priority to personal processes and relationships as they

relate to interests and skills in a curriculum of ever

expanding options and alternatives.

Research Procedure

The research design and procedure employed in this study

are presented in this section. Because the construction of -the

theoretical framework and its three subcategories is complex,

10

considerable attention has been given to detailing the processes

by which these constructs have been assembled and categorized.

Research Procedures Outlined

The research procedures followed in this study are di­

vided into two sections:

1. Demographic data

2. Design of the study

a. Development of a model to assist in the organization

of data.

b. Administration of the instrument.

c. Method for treatment of the data.

Demographic Data

In this section, descriptions of the community, school

district, school, and the participating population are presented.

Proper names of persons and places .have been altered to insure

anonymity. Student participants are identified by pseudonyms.

The Community. This investigation was conducted in a

growing southwestern metropolitan area of approximately 475,000

persons. The population includes a diversity of ethnic groups,

and is known for its biculturalality because persons with Spanish

surnames represent 24% of the present population or 114,000.

Other ethnic groups are as follows: Indian, 2% or 9,500; 2%

Black or 9,500; 2% other ethnic groups, particularly Chinese and

Vietnamese. The total White population is 332,500. According to

11

current data, the estimated growth of the area will be a 30%

total increase by 1980. Major economic sources for the community

come from mining, tourism, light industry, agriculture, and edu­

cation, as well as from a large military base located at the edge

of the city.

The School District. The school district in this inves­

tigation is one of the largest in the state. The pupil enroll­

ment for the 1977-78 school year was 57,953. Ethnic groups were

represented during this period as follows: American Indian,

1,100 or 2%; Blacks, 3,100 or 5.3%; Spanish surname, 16,216 or

28%; other ethnics, 737 or 1.3%; and White, 63.4% or 36,740. The

total ethnic percentage was 36.6% or 21,213.

The Schools. There are nine conventional high schools in

the district. Many participants in the study had attended one of

these prior to admission to Program NOW. All participants in the

study had attended Program NOW from September to May when they

were interviewed regarding their perceptions of changes in them­

selves as students in that program. Program NOW is located in

the downtown metropolitan area in space designed for light indus­

try. It is also adjacent to a large university and to major bus

routes. The school was designed as an optional learning experi­

ence for students from the entire school district and the nine

high schools, but provided no transportation for these students.

Students who elected to enter this program came by bus, private

car or bicycle. The 1977-78 enrollment for Program NOW was 174

12

students. There were 150 Whites, one American Indian, 16 with

Spanish surnames, seven Blacks, and one Oriental.

A major purpose for Program NOW is to serve a population

whose needs are not being met in the traditional school setting.

The need for such a school was discovered by data from a student

survey and from talking to student volunteers who discussed their

feelings about the kind and form of education they were receiving.

The Task Force Statement of Recommendations for an Alternative

Secondary School Program (1972, p. 4) stated:

The phenomenologist views man as the source of his acts; he is free to choose in each situation. Since he is free to choose, education must help him develop the optimum process of choosing--of making decisions—and help him master the necessary knowledge and skills for that decision-making process .... We felt it was our obligation to take a stand, and we committed our­selves unanimously to making the phenomenological theory the predominant guide for planning the new school. This theory seemed to fit better with our concept of democra­cy and with our educational goals which will be listed subsequently.

In addition to Program NOW,this district has five other

alternative programs to serve students whose needs are not being

met in the traditional program. Overall, there are 19,890 high

school students in the district, of whom approximately 800 attend

the six alternative schools.

Selection and Description of Participants. The partici­

pants in this study were selected from all entering students on

the basis of a table of random numbers. There were 30 students

in the original sample in the Program NOW population. These stu­

dents were not a part of any pre-investigation interviewing and

13

were selected without replacement. Attrition during the school

year reduced the original sample to 23. The following reasons

were given for the attrition:

1. Two students moved to another state.

2. Two students dropped school due to pregnancy or family

problems.

3. Two students transferred to other high schools.

4. One student refused to keep scheduled appointments.

The participants had all attended Program NOW for at

least nine ynonths at the time of the study. The participants had

all attended conventional programs prior to their enrollment at

Program NOW, their first exposure to an alternative learning

environment.

The philosophy and objectives of Program NOW were devel­

oped over a period of nearly 10 years by a Task Force and the

faculty and staff as they worked together to implement a humanis­

tic, contact school. Their most recent report stated: "The hu­

man is more important than any material product or constraint.

Change is a natural process for humans and is facilitated by de­

liberate communication, problem solving, and interaction. Growth

is the process by which humans achieve their goals in the context

of the values of society (Program NOW Report 1976, n.p.)." The

objectives of the program were cited in the report as being: to

involve the student in his own learning; to involve him/her in

the processes of society to better understand them, and to enable

14

the student to assess his/her own values; to cultivate indepen­

dent thinking; to improve effective communication and reading;

to provide choices in curriculum and structure; to provide ever-

widening skills in choicing; to expand experiences; to encourage

a dedication to learning; and to establish an ongoing process of

evaluation.

In informal visits, teachers stated to the investigator

that they utilized a variety of methods to achieve these goals.

They used individualized, personalized methods, or they utilized

more structured classrooms depending on personal style, and sub­

ject and student requirements. As observed by the researcher,

there was open communication between staff, faculty and student,

and between students. The students were observed as setting up

their own goals, and making many choices about how they wanted to

facilitate their own learning. Teachers reported that faculty-

student evaluation was an important part of the overall process.

In numerous visits to Program NOW prior to the collection of

data, the researcher observed a relaxed and non-competitive at­

mosphere. Additionally, while the investigation was in progress,

the students reported a higher level of motivation than they ex-'

perienced in their previous content schools.

Ethnic, sex, and age groups of the students in the study

are shown in Tables 1, 2, and 3.

15

Table 1. Ethnic Representation as Percentages of Population

Ethnicity Percent

Anglo 87.00

Black 4.35

American Indian 4.35

Mexican American 4.35

Table 2. Sex Distribution

Male 65.00

Female 35.00

Table 3. Age Distribution

Age Percent

14 8.69

15 39.13

16 17.39

17 21.73

18 13.04

16

All participation and data contributions were voluntary.

Data concerning differences in sex and age related responses will

be presented in Chapter 3.

Design of the Study

Initially, a search of the literature related to the re- .

search question was conducted, seeking concepts useful in pro­

viding direction for the study. Secondly, concepts bearing on

self-actualization and alternative settings were organized into a

theoretical framework by which the study proceeded.

Formulation of the Instrument. Subjective reporting by

an individual is one effective way of discovering how a person

feels about himself and others. ". . . many behavioral scien­

tists ignore man's self . . . since it is essentially a private

phenomenon. Others, however, are not so quick to allocate man's

self to the limbo of the unimportant, and they insist that we

cannot understand man and his lot until we take his self into

account (Jourard 1964, p. 19)." Specific and detailed descrip­

tions of subjective perceptions concerning self-actualization,

especially as it may be presented in alternative learning environ­

ments, were somewhat limited. Yet, for many psychologists, such

quests for identity are highly significant, particularly those

studies starting from "experiential knowledge other than from

systems or concepts or abstract categories or a prioris.and where

research uses personal, subjective experience as the foundation

upon which abstract knowledge is built (Maslow 1968, p. 9).

17

Thirdly, drawing upon the investigator's theoretical

framework, a questionnaire was constructed concerning self-

actualization in an alternative learning encironment as per­

ceived by the student. Instrumentation employed in this study

was administered to the participants at the end of their first

year in an alternative school. The instrument was administered

as a learning process for the students in implementing the school

commitment to individual growth and self-actualization. Partici­

pation was voluntary. Instrumentally based data were collated

and categorized according to the theoretical framework of the

study.

Pilot Test. A fourth step in the study was the pilot

test. Prior to the use of the instrument with the actual partici­

pants, the interview schedule and response format were pilot

tested on a small population of young persons also attending Pro­

gram NOW. Results of the pilot tests showed that the interview

procedures required no special preparation for participation.

Several participants in the pilot group suggested minor wording

changes in the interview schedule phraseology for purposes of

greater clarity. The interview schedule was therefore revised

and reviewed by a panel of experts from the local university and

public school district.

Administration of the Instrument. The fifth step in the

study design involved the administration of the instrument. The

meetings to complete questionnaires were conducted after classes

18

at times convenient to the participants. The interviews were

conducted in an office within the alternative school building.

Each participant was dealt with individually. Each person had a

copy of the interview schedule^ and each categorical statement was

read aloud. Time was provided for participants to reflect on the

statements and they were then asked to respond to the instrument.

Responses to the instrument were tape recorded by the researcher,

although many participants also made comments in written form on

their questionnaire sheets.

The sixth step was the collation of the data.

In this investigation, the researcher and the partici­

pants experienced a non-anxious and enthusiastic relationship.

Only one participant seemed to experience discomfort with the in­

terview format; however, his initial anxiety seemed to ease

greatly after the informal intent of the interview situation be­

came clear to him. The participants appeared genuinely inter­

ested in responding to the interview schedule as completely as

they were able. The researcher's intent was to make contact in a

warm and personal way so that key factors in the experiences of

the first year students at Program NOW would be disclosed. A

major factor in the establishment of contact and the administra­

tion of the instrument was the investigator's attitude toward

reciprocity of disclosure; consistent with this attitude was the

conviction that disclosure concerning self tended to be most use­

ful when mutually experienced. According to Jourard (1964,

pp. 3, 16):

19

It is a simple, patent fact that when a man discloses his self, his inner experience to another, fully spon­taneously, and honestly, then the mystery that, he was decreases enormously. When a man discloses himself to me, I find all my preconceptions and beliefs about him becom­ing altered, one after the other, by the facts as they come forth—unless, of course, I have a vested interest in continuing to believe untruths about him.

Self disclosure appears to be one means, perhaps the most direct, by which self alienation is transformed into self realization. Man hides much of his real self—his experience—behind an iron curtain. Our evidence shows that this iron curtain melts like wax when it is exposed to the warm breath of love.

Treatment and Reporting of Data. The seventh step in the

study design was the organization of the data. The theoretical

framework developed in Chapter 2 was used to organize the study.

A eighth step was the analysis of data obtained. The

Likert scaled responses to each interview statement were recorded

and presented in Chapter 3 in terms of quantitative and qualita­

tive results.

The final step was the presentation of the data. In the

first section of Chapter 3, quantitative analyses included:

(1) reporting of percents of agreement/disagreement, (2) report­

ing of mean scores for each statement. Also contained in section

one were descriptive analyses of the content of responses to each

statement.

Section two of Chapter 3 contains additional quantitative

reports of the data in terms of correlations within and between

interview statements and theoretical framework categories.

20

Section three presents data reported in terms of the age and sex

of the participants. A student t-test was performed to determine

homogeneity of the population by age and sex. Section four pre­

sents comparisons between hypothetical or ideal and actual

responses.

CHAPTER 2

RESUME OF RELATED LITERATURE

Introduction

While there is a considerable body of literature avail­

able on self-perceptions of the American population at large

(Combs and Syngg 1949; Combs 1962; Fitts 1971), there is signifi­

cantly less concerning students in the traditional school setting

and still less regarding students in alternative high school sys­

tems. In two computer searches of recent literature, only four

studies were found which concerned self, self-concept, and atti­

tudes in alternative schools. These four studies explored changes

in self at the elementary and middle school levels. Most of what

has been written on actualization of self has been drawn from

non-school group experiences and therapy (Post 1969; Ware and

Barr 1977; Feddell and Busky 1975; Finando 1977; Reddy and Beers

1977). Research on alternative schools thus far has been limited

to comparison studies with traditional schools using academic per­

formance and self-concept as the criteria for comparison (Groob-

man, Farward, and Petersen 1976; Dunn 1978; Klaff and Docherty

1975; Ruedi and West 1973).

The focus of this study, however, did not lie in the aca­

demic or external evaluative realms, but rather was concerned with

21

22

student perceptions of changes in the internal self during ini­

tial experience in an alternative secondary school program.

The three following terms or categories constitute the

framework by means of which this investigation was organized,

conducted, and reported:

Discovering—the self

Relating—to others

Actualizing—the self

Figure 1 presents the theoretical framework terms in

model form. In the discussion which follows, these three cate­

gories structure the discussion.

Discovering—the Self

In discovering the individuality of self, it is important

to distinguish and clarify the concept of individuality from the

concept of individualism. Individualism is basically defined as

a doctrine wherein the interests of the individual take prece­

dence over those of society. In contrast, individuality is seen

as an aggregate of distinguishable personal attributes, in no way

inferring that a person does not function as a concerned member

of society. The implication of individualism, that each man can

function alone, is contrary to the philosophical assumptions of

the humanistic psychologists from whom the alternative schools

draw many of their ideas.

23

p Self

Possible RELATING Activities

Possible DISCOVERING Activities:

.Communicating

.Sharing

.Accepting

.New Interests

.New Goals

.New Ways of Learning Ever

Expan Limits

Possible ACTUALIZING Activities:

Choicing Expanding .Openness

Ever ding

Limits

Ever Expanctiuy LiudTEs to Self

Figure 1. A Model of the Theoretical Framework as Derived from the Related Literature

24

Concerning individualism, Montagu (1962, p. 62) stated,

"Individualism is a sickness because it is disorder of a system,

the human organism, which is originally organized and oriented in

the direction of relatedness—the very opposite and contradiction

of individualism." Montagu (1962, p. 62) further the importance

of relating as an individual in society when he noted, "Every

human being necessarily forms a network of social interrelation­

ships from which he cannot possibly extricate himself without do­

ing considerable harm, both to himself and his society in the

process."

Alternative schools typically stress the individuality of

the student. This assumes that each person has his own unique

set of values, goals, learning styles, learning time, system of

self, self-esteem, interests, and ways of actualizing himself at

the secondary school level. Such applies in the case of the

Program NOW and in no way infers that students exist outside of

society. These assumptions, by means of which the alternative

schools are typically organized are supported by Illich (1971)

who maintained that productive education is one which maximizes

both freedom and individual development. This stressing of in­

dividual development in the alternative schools is a different

type assumption from that under which most traditional schools

are organized. Many traditional schools, according to Andrews

(1975, p. 16):

25

. . . continue to be dominated by what might be called the intellectual prejudice. Knowledge is the overriding purpose; vertical and sequential learning its means. Much of our education today—including art, music, dance drama, and poetry—is characterized by a predominantly verbal discursive, logical, linear mode of learning and knowing. Its intent is to promote re­spondent rather than operant behavior.

This respondent learning tends to be group rather than

individually oriented. Alternative schools, on the other hand,

tend to be committed to individualized teaching and place the em­

phasis on student self-development. This puts the focus on pro­

cess rather than on the content of education. Riordan (1972,

p. 10) noted:

This emphasis is consistent with the general empha­sis in alternative schools, which frequently develop out of a concern with the so-called hidden curriculum; the effect of the structure and process of schooling indepen­dent of school curriculum content. Therefore, their con­cern is not so much with designing effective learning

. packages, but with creating a setting where students can play an active, creative role in deciding the direction their education should take.

Jules Henry (1972, p. 73) who was somewhat critical of

traditional education stated, "Education can be looked at from

the standpoint of the adult educator and from that of the child

who is learning. The adult typically wants to do something to

the child and sees education as a process through which the child

should become what the adult wants him to be." Generally, the

adult wishes the student to conform to societal expectations.

Henry (1972, p. 10) added:

How does society make people excruciatingly sensitive to the possibilities of and dangers in losing reputation, and how does society make one sensitive to one's

26

vulnerability? It is done through placing reputation— the social person—in the center of consideration and making reputation destiny; by degrading the inner self to second, third or merely adventitious place, and making the social facade supreme, so that at every step the self will be sacrificed to the facade.

Henry tended to see traditional schools as being overly concerned

with the social self to the detriment of the development of the

inner, personal self. Fromm (1955) noted that only a few people

come forth from our system with a sense of identity. He (1955,

p. 63) stated:

. . . the development of Western culture went in the direction of creating the basis for the full experience of individuality. By making the individual free politi­cally and economically, by teaching him to think for him­self and freeing him from an authoritarian pressure, one hoped to enable him to feel "I" in the sense that he was the center and active subject of his powers and experi­enced himself as such. But only a minority achieved the new experience of "I.TT For the majority, individualism was not much more than a facade behind which was hidden the failure to acquire an individual sense of identity.

The lack of an individual sense of identity results in

what is termed alienation—a problem in today's society and a

constant concern in traditional schools (Wynne 1978). Regarding

alienation, Jourard (1964, p. 11) noted that:•

. . . our public selves become so estranged from our real selves that the net consequence is self-alienation: we no longer know our real selves. Our disclosures re­flect, not our spontaneous feelings, thoughts, and wishes, but rather pretended experience which will avoid punish­ment and win unearned approval .... We say things we do not believe. When self-alienation, which I believe is the consequence of what I call pseudo-self-disclosure, has proceeded far enough, the individual loses his soul, literally.

27

To counter this sense of alienation, humanistic psychol­

ogy has postulated a new theory of self, or new concepts of human

potentiality. As Combs (1962, p. 2) noted:

Instead of looking at human adjustment as a matter of averages, some social scientists are seeking to define the crowning achievement in human growth and development. They have asked, "What kind of person would it be who has truly achieved the ultimate in self-realization; what sort of man shall we strive for?" They are seeking to discover what people would be like who have achieved high degrees of self-actualization, of psychological freedom— the maximum fulfillment of their potentialities .... The fullest possible flowering of human potential is the business of education. It is our reason for being.

In considering the term individuality of self, the rela­

tionship between a person's perceptions of the world and his in­

teraction with the world is important. This is closely tied to

a person's concept of himself. Fitts (1971, p. 3) noted that

"the importance of self-concept is illustrated by the fact that

not only is the self-concept the most prominent aspect of the

individual phenomenal world, but it also tends to be the most

stable feature." Fitts (1971, p. 3) then stated, "furthermore,

the self-theory holds that the self-concept is the frame of ref­

erence through which the individual interacts with his world."

A positive view of self can be learned from the ways peo­

ple treat the learner. Combs (1962, p. 104) stated that "school

rooms will need to be places where process and content can dy­

namically assist people to become more knowing about both the

self and the world." "However," he (1962, p. 91) added, "there

are factors which bar the self from the classroom. One of these

28

is our society's fetish of objectivity." This has been con­

firmed by May (1958, p. 38) who said, "In .our Western Culture the

belief prevails that a thing or experience is not real if we can­

not make it mathematical and somehow it must be real if we can

reduce it to a number." Kohl's view of education and the class­

room is even more critical. He (1978, p. 10) stated:

Most of public schools seem more like kennels than places of instruction, and the service they provide is more like obedience training than preparation for future citizenship. Principals, counselors, psychologists and administrators are there to ensure student conformity and compliance—and now an entire arsenal of control devices is at their disposal, ranging from behavior modification to the traditional paddleboard to the more recent solu­tion of drugging "hyperactive" children by using Ritalin.

The emerging philosophy of alternative education is not

amenable to the standardization and objectifying of the student.

It emphasizes the person as an individual and accepts each person

as a unique being. Carl Rogers (1961, p. 53) has noted the dan­

gers in standardization and classification of students:

If I accept the other person as something fixed, al­ready diagnosed and classified, already shaped by his past, then I am doing my part to confirm this limited hypothesis. If I accept him as a process of becoming, then I am doing what I can to confirm or made real his potentialities.

Discovery of self, or becoming, as Rogers termed it, can there­

fore be limited by the predispositional attitudes of others.

Moustaskas (1956, p. 282) elaborated on this when he stated:

In an emotional climate conducive to growth of self, the individuality of the person is completely accepted, a reality in which doubt is impossible. There is an ef­fort to understand the true nature of the individual's

29

experience in his own terms, in communion, through em­pathy. The individual's point of view is regarded as substantial, as the most real and valid way of knowing him. In such a setting, the meanings that experiences have for others are listened to with warmth and "objec­tivity," seeing another's experiences through his own personal perceptions.

Not only must one not presume attitudes about the other

self, but one must attempt to rediscover the uniqueness of one's

own values in this new humanistic atmosphere. Regarding the mat­

ter of rediscovering one's personal values, May (1953, p. 79)

noted:

It is rediscovering the sources of strength and in­tegrity within ourselves. This, of course, goes hand in hand with discovery and affirmation of values in our­selves and in our society which will serve as the core of unity. But no values are effective, in a person or a society, except as there exists in the person's prior capacity to do the valuing, that is, the capacity actively to choose and affirm the values by which he lives.

Alternative programs possibly contribute in avoiding the

problems of standardizing the individual, and enhance the quali­

ty of values choosing. DeTurk (n.d., p. 39) noted:

The alternative school is one hope, perhaps the last hope, of providing all young people with a reasonable education. That is not because the alternative school provides all students with superior learning, but because the alternative school concept stands as a symbolic challenge for all schools—public, or private—to meet the needs of all individuals.

The concept of providing for all individuals is important because,

as has been mentioned, each person enters school with his own in­

dividual concept of himself and research has shown that this has

an impact on the way the student learns. LaBenne and Green

30

(1969, p. 32) stated, "It is important for educational praction-

ers to keep in mind . . . that the child's self is not unalterab­

ly fixed, but is modified by every life experience both in and

out of the classroom, at least through the maturing years."

Combs (1962, p. 105) added that,

. . . the classroom climate must be one with a deep respect for the uniqueness of the individual; negative, self-damaging kinds of experience force people to crawl deeped into their existing positions, to build shells around themselves, and do not permit the open outgoing exploration and discovery required for the production of a fully functioning positive self.

Okum (1977) corroborated Combs' position and observed that ado­

lescence was the most vulnerable time in the process of self-

concept formation. He (1977, p. 378) stated:

This self consciousness and apprehension about how others see him reflects the tenuous and somewhat un­stable nature of the developing self-theory. Similar to new scientific theories, the new self-theory is particu­larly vulnerable to disconfirming evidence. Alternative­ly, we see in the adolescent the concern for gathering critical evidence to support the developing self-theory. Thus, getting a driver's license or "the first date" can become immensely significant and emotional affairs be­cause they are critical empirical evidence for important postulates in the self-theory; for example, "I am com­petent" and "I am desirable to the opposite sex." These experiences parallel the critical experiments upon which new scientific theories are often built.

Not only does each child have a unique view of self, he

seems to have a unique way in which he learns. Carl Rogers

1-969, p. 158), a proponent of alternative schools, stated that,

. . . significant learning takes place when the sub­ject matter is perceived by the student as having rele­vance for his purposes. A somewhat more formal way of

31

stating this is that a person learns significantly only those things which he perceives as being involved in the maintenance of an enhancement of his own self.

Closely related to the uniqueness of individual learning

styles is the role teachers can play in the process of self-

discovery for the student. Maslow (1976, p. 31) has insisted

that a model of humanistic teaching needs to be one charac­

terized by uncovering and unleashing the self as opposed to a

model emphasizing creating and shaping the self. The literature

seems to indicate, with Maslow, that the notion of self-

discovery needs to be recognized as a crucial factor in the

learning process. Jersild (1952, p. 101) called for a recogni­

tion of the importance of self-discovery on the part of teachers

". . . the learner's life at school and his relationships with

his instructors and his peers have a profound psychological im­

pact on his way of life." Jersild noted the school as being

second only to the home as a place where social forces which in­

fluence a child's attitude toward himself are concentrated.

In summary, the following points emerged--discovering—

the individuality of self was revealed in the literature as an

important factor in learning:

1. Discovering . . . self has been seen as an expanding

awareness of personal interests, values, and needs,

significant for the learning process is that real learn­

ing occurs best where the activity is perceived by the

learners as having relevance for his purposes.

32

2. Discovering . . . the individuality of self was seen as

important to learning in that an understanding, an ac­

ceptance of self are prerequisites for healthy relation­

ships with others and an integral part of the

self-actualization process.

3. Similarly, lack of discovering the individuality of self

can result in a sense of alienation detrimental to the

learning process since self-concept is the framework with

which the individual interacts with the world.

4. In educational setting which concern themselves with con­

formity and compliance, opportunities for the discovery

of self tend to be limited.

• 5. Finally, since adolescence was described as a most vul­

nerable time in the process of self-concept formation,

the literature suggested that attention to discovering

during adolescence could be significant in the learning

process.

Relating—to Others

A second category prominent in the literature is the con­

cept of relating to others. In general, writers concerned about '

alternative schools saw relating as very important, along with

self-discovery.

Man lives in society, not in isolation, and in many ways

defines himself by how he relates to groups (Young 1972). How­

ever, individuality, the uniqueness of self, and the valuing of

33

self all are prerequisites to healthy relationships with others.

Laing (1960, p. 45) observed that: "A firm sense of one's own

autonomous identity is required in order that one may be related

as one human to another.1' Jourard (1968, p. iv) provided addi­

tional insights about relating to others, and the inherent prob­

lems in relating when he noted:

A man's life begins to lose in meaning most rapidly when he becomes estranged from his fellows, then they become strangers to him, and when he lets himself become a stranger to them; when he distrusts others so much he misleads them into thinking they know him when, in fact, he knows that they do not and cannot.

The literature indicated that alternative education seeks

to provide an environment for a personal relationship that can be

productive. According to Kohl, traditional school climate has

not been conducive to genuine relationships. Kohl (1969, p. 29)

remarked: "In most classrooms there is no place for argument or

conflict, nor is there time for teachers and pupils to learn how

to live with and listen to each other. There is no give and take.

The students direct their talk to the teacher and obey the teach­

er's rules."

If students are to relate productively to each other,

then the educational setting must be arranged for this to happen.

Teachers must assume qualities which facilitate learning and re­

lationships with others. Rogers (1969, p. 106) put it thus:

Perhaps the most basic of these essential attitudes is realness or genuineness. When the facilitator is a real person, being what he is, entering into a relation­ship with the learner without presenting a front or a

34

facade, he is more likely to be effective. This means that the feelings which he is experiencing are available to his awareness that he is able to live these feelings, to them, and able to' communicate them if appropriate. It means that he comes into a direct personal encounter with the learner, meeting him on a person-to-person basis. It means that he is being himself, not denying himself.

In all situations, not just the classroom, man has a need

for relationships with others. Maslow (1968, p. 2 03) has dis­

cussed this saying: "There is a general need for community, for

interdependence, for family, for fellowship and for brother­

hood." Martin Buber (1965) viewed all real life as an encounter

or meeting to which a man must bring his whole being, his gen­

uine self. He had a concern about dialogue, and he termed it

the "I and Thou relationship." About education he (1965, p. 91)

said:

Communion in education is just communion, it means being opened up and drawn in. Freedom in education is the possibility of communion; it cannot be dispensed with and it cannot be made use of in itself; without it nothing succeeds, but neither does anything succeed by means of it; it is the run before the jump, the tuning of the violin; the confirmation of the primal and mighty potentiality which it cannot even begin to actualize.

Certain writers have indicated that there is a philosophy

behind alternative education. For example, Fantini (1972, p. 4)

has defined this philosophy by saying the purpose of alternative

schools was "to humanize the experience for those involved."

In the educational setting, relating to others has been

viewed in different ways by various writers. Zapf viewed it as

"democratic process." She (1959, p. 406) said, "It is the sharing

35

of power and respect." Barnes (1977) viewed the democratic

learning process in five stages: contacting, consulting, find­

ing, sharing and accompanying. Regarding self in personal rela­

tionships, he (1977, pp. 86-87) stated:

Under the self in personal relationships, we talk of the intent we have in behaving in the classroom. We hope that these intents are continuously reflected in our behavior as we relate to people. They are: (1) My intent is to live this moment fully, not in the past, and not in the future, (2) my intent is to enjoy, not judge and control other persons, and (3) my intent is to relate to others in a warm, personal, and productive way.

'Another view of the teacher-learner relationship in the

literature was one presented by Amidon and Flanders (1967, p. 3).

They identified some important skills needed by teachers. Some

of these are: ability to accept and clarify emotional expression

and the ability to relate emotional expression to ideas. They

terms these "indirect teacher influences" and appeared to value

this more than the "direct teacher influence." Brown (1971) has

constructed the term "confluent education" to indicate another

type of personal relationship. He noted that including the af­

fective emotions, feelings, values, and character, could make the

difference between a "sick" society and a "healthy" one. Brown

(1971, p. 8) observed:

The greatest potential for change and significant im­provement in our individual predicaments and in our dilem­ma as a society lies in the school. It is the one institution in Western civilization outside the family that most profoundly affects the human condition. It is also the institution that, although resistant, is the most practical in which to innovate. Up to this point, with certain exceptions because of the dedication and skill of

36

some teachers and administrators, schools at best have had a vacuous influence on their students. At worst, however, schools can create a hell on earth and an at­titude of personal despair for some of those constrained within. Once a student is categorized and classified, it is psychologically and practically almost impossible for him to break out of his category. Once branded "slow" or a "failure," he is immutably branded.

In order to avoid this "branding," and to bring about a

closer personal relationship, the alternative school tends to

show a pattern of teachers in contact with students and students

in contact with other students. Ideally, this is a two way

street and students are also in contact with teachers in the al­

ternative school setting. What develops is teacher-student com­

munication about each other's worlds. True individuality emerges

as one senses a stronger feeling of himself, and therefore is

better prepared to relate to others. Jourard perceived relating,

especially to a significant other, as a necessity. He (1964,

p. 25) stated: "When I say that self-disclosure is a symptom of

personality health, what I mean really is that a person who dis­

plays many of the other characteristics that betoken healthy per­

sonality will also display the ability to make himself fully

known to at least one other significant human being."

Shostrom viewed relating to others as a process of inter­

dependence. He (1972, p. 16) remarked: "Doing your own thing is

not enough; we cannot risk not seeking out those significant

others. Independence is not my thing. For me, full reality is

interdependence. To achieve this goal requires risk-taking,

seeking out, and communicating with others."

37

Various writers viewed alternative education as that part

of the education system which takes the philosophies cited and

puts them into practice in a living learning situation. Many

schools appear not to offer opportunity for such a continuity of

learning-relating. DeTurk (n.d., p. 16) claimed:

We assume that structure of schooling is generally recognized as resilient. Creative educational ideas in schools are usually sifted through a filter of compro­mise and efficiency, grinding out curricular and organi­zation changes that consist of disconnected little pieces shaped to an existing mold. Changes in schools are analogous to a jigsaw puzzle being recut.

Smith (1976, p. 48), who commented on relating in alter­

native education, said: "In schools, particular programs or ar­

rangements or organizational patterns are not important. The

important thing is the human element—teachers who combine a

sense of humanity and justice in dealing with young people with

the requisite knowledge and teaching skills."

Relating to others has a broader definition than simply

the relationships of teachers to students and vice versa; it is

also relating to the community of which the school is a part. In

education, it has been accepted that schools are a microcosm of

their respective community. Traditional schools are representa­

tive in some senses; but to be truly representative, it is neces­

sary for them to assist the students to understand the values and

processes outside the classrooms and schools. John Dewey (1968,

p. 145), who has influenced first progressive education and then

alternative education, observed:

38

Much of the present education fails because it neg­lects this fundamental principle of the school as a form of community life. It conceives the school as a place where certain information is to be given, where certain lessons are to be learned, or where certain habits are to be formed. The value of these is conceived as lying largely in the remote future; the child must do these things for the sake of something else he is to do; they are mere preparations. As a result they do not become a part of the life experience of the child and are not truly educative.

Relating to the community is an important component of

relating to others. It is here that the alternative education

has taken the viewpoint that learning takes place wherever there

is a student and something which interests him. It is what Combs

(in Combs and Syngg 1949, p. 371) called the "personal meaning"

in learning. The student very often will find personal meaning

by exploring in the community. The concept of the "School with­

out Walls" is an example of this new emphasis. Bremer and von

Maschzisker (1971, p. 25) stated about the Philadelphia Parkway

Program: "Among the beliefs upon which the Program is founded is

the conviction that education must become more open. The most

important result of this belief is to remove the students from

the conventional rectangular boxed school building. To learn

about the community one must get out into the community."

Baker (1976, p. 12 5) has supported this concept in the

literature when he said: "Opening up schools by creating curric­

ula in the community and as a part of the community constitutes

the essential mode of this new educational concept."

39

DeTurk (n.d., p. 22) added: "The alternative school will

thus endeavor to eliminate the boundaries that traditional

schools tend to develop—boundaries between schools, between par­

ents and school, between subjects, between training and experi­

ence, between time schedules, between classrooms."

Williams viewed community resources as a step toward re­

vitalizing and improving the teaching-learning processes. She

(1975, p. 8) commented:

For example, community resources can: encourage learning by inquiry and discovery . . . become a bridge between the work of the school and the work of the world outside . . . strengthen motivation for learning . . . provide opportunity to learn out in the workaday world . . . extend the range of learning experiences . . . provide change and variety . . . improve the effective­ness of other instructional materials . . . build re­spect for people and for excellence wherever it may be found.

Understanding the community, as a part of relating, does

not imply that the student is pressed into comforming to communi­

ty values and norms. Rather, it means that he critically ex­

amines these values and norms (Cremin 1976, p. 58). Out of his

social context the student can make choices to determine the di­

rection of his own life (Hook 1963, p. 191). The direction of

involvement may be toward improving the quality of community

life—its processes and its values.

In relating to others, whether it be to a student, a

teacher or the community, communication is vital to the process.

Combs (in Combs and Syngg 1949, p. 31) has termed it sharing

40

another's perceptual world. It is through this communicating and

sharing that understanding comes about. Communicating is partic­

ularly important in a community with many sub-cultures because

the perceptual worlds are vastly different. Combs (in Combs and

Snygg 1949, p. 95) stated:

Even the same objective events may be perceived with varying degrees of differentiation in different cultures. Though we have only one word to describe snow, the Eskimo has several words to designate varying conditions and properties .... There are differences between the perception of rural and urban, children from the North and children from the South, from the mountains and the valley, from seaboard and plains. Nor are such differ­ences confined to children. Adults, too, are limited in their perceptions by environmental factors.

Baughman insisted that communication was one of the needs

of youth. He (1972, p. 12) noted:

The aspect of communications to be emphasized here does not concern technology, rather, it concerns empathy and mutual understanding. Self-expression, verbal and nonverbal, is important to young people. At its best, it is genuine and untainted with formality and subter­fuge. It behooves adults to listen with the third ear; youth, though, should do the same. Communication im­passes are without doubt a major deterrent to full growth and development of the young in all areas of liv­ing. We do not often say what we mean, and we seldom receive the other fellow's message as it was intended. Communications among people are most likely represented by wavy lines or circles, whereas best communications are direct and open.

To improve communications, someone must let this guard down and create an open atmosphere for sharing ideas and feelings. New modes of understanding are needed. Someone has to behave more philsophically with an approach which is flexible, penetrating, and compre­hensive. Who should be first to do it?. We, the older ones, should make the first move.

41

Relating to the community, understanding it and being in­

volved in it does more than enhance learning. Accordingly,

Jennings and Nathan (1977, p. 568) wrote: "Virtually every eval­

uation of alternative schools using standardized tests students

are shown to be doing, as well as or better than students in a

traditional school. Perhaps, more important, they feel much bet­

ter about themselves. They demonstrate more positive attitudes

toward school and learning."1 (Underlining mine.)

In summary, the relating process discussed in the litera­

ture presupposed that being an autonomous, unique individual was

necessary for the productive, fully functioning human being.

Concerning the learning process, relating was viewed as signifi­

cant in that:

1. In order for students to relate productively to each

other, the educational setting must be arranged for this

to happen. The educational setting also must include the

behavior of teachers in their personal relationships with

learners.

2. Relating to others also included the ability to disclose

the self to others and involved a significant element of

risk taking. The setting must include opportunities for

these abilities to develop.

3. Relating to others also included the broader idea of re­

lating to the community, wherein students have opportuni­

ties to become involved with and critically examine

values and norms surrounding them. The revitalized edu­

cational setting then becomes an experience place, a

process, even extending opportunities for further under­

standing, clarification, and acceptance of others.

4. As with discovering, adolescense was viewed as a crucial

period in the formation of relating skills which include

communicating and sharing as well as those mentioned

above.

5. Finally, the literature suggested that alternative educa­

tional settings emphasizing relating to others were bene­

ficial to learner self-concept and student attitudes

regarding school and learning.

Actualizing—the Self

The self has been defined as a complex pattern of behavior

• which has two parts: the social self and the personal or psycho­

logical self. Actualizing the self is the healthy acceptance of

one's needs and the expression of these needs and interests.

Discovering the self has been defined as discovering the individ­

ual and personal needs and interests. Maslow (1968, p. 2 03)

stated that man does have a need for relating, and it has been

defined as accepting, sharing and communicating. He has termed

this need for relating as interdependence.

The manner in which man satisfies these needs and inter­

ests and relationships is either healthy and productive, or non-

healthy and non-productive. Basically, the healthy person is

43

making real his potential—his potential humanness. The proces­

ses of discovering the self—one's uniqueness—and relating to

others in a growth producing way inevitably leads to the third

category of actualizing the self.

The aim of alternative education is to assist in the un­

folding of a student's potentials—to actualize these potentials.

Actualizing is not static, but a process which can be facilitated

in the choicing environment such as alternative education seeks

to be. Freedom and choicing appear to be the two essential in­

gredients of this new educational atmosphere where growth is the

goal.

Maslow, Rogers, Combs, and Kelley have all influenced al­

ternative education. These writers agreed on many features of

the healthy person. Rogers (1961, pp. 107-124) has used the

words being, becoming, openness, and trusting. Combs (in Combs

and Snygg 1949, pp. 237-264), who called the healthy person an

"adequate personality," termed him efficient, creative, autono­

mous, and compassionate. Kelley (1962, pp. 9-21) has concurred

with Rogers, who preferred that the healthy person be called

"fully functioning." Both Rogers and Kelley have said that the

healthy person is always in a state of becoming—growing and ex­

panding—and trusting of himself and others. Maslow (1968,

pp. 189-214) has agreed with the foregoing writers concerning

most attributes of the healthy person, including a positive view

of self, growing, expanding, using his potential, experiencing,

44

creating, commitment, and respecting self. He supplies the ad­

ditional attributes, features of responsibility, peak experi­

ences, and essential (B-Values) values. Under the term

responsibility, Maslow (1976, p. 42) appeared to imply the con­

cept of commitment by noting:

Self-actualizing people are, without one single ex­ception, involved in a cause outside their own skin, in something outside themselves. They are devoted, working at something, something which is very precious to them— some calling or vocation in the old sense, the priestly sense. They are working at something which fate has called them to somehow and which they work at and which they love, so that the work-joy dichotomy in them dis­appears. One devotes his life to the law, another to justice, another to beauty or truth. All, in one way or another, devote their lives to the search for what I have called the "being" values (B for short), the ultimate values which are intrinsic, which cannot be reduced to anything more ultimate. There are about 14 of these B-Values, including the truth and beauty and goodness of the ancients and perfection, simplicity, comprehensive­ness, and several more.

This "beyond actualization," as Maslow called one chapter, was

shared by Frankel (1967), Coles (1977), Kohlberg (1975) and

Wilson (1977), who suggested that one needs to go beyond actual­

izing one's potential to commitment to a cause outside one's

self and for a search for meaning. These writers all appear to

agree that there is a set of values (or should be) common to

the fully human being or the most fully human being.

Combs (1962) stressed that the self-actualizing person

does have a commitment to his fellow man, although he does not

talk about the values of this self-actualizing person. He (1962,

p. 165) said:

45

Fully functioning people have a feeling of oneness with their fellow man and a conviction that all human beings are involved in man's destiny. They seem acutely aware that what happens to other people has an effect on what happens to them. This does not imply conformity or sameness, since adequate people have little fear of not being their unique selves.

Meaning is found for the adequate person in his commitment to

other human beings. One additional writer, Erich Fromm (1947,

pp. 90-113), postulated a "productive character" who is similar

to the self-actualizing person.

The self-actualizing person who seeks a society which

promotes growth may at times find himself in conflict with the

values and norms of his own culture. This was the case with

Frankel (1967) who found himself in conflict with Hitler in 1940.

Jules Henry (1965, p. 284) observed that not only must one con­

serve culture but one must also change it. He particularly urged

changes which would bring about a healthier, saner culture.

Young (1972) agreed with Henry when he urged man to seek new,

healthier, groups by which to define the self.

Toffler (1970, pp. 398-427) observed that a new concept

of man was needed for the year 2 000. Harmon (1971, p. 119)

stressed that the future man must not be an economic man but a

self-actualizing one. John Dewey (1968), who greatly influenced

alternative education, argued for a school which had essentially

a political role, making it a basic instrument for social change.

He (1968, p. 367) wrote, "Education is the fundamental method of

social progress and reform." Dewey's idea was further developed

46

by Brameld, who believed that one of the roles of the school was

to teach responsibility for change. Brameld (1956, p. 164)

stated: "This philosophy seeks above all to develop a kind of

education that can contribute powerfully to rebuilding, not

merely perpetuating hitherto dominant cultural, structures, hab­

its, and attitudes." The literature seemed to indicate that the

ideas of both Dewey and Brameld have influenced alternative edu­

cation (Fantini 1972). The self-actualizing person is one who

can "identify community problems and possible solutions to these

problems (Program NOW Report 1976, n.p.)." It appears from that

statement "that education in a democracy is a consciously direct­

ed movement in a progressively developing society (Dewey 1968,

pp. 367)."

Dewey's idea reaffirmed that the self-actualizing person

is a choicing one, choosing the best his culture has to offer,

disagreeing if necessary to stay in touch with his inner self,

and making commitment for change which is more conducive for

psychological health and growth. Maslow (1968, p. 198) said:

Education must be directed then both toward cultiva­tion of controls—cultivation of spontaneity and expres­sion. In our culture, and at this point in history, it is necessary to redress the balance in favor of sponta­neity, and ability to be expressive, passive, unwilled, trusting, in processes other than will and control, un­premeditated, creative, etc.

Within the literature concerned with alternative educa­

tion, the attributes mentioned above, such as commitment to

47

accepting the inner self, balanced with commitment to one's fel­

low man, and a growth producing society seem to be prominent.

As with Combs, alternative educational commitments seemed

to reach for those conditions which permitted self-actualization.

These conditions were the same ones that permitted a more posi­

tive view of self. Combs (1962, p. 105) listed the following:

"A respect for uniqueness of self, open communication, individu­

alized instruction, mutual humane evaluation and assessment, and

most important, growing and self-actualizing teachers."

Moustakas continued this theme by adding that the authen­

tic teacher could alter the classroom climate. He (1966, p. 17)

added:

Being open to the inherent life in the classroom means first of all being open to one's inner life as a person; it means centering oneself in evolving perceptions and po­tentialities which come to.fulfillment in living itself; it means being aware of human values as well as intellec­tual and social values; it means being open to the unfold­ing process in learning and to values and meanings which include but transcend facts or techniques; it means let­ting each person be himself, encouraging and valuing in­dividuality and letting it shine forth. It means recognizing the child as a valuable being in his own authonomy and independence and understanding the child through listening, communion and genuine presence. It means respecting and affirming the validity of the child's perceptions and accepting as fact the reality of those perceptions for the child.

In summary, the literature indicated that the self-

actualizing process is one of being or becoming. Certain quali­

ties are linked with the person in the proces of becoming

self-actualized:

48

1. Choicing seemed important to the unfolding of the stu­

dent's potential in the educational setting.

2. Openness and trust seemed significant to the development

of the healthy person, the adequate personality.

3. Commitment and responsibility were seen as important in

the evaluation of the fully functioning person.

4. Growth and change were also seen as important due to the

nature of the self-actualizing process itself, the view

that the self is capable of motion.

5. Finally, an overall sense of valuing was discovered as

significant, the recognition of worth and uniqueness and

respecting the perceptions of the self and others.

Additionally, the literature across the three categories

of discovering the uniqueness of self, relating to others, and

actualizing the self suggested strongly that teacher behavior

significantly influences the opportunities for experiencing all

the qualities mentioned here: that discovering, relating and

actualizing in the learning process need to be present in the

teacher as well as in the educational setting.

A discussion of the contributions of Maslow to the con­

cept of self-actualization are significant at this point, for his

hierarchy of needs (Appendix A) served as further background for

the development of the theoretical framework of this study.

49

Theoretical Framework

A concept of self-actualization was developed by Maslow

(1968, p. 2 5) and concerned itself primarily with direct study of

psychologically healthy individuals. The lowest of these levels

is basic physiological needs. Second in the hierarchy was that

of safety needs (security, protection, dependence, stability).

These two levels demand satisfaction. The third level—the love

and belongingness needs—then arises and when fulfilled leads to

the fourth level which is the self-esteem needs. These are grat­

ified by esteem and self-respect. The last and highest level is

that of self-actualization. Maslow (1968, p. 25) described this

state:

So far as most emotional status is concerned, healthy people have sufficiently gratified their basic needs for safety, belongingness, love, respect and self-esteem so they are motivated primarily by trends to self-actualization--defined as ongoing actualization of po­tentials, capacities, and talents, as fulfillment of missions or call, fate, destiny or vocation—as a further knowledge of, and acceptance of, the person's own intrin­sic nature as an increasing trend toward unity/ integration or synergy within the person.

Jourard (1964, p. v) further clarified this when he noted that:

"The book as a whole expresses the hypothesis that can attain to

health and fuller functioning only insofar as he gains in courage

to be himself among others and when he finds goals and objectives

that have value and meaning for him." Maslow observed that

growth brings one toward self-actualization. He (1968, p. 26)

stated: "If we define growth as the various processes which

50

bring the person toward ultimate self-actualization, then this

conforms better with the observed fact that it is going on all the

time in the life history." Most of Maslow's work was done with

mature adults, and little investigation was done on self-

actualization among teenagers. It is apparent that Maslow's em­

phasis was more on the state of being actualized rather than on

the process of becoming actualized. Much of his research was

conducted with adults rather than young persons. Elsewhere in

Maslow's (1976, p. 49) writings he seemed to recognize an aware­

ness that self-actualization is also a process of becoming as

well as a state of being. This is particularly evidenced by his

(1956, p. 160) statement: "The subjects were selected from among

personal acquaintances and friends, and from among public and

historical figures. In addition, three thousand college students

were screened, but yielded only one immediately usable subject

and a dozen or so possible future subjects." (Underlining mine.)

Maslow's emphasis on maturation as a function of the self-

actualized individual made it necessary to expand the concept of

the self-actualization process so that it would apply to students

in the Program NOW alternative school, which utilizes the con­

cepts of self-actualization in its curriculum. Therefore, the

fifth level of Maslow's (1970b) theoretical phyramidal model was

significant to the development of the theoretical framework.

The reader's attention is invited to Appendix A and Ap­

pendix B in which the derivation of the theoretical framework in

51

relation to Maslow's hierarchy is shown. In Appendix C, Maslow's

"Being Values" are listed to demonstrate more precisely what he

meant by the state of being self-actualized.

For the purposes of this study the investigator has uti­

lized Maslow's fifth level hierarchy in the development of a

theoretical framework containing three elements: discovering the

self, relating to others, and the final stage of actualizing the

self. There emerged an integrated theoretical framework describ­

ing a process of becoming self-actualized as opposed to Maslow's

model of being self-actualized. The theoretical framework was

perceived as an ongoing process rather than one in stasis. This

notion of process was clearly articulated by Disque (1973, p. 15)

who said:

. . . t o s u m i t a l l u p t h e s e a r c h f o r s e l f a n d t h e self-actualization process are probably the two most im­portant elements in an adolescent's life if he is to be­come a healthy individual. Equally important is the fact that these drives are deeply significant to teen- -agers, and they should not be taken lightly or ignored by adults. In their adolescent years, young boys and girls above all else want to be treated as real people. They want—and expect—adults to be their friends and confi­dantes with a very real and honest understanding of their problems.

Therefore, it became extremely important that this process of ma­

turation be accurately explored. It is the opinion of this in­

vestigator that such exploration was best accomplished by

consulting with the students at Program NOW as to their percep­

tions of their positions in the maturation pyramid. The theoret­

ical framework terms in summary form appear again at the end of

this chapter.

52

Summary

This review of literature bearing on changes in self that

might be perceived as occurring during an alternative learning

process as organized in the theoretical framework to follow and

was utilized to analyze the data and discuss the results, conclu­

sions, and recommendations. Descriptive items providing addi­

tional information about each category are summarized here.

Discovering—the Self:

New Interests

New Goals

New Ways of Learning

Relating—to Others:

Communicating

Accepting

Sharing

Actualizing—the Self:

Choicing

Expanding

Openness

CHAPTER 3

PRESENTATION AND EXAMINATION OF DATA IN TERMS OF THE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Presentation of Data

In this chapter selected data regarding the perceptions

of the participants in this study are presented and examined in

sections one through four. The data derived from the interview

statements are compiled and presented in histograms for conveni­

ence in discovering and examining the reported perceptions. The

data are placed in the specific categories of the theoretical

framework: discovering, relating and actualizing. Each histo­

gram, with the exception of that relating to statement one and

the accompanying descriptions, are presented as follows:

1. An interview statement.

2. A histogram showing percentages of agreement/disagreement

with the interview statement.

3. A comment concerning the histogram and mean score for

the interview statement.

4. An examination of comments representative of the inter­

view statement.

5. An analysis of the comments for the interview statement.

53

54

6. A section presenting statistical relationships for the

interview statements and the theoretical categories.

Statement one will be considered separately since it is

too general a statement to be included in assessment of student

perceptions as they relate to the self-actualization process.

This statement was used to give baseline data on global percep­

tions of change in self in an alternative school setting. Addi­

tionally, this statement was designed to provide non-threatening

entry into the taping-interview process. Figure 2 visualizes the

perception of the model.

Data regarding interview statements two through 10 are

presented as shown in Figure 2 in sections two through four.

Additionally, section four contains information describing how

the age and sex of the participants related to the interview re­

sponses, and a comparison of ideal and actual responses.

Section One

In this section data regarding the first statement are

presented. Statement one was an umbrella statement about stu­

dents' perceptions of change in self during the alternative

school setting. It was also designed to initiate a non-

threatening interview atmosphere.

Interview Statement Number One

"My feelings about myself as a student have changed since

I came to Program NOW."

55

i Statement 1 i

ACTUALIZING—THE SELF

.Choicing

.Expanding •Openness

RELATING—TO OTHERS

Communicating Accepting Sharing

DISCOVERING—THE SELF

New Interests New Goals New Ways of Learning

Figure 2. A Model of the Statements and Categories

56

As cited in Figure 3, nine students or 39% strongly

agreed that they saw changes in self as a student, 52% (12)

agreed, none was unsure, slightly over 8% (2) disagreed, and none

strongly disagreed. When the two positive responses were grouped

together, they represented over 91% (21) of the total group. The

negative responses were- less than 9% (Appendix D). The mean

score for interview statement one is reported at 1.78. This

figure represents a strong positive response, as the scale was

weighted as follows: strongly agree—1, agree—2, unsure—3,

disagree—4, and strongly disagree—5.

Examination of Comments for Statement One

Generally, the students agreed that their feelings about

themselves had changed since they had attended Program NOW. This

was indicated not only by the 21 (91%) students but also by the

comments that follow:

When I first started earlier this year, my big hang­up was an intellectual one. I just wanted to know every­thing, be able to talk about everything, and I wanted to go to a four-year state university and come out with a degree ... go out and get a job and spend the rest of my life doing that. But now, I don't know, ITve changed, I sense a need to explore.

"I pass more classes."

"I see some good changes since I came to this school."

I've gotten more important feelings about myself. As a student you are important. I was never very important because I was never into being a student and the teachers wanted to teach the people who were into being students.

57

to

% d) TJ 0 V CO

m o

CD

"s 3 s

23 —

21 —

19 —

17

15

13 —

11

9

7

5 —

3

39.13% 9

52.17% 12

8.69%

1

Strongly Agree 1

Agree Unsure Disagree Strongly Disagree

5

Figure 3. Statement One: Changes in Self since Entering the Program

58

ITm not afraid of authority at all. No more. It's that we have no big fear of them, you know. I can go get a drink of water, I'm not afraid to go get a drink of water. You know a lot of them, the teachers, used to be "you better be nice or I'll be mean" and all that stuff. I'm no longer intimidated.

"I see good changes."

"I feel more in control of myself."

"I go to class more."

Students Alfie and Quinto who responded negatively had

few if any comments to make about their lack of change. Alfie,

however, who was Black, could verbalize that he found himself un­

comfortable with White people, and he perceived this new verbal­

ization as a change in himself. Student Quinto felt that the

teachers in alternative schools care more about students and that

it was easier to learn, though he did not perceive this as a

change in himself as a student.

Analysis of Comments for Statement One

The respondents generally agreed that there were changes

in themselves as students for a variety of reasons. Even the

students who answered "disagree" on the Likert scale (Figure 4)

agreed in the interview that they perceived changes in them­

selves in the new school environment.

Statistical Analysis for Statement One

Correlations concerning interview statements and the cate­

gories of the theoretical framework appear in Appendix C.

59

Interview statement one correlated with Category I (dis­

covering—the self) at .49, or demonstrates little correlation.

Statement one correlates with category two (relating—to others)

at .51, a moderate correlation. Statement one correlates with

category three (actualizing—the self) at .38, or has little cor­

relation (see Appendix F).

Section Two—Category I: Discovering—the Self

This section presents data concerned with the three in­

terview statements utilized to collect information regarding

category I: Discovering—the Self. "Discovering the self" was

described as an expanding awareness of self. Interview state­

ments two, three and four attempted to uncover students' percep­

tions of discovering expanding personal interest, goals, and ways

of learning.

Interview Statement Number Two

"I have discovered new intersts as a student since enroll­

ing here."

As cited in Figure 4, five (22%) students strongly agreed

with interview statement two concerning their new interests in

the alternative school process, 14 (60%)'students agreed with the

statement, one (4%) was unsure, and three (13%) disagreed. No

one strongly disagreed. As shown in the histogram, 19 (82%) stu­

dents were in agreement. As indicated in Appendix D, the mean

score for the interview statement was 2.08, a positive response.

60

23 |

21 j 19 Z= | 17 = !

W j I 15 60.87% -a 14

& 13 — 4H 2.1 55

S 7 ^ 21.74% =

Strongly Agree Unsure Disagree Strongly . Agree Disagree | 1 2 3 4 5

Figure 4. Statement Two: New Interests since Enrolling

63.

Examination of Comments for Statement Two

In general, the students agreed that they had found new

personal interests in the new school environment. This tendency

to agree was indicated by such responses as the follqwing:

"I have found the need to be creative."

"I have become inspired to paint again."

"I'm reading a lot about Existentialism. I've gotten

into the human condition. Chris has me reading Sartre."

"I have a new interest in self-sufficiency or in

autonomy."

"I have discovered art, clay, dyeing and drawing."

"I'm more interested in school."

"I've started making a game for geometry."

"I'm working at the Pima County Air Museum as a volun­

teer, and I think it is fun."

"I'm more interested in getting a diploma."

"I'm more interested in foreign countries."

"I more interested in writing now and I'm learning new

things because they are interesting, not for an ego trip."

"I've learned to organize my time so I can focus on my

old interests."

The three students who responded negatively to statement

two had no comments to make regarding their lack of change in

discovering new interests for themselves.

62

Analysis of Comments for Statement Two

Approximately four-fifths (19) of the students agreed

that they had found new interests for themselves in the new

school environment. Some indicated positive shifts concerning

school, as reported above in references to general interests in

school, a diploma, and organization of time. Many of the expand­

ing personal interests reported by students could also be said to

influence academic interests and pursuits.

Statistical Analysis for Statement Two

Interview statement two has a correlation of .74, a sub­

stantial correlation with category I. This appears to indicate

an internal consistency within this category. Statement two cor­

relates moderately (.47) with the adjusted total score (see Ap­

pendix F). Adjusted total score is derived from answers to all

statements with the exception of statement number one, the omni­

bus statement.

Interview Statement Number Three

"I have found new goals for myself as a student since

enrolling."

As cited in Figure 5, this interview statement which con­

cerned itself with new goals in the alternative school environ­

ment has the f.ollowing results: over 26% (6) strongly agreed

that they had found new goals, slightly over 52% (12) agreed,

63

23

21

19

17 to

t 15 ~ TJ B 13 52.17%

1

'O 12

cn

& 7 26.08% 5=

3 == == 3.04% 8>6g%

2

Strongly Agree Unsure Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree 1 2 3 4 5

Figure 5. Statement Three: New Goals since Entering the Program

13% (3) were unsure, 8% (2) disagreed, and none strongly dis­

agreed. When the two positive positions are grouped, the result

represents 78.25% (18). The negative responses were still only

8% (2) since no one strongly disagreed. The mean score for

statement three was 2.09, a high mean score for all the inter­

view items, indicating the largest amount of disagreement (see

Appendix D).

Examination of Comments for Statement Four

For statement number three, the data indicated that over

three-fourths agreed that they had found new goals in the alter­

native school environment. Some typical comments were as

follows:

"I've decided to do some exploring instead of rushing

through college."

"I was going to quit school, but my new goal is to

graduate."

"My new goal is to set higher expectations for myself."

"My new goal is to not be afraid—to not be afraid of

failing."

"I don't have to succeed to be good."

"My new goal is to graduate. In the other school I

just knew I couldn't make it."

"My new goal is to get good grades and graduate."

65

"I've decided to go into special education."

"I used to do just what I had to, and now I really

get into classes."

"Now I want to go to college to be an airline

stewardess."

"I'm trying to push myself to my limits."

"My new goal is interior decorating and improving my

surroundings."

The two negative responses, which represented only 8%

(2), indicated that the students had essentially the same goals

as they had when they entered the school. One student commented

that she refused to set goals for herself. "If I do have any new

goals, it is to think at a higher level which Chris has helped me

to do." Another student, who responded negatively, stated: "The

school has taught me how to learn so that I can take it anywhere

and learn something new."

Analysis of Comments for Statement Three

In examining the comments, it appeared that many students

had found it possible to set new goals for graduating, attending

school, getting better grades, going to college, and thinking at

a higher level. Students who responded negatively on the Likert

scale also reported new goals for themselves. The majority of

the students reported that the alternative school environment was

conducive for this process to occur. It also appeared that the

66

negative responses on the Likert scale were not consistent with

the comments made by the students in the interview. That is,

some respondents marked the scale negatively, but reported new

goals in thinking and learning in their comments.

Statistical Analysis for Statement Three

Interview statement number three correlates with category

I (discovering—the self) at .78, a substantial correlation. It

has little correlation r -.35) with the total score. The corre­

lation between the adjusted score and number three is poor

(r -.33) (see Appendix F).

Statement number three may not be a significant part of

the self-actualizing process for teenagers. When viewed statis­

tically, teenagers may be more concerned with means rather than

ends. However, it is important to report since that self-

disclosure adds additional information to complement the

statistics.

Interview Statement Number Four

"In this school, I have found new ways of learning."

As cited in Figure 6, slightly more than 52% (12) strong­

ly agreed that the students perceived new ways of learning,

39.13% (9) agreed, 4.35% (1) were unsure, and 4.35% (1) disagreed.

None strongly disagreed. The total positive responses was 91.30%

(19). The mean score for this interview statement was 1.61, the

lowest mean score for all statements (see Appendix D).

67

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52.17% 12

| 39.13% 9

== =

4.35% 4.35%

55 E5 _1 1

Strongly Agree Unsure Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree 1 2 3 4 5

Figure 6. Statement Four: New Ways of Learning since Enrolling

Examination of Comments for Statement Four

The respondents indicated a strong amount of agreement

that new ways of learning were perceived as a part of the innova­

tive environment. Typical responses were:

"I'm learning by doing. I've gotten out of the text­

books this year."

"I can learn at my own pace and teachers help me more."

"I learn by doing. I learn a lot better when I'm out

in the midst of the action doing it and where people are."

"I can practice what I learn outside of school, in

school."

"This kind of learning is a lot more relevant."

"I learn by listening to people, and by working

independently."

"I'm learning more about myself, and I've learned to

work independently."

"I'm learning to run for physical education credit.

I'm going to work up to three miles a day."

"I'm learning a lot more in this type of environment."

"Communicating with teachers is a new way to learn

here."

At my other school, you were given a paper, and the teacher would say "do this and get it right or you'll have to do it again." Here if you don't understand it, the teacher will explain it; and if you still don't un­derstand it, they'll give you something else to do. It makes it easier.

69

"I can learn without instruction."

"I've learned about political processes by helping in

a political campaign.,r

"I've learned more about myself and my skills."

"I've learned how to learn, especially in thinking

skills."

The one person who disagreed said that he was learning in

the same ways as before.

Analysis of Comments for Statement Four

The representative comments as well as the interpreta­

tions from the histogram indicated that interview statement num­

ber four had a unique distribution by having the lowest mean

score, 1.61 (see Appendix E) and by showing the highest overall

agreement of all the interview statements. Additionally, most

commentary included perceptions of a change in self about methods

of learning. Students seemed particularly impressed by the

learn-by-doing method. This "doing" method often involved work­

ing in the community in a variety of ways to earn credit. Learn­

ing at one's own pace was especially meaningful for both the

"slower" student and the "advanced" student.

Statistical Analysis for Statement Four

Interview statement number four correlates with category

I at .64, a substantial correlation which indicates its

70

consistency with other statements in the "discovering" category

(see Appendix F). It correlates at .68 with the adjusted total

score (without statement number one).

Summary for Category I

In category I, "Discovering—the Self," most students

appeared to perceive changes in themselves about discovering new

interests, goals, and ways of learning. Interview statements

number three and four seemed to have less statistical signifi­

cance for the students than the statement concerning new ways of

learning. It is possible that the process of self-disclosure may

have added another dimension to the statistics, and may, in fact,

invalidate them. In terms of the statistical analysis, the new

ways of learning in an alternative enviromnent appears to be the

most significant part of the "discovering" category. New goals

and new interests may come at a later stage in the self-

actualizing process.

Section Three—Category II: Relating—to Others

This section presents data concerned with the three in­

terview statements-designed to gather perceptions concerning

"relating—to others." "Relating" was described as including the

self as it communicates, accepts, and shares with others. Inter­

view statements five, six, and seven attempted to uncover the

participants' perceptions of changes in their communications,

71

acceptance and sharing with others in the innovative school

program.

Interview Statement Number Five

"I have learned to communicate more easily with others

since coming here."

As shown in Figure 7, 57.17% (12) strongly agreed with

the statement that they had learned to communicate with greater

ease. Of the students, 34.78% (8) agreed, 4.35% (1) were unsure,

and 8.69% (2) disagreed. The total positive responses to this

statement was 86.95% (20). The negative responses were still

8.69% (2). The mean score for this interview statement was 1.70,

a strong positive response.

Examination of Comments for Statement Five

Generally, the students agreed that they perceived their

communications with others as improving since enrolling at Pro­

gram NOW. Some typical affirmative responses from students who

agreed are as follows:

"Here everyone is on the same basis, and everyone is

willing to communicate."

"I've learned to force myself out of security into

growing, and perhaps into insecurity."

"It's easier to communicate here cause you don't get

a crowd around you just staring at you."

72

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17 V)

1 1 5 — x) 5 13 52.17%

- 12 4H 11 Q J.J. —

jj 9 5E 34.87%

Strongly Agree Unsure Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree 1 2 3 4 5

Figure 7. Statement Five: Communicating since Entering the Program

73

"I can communicate with teachers better."

"I could always communicate, but it's easier in this

environment."

"I couldn't talk at first, but now I can talk to

anybody."

"I talk a lot more here."

"It's easier to communicate here."

"I'm more open. I don't mind criticism as much."

"I talk more than I used to."

"I can communicate better with my father and my

teachers."

"It's easier for me to talk to people now."

"It's easier to talk to teachers here. They are not

up on a pedestal."

"I can talk to teachers now and before I couldn't."

The students who disagreed made the following comments:

"I think if I stayed here longer, I could learn to

communicate."

"I don't have the same interests as the people here."

Analysis of Comments for Statement Five

The comments for this statement generally bore out the

scores on the scaled responses. Most students in the alternative

school setting perceived themselves as better able to communicate

with teachers and students. Some responses indicated that the

74

participants fait they communicated more in terms of quantity as

opposed to more easily as the statement was phrased. Other com­

ments reported enhanced communication with peirsons outside the

school environment. Of the two students who disagreed, one felt

that, with more time, he could communicate better. The other

saw himself as isolated by not sharing common interests with

others.

Statistical Analysis for Statement Five

Statement five correlated at .74, a substantial correla­

tion with the entire category II. It correlated with the ad­

justed score at .75, a substantial correlation. It appeared that

statement five was consistent with other statements in the cate­

gory and with rhe instrument as a whole (see Appendix F).

Interview Statement Number Six

"I am more accepting.of others since enrolling in

Program NOW."

As presented in Figure 8, 52% (12) of the students

strongly agreed, 26.08% (6) agreed, 13.04 (3) were unsure, 4.35%

(1) disagreed, and 4.35% (1) strongly disagreed with statement

number six. A total of 78.25% (18) responded positively, and per­

ceived themselves as being more accepting in the alternative

school setting. A total of 8.70% (2) disagreed or-recorded no

perceived changes in their acceptance of others in their rela­

tionships. The mean for this interview statement was 1.70.

75

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£ 7 III 26.08%

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== jES 4.35% 4.35%

Strongly Agree Unsure Disagree Strongly 3 Agree Disagree 1 2 3 4 5

Figure 8. Statement Six: Accepting Behavior since Enrolling

Examination of Comments for Statement Six

Generally, the participants' commentary seemed to indi­

cate that they perceived their relating with others as becoming

more accepting. The following comments were typical for this

interview statement:

"It's OK to be different here."

"People are friendlier here. I've"learned to accept

all kinds of people here—from the gay to the redneck."

"This is a non-judgmental atmosphere. You can like

everyone."

"I am more willing to accept people to work with me."

"I didn't used to like Blacks, but now I have Black

friends. "

"Different people don't bother me now."

"I am also more accepting of myself."

"Here there are no cliques. Everyone talks to every­

body else."

"I don't hate Blacks and Mexicans since I came here."

"The students here are different and I can accept

this."

"I've learned to accept really different people—like

the kids who paint their faces."

"People accept me here."

"Oddballs and weirdos don't bother me any more."

77

"I have a lot of friends now."

Three students who marked their scales "unsure" commented as

follows:

"I was always accepting but it's easier to be accept­

ing here."

"It is easier to talk to teachers here."

"I'm changing. Perhaps I'll learn to trust people."

The two students who responded negatively commented:

"I don't like Whites."

"I was always accepting."

Analysis of Comments for Statement Six

The perceptions of the participants generally indicated

that in their communications their acceptance of others had

shifted in a positive direction. Some students commented that

the alternative school atmosphere was conducive to the acceptance

of others. Others perceived an increased volume of interpersonal

communication in the alternative learning environment as compared

to that experienced in other schools. In examining the unsure

and the negative comments there appeared to be one clearly nega­

tive response: "I don't like Whites." This non-White student

did not seem to view his apparently new ability to express this

feeling as a change of self. The interviewer, however, perceived

this respondent's comment as suggestive of some change in self

and in relating, since previous contacts had brought forth little

if any expressions of feeling from this student.

Statistical Analysis for Statement Six

The correlation for statement six with category II was

.86, a very high correlation. This again appears to indicate

high consistency with all other statements in this "relating"

category. Statement six correlated with the adjusted total score

without statement number one at .84, a very high correlation.

This seems to indicate that the statement is consistent with the

other eight items in the instrument (see Appendix F).

Interview Statement Number Seven

"I am more willing to share with others since I came to

Program NOW."

As shown in Figure 9, 30.43% (7) strongly agreed, 43.47%

(10) agreed, 8.69% (2) were unsure, 13.04% (3) disagreed, and

4.35% (1) strongly disagreed. The total positive responses was

73.9% (17) and the total negative responses was 17.39% (4). The

mean score for this interview statement was 2.17, indicating many

students disagreed with this item (see Appendix D).

Examination of Comments for Statement Seven

Many students perceived changes in their willingness to

share with others. Some typical comments of agreement were:

"I was too shy to share in the other school, but not

here."

"I've helped my friend not to be afraid to speak up."

79

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Strongly Agree Unsure Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree f 1 2 3 4 5

Figure 9. Statement Seven: Sharing Behavior since Entering the Program

80

"They—the school—allows more sharing, so I can do

what I've always wanted to do."

"I try to help people in my classes."

"If it's something I'm involved in, I can share my

time and ideas."

"At my other school, I would sit back and just get by.

But here I'm involved and share in classes."

"Before I stayed in my own little world. Here I make

friends and share."

"I'm not as afraid to be laughed at. I can share my

ideas in class."

"It's easier to relate to students and teachers here."

"There is more of a chance to share here."

"I share by tutoring children at Elementary

School."

"I don't spend so much time in my fantasy world."

"It's more of a group effort here. People help you

out if you have problems. You don't need to keep things

to yourself."

"I don't evade group participation the way I used to."

"The teachers have a better attitude toward students.

They seem to care."

As previously noted, interview statement seven had the

highest mean score among the interview items. An examination of

the comments accompanying "unsure" or "disagree" responses

81

indicated that while some participants marked their scales nega­

tively, their additional remarks contained some elements of

agreement.

Two students who were unsure remarked:

"I'm not ready to share."

"I've always been willing to share, but I have less

time now because of my job."

Some of the students who disagreed remarked:

"I tend to just go along with the group, not disagree."

"I can only share with people I feel comfortable with."

"I'm too busy working to share much of my time."

"I'm not going to share with Whites."

Analysis of Comments for Statement Seven

While the general trend in the comments indicated "shar­

ing" as an increased behavioral pattern, several students re­

sponded negatively on the scaled responses while their comments

seemed to suggest a degree of agreement. Some factors interfer­

ing with the process of sharing seemed apparent from the comments.

Among those were fear of risk-taking, being "too busy," and some

hostility toward non-group members.

Those students who did perceive growth in sharing re­

ported that the alternative school had a sharing atmosphere. This

appeared to make it easier for them to take the risks perceived in

sharing.

82

Statistical Analysis for Statement Seven

Statement seven correlated with category II at .71, a

substantial correlation. This appears to suggest that there is

a consistency in the statements of this category.

Statement seven correlated with the adjusted total score

(with statement one) at .57, a moderate correlation (see Appen­

dix E).

Lack of a high correlation and higher percentages in posi­

tive responses may be due to the risk-taking factor, or the gen­

eral busyness of studying-working students in this type of an

alternative program, a factor which was suggested in the student

comments.

Summary for Category II

In category II, "Relating to Others," most students re­

ported changes in themselves in their abilities to communicate,

accept, and share. Interview statement number seven on the Likert

scale instrument indicated the greatest amount of disagreement,

although an examination of comments for this statement might modi­

fy the statistical interpretation. More than 86% (2 0) of the

students perceived themselves as communicating more. Slightly

less than 78% (18) saw themselves as more accepting in the new

environment. Among these students, 73.9 (17) perceived them­

selves as more willing to share.

83

Category I correlates with category II at a .43 level

which is a moderate correlation. One might question whether

"discovering" and "relating" are both essential to the actualiz­

ing process in teenagers. When category II is correlated with

adjusted total score, without statement one, it is .92, a very

high correlation, indicating that it is consistent with other

items in the instrument (see Appendix F).

Section Four—Category III: . Actualizing—the Self

This section presents data concerned with the three in­

terview statements utilized with category III, "Actualizing the

Self." "Actualizing" was previously described as including

choicing, expanding the self, and openness. Interview statements

eight, nine, and 10 attempted to uncover students' perceptions of

actualization in terms of abilities to make choices, to expand,

and to be open in an innovative environment.

Interview Statement Number Eight

"I am more aware of making choices for myself since en­

tering this program."

As cited in Figure 10, 26.08% (6) of the students strong­

ly agreed, 60.86% (14) agreed, 15.64% (3) were unsure, and none

disagreed or strongly disagreed. The total positive responses *

were 86.94% (2 0). The mean score for this interview statement

eight was 1.87 (see Appendix E).

84

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1

Strongly Agree Unsure Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree 1 2 3 4 5

Figure 10. Statement Eight: Choicing since Entering the Program

85

Examination of Comments for Statement Eight

Generally students agreed that they perceived an enhanced

awareness concerning choice-making since entering Program NOW.

Typical remarks in agreement were:

"I made the choice to stay in school."

"I've learned to take risks along with my choicing."

"Yes, but I was starting to make more choices before

coming here."

"I've chosen to do photography. That's my choice."

"I've made the choice to come to school more often."

"I've made the choices about going to college, to f.

become an airline stewardess and to travel."

"I am not as afraid of the consequences of choicing."

"I can choose 'no credit' if I don't want to work at

a course."

"I used to make choices that were harmful to me, but

now I make choices that are helpful to me."

"I never knew I had so many choices."

"When you open up one door, then you'll find the keys

to others."

"I can choose my own classes now."

•"Here I'm making choices and I'm responsible for them."

The three students who were unsure commented:

"I'm afraid to make choices."

86

"I'm more aware of choices but I don't bother with

them."

"I can make choices about attending classes. In the

other school I made choices but it wasn't what I wanted

to do so it wasn't really choicing."

Analysis of Comments for Statement Eight

As previously noted in Figure 10, no students responded

negatively to interview statement eight. Of the comments asso­

ciated with "unsure" on the Likert scale, only one seemed clearly

indecisive. In that case, an avoidance of choices (due to the

fear factor) was reported although an awareness of the choices

may have been present. The other two uncertain responses appear

to indicate that an awareness of choices was present.

In general, students appeared to feel that they had many

choices in curriculum, in projects, in coming to school, in pass­

ing or failing, credit/no credit, and in accepting the conse­

quences of these choices than had been the case in their previous

schools.

Statistical Analysis for Statement Eight

Statement number eight correlated with category III at

.62, a substantial correlation. Statement number eight corre­

lated with the adjusted total score without statement one at .64,

another substantial correlation. Both correlations appear to

87

indicate consistency with the category and with the other eight

items in the instrument (see Appendix F).

Interview Statement Number Nine

"I have found that I am expanding and growing in this

new environment."

As shown in Figure 11, 21.73% (5) strongly agreed, 65.21%

(15) agreed, 4.35% (1) were unsure, 8.69% (2) disagreed, and none

strongly disagreed. A total of 86.94% (2 0) saw changes in growth

in themselves. Two students, or 8.69%, disagreed about expanding

and growing in the new innovative setting. The mean score for

this interview statement number nine was 1.96, a strong positive

response (see Appendix D).

Examination of Comments for Statement Nine

Responses to statement number nine tended to indicate a

strong level of agreement concerning student perceptions regard­

ing personal expansion and growth in the innovative environment.

Some typical comments were as follows:

"I am more of a learner here."

"I've learned to see myself more clearly."

"I'm growing in a lot of new ideas."

"I'm more willing to accept changes."

"I'm no longer interested just in skateboards. I'm

interested in everything."

88

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21

19

17

15

13

11

9

7

5

3

1

21.73% 5

65.21% 15

4.35% 1

8.69% 2

Strongly Agree Unsure Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree 1 2 3 4 5

Figure 11. Statement Nine: Expanding since Enrolling

"I used to stay in my own little world. I didn't

get to know anyone."

"This school lets you have more experiences that you

don't find in other schools."

"Here we have more chances to do more things."

"I'm not afraid to try new things now."

"I'm growing a little bit."

"I don't stay in my shell. I come out to discuss and

argue."

"I'm learning to like math and growing from new

experiences."

"I'm more interested in politics. I show up for

classes to see what's happening."

"I am growing and the school is helping me."

"I'm learning to explore."

"There are more ways of experiencing here."

"By forcing myself to participate in a political cam­

paign, I grew and enjoyed myself."

The three remaining respondents marked "unsure" or "dis

agree." One student who marked "disagree" commented: "I find

myself being more creative." The comment and the Likert scale

response for this participant seemed to be ambiguous. Another

who "disagreed" said: "I haven't learned anything new." This

comment appeared to be reasonable in terms of the person's

90

negative Likert response. The remaining participant was uncer­

tain: "I guess I'm afraid."

Analysis of Comments for Statement Nine

Among the students, 86.94% (19) did appear to perceive

positive changes in growing and expanding in the new environment.

These were attributed to new experiences and an expanding aware­

ness of the world around them.

It seemed that one of the comments was not consistent

with the Likert scale selection since the negative responding

student appeared to see himself as being more creative in the new

environment. One respondent was afraid of new experiences, one

perceived no new experiences that would permit growth.

Statistical Analysis for Statement Nine

Statement number nine correlated with category III at .73

level, a substantial correlation. This appears to mean that it

is consistent with other statements in the category. Statement

number nine correlated with the adjusted total score without

statement number one at .76, also a substantial correlation. This

tends to indicate that it is consistent with other items in the

instrument (see Appendix F).

Interview Statement Number 10

"I am more open and straightforward in this alternative

atmosphere."

As cited in Figure 12, 30.43% (7) strongly agreed,

52.17% (12) agreed, 4.35% (1) were unsure, 13.04% (3) disagreed,

and none strongly disagreed. Total positive responses were

82.60% (19) and 13.04% (3) was the total negative responses. The

mean for interview statement number 10 was 2.00 (see Appendix D).

Examination of Comments for Statement 10

The respondents generally agreed through their comments

that they perceived themselves as becoming more open and straight­

forward in the alternative atmosphere. Typical comments of

agreement were:

"I am more open with people here."

"I'm still afraid, but I am learning to be open and

honest.,f

"I am more open here, but the society sets limits on

my behavior."

"I often feel that my feelings and expressions are not

authentic, not really me."

"I never used to be able to speak up, but I do quite

frequently now."

"I can now accept blame for things I do wrong."

"I learned to come out of my world, to be open, to ex­

press myself."

"I can now criticize the teacher."

"I can tell the teacher if I donTt like something."

92

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Strongly Agree 1

Agree

2

Unsure

3

Disagree

4

Strongly Disagree

5

Figure 12. Statement 10: Openness since Entering the Program

93

"I'm learning not to blame others for my mistakes."

"I can say what I want to here."

"I am more open in this structure. The structure

makes it possible for me to be more open.,T

"I can stand up for what I believe in now."

"I feel a lot better about myself because I've

learned to stand up for my. opinions. I also have become

more committed to helping people."

"I'm not afraid anymore. I can speak up and use my

potential."

"I see myself being more patient about myself—not

so driven."

"I've learned to be authentic, to just be myself. I

find myself being more committed, more creative."

"The atmosphere here is right to be yourself."

The one student who was unsure felt he could not be open

with anyone. The three students who disagreed made the following

comments:

"I'd like to be able to talk better."

"I don't disagree very much. Sometimes I can though."

"I was always open and straightforward."

It might be that the first and second students need more

time to learn to take risks, and the third felt she had no need

for growth in openness. Although these three comments accompanied

Likert scale responses marked "disagree," the content tends to

94

suggest that all contain some element of agreement. The third

student's comment does not mention a perceived change in self.

Analysis of Comments for Statement 10

The data from statement number 10 suggested significant

perceived changes in the student participants concerning their

personal openness and straightforwardness. Some comments indi­

cated that it is the alternative structure which contributed to

the perceived changes in self. One student remarked that the be­

havior of the teachers and the students enhanced the opportuni­

ties for openness in his opinion. Only one comment did not

directly relate to changes in self, and the comments from those

who were uncertain about openness and straightforwardness in­

cluded some elements of agreement.

Statistical Analysis for Statement 10

Statement number 10 correlated with category III "Actu­

alizing the Self" at .78, a subtantial correlation, indicating a

consistency with other items in the category.

Statement number 10 correlated with the adjusted total

score, without statement number one, at .41, a moderate

correlation.

Summary for Category III

Category III has been concerned with choicing, growing,

and expanding in growth and straightforwardness as integral parts

95

of the self-actualizing process. Comments concerning choicing

tended strongly to emphasize the perception of increased choic­

ing on the part of the participants in the alternative learning

atmosphere. Many students felt that choicing concerning a

credit/no credit option was a significant part of this and con­

tributed in enhancing the self-concept. Growing was attributed

to the general expansion of experiences in the alternative

school. Growth in openness was perceived as more risky, but

still attained by many, and the respondents felt that this growth

in openness could be attributed to the alternative school atmo­

sphere. Category III correlated with category I at .32, a small

correlation. Without statement 10 in category III, the correla­

tion .56 was s substantial correlation. One possible explanation

is that openness is not a part of the self-actualizing process

for teenagers. Category III correlated with category II at .76,

a substantial correlation. Again, with statement 10 (openness),

the correlation is .79, which is close to a very high correlation,

but still within the substantial range (see Appendix F).

In category III, "Actualizing the Self," most students

seemed to perceive changes in themselves regarding choicing, ex­

panding, and openness in the alternative environment. Interview

statement eight, concerning choicing and statement nine had iden­

tical percentage agreement of 86.94, and therefore appear- to be

more significant to the actualizing process in the perceptions •

of the students than that of openness.

96

Within category III, the students selected the following

priorities: choicing, expanding, and openness.

Table 4, which follows, summarizes the overall responses

to the Likert instrument. Table 4 indicates that the highest

percentage agreement was in the general statement concerning

changes in self and new ways of learning. The lowest percentage

was for statement number seven concerning sharing. The range was

from 91.3% to 73.90%. The highest in percentage agreement in

category I, "Discovering the Self," was statement number four,

new ways of learning, with a percentage of 91.30. The highest

percentage agreement in category II, "Relating to Others," was

statement number five, growth in communicating, at the level of

86.95%. In "Actualizing the Self," choicing, statement number

eight, had a percentage of 86.94. Expanding and growing was

the same with a percentage of 86.94. The average percentage for

category I was 84.50, category II—83.03%, and category III was

85.46%. Actualizing the self had the highest average of all

three categories.

Additional Statistical Analysis

The following analysis concerned the relationship of the

sex and age of the participants with the interview item and cate­

gories in the framework. Table 5 presents data regarding devia­

tions for ideal scores.

Table 4. Total Percentages for Positive, Unsure and Negative Responses

Likert Items 1 & 2

Positive 3

Unsure 4 & 5

Negative

1. General Self 91.30 0.00 8.69

2. Interests 82.61 4.35 13.04 1 84.50%

3. Goals 78.25 13.04 8.09 (approx. 19 students)

4. Learning 91.30 4.34 4.34'

5. Communicating 86.95 4.35 8.69

6. Accepting 78.25 13.04 8.70 83.03% (19 students)

7. Sharing 73.90 8.09 17.39 !

8. Choicing 86.94 13.04 0.00

9. Expanding 86.94 4.35 8.69 85.46% (19 students)

LO. Openness 82.60 4.35 13.04 (19

X 83.90 6.89 9.07

s.d. 5.82 4.65 4.79

var. 30.45 19.47 20.69

98

Table 5. Total Score of Discovering, Relating and Actualizing with Deviation from an Ideal Score (10 x 1)

Student Age Total Score

Ideal Score

Deviation from Ideal Score

Irene 15 13 10 3

Olivia 16 14 10 4

Frank 15 15 10 5

Roland 17 15 10 5

Ellen 15 16 10 6

Jeanne 15 16 10 6

Vic 18 16 10 6

Uvie 18 16 10 6

Kirby 15 17 10 7

Michael 16 17 10 7

Teddy 17 17 10 7

Walter 14 17 10 • 7

Carl 18 17 10 7

Helen 15 18 10 8

Lois 15 18 10 8

Naomi 16 18 10 8

Dick 14 20 10 10

Sam 17 20 10 10

Buddy 18 21 10 11

Grace 15 22 10 12

Perry 16 27 10 17

Quinto 17 33 10 23

Alfie 15 36 10 26

99

An analysis of the sample using a Student t-test (Bruning

and Kintz 1968) indicated that there was no statistically sig­

nificant difference in responses by item or by category by sex of

respondent. An analysis of the sample indicated that there was

no statistically significant difference in response by item or

category by age of the respondent. An analysis of the sample in­

dicated that there was no statistically significant difference in

response by item or by category, age, or sex of the respondent.

It appears that students perceive changes in themselves regard­

less of age or sex. A non-directional Student t-test (Bruning

and Kintz 1968, pp. 7-9) was used to determine possible statis­

tically significant variables (Appendix G).

Kuder Richardson 2 0 (Bruning and Kintz 1968, p. 191), an

assessment of reliability, was performed by the investigator for

the population involved in the study. It indicated a high reli­

ability of .89. Analysis of the data by item and by category

utilizing the KR20 was performed and probabilities established

that all items and categories would tend to cluster in the favor­

able response range. Bruning (in Bruning and Kintz 1968, p. 191)

stated:

A high reliability coefficient—.70 or higher—would mean that the test was accurately measuring some charac­teristic of the people taking it. Further, it would mean that the individual items on the test were produc­ing similar patterns of responding in different people. Therefore, a high value would mean that the test items were homogeneous, and therefore valid.

100

As represented in Table 5, students at the top of the

table could be said to be more self-actualized than students at

the bottom. It is perhaps significant to examine further factors

which may or may not contribute to the self-actualizing process.

This table of individual students' responses to the 10 statements

(total scores) was presented showing a range of 13 to 36, with an

ideal score of 10 and a range of deviation of 3 to 24. For pur­

poses of greater breadth of description, this investigator se­

lected two of the respondents to examine as examples. These

studies appear in Chapter 4.

In Appendix E, mean scores by statement and category are

given. The mean scores for categories I, II, and III are re­

spectively: 5.78, 5.69, and 5.86.

In Appendix D scores for each statement indicated a mean

of the category of 1.92 for category I, 1.86 for category II, and

1.94 for category III. The low mean for category I might be at­

tributed to statement four on new ways of learning. Certainly,

all the mean scores for the categories are positive positions and

support the qualitative data presented earlier. Appendix F lists

all correlations between statements and each category and between

categories, as well as correlations between statements and cate­

gories with adjusted total scores, and total scores.

CHAPTER 4

TWO EXAMPLES OF DIFFERING LEVELS OF SELF-ACTUALIZATION

Introduction

This chapter is concerned with two examples of specific

students' perceptions and their levels of self-actualizing based

on the theoretical framework. These two case studies and the

narratives from the students serve to demonstrate the individu­

ality and personality of the two students in a manner not possi­

ble in earlier chapters. No quantitative data not already

accounted for is presented in this chapter. The intent of this

chapter is to broaden the considerations of the qualitative as­

pects of the self-actualization process under investigation.

These two students, whose case studies are next presented,

were interviewed three or four times during the school year for a

closer contact and a closer look at the processes each was under­

going. The investigator's observations were used as well as the

narrative of the students. The two examples will be presented in

the following manner: (1) a brief description of the student

collected from the initial taped interview, (2) an extended ex­

ample of the narrative responses, and (3) an analytical summary

of the comments in terms of the theoretical framework.

101

102

Example One

Jeanne was a girl of medium height and weight with

sparkling blue eyes and brown hair. She wore her hair in bangs

which gave her the appearance of a Dutch girl. Her fair skin ac­

centuated this impression.

She had attended public school all her life, and accord­

ing to her observation she had been a "misfit." Her mother was a

nurse and her father was a retired military man. One sibling was

by her father while the other two were fathered by a stepfather.

Reading was the first and foremost activity in Jeanne's

life. Next in order of importance, as she reported it, were eat­

ing and talking. Her reading interests included such books as:

As I Lay Dying, Lord of the Flies, and Catcher in the Rye.

Her previous education before coming to Program NOW as a

14-year old freshman was at a local junior high school where she

had an undistinguished record of what she called "ditching, day

dreaming and reading." She indicated that she was a "social out­

cast" there for a long time. She seemed always to be on the

outside observing other students and "their stages," and not

participating. She make the following observation about herself:

When I was at junior high I was really a social out­cast for a long time, and I guess I still am but I used to always see a group of people and instead of hanging on the outside, I'd always say "aren't they cute." Look at those stages they're going through. I would be sit­ting there and everyone would be talking. It was really weird because I felt like they were my kids or something. I was just looking at them.

103

In the first interview, Jeanne stated that her family

situation was very tense with eight people living in a small

house. Subsequent to these interviews, she moved back to live

with her father. She confided that her real father was an al­

coholic. Her divorced mother had married her present husband who

was another alcoholic. Jeanne was angry with her mother for this

second marriage and felt that she should have been consulted be­

cause she had to live with the man, too. She noted, "I really

love my mother, but she makes such bad choices." Jeanne particu­

larly resented this present husband because of his "sexual ad­

vances" toward her. She had discussed this with her mother at

lunch one day and Jeanne quoted her mother as saying, "Have an­

other sandwich, dear."

The Program NOW atmosphere was exciting to Jeanne, and

she was finding herself opening up to teachers and learning to

take more risks. The library was her favorite spot where she

spent long hours talking to her new friends in the "stream of

consciousness" style that was so typical of her. Her friends

ranged from freshmen to seniors and from "rednecks to gays."

At the time of this study, she was enrolled in three

English courses, one art course, and a human relations course

which was required of all new students. According to the records

at Program NOW, Jeanne scored below the mean in a self-concept

inventory, a possible indication of problems at home, and at

school. She scored at the ninth stanine in reading.

104

Our last interview at the end of the year to assess "Dis­

covery—of Self," "Relating—to Others," and "Actualizing—the

Self," was scheduled nine months after entering the program.

Jeanne's total score was 17 compared to a sample mean of 19 (the

lower the score, the more actualizing the student was). Her sub-

scores were "Discovering—the Self," 8, "Relating—to Others,

3; and 5 for "Actualizing—the Self."

On statement number one, which inquired about general

changes in self, Jeanne stated:

I have more important feelings about myself as a stu­dent at NOW. As a student here, you are important. I never was important before because I was never into being a student, and teachers wanted to teach the people who were into being students. Now I think I am important to people. I like learning, I really do. But at my other school, they'd always give you such dumb things to learn. I didn't see any relevance to what they were teaching. When I'm in this kind of atmosphere I feel open and cre­ative. I feel calmer and happier. Really, like you know, you feel good about yourself. I feel unpressured. When someone puts pressure on me I just say "no," and then I feel guilty and stupid.

In statement number two assessing changes in her inter­

ests, Jeanne remarked:

Definitely. I used to watch T.V., but now my big thing is the human condition. That's why I'm so depressed. My teacher has me reading Sartre and Camus. They are a combination of existentialism and apathy. I think exis­tentialism is a kind of apathy. I'm reading all these people and these weird French people.

In statement number three, assessing new goals for her­

self, Jeanne noted:

I don't really have any goals. My goal is not setting goals. I'm very unpredictable, when it comes to fulfilling

105

goals. One day I might say "Alright, I'm going to write a stage play about a sadist that gets involved with a masochist and watch them die," and then two days later I think "I can't do that and who do I think I am? Why do I want to do that?" I just got attached to one charac­ter and that is sort of dumb. And it's stupid to write something that no one would pay money to see.

On statement number four, about new ways of learning, she

observed:

My teacher here at NOW has really made me think, which nobody ever did before. She gave me something to think about. I think traditional schools try to program your thinking. They think of you as a tape recorder. They stop you, play you back, put a little pencil and a piece of paper in front of you and you write what they tell you. Here I am required to think, and at a high level.

Communicating and the changes perceived in this area was

the content of statement number five, about which Jeanne

commented:

I have learned to communicate. I go into the library and I get up and communicate. I like to make people laugh so I communicate to entertain them. I love having an audience. I love bantering with people. I like get­ting all that attention. I even taught people to feed me lines. I was really neurotic about this kind of com­municating and I did it for nine weeks when I wasn't in class.

On statement number six concerning changes i-n being more » --A

accepting, she observed: )

I strongly agree that I'm more accepting since coming to NOW. For one thing I know a few people that I know are gay and I like them a lot. And at the same time, I know someone who said he'd beat a gay to death with a lead pipe if he had the opportunity, and I like them both. I mean, I don't care. That's their problem.

106

Changes in sharing behavior was the content of statement

number seven, and Jeanne noted:

I strongly agree that I'm more sharing. I share everything here, even my money, and I'm always broke. I started sitting with this very shy girl, because I knew it was hard for her to talk. She can read, but she just can't talk. Now she is agreeing and disagree­ing. And she is actually beginning to be more aggres­sive with her twin sister who was always putting her down. When people would start talking to me, I'd always get her into the conversation. I'd focus the attention on Betty even for just a second. It was like training them to pay attention to her. And I really insist on a conversation, but just a hello' or goodbye. I say "Bruce, when you say hello or goodbye to me say, 'hello, how are you,' and give me a big hug!" And it works.

Statement number eight concerned perceived changes in

choicing. Her response was:

My teacher was going to give me a "D" in English so I went to see her. I raised hell about it. I risked going in there and saying, "This is my work, and you gave me a 'D' for it." She said that she was wrong and the grade was really a "B." But I risked going in there and being wrong and everything I've done has turned out. There have been a lot of choices that I've made when I took the initiative. It turned out to be a positive thing. I took the risk that she might say that I was an idiot.

Jeanne responded to statement number nine regarding

changes she perceived in her growing and expanding by saying:

The biggest thing I've done about expanding and grow­ing is that I went through a period of narcissism when I'd just stare at myself in a mirror. I didn't even know what I looked like. Now I think I'm not as ugly as I used to think. People used to tell me I was ugly and I believed them. Now I know that is not true. I have a picture of myself. I see myself as I really am at this moment. I see myself as someone who can be neurotic about getting people to laugh. I see myself as someone who can even think of death and pain in an even condi­tion. I am beginning to recognize these qualities that I have.

107

When asked in statement number 10 about perceived changes

in openness, she remarked:

I agree with my friend who said that so many of our responses are socially conditioned so that it's diffi­cult to know when I'm being open and honest. I am more assertive in this environment and I do feel strongly toward a lot of people but I have inhibitions about saying, "Betty, I really love you. I care about you more than I care about most people." It's hard for me to be open with my feelings. I find it easier to say, "I don't care about you." I'm afraid of rejection. My defense is to act crazy and tell myself "You are not really crazy, you are just acting that way!" Once I told a person I cared about that person a lot and that person didn't talk to me for four months. Ever since then, I'm afraid to tell people I care about them for fear they'll run away. Being open and honest is very important to me, but it's hard to do. I do agree that I am changing.

In summary, Example One, Jeanne, seemed to be a young

girl who saw many changes as she discovered new aspects of her

self. As indicated by her responses to statements number two

and number four, she was totally involved in new ways of learning

and thinking, and in developing new interests for herself in the

alternative school setting. She appeared to be challenged for

the first time in her academic career, and felt that "she was no

longer in a factory." In previous schools, she perceived her

teachers as "doing you a favor." She totally rejected the idea

of herself, a 15-year old, developing personal goals. She ap­

peared to want to experience with no goals in mind at the present

time.

"Relating—to Others" appeared to be the area where she

was experiencing the greatest gains. She found herself more

108

accepting, sharing, non-judgmental, and communicating with stu­

dents and teachers. She found the atmosphere non-threatening,

and was more willing to choice and take risks. She appeared to

be not too satisfied with the level of communication she main­

tained with her peers, for she labeled this behavior "neurotic."

"Actualizing—the Self" was another area where Jeanne saw

great growth in herself. She found herself taking risks, choic-

ing, assuming the responsibility for those choices, expanding her

new points, changing her self-image, and to a lesser degree grow­

ing in openness and being straightforward in her communications.

Additionally, she was frightened about being open' because of some

traumatic experience with family and/or peers. She was growing

in this area, she stated, but very slightly. It may be that she

was subjected to the peer pressures to conceal her feelings, of

being "cool," when it came to admitting that one cared about an­

other human being. To be open about grades was less threatening

than to admit one cared for and had concern for another person.

Example Number Two

Alfie, a young Black student, was 15 at the time of the

initial interview in October. The interviewer observed his be­

havior over a period of weeks before the interview. He was shy,

would not speak out in class, and seemed to prefer the company of

two Mexican American girls rather than boys his own age. He

spoke in such a soft monotone that it was difficult to assess

changes in moods, feelings or attitudes. One might even describe

109

his voice as apathetic. His favorite T.V. programs were soap

operas, and his favorite hobby was working on cars. He had had a

job, but quit because he resented the amount of overtime he had

to work.

0nnstatement number one, the introductory statement,

Alfie said: "As a student, I see myself as the same."

For statement number two concerning new interests, Alfie

noted: "I did all these things last year."

On statement number three, concerning new goals, Alfie

said: "Let's put it this way, I'm not sure what I want do to."

For statement number four, new ways of learning, Alfie

commented: "Yeah, that's sort of a new way—learning in small

groups."

On statement number five, Alfie was not sure about any

change in his ability to communicate with others. He commended,

"To tell you the truth, I don't like White people." Alfie did,

however, indicate uncertainties about ethnicity rather than his

feelings about communication in general or the investigator in

particular.

For statement number six, concerning acceptance of

others, Alfie's remarks were similar to those in statement number

five. Acceptance, like communication, seemed to be an ethnically

related area for Alfie.

On statement number seven, inquiring about sharing, Alfie

said, "If I don't know a person, I won't share with nobody."

110

For statement number eight, choicing, Alfie had marked

the Likert scale as uncertain which was in contrast to his com­

ment, "Yes, I can make choices about attending classes." He

added that even talking to the interviewer was perceived as a

choice.

On statement number nine, which concerned the expanding

self, Alfie had marked disagree on the Likert scale and was

evasive about commenting, except to say that he would not "open

up."

On statement number 10, regarding openness and straight­

forwardness, Alfie was again non-specific in his comments. They

seemed to indicate that he was straightforward and open in rela­

tionship to people. He noted that he would just "walk away" if

he didn't want to talk. In general, he was reluctant to talk

about growing and being open.

Alfie's score on "Discovering—the Self" was 9, on "Re­

lating—to Others" 13, and on "Actualizing—the Self," 10; his

total was 36 while he scored 4 on the umbrella statement. He

deviated 26 points from the ideal score, and 17 from the sample

mean of 19 (the lower the score, the more self-actualizing).

The records at Program NOW indicated that Alfie scored

near the mean on the self-concept inventory with few problems at

home or with peers. His reading score was at the second stanine.

His attendance at school was excellent and his grades average.

Ill

In summary, Example Two, Alfie, seemed to be a young man

who saw little discovery about himself. The only area in which

he perceived discovery was his growing ability to talk in small

groups. In a general discussion, Alfie noted that he was not

committed to learning, but that he did want to improve his skills

in sports. He maintained that there were no joyful experiences

in his life except "shopping with his mother,,r or "visiting with

his mother."

In great contrast to Jeanne, AlfieTs world seemed limited

to "soap opera," cars, and sports. The area of reading which ap­

peared to have opened up many experiences for Jeanne was limited

for Alfie because of his low reading ability. He maintained

that there had been little discovery for him at Program NOW; that

is, he perceived very little. When the investigator mentioned

areas of possible growth in discovery, Alfie seemed puzzled and

he became "unsure." Alfie appeared to be at another level of

need on the self-actualization scale proposed by Maslow (1970a).

It seemed that he was still at the level of security and safety

rather than that of self-actualization. The interview experience

seemed to suggest to the investigator, though, that Alfie was

showing signs of "opening up" and being "more straightforward,"

particularly as it applied to the relationship with her which

developed over a period of nine months.

Alfie shared with Jeanne in a refusal to set personal

goals, although Jeanne in her high level of abstraction and

112

articulation was able to express this more precisely than Alfie.

"Relating—to Others" appeared to be an area in which Alfie did

not see himself as having changed. From the context of his com­

ments, however, the investigator questioned Alfie's denial of

change, as Alfie had tended to become more assertive as the in­

terview process continued. It appeared that Alfie felt a degree

of alienation from the school—alienation in the sense of being

a "stranger." He was surrounded by a predominantly White popu­

lation, and was beginning to express some feeling of resentment

over this situation. He was, however, beginning to become aware

of some of his hostility toward the end of the school year.

Jeanne experienced a great deal of joy in communicating with her

friends while Alfie admitted to few, it any, joyful experiences.

Alfie was a loner while Jeanne was surrounded by other highly

verbal people who got "turned on" by exchanging witticisms and

in general, bandying words about.

"Actualizing—the Self" appeared to be mainly an area of

evasion as far as Alfie's responses were concerned. He did com­

ment that he was more creative, in his opinion, in the innovative

school program. Although the scaled responses were quantitative­

ly negative, AlfieTs comments concerning choicing were positive

in that he appeared clearly aware of his choice to limit his own

participation. Alfie1s communication's pattern seemed as inef­

fectual for his own purposes as it was sparse. Language as a

tool for abstract thinking was employed at a high level by Jeanne

113

who talked about the "human condition." In the case of Alfie,

he appeared, among other things, to have misconceptions about the

role of the police on our society and about the function of a

course in self-defense at Program NOW.

Summary

Examples One and Two, concerning Jeanne and Alfie, re­

vealed several considerations regarding the qualitative aspects

of the self-actualization process under investigation.

Within category I, "Discovering—the Self," the quantita­

tive data showed little difference in Jeanne's and AlfieTs re­

sponses; averaged responses for the two were 2.66 and 3.00

respectively for the three statements (Appendix D), and showed an

average mean for category I of 1.92 for all respondents. An

examination of their comments, however, revealed a significant

qualitative difference between the two young persons. Alfie per­

ceived little discovery for himself, except for an increased

ability to communicate in small groups; whereas, Jeanne perceived

a great deal of discovery about herself in two of the areas. In

the area of goal setting, she appeared to feel that goal setting

at 15 years of age was somewhat inappropriate for her.

Within category II, "Relating—to Others," Jeanne and Al­

fie showed averaged responses of 1.00 and 4.33 respectively for

the statements within the category, an obvious quantitative dif­

ference. In their comments, Alfie perceived little definite

114

growth in himself as he related to others even though he was able

to communicate feelings of prejudice or hostility to the inves­

tigator. Jeanne saw a great deal of growth in herself in com­

municating, sharing, and accepting.

Within category III, "Actualizing—the Self," Jeanne and

Alfie recorded averaged responses of 1.66 and 3.33 respectively

for the statements within the category, again for an obvious

quantitative difference. Their commentary highlighted clearly

the differences in their actualization perceptions. While Alfie

was consistently unsure or in disagreement about the items con­

cerned with actualization, Jeanne saw herself as chancing in

choicing and expanding, and to a lesser degree, perceived a posi­

tive shift toward openness.

Figure 13 depicts the variation in scores between Alfie

and Jeanne.

115

1.

2 .

Changes in Self

New Interests

• « \

\ \ \ > N / N / \ /

3 . New Goals

\ / y / s / > / •

4 . New Ways of Learning

/ / / X / /

/\ / \

5 . Communicating Behavior / \

/ \ 1 \ |

6 . Accepting Behavior 1 N i • 1

7 . Sharing Behavior 1 I . • 1 ^ r / 1 \ \

8 . Choicing Behavior

1 I . • 1 ^ r / 1 \ \

9 . Growing

\ \ \ \ \ \ • »

1 / | /

10. Openness

Jeanne

Alfie

1 / 1 / I /

1 2 3 4 5

Figure 13. Two Examples of Discovering, Relating, and Actualizing Behaviors

CHAPTER 5

FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

In this chapter, the findings of the study are reviewed

and summarized and certain recommendations are presented. The

chapter is divided into two sections. The first section presents

the findings which were organized on the basis of the categories

of the theoretical framework used throughout the investigation.

The second section contains the conclusions and recommendations

of the investigator based on the findings.

Findings of the Study

This study was concerned with the perceptions of a se­

lected population of students experiencing their first year in an

alternative, secondary school environment as they regarded changes

in themselves. A theoretical framework, focused on elements of

the "self-actualization" or "growth" process and incorporating

concepts from social-psychological literature was constructed.

The framework consisted of three main categories with their ac­

companying sub-categories and is as follows:

1. Discovering—the Self

a. New Interests

b. New Goals

c. New Ways of Learning

116

117

2. Relating—to Others

a. Communicating

b. Accepting .

c. Sharing

3. Actualizing—the Self

a. Choicing

b. Expanding

c. Openness

A Likert type interview schedule was constructed with one

statement and a response scale for each of the nine sub-categories

of the theoretical framework. Additionally, space for respondent

comments was provided following each response scale. One addi­

tional item was included beyond the nine sub-category items which

sought the respondent's perception regarding overall changes in

the self. The investigator personally interviewed each of the 23

students in the population and obtained scaled responses and

either written or audio-taped comments from each student.

The quantitative data for all 10 scaled response items

showed a pattern of clear agreement throughout the various item

statements. Within the category of Discovering—the Self, agree­

ment of the respondents was as follows: (1) discovering new in­

terests, 82.81% agreement, (2) discovering new goals, 78.25%

agreement, (3) discovering new ways of learning, 91.30% agreement.

Overall category agreement was 84.5%.

118

Within the category of Relating—to Others, agreement

of the respondents was as follows: (1) changes in communicat­

ing, 87.04% agreement, (2) changes in accepting behavior, 78.2 5%

agreement, (3) changes in sharing behavior, 73.90% agreement.

Overall agreement was 83.03%.

Within the category of Actualizing—the Self, agreement

of the respondents was as follows: (1) changes in choicing,

86.94% agreement, (2) expanding, 86.94% agreement, and (3) changes

in openness, 82.60%. Overall agreement was 85.46%.

The qualitative data derived from the "comments" portion

of each of the 10 items was useful in ascertaining particular im­

pressions and perceptions of the respondents concerning the

"actualization" or "growth" process. Under the category of Dis­

covering—the Self, the students commented on the following:

(1) new interests—taken a new interest in painting, developed a

concern for personal autonomy, created a skill in organizing

self, began making a mathematics game, (2) new goals—set a goal

of graduation, avoid fearing failure, attending school, set

higher expectations of self, choosing career of airline hostess,

and (3) new ways of learning—learn by doing, learn by listening,

learn by independent study, learn effective communication with

teachers, learn how to learn.

Under the category Relating—to Others, the students

commented on the following: (1) communicating--can better com­

municate with teachers, communicate easier in alternative

119

environment, talk much more in this environment, talk to parents

and teachers more easily, (2) accepting—learned to accept all

kinds of people, have Black friends now, not bothered by differ­

ent people now, don't hate Blacks and Mexicans now, not bothered

by strange people now, it's alright to be different here, and

(3) sharing—not too shy to share here, find myself helping

people here, trying to help students in classes, here I'm in­

volved, here people help other people, and the teachers are shar­

ing and caring.

Under the category of Actualizing—the Self, the students

commented on the following: (1) choicing—making the choice to

stay in school, learning to take the risk of choicing, choosing

to do photography, choosing to go to college, choosing construc­

tive things, choosing no credit instead of failure, accepting

responsibility for choices, (2) expanding—discovering I'm a

learner, learning to see myself more clearly, growing in new

ideas, developing more interests, experiencing more, not afraid

to try new things, learning to like math, getting more interested

in politics, learning to enjoy my growth, and (3) openness—more

open with people here, still afraid, but learning to be open,

learning to speak up, learning to accept blame, learning to

criticize the teacher, saying what I want to here, standing up

for what I believe in, more open in this structure, seeing my­

self as more patient, not so driven, learning to come out of my

world, to be more open, to express myself.

The following is a summary of the findings of the study.

120

Discovering

1. Most of the students in the study perceived themselves

as having developed new interests during their first year

in the alternative program. Qualitatively, the new found

interests took many forms including artistic, psychologi­

cal, mathematical, personal organization and personal

autonomy.

2. Most of the students in the study reported having devel­

oped new goals during the year. Qualitatively, the new

goals ranged from increased efforts to advantage self in

the school setting to making career choices.

3. A highly significant majority of the students reported

finding new ways of learning for themselves. Qualita­

tively, the new ways of learning ranged from discovery of

approaches to self-direction in learning to effective

student-teacher communication.

Relating

1. A great majority of the students in the study perceived

themselves as having markedly developed their communica­

tion skills during their first year in the alternative

program. Qualitatively, the new communication skills

ranged from a newly developed willingness to speak in the

presence of others through a recently developed capacity

to talk to a parent and a new found inner resource for

handling criticism.

121

Most of the students saw themselves as having considera­

bly developing their capacity for accepting others during

their first year in the alternative program. Qualita­

tively, this accepting behavior ranged from new found

acceptance of other races, of other life-styles, and of

self to a recently developed ability to accept teachers.

A preponderance of the students in the study noted an in­

creased willingness to share themselves with others.

Qualitatively, this sharing ranged from ridding self of

fear of shyness and becoming involved with others to par­

ticipating in group experiences for the first time and

moving outside self in the classroom to make friends.

Actualizing

1. A significant majority of students reported positive

changes in choicing behavior. Qualitatively, choicing

included items ranging from coming to school, to

courses. Additionally, students reported they now could

accept better the consequences for these choices.

2. A vast majority of students perceived themselves to be

growing and expanding in the alternative learning pro­

gram. Qualitatively, their comments covered many areas

of growth. This growth covered areas such as a new per­

ception of the role of learner, the role of exploration,

the growth of experiencing more rewarding interpersonal

relationships, and growth in community exploration.

2.

3.

122

3. Lastly, openness and straightforwardness was perceived

to be an area of great positive growth for most stu­

dents. Qualitatively, their perceptions pointed to in­

creased communication with teachers and the importance of

the accepting atmosphere in the alternative school which

facilitated their ease in this communication.

Recommendations

In general, schools as they exist today are remnants of

an educational design in which educators had little need to give

attention to the personal interests and concerns of its stu­

dents. Schools have not traditionally been involved with the

quality of human relationships; they have been "content" rather

than "contact" oriented. Professional training has tended to em­

phasize methods and practices focused on cognitive acquisitions.

Additionally, since education in this country has been public and

compulsory, considerations of the individual learner's self have

been largely ignored in favor of more tangible factors such as

buildings, books and standardized test scores. But tangibility

does not mean that is all there is. Learner's capacities which

are not easily measurable have been ignored. Those who use

measurable capacities have tended to treat learners as objects,

and thus have had a dehumanizing effect on them.

The finding of this investigation indicates that, from

the learners' perspective, there is a high degree of concern for

self-actualization and/or self-growth as a person and as a

123

learner. Included in this concern were the matters of (1) Dis­

covering—the Self with the sub-categories of New Interests, New

Goals, and New Ways of Learning, (2) Relating—to Others with the

sub-categories of Communicating, Accepting, and Sharing, and

(3) Actualizing—the Self with the sub-categories of Choicing,

Expanding, and Openness. Of special concern to the population

under study were the matters of "New Ways of Learning," "Communi­

cating," "Choicing," and "Expanding." The young people in this

study reported that they felt better about themselves as they

changed in positive ways regarding these intensely personal

experiences.

The foregoing trends raise some basic questions concern­

ing the function of self-actualization in the learning process,

specifically the learning process in an alternative school set­

ting. What can be done in an alternative environment to increase

awareness of the interactions between self-actualization and the

learning process? In answer to the question, the following recom­

mendations are made to teacher training institutions and to the

many teachers and administrators presently serving in the alter­

native schools.

1. Regarding staff—alternative programs should take the

initiative in providing experiences in:

a. facilitating student-teacher communication through a

renewal of interest in process and living/learning.

Learning how to enter into authentic relationships is

124

the basis for all learning. Those involved in such a

relationship are in a position to learn from each

other.

b. emphasizing decision making and goal setting in class

and school processes.

c. going beyond values clarification in themselves and

in students to self-actualizing values and a search

for meaning.

d. expanding choices to avoid high attrition in alterna­

tive programs.

e. allowing time for student to adjust to a process

oriented school to avoid high attrition.

f. offering practical processes and learn by doing class­

room and community activities such as credit courses

for participating in the governing process in the

school and in the community.

g. urging continual reevaluation of staff value orienta­

tions regarding student self-concept and self-

actualization.

Regarding teacher training, institutions, preparation of

teachers should include the following:

a. pre-professional and in-service experiences which

utilize contact and are process oriented to enhance

awareness of teacher's self-concept and self-

actualization in various educational settings.

125

b. workshops, professional preparatory classes, seminars

and in-service training which utilize contact and are

process oriented to enhance awareness of student-

teacher relationships and teaching that this authen­

tic relationship is the basis for all other learning.

c. pre-professional and in-service experiences which

utilize contact and are process oriented to enhance

awareness of learner self-concept and self-

actualization in various educational settings.

d. pre-professional and in-service training which empha­

sizes through actual experiencing the uniqueness of

the self, as teacher or as learner.

e. teaching self-actualizing values as an integral part

of teaching in a democracy.

3. Regarding curriculum, alternative program planners should

take the initiative in piloting activities deeply con­

cerned with self-actualization ventures such as:

a. emphasizing that structure is different from process.

A class in human relationships does not necessarily

provide a personal relationship process that is con­

ducive to growth in self. Similarly a class in demo­

cratic structure may not necessarily provide personal

experiences in democratic processes. Learning about

a thing is different from learning to do a thing;

learning about justice is different from learning to

be just.

126

facilitating student input into programs, policy and

process; and student commitment to community

involvement.

reducing class size to permit growth in interpersonal

relationships.

encouraging student advocacy and grievance

presentations.

teaching and exploring role playing and role

reversal.

expanding learners' interests through extended travel

as a class for credit.

APPENDIX A

MASLOW'S HIERARCHY OF HUMAN NEEDS IN PYRAMID FORM*

Self- n Actualization

Ego Status

Belongingness

Safety

Basic Survival

*Maslow (1970b, p. 25).

127

APPENDIX B

THE SELF-ACTUALIZATION PROCESS

/ Self- \ / Actual- \ / ization \

Ego Status

Belongingness

Safety

Basic Survival

Actual-ising— the Self

9 Expanding

8 Choicing

7 Sharing Relating—

to Others 6 Accepting

5 Communicating \

4 New Ways of Learning Discovering'

Perceived General Changes in Self—Statement 1

128

APPENDIX C

THE BEING VALUES*

The characteristics of being are also the values of being . . . the preferences of full human goals . . . the far goals of ideal humanistic education; the far goals and the expression of some kinds of religion; the charac­teristics of the ideally good environment and of the ideally good society. (Underlining mine.)

1. Truth: (honesty; reality; nakedness; simplicity; richness; essentiality; oughtness; beauty; pure; clean and undul-terated completeness).

2. Goodness: (rightness; desirability; oughtness; justice; benevolence; honesty); (we love it, are attracted to it, approve of it).

3. Beauty: (rightness; form; aliveness; simplicity; richness; wholeness; perfection; completion; uniqueness; honesty).

4. Wholeness: (unity; integration; tendency to oneness; in-terconnectedness; simplicity; organization; structure; order; not dissociated; synergy; homonomous and integra­tive tendencies).

5. Aliveness: (process; not-deadness; spontaneity; self-regulation; full-functioning; changing and yet remaining the same; expressing itself).

6. Uniqueness: (idiosyncrasy; individuality; noncomparabili-ty; novelty; quale; suchness; nothing else like it).

7. Perfection: (nothing superfluous; nothing lacking; every­thing in its place; unimprovable; just-rightness; just-so-ness, suitability; justice; completeness; nothing beyond; oughtness).

8. Completion: (ending; finality; justice; it's finished; no more changing of the Gestalt; fulfillment; finis and

*Maslow (1976, pp. 128-129).

129

130

telos; nothing missing or lacking; totality; fulfillment of destiny; cessation; climax; consumation closure; death before rebirth; cessation and completion of growth and development).

9. Justice: (fairness; oughtness; suitability; architec­tonic quality; necessity; inevitably; disinterestedness; nonpartiality).

10. Simplicity: (honesty; nakedness; essentiality; abstract unmistakability; essential skeletal structure; the heart of the matter; bluntness; only that which is necessary; without ornament, nothing extra or superfluous).

11. Richness: (differentiation; complexity; intricacy; to­tality; nothing missing or hidden; all there; "non-importance," i.e., everything is equally important; nothing is unimportant; everything left the way it is, without improving, simplifying, abstracting, rearranging).

12. Effortlessness: (ease; lack of strain, striving, or difficulty; grace; perfect and beautiful functioning).

13. Playfulness: (fun, joy; amusement; gaiety; humor; exu­berance; effortlessness.)

14. Self-sufficiency: (autonomy; independence; not-needing-thing-other-than-itself-in-order-to-be-itself; self-determining; environment-transcendence; separateness; living by its own laws; identity).

APPENDIX D

MEAN SCORES FOR ALL 10 STATEMENTS

0 . 1 . 2

#1 1. 78

#2 2. 08

#3 2. 09

1.92

#4 1. 61

#5 1. 70

#6 1. 70 H 00 cn

#7 2. 17

#8 1. 87

#9 1. 96 H UD

#10 2. 00

UD O

131

Ad;

32 20

16

19

13

13

20

16

12

15

15

16

15

17

12

26

29

14 IS

15

n

15

—15 i 44 • 1.35 i.32

APPENDIX E

AVERAGES BY ITEMS AND BY CATEGORIES

Statements

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 I II

4 4 3 2 3 5 5 3 4 3 9 13

1 4 4 1 1 1 4 3 1 1 9 6

1 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 1 6 5

1 2 1 2 1 2 It 2 1 5 7

2 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 it • 3 3

2 2 2 1 2 1 1 2 ' 1 1 5 4-

2 2 . 3 2 2 3 2 2 ' 2 2 7 7

2 1 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 5 5

1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 2 . it 3

1 2 4 2 1 1 1 1 2 2 8 3

2 2 2 1 2 2 1 2 2 1 5 5

2 2 2 1 2 1 2 2 2 2 5 5

2 2 2 1 2 2 1 1 2 2 5 5

1 2 2 1 1 3 2 2 2 2 5 6

2 2 2 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 5 4

1 2 1 3 It. 3 3 3 3 If 6 10

4 4 3 4 4 2 2 4 2 11 10

1 1 1 1 2 1 3 2 1 2 3 6

2 2 3 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 7 5

2 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 2 it 6

2 2 2 2 1 1 1 2 2 1 6 3

1 3 1 1 2 1 2 1 2 2 5 5

2 2 ' 2 1 1 2 2 2 2 1 5 y :.76 2.08 2.09 1.61 1.70 1.70 1.85 0.90 0.90 0.78 0.93 0,93 >.69 0,77 0.77 0.59 0.82 0.82 1.83 0.90 0.88 0.76 0,91 0.91

2,17 1.67 1.96 2.00 1.15 0.62 0.82 0.95 1.27 0.37 O.65 0.87 1.13 0,61 0.81 0.93

5.78 1.59 3.64 1.91

5.<>9 2.45

' 5.78 2.40

132

APPENDIX F

TABLE OF CORRELATION COEFFICIENTS

Statements

No. 1

No. 2

No. 3

No. 4

No.}

No. 6

No. 7

No. 8

No. 9

No. 10

No, 1

No. 1

N o . i

No. 2

No. 3

No. 4

No. 5

No.6

No. 7

No. 8

No. 9

No. 10

Category

I I XI

Adjusted Total Score

.56

.48

.33

.68

.75

.84

.57

.76

.41

CAtegorles

No. I

No. II

No. Ill

No. I

No. I

No. I

No. II

No. II

No. II

NO. Ill

NO. Ill

No. Ill

II III ni

Total Score

.66

.47

.35

.67

.76

.85

.53

.61

.79

.38

.Correlation

.39

..51

.38

.74

.78 .

.74

.86

.71

.62

.73

.78

.54

.32

.76

Category -Adjusted Score

I

II

III

I

II

III

.66

.92

.82

Total Score

.74

.88

.92

133

APPENDIX G

STUDENT T-TESTS

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APPENDIX H

CONSENT FORM

To Whom It May Concern:

This interview schedule is part of a research study entitled, "What Perceptions Do Students Have of Changes in Self in an Al­ternative School Environment." While awareness of the self-actualization process is growing, there are still some areas of research which need to be done, particularly among teenagers where the research is almost nonexistant. Also, the published results of this study will be invaluable to those who are provid­ing services to this group of young people.

Your participation in this study is completely voluntary. The completion of this interview schedule will require approximately 30 minutes of your time. There will be no costs, benefits, or risks to you from your participation in this study. You may with­draw from completing the interview schedule at any time, and you may refuse to answer any questions without incurring any ill will. Completion of the interview schedule indicates that you have will­ingly consented to participate in this study. Be assured that all interview schedules are anonymous and all information will be kept confidential. Your responses will be grouped with the responses of other teenagers to provide me with the information I seek. Any information used in locating participants will be destroyed at the conclusion of the study and no record will be kept of your participation in the study.

I thank you for your help in this study. The success of the proj­ects depends upon your participation, and I believe you will find it interesting. I will provide you with a summary of the results of the study upon request. If you have any questions concerning this research, please feel free to telephone me at the number listed below.

Alene Winifred Hall Doctoral Student 1124 West Los Alamos Tucson, AZ 85704 887-2600

142

APPENDIX I

CHANGES IN PERCEPTION OF SELF DURING ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL EXPERIENCE QUESTIONNAIRE

Name

1. My feelings about myself as a student have changed since I came to Project NOW.

/ / L L Strongly Agree Unsure Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree

Comments:

2. I have discovered new interests as a student since enrolling here.

/ L / _ L Strongly Agree Unsure Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree

Comments:

3. I have found new goals for myself as a student since enrolling.

/ L L L Strongly Agree Unsure Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree

Comments: .

143

144

4. In this school, I have found new ways of learning.

/ / / L Strongly Agree Unsure Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree

Comments:

5. I have learned to communicate more easily with others since coming here.

/ / L L Strongly Agree Unsure Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree

Comments:

6. I am more accepting of others since enrolling in Project NOW.

/ / L L Strongly Agree Unsure Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree

Comments:

7. I am more willing to share with others since I came to Project NOW.

/ L L L Strongly Agree Unsure Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree

Comments:

8. I am more aware of making choices for myself since I entered this program.

/ / L L Strongly Agree Unsure Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree

Comments:

145

9. I have found that I am expanding and growing in this new environment.

/ / /__ L Strongly Agree Unsure Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree

Comments:

10. I am more open and straightforward in this alternative atmosphere.

/ / L L Strongly Agree Unsure Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree

Comments:

)

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