Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Social Work (MSW)

Department

Social Work

Faculty/School

Lyle S. Hallman Faculty of Social Work

First Advisor

Maurice Kelly

Advisor Role

Thesis Supervisor

Abstract

This study has two distinct objectives: to evaluate how effectively the family life education program at Sir John A. Macdonald High School in Hamilton, Ontario is meeting its stated objectives and to evaluate the relative effectiveness of a traditional teaching method and an annovative teaching method with this family life education program. There are three groups in this study. The first group took the family life education program taught with the innovative method, the second group took the family life education program taught with the traditional method,a nd the third group did not take a family life education program.

Students in all three groups were administered a pretest questionnaire in October, 1975 and a posttest questionnaire in May, 1976. Tests of significance were applied to all of the following hypotheses:

    1. Degree of change in the proportion of students who report having positive relationships with their parents, teachers, friends and siblings will be greater for students who have taken the family life education program than for students who have not taken the family life education program.
    2. Degree of change in the proportion of students seeking help with their personal problems from their parents, teachers, friends and siblings will be greater for students who have taken the family life education program than for students who have not taken the family life education program.
    3. Degree of change in the proportion of students reporting a high level of assertiveness with their parents, teachers, friends and siblings will be greater for students who have taken the family life education program than for students who have not taken the family life education program.
    4. Degree of change in the proportion of students who have occupational goals will be greater for students who have taken the family life education program than for students who have not taken the family life education program.
    5. Degree of change in the proportion of students with a nontraditional attitude toward marriage and woman’s role will be greater for students who have taken the family life education program than for students who have not taken the family life education program.
    6. Degree of change in the proportion of students with a high level of self-esteem will be greater for students who have taken the family life education program than for students who have not taken the family life education program.
    7. Degree of change in the proportion of students who report having positive relationships with their parents, teachers, friend and siblings will be greater for students who have taken the innovatively taught family life education program than for students who have taken the traditionally taught family life education program.
    8. Degree of change in the proportion of students seeking help with their personal problems from parents, teachers, friends and siblings will be greater for students who have taken the innovatively taught family life education program than for students who have taken the traditionally taught family life education program.
    9. Degree of change in the proportion of students reporting a high level of assertiveness with parents, teachers, friends and siblings will be greater for students who have taken the innovatively taught family life education program than for students who have taken the traditionally taught family life education program.
    10. Degree of change in the proportion of students with a nontraditional attitude toward marriage and woman’s role will be greater for students who have taken the innovatively taught family life education program than for students who have taken the traditionally taught family life education program.
    11. Degree of change in the proportion of students with a high level of self-esteem will be greater for students who have taken the innovatively taught family life education program than for students who have taken the traditionally taught family life education program.

Analysis of the pretest data showed that there were no significant differences among the three groups on age, sex, religion, father’s education, father’s occupation, participation in class, birth position, grade average, relationships with others, help-seeking behaviour, level of assertiveness, the proportion having career goals or attitude toward marriage and woman’s role. The control group had a significantly higher level of self-esteem at pretest.

At posttest, this significant difference had disappeared. We also found that there had been a significant increase in the proportion of comparison group respondents who felt that trial marriages was acceptable for others. The experimental group, at posttest, showed a significant increase in help-seeking behaviour with siblings. There were also two significant findings which were in the opposite direction to that hypothesized. The control group showed a significantly less traditional attitude toward marriage and woman’s role on two counts; there was a significant increase in the number of control group respondents who were undecided about having children, and there was a significant increase in the percentage who had a positive attitude toward trial marriage for themselves.

Only one of the hypotheses predicting greater effectiveness for the innovative teaching method was supported; that students who had taken the innovatively taught family life education program would be more likely to seek help from siblings with their personal problems. The traditionally taught family life educationa program proved significantly more effective in increasing the proportion of students who found trial marriage acceptable for others.

These findings give tentative support ot the proposition that the family life education program at Sir John A. Macdonald High School in Hamilton, Ontario meeting its stated objectives, as outlined in the text. They also suggest that the traditional teaching method and the innovative roleplaying method are equally effective with this particular course material and these particular teachers.

Convocation Year

1976

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