A STUDY OF THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS OF PUPILS AS A BASIS FOR CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT IN A HIGH SCHOOL

164 Pages·09.246 MB·English

by  KELLEY, JEFF THOMAS

A STUDY OF THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS OF PUPILS
AS A BASIS FOR CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
IN A HIGH SCHOOL
BY
JEFF THOMAS KELLEY
B.A., Kentucky Weslcyan College, 1926
Ed.M., Duke University, 1939
THESIS
SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
IN THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, 1951
URBANA, ILLINOIS
1951
A STUDY OF THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS OF PUPILS AS A BASIS
FOR CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT IN A HIGH SCHOOL
The purpose of the study was to project a curriculum for Bay County High
School which would more nearly meet the needs of the pupils. The problem was to
ascertain the facts as to the socio-economic status of the pupils of Bay County
High School and, in light of these data and the accepted purposes of education, to
indicate curriculum revisions of the school.
The data population included 967 pupils enrolled in grades 9-12 in Bay
County High School and 262 pupils enrolled in six elementary schools in Bay County,
Data were collected through the use of a questionnaire administered during March
and April 19U7. The classification used by Alba Edwards in his Social-Economic
Grouping of Gainful Workers in the United States was selected for determining the
socio-economic status of the population of this study. The try-out of the ques
tionnaire developed for the study revealed that the socio-economic status of a
population could be determined through its use. The data revealed that (l) about
three per cent of the fathers of Bay County High School pupils were classed as
professional, approximately a third as proprietors, another ten per cent as
clerks, twenty-eight per cent as skilled workers, and nearly a fourth as semi
skilled workers; (2) the percentage of fathers of Bay County High School pupils on
each occupational level was comparable to that reported in the 19U0 census for
Florida, the South Atlantic States, and the United States; (3) the welfare
characteristics at each occupational level of the population were comparable to
the characteristics of the Edwards' classification.
Analysis of the data indicated that (1) the wide diversity of occupations,
the income of families, and other factors of welfare make the problem of providing
equal educational opportunities most acute and most difficult; (2) the need for
"^Edwards, Alba, A Social-Economic Grouping of Gainful Workers in the United
States. Washington* U. S. Government Printing Office, 2.930*
personal, educational, and vocational guidance is obvious; (3) limited education,
low standards of living, health, recreation, insecurity and civic responsibility,
are aspects of parental or adult education which need attention; and (U) the pro
blems of equalizing educational opportunity, of providing an adequate guidance
program, of making available parental or adult education have implications for
planning and developing a high school curriculum.
The proposed curriculum was organized to include t (1) General education
which involved training in communication; in ability of oral and written express
ion; in the use of numbers as basic tools; in the study of personal and social
problems of health and physical fitness, of science as it affects the pupil and
his environment. (2) A program of special education to include college prepara
tory training, training for special schools, and vocational training such as
trade and industrial arts, sales and office work, drawing and machine work, farm
ing and stock raising. (3) A program of avocational education to include art,
leather, plastic, woodworking, photography, and gardening.
General education would occupy about three-fourths of the school day for
the ninth grade and less each succeeding year to one-fifth of the day for the
twelfth grade. Time for special and avocational education would increase in each
grade above the ninth.
The materials of instruction would be found in present day situations
involving both personal and social problems. Much of the materials would come
from the community served by the school.
Under the new curriculum at Bay County High School the '•hidden'1 cost of
school was reduced; remedial classes were offered in reading, science, and mathe
matics; guidance services were inaugurated; vocational programs were implemented;
and avocational education was provided in many areas.
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
THE GRADUATE COLLEGE
AUGUST 1, 1951
I HEREBY RECOMMEND THAT THE THESIS PREPARED UNDER MY
SUPERVISION RV JEFF THOMAS KELLEY __
F.TVTTTTT.F.n A STUDY OF THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS OF PUPILS AS A BASIS
FOR CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT IN A HIGH SCHOOL
BE ACCEPTED* AS FULFILLING THIS PART OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR
THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
In Charge of Thesis
9^^u£.
Recommendation concurred inf
Committee
on
^ $jJL.
Final Examination!
^ / S ZW
* Subject to successful final examination in the case of the doctorate.
t Required for doctor's degree but not for master's.
6M—12-48—40199K
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
LIST OF TABLES v
Chapter
I. INTRODUCTION 1
Purpose of the Study
Problem of the Study
Pupil Population and Geographic Location
Definition of Terms
Plan of Report
II. DEVELOPMENT OF PROCEDURE AND TECHNIQUES
Review of Studies in Welfare Levels
The Edwards* Classification of Occupational Levels
Equating Uelf are and Occupational Levels
Developing and Validating the Questionnaire
Administering the Questionnaire
Tabulating the Data
III. SETTING OF THE STUDY 20
Geographical Identification
Occupational Characteristics
Stability of Population
The School
IV. THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS OF PUPILS OF BAY COUNTY HIGH
SCHOOL BASED ON OCCUPATION, INCOME AND EDUCATION 30
Occupational Status
Income
Educational Status
Occupational Plans
Educational Plans
V. THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS OF PUPILS OF BAY COUNTY HIGH
SCHOOL BASED ON HOME ENVIRONMENT, HEALTH AND RECREATION . . $9
Home Environment
Health
Recreation
Summary
IV
VI. PROBLEM AREAS INDICATED BY ANALYSIS OF DATA , 82
Equalizing Educational Opportunities
Guidance
Educational Level of Parents
Curriculum Problems
VII. PROPOSED CURRICULUM FOR BAY COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL IN
RELATION TO THE FINDINGS OF THIS STUDY , 9$
Planning the Curriculum
The Proposed Curriculum
VIII. CHANGES IN BAY COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL DURING 19l;7-U8
SCHOOL TERM . . . . .< 100
Need for Knowledge of Pupil Status
Organization for Curriculum Study
Presenting the Data
Committee Reports
Activating the Curriculum
Efforts to Improve the Curriculum Through Teacher-
Department Planning
Post School Evaluation
Recommendations for Further Study
APPENDIX . 132
BIBLIOGRAPHY 139
VITA lUl
LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
I. Occupations:of Parents of Pupils of Bay County High
School Distributed by Communities in the County 2f?
II. Length of Residence in Bay County of the Families of
Pupils of Bay County High School Grouped by Occupational
Levels of Fathers 26
III. Age Distribution of Pupils of Bay County High School
Grouped by the Occupational Levels of Their Fathers 28
IV. Comparison of Occupational Levels of Fathers of Bay
County High School Pupils with the Levels of lYhite Males
Employed in the United States, South Atlantic States, and
Florida , 31
V. Comparison of Occupational Levels of 197 Gainfully Employed
Mothers of Bay County High School Pupils with the Levels of
"White Females Employed in the United States, South Atlantic
States, and Florida 32
VI. Occupational Levels of 197 Employed Mothers of Bay County
High School Pupils Grouped by Occupational Levels of Their
Husbands 33
VII. Gainfully Employed Fathers and Mothers of Pupils of Bay
County High School Grouped by Occupational Levels of the
Fathers 35>
VIII. The Occupations Represented in Bay County Distributed by
Community 36
IX. Income of Fathers of Bay County High School Pupils According
to Fathers Occupational Level . 38
X. Income of Gainfully Employed Mothers of Pupils of Bay
County High School Grouped by the Occupational Levels of
Their Husbands 39
XI. Enrollment of Bay County School Pupils According to Grade
Level and Occupational Levels of Their Fathers UO
XII. Grade Distribution of 1226 Pupils of Bay County High
School by Communities in V.'hich They Reside Ul
XIII. Age-Grade Distribution of Pupils of Bay County High School
Grouped by the Occupational Level of Their Parents U3
vi
XIV. School Enrollment by Educational Level of Brothers and
Sisters of Pupils of Bay County High School, by the
Occupational Level of the Fathers hi
XV. Level of Formal Education of Fathers of Bay County High
School Pupils According to the Occupational Levels of
the Fathers k9
XVI. Level of Formal Education of Mothers of Bay County High
School Pupils According to the Occupational Levels of
the Fathers ' £0
XVII. Occupational Preferences of Pupils of Bay County High
School Grouped by the Occupational Levels of Their Fathers. . £3
XVIII. Grade Distribution of 319 Pupils of Bay County High
School Who Expressed no Occupational Preference Grouped by
Occupational Levels of Their Fathers 5U
XIX. Educational Plans of Bay County High School Pupils by
Occupational Levels of Their Fathers 56
XX. Parents Educational Plans for the Pupils of Bay County High
School by the Occupational Levels of The Fathers . . . . . .. 58
XXI. Home Ownership by Parents of Pupils of Bay County High
School by Occupational Levels of the Fathers 60
XXII. Size of Residence of Families of Pupils of Bay County High
School by Occupational Levels of the Fathers 61
XXIII. Household Equipment and Conviences as Reported by Bay County
High School Pupils Classified by Occupational Levels of
the Fathers 63
XXIV. The Number of Children in Each Family Represented by Pupils
of Bay County High School According to the Occupational
Level of the Father 65
XXV. Residence of the Children of Families Represented in Bay
County High School According to Occupational Levels of
the Fathers 67
XXVI. Marital Status of Parents of Bay County High School Pupils
by Occupational Levels of the Fathers 68
XXVII. Mortality of Parents of Bay County High School Pupils
Grouped by the Occupational Levels of the Fathers 69
XXVIII. Percentage of Pupils of Bay County High School Who Live with
Both Their Parents, with Only One, or with Neither of
Their Parents 70
XXIX. Mortality of Children in Homes Represented by Pupils of
Bay County High School According to the Occupational
Levels of the Fathers 71
XXX. Personal Illness V/ithin a Period of Three Months as
Reported by Pupils of Bay County High School According
to Occupational Levels of Fathers 72
XXXI. Families of Pupils of Bay County High School Who ^ave the
Services of a Family Physician Grouped by Occupational
Levels of the Fathers 73
XXXII. Medical Care Received by Members of Families of Bay
County High School Pupils During a Period of Six Months
Arranged by Occupational -Levels of the Fathers 73
XXXIII. Pupils of Bay County High School Who Received Dental Care
During the Period of One Year Grouped by the Occupational
Levels of the Fathers 7U
XXXIV. Life Insurance for One or Both Parents of Pupils of Bay
County High School Grouped by Occupational Levels of the
Fathers 75
XXXV. Parents Attendance at Picture Shows for a Period of One
Month as Reported by Bay County High School Pupils
Arranged by Occupational Levies of Fathers 76
XXXVI. Fathers Membership in Civic, Fraternal, and Social Clubs
as Reported by Pupils of Bay County High School Arranged
by Occupational Levels of the Fathers 78
AC KNOY/LEDG EVENTS
The writer desires to acknowledge his sincere appreciation to Professor B.
Othanel Smith through whose inspiration the study was begun, and who guided and
counseled with the writer throughout its development. To Professor Harold C.
Hand and Professor Edwin H. Reeder the writer is indebted for their wise criticism
and advice.
Acknowledgement is also due to the faculty and pupils of Bay County High
School for help during the progress of the study.
Finally, the author acknowledges his indebtedness to his wife, Cornelia
Kelley,for her inspiration and untiring assistance in this study.
J.T.K.