Table Of ContentA SURVEY" OF THE GRADUATES OF THE NEEDLES, CALIFORNIA
JUNIOR-SENIOR UNION HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE PAST
FIFTEEN YEARS FOR THE PURPOSE OF IMPROVING
THE CURRICULUM AND GUIDANCE SERVICES
A P ro ject
Presented to
the F aculty of the Graduate School
U niversity of Southern C alifo rn ia
In P a rtia l F u lfillm en t
of the Requirements fo r the Degree
M aster of Science
by
C larahel Day Cole
July 1950
UMI Number: EP46245
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I=A ' i t
This project report, written under the direction
of the candidate's adviser and approved by him,
has been presented to and accepted by the Faculty
of the School of Education in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the degree of Master of
Science in Education.
Adviser
Dean
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I . INTRODUCTION................................... 1
Statem ent of the p ro b le m ......................... 1
Im portance of the problem .............................................. 2
Background 5
BIBLIOGRAPHY.................................................................................. 8
I I . METHODS OF PROCEDURE............................................................... 10
I I I . RESULTS AND DISCUSSION.......................................................... 12
IV. CONCLUSIONS................................................................................... 21
V. RECOMMENDATIONS......................................................................... 25
APPENDIX . / ....................................................................................................... 36
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE PAGE
I. Responses showing M arital S ta tu s, Year of Gradu
a tio n , and Type of Course Taken w hile in High
S c h o o l.................................................................................................. 12
I I . Responses showing R elationship between A dditional
Schooling and Employment .................................................... 13
I I I . Responses showing S electio n of an Occupation . . 14
IV. Responses showing help received from School in
V arious Areas ..................................................... . . . . . 15
V. Responses showing R elationship of High School
T raining to Occupations engaged in ............................ 16
V I. Responses giving Suggestions fo r Improvement of
the High School Curriculum and Guidance S er
vices in the F u t u r e ............................................................ 17
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Philosophy of education is changing rap id ly today.
Many influences are a ffe c tin g th is change, such as increased
enrollm ent in the secondary school, g re a te r d ifferen ces in
academic a b ility among stu d en ts, g re a te r v a ria tio n s in c u l
tu ra l background, and g re a te r o p p o rtu n ities and com petition
a f te r the student leaves sch o o l. In lig h t of these
influences the question of w hether the curriculum and the
guidance serv ices offered in a sm all high school are adequate
must be ra ise d . This study was undertaken to determ ine
w hether the Union Junior-S enio r High School in N eedles,
C alifo rn ia is m eeting the needs of its g rad u a tes.
Statem ent of the problem . Contemporary educational
philosophy holds th a t the n a tio n 's schools are not providing
American youth w ith educational o p p o rtu n ities which meet the
demands of p resen t day so c iety . This philosophy in d icates
a pow erful s ta te of tra n s itio n in educational th in k in g .
C riticism of the high school of the p ast was th a t i t did not
in sp ire the g reat rank and f i le of the student body; m erely
to pass was the main In te re s t of a larg e number of stu d en ts.
The c h ief in te re s t of the modern school should be to a s s is t
the Individ ual student in laying the b a sis fo r the maximum
re a liz a tio n of h is p o te n tia litie s , to the end th a t h is b e st
in te re s t sh a ll he served. W ith the rap id ly changing so cio
economic co n d itio n s, the home and the church are fa ilin g to
aid youth in m eeting the maze of problems which confront
them. Modem educators are agreed th a t the m ajor respon
s ib ility fo r guiding students to b e tte r c itiz e n sh ip and
so c ia l adequacy re s ts w ith the schools. Because teachers
and ad m in istrato rs are sp e c ia lly train ed to recognize the
p u p ils ' problems and to deal w ith them, the school is b e tte r
prepared in many instances to accept th is re s p o n sib ility
than the home or the church.
The w rite r hopes to d isco v er, through th is study, to
what ex ten t a p a rtic u la r high school, which may be ty p ic a l
of many o th er high schools throughout the country, is
successfu l in guiding its students toward o b jectiv es of
c itiz e n sh ip and so c ial adequacy.
Im portance of the problem . Guidance is based on the
fa c t th a t human beings need h elp . As used in th is study the
term "guidance/ 5 means many th in g s. F irs t, i t means a s s is t
ing the pupil in the gradual accum ulation of fa c ts , s k ills ,
and experiences which w ill enable him w ith proper education
a l .d ire c tio n , to solve h is l i f e 's vocational and educational
problems e ffic ie n tly . Second, i t means a fle x ib le and
varied curriculum , so the pupil can have a choice of those
subjects which w ill b est prepare him fo r h is chosen career
on the b asis of h is cap acity , achievem ent, a p titu d e s, and
in te re s ts . L ast, i t means help in solving em otional prob
lems so th a t the student can be a self-g u id ed , w ell-ad justed
in d iv id u a l, who can stand upon h is own fe e t and meet the de
mands of a wholesome so c iety .
To what ex ten t has Needles High School been success
fu l in achieving the o b jectiv es suggested in th is d e fin itio n ?
Several approaches to answering th is question are a v a ila b le .
The b est way to find out what has been accom plished, the
w rite r f e e ls , is to ask the students them selves who have
graduated from th is high school. Hence, th is study.
A d iffe re n t type of study was made in 1940 by R. E.
Johnson and o th ers, the re su lts of which can be read in the
p u b licatio n ’’C alifo rn ia Society of Secondary Education” fo r
November 1942, but since th a t tim e nothing has been done
along th is lin e u n til th is study was s ta rte d .
The recommendations of Mr. Johnson and h is committee
w ere:
1. That th ere should be more courses of a p ra c tic a l
and vocational type.
a . More students should be given homemaking tr a in
ing, including homemaking fo r boys.
b. A n in th grade o rie n ta tio n course should be
e stab lish ed fo r a ll stu d e n ts.
c. More shop and vocational courses are needed,
4
such as machine and m etal shop, w elding, and
m echanical draw ing.
2 . That the use of teacher-tim e he readjusted so as
to perm it these course a d d itio n s:
a . Fusion of academic courses wherever p o ssib le .
b . O ffering of c e rta in academic courses only on
a lte rn a te years: e .g ., fo reig n language, so c ial
problem s, physics.
c . E lim ination of academic courses not ju s tifie d
re la tiv e ly by a c tu a l student needs and numbers
serv ed .
3. That fa c u lty and townspeople be given an under
standing of the a c tu al fa c ts regarding student
needs in schooling . . . so th a t we a ll may have
common aims and understandings concerning th is
problem:
a . There should be le s s emphasis upon p rep aratio n
to e n te r co lleg e--to o much now in both fa c u lty
and parent counseling.
b . Even colleg e preparatory students should have
some p ra c tic a l and vocatio nal tra in in g , both as
an a id to personal adjustm ent and as a means
fo r the fin a n c ia l fu rth e rin g of th e ir education.
c . The possession of an A.B. degree cannot magi
c a lly make a c u ltu red , happy, u se fu l, w ell
ad ju sted c itiz e n .
d . The d ig n ity and w orth-w hileness of the thousands
of sk ille d and sem i-sk illed non w h ite -c o lla r
occupations are needs to be s tre s s e d .1
Since 1942 when these recommendations were given, many
changes have been made. There a re more courses of a
R. E. Johnson, "Needles High School Develops a
Curriculum fo r an Iso la te d Community," C alifo rn ia S ociety of
Secondary E ducation Monograph S e rie s. .November, 1942, p. 139,
p ra c tic a l and vocational n a tu re . Two shop tea ch e rs, one
and a h a lf homemaking, one and a h a lf com m ercial, one a r t,
and one music teach er have been employed. P arents and
townspeople are informed regarding in d iv id u al student needs
and those of students in general by means of parent confer
ences a fte r a b a tte ry of te s ts are given in the n in th grade
to determ ine the sp e c ific needs, a b ilitie s , a p titu d e s, e tc .,
of each p u p il. At th a t same time each parent is given as
much occupational inform ation and p red ic tio n as is p o ssib le .
An attem pt is made a t th a t time a lso , to guide the pupil
away from college i f the fa c ts th a t have been gained about
him seem to show th a t h is in te re s ts , a b ilitie s , e tc ., seem
to d ire c t him toward another f ie ld .
Very l i t t l e has been done in the way of lim itin g aca
demic courses or of adding an o rie n ta tio n course in the ninth
g rad e.
Background. In order th a t the problems of the
w rite r may be more com pletely understood, she is including a
sh o rt d escrip tio n of the town of Reedies and, a ls o , a
d e sc rip tio n of h er d u tie s as Dean and D irecto r of Guidance in
the Junior-S enior High School th e re .
Reedies is a ra ilro a d town. About seven ty-five pe®6
cent of the working population work fo r the Santa F e . Some
of the old tim ers own th e ir own homes but many do not because
