ANALYSIS OF A PROGRAM INVOLVING REQUIRED PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELING AND AND OTHER SERVICES FOR A COLLEGE POPULATION HAVING SERIOUS SCHOLASTIC DIFFICULTIES

134 Pages·04.808 MB·English

by  GEHMAN, WINFIELD SCOTT, JR

The Pennsylvania State College
The Graduate School
Department of Psychology
ANALYSIS OP A PROGRAM INVOLVING REQUIRED
PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELING AND OTHER SERVICES FOR A
COLLEGE POPULATION HAVING SERIOUS SCHOLASTIC DIFFICULTIES
A Dissertation
by
Winfield Scott Gehman, Jr.
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
June, 1951
APPROVED: ^ -^ / > 7
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sA. L C c ^ ^ ^
BY:
Associate Professor of Psychology"
Head, Department of Psychology
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter Page
I. Introduction to the Experimental Program... 1
A. Purpose .......... 2
B. History .............................. 3
C. Cooperating Organizations ........... if.
II. Survey of Literature ....................... 5
A* Introductory Statements ............. 6
B. Prediction.......................... 8
C • High School Rank ................ 9
D. College Aptitude Tests ........... 12
E. Study Habits ........................ ll+.
P. Reading Disabilities ................ l6
G. Personality......... 18
H. Summarizing Statements .............. 21
III. Statement of the Problem.................. 22
A. Introduction ......................... 23
B. General Description of the Population
being Investigated and Pertinent
College Regulations ................. 2I4.
C. Hypotheses ........................... 27
IV. Aptitude for College W o r k ................. 29
A. Study I - High School Rank of Students
in D.I.R. with an Analysis of Relative
Success .............................. 30
B. Study II - Analysis of Academic
Aptitude Test Scores .............. 51
TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued)
Chapter Page
V. Identification of Problems of Students
Having Scholastic Difficulties ............. 60
A. Study I - Intellectual Problems ••• 6l
B. Study II - Study Habits ............ 67
C. Study III - Reading Speed........... 76
D. Study IV - Personality Factors ..... 80
VI. Increase in Scholastic Standing as
Measured by the Grade-point Average ........ 86
A. Scholastic Accomplishment........... 87
VII. Summary, General Conclusions, and
Implications ............................ 99
A. Summary......... 100
B. General Conclusions ................. 101
C. Implications ................... 106
Bibliography ............................... Ill
Appendix:
A. Description of Tests Used in Present
Study................................ 11
B. Sample Tests ........................ lv
LIST OF TABLES
Number Page
1. Number, Per Cent, and Mean Fourth Semester
Average, for Population I Distributed
According to High School Fifth............ 33
2. Number, Per Cent, and Mean Third Semester
Average, for Population II Distributed
According to High School Fifth * . 36
3* Analysis of Variance Data, Population I ... 38
1+. Least Significant Mean Difference and
Location of Significant Difference
Among Respective High School Fifths,
Population I ........................ 39
5* Analysis of Variance Data, Population II •• 1+0
6, Number, Per Cent, and Mean High School
Fifth for Population III According to
High School Rank ........................... 1+1
7* Analysis of Variance Data for Population
III and Populations I and II Combined • 1+1
8, Number and Per Cent by High School Fifth
for Penn State Freshmen, September, 191+8 •• 1+2
9« Number and Per Cent by High School Fifth
for D.I.R. Students, September, 191+9 ..... 1+3
10. Number and Per Cent by High School Fifth
for Students Admitted as Freshmen in
September, 191+3 ........................... l|i+
11. Analysis of Variance Data Resulting from
Comparison of All D.I.R. Students with
All Other Penn State Students Admitted as
Freshmen in September, I9I+8 ............... 1+6
12. Means, Standard Deviations, and *t' Ratio
Resulting from a Comparison of Three-part
Total Scores on Aptitude Test for
Populations I and II ....................... 51+
13. Means, Standard Deviations, and *t> Ratio
Res lilting from a Comparison of Three-part
Total Scores on Aptitude Test for
Populations I and II Combined and
Population V .............................. 55
LIST OF TABLES (Continued)
Number
llj.. Means and Standard Deviations for Three-
part Total Scores on Pennsylvania State
College Aptitude Test and the Scholastic
Average for Time Spent in D.I.R............ 63
15. Means, Standard Deviations, Standard
Errors of Means of Wrenn Study-Habits
Scores Earned by the Successful and
Unsuccessful Populations ................. 71
16. Wrenn Items Answered with a Significantly
Higher Frequency by Either the Successful
(S) or Unsuccessful (U) Students and the
Differentiating Responses ................. 72
17* Statistical Calculations Resulting in *t»
Ratio Between Michigan Speed of Reading
Test Raw Scores for Successful and
Unsuccessful D.I.R. G-roups ................ 78
18. Bernreuter Personality Inventory Items
Answered with a Significantly Higher
Frequency by Either the Successful (S) or
Unsuccessful (U) Students and the
Differentiating Response • •••............. 83
19* Range and Mean All-College Averages and
Mean Gain at Completion of Second and
Fourth Semesters for Populations I and II • 91
20* Analysis of Covariance. Test of
Significance of Difference between
Regression Coefficients ................ 92
21. Analysis of Covariance. Test of
Significance of Difference between
Adjusted Group Means for Fourth Semester
All-Coliege Averages ...................... 92
22. Range and Mean All-College Averages and
Mean Gain at Completion of Second and Fourth
Semesters for Populations I and III ..... 93
23. Analysis of Covariance. Test of
Significance of Difference between
Regression Coefficients ................... 9^
LIST OF TABLES (Continued)
Number Page
2i|.. Analysis of Covariance. Test of
Significance of Difference between
Adjusted Group Means of Fourth Semester
All-College Averages ...................... 95>
LIST OF FIGURES
Number Page
I• Students Who Completed 2 Semesters In
D.I.R*, Mean Fourth Semester Averages
According to High School Fifth............ 3lf
II. Distribution of lj.th Semester Averages by
High School Rank for 188 Students Who
Completed 2 Semesters in D.I.R........ ••••• 35
III. Students Who Completed 1 Semester in
D.I.R., Mean Third Semester Averages
According to High School Fifth............ 37
IV. Per Cent of D.I.R. and Non-D.I.R. Students
in Each High School Fifth ................
4
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
For the receipt of helpful guidance offered during
the present study as well as that received throughout
the entire period of graduate study, the writer is indebted
to Dr. W. U. Snyder.
The writer wishes to express gratitude for the help
received from the following graduate committee members:
Dr. R. G. Bernreuter, Dr. J. E. DeCamp, Dr. W. M. Lepley,
Dr. G. M. Lott, Miss Margaret A. Neuber, Dr. Kingsley R. Smith,
and Dean H. K. Wilson.
To Dr. Ila Holsopple Gehman, the writer expresses
heartfelt gratefulness for patience, understanding, tireless
effort, and professional assistance which a wife alone
can offer.
Acknowledgment is made to Dr. J. D. Clyde for the
advice offered concerning statistical procedures, and
Mr. M. L. Zeigler who gave generously of his time in
completing the I.B.M. machine work necessary for completing
the present study.
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION TO THE EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM
A. Purpose
B* History
C. Cooperating Organizations
CHAPTi^R I
INTRODUCTION TO THE EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM
A* Purpose
Studies to be presented here analyze certain segments
of research In the Division of Intermediate Registration
at The Pennsylvania State College*
The Division of Intermediate Registration
(abbreviated to D.I.R*) is primarily concerned with the
problem of aiding students who have serious scholastic
difficulties in effecting a more satisfactory adjustment
to college life through the medium of the professional
services referred to as educational, vocational, and
personal adjustment counseling. Prom an operational
standpoint, the D.I.R. is considered a service organization
for students who are In need of the above mentioned
assistance.
The writer, serving as Assistant Director of the
D.I.R., employed various psychological and educational
procedures in the implementation of the counseling
services. Research herein presented includes some of the
more scientifically controlled efforts to explore
characteristics and progress of students enrolled in
the D.I.R. Needless to say, this paper cannot reflect
the experimental program or population in entirety
because many actions had to be undertaken in answer to
immediate need without time for controlled experimentation.