Current Research @ - Full Citation and Abstract


	Illinois State University

AAT 8329452

PERCEPTIONS OF TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS OF CHILDREN FROM DIVORCED OR SEPARATED FAMILIES

ALBY, PENELOPE NICHOLS

ILLINOIS STATE UNIVERSITY

EducatD

1983

DAI-A 44/12, p. 3585, Jun 1984

133

EDUCATION, CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION (0727)

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The problem of this study was to determine the perceptions of teachers and administrators of children from divorced or separated families, and to determine if there was a difference in perceptions of teachers versus administrators, education levels, marital status, age, or the sexes. The sample of 147 educators were randomly assigned to one of three experimental groups. Group 1 was given background information sheets indicating a divorced-home condition, group 2 was given background information indicating an intact-home condition, and group 3 was given no information about home condition. The subjects were shown the same videotape of an eight-year-old female interacting with another child in a play situation. After viewing the videotape, the educators were asked to rate the girl on a wide range of 11 personality traits (e.g., anxiety, social deviance, and happiness) and to predict her behavior in five different school situations (e.g., popularity and copes with stress). The statistical procedures employed in the study included analyses of variance, Student-Newman-Kuels multiple range tests, and regression. A statistically significant difference, at .05, was found among the three experimental groups for 11 out of 16 variables (Happiness, Gets Along, Emotional Adjustment, Deviance, Sex Role Adjustment, Breaks Rules, Copes with Stress, Cooperative, Popularity, Leadership, Works Without Direction); nine of those were significant at .01 (Happiness, Emotional Adjustment, Breaks Rules, Copes with Stress, Cooperative, Popularity, Leadership, Works without Direction) on the analyses of variance and Student-Newman-Kuels among groups on each of the questions. A regression analysis indicated that experimental group designation was the best predictor of teacher and administrator responses than the demographic variables (job, education, marital status, age, and sex). Two-way analyses of variance between experimental group and the demographic variables confirmed the findings of the regression analysis. Two major conclusions were derived from this study. First, it was found that inservice teachers and administrators have more negative perceptions of children from divorced families than they have of children from intact homes. Second, this investigation determined that inservice teachers and administrators hold these perceptions regardless of educators' job, education, marital status, age, and sex.