A Content Analysis of Selected Family Life Education Textbooks Used at the Secondary Level
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A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF SELECTED FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION TEXTBOOKS USED AT THE SECONDARY LEVEL DISSERTATION Presented In Partial Fulfillnent of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Qraduate School of the Ohio State University By JOHN WILLIAM HUDSON, B .S., H.A. The Ohio State University 1956 Approvsd byt Adviser Departnent of Sociology and Anthropology ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The completion of a doctoral dissertation usually represents not only the efforts of the candidate, but also the support, encourage ment, and assistance of his teachers and friends and those even closer to him. In this instance the author is conscious of a debt of gratitude to many persons# I am indebted, first of all, to my wife, Dorothy Erskine Hudson, without whose perseverance, patient understanding, and generous assistance this study could not have been carried to completion. To Dr. Florence G. Robbins of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, The Ohio State University, I am especially indebted for friendship and support throughout my graduate training, and for special add and assistance as adviser in this study. To Dr. Raymond F. Sletto, Chairman, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, The Ohio State U niversity, I am g ratefu l for technical assistance and for the inspiration provided through the example he sets as a man of principle and integrity. At The Merrill-Palmer School, I am indebted to Dr. Pauline P. W. Knapp, Director, for allowing time in my schedule to work on this dissertation. Many of my colleagues at Merrill-Palmer contributed generously of their time. Especially do I wish to thank Dr. Melvyn J. Baer and Dr. Irving E. Sigel, for assistance in the construction of categories and statistical analysis of data, and Miss Dorothy L. Tyler, Editor of Publications, for editing the manuscript. i i H i Appreciation is extended to the authors and publishers who granted permission to quote from their writings. J.W. H. D etroit, November, 1956 CONTENTS Page CHAPTER I STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM AND BACKGROUND MATERIAL 1 Historical Data 2 Content Analysis (Substance, Form, Producers of Content, Audience of Content, Effects of Content) 7 I I SURVEY OF THE LITERATURE 9 Published Content Studies of Textbooks 9 I I I METHODOLOGY 18 Selection of the Texts 18 Method for Analyzing Subject Matter 22 Subject Matter Content 31 Unscored Material 32 Sampling Procedure 33 Scoring Procedure 33 Reliability 35 Method for Analyzing the Footnotes AD Method for Analyzing the Suggested Readings 43 Qualitative Analysis 44 IV FINDINGS 45 Subject-Matter Analysis 45 Footnote Analysis 59 Analysis of the Suggested Readings 63 Concept of the Family 70 V SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 87 APPENDIXES A. Major Subject-Matter Categories, Their Definitions and Indicators 97 B. Miscellaneous Subject-Matter Category (Subdivisions), Definitions and Indicators 103 C. Number of Paragraphs Allocated to Major Subject-Matter Content Categories for Each Textbook D. Number of Paragraphs Allocated to Miscellaneous Subdivisions 1®8 E. Raw Data — Suggested Readings 114 BIBLIOGRAPHY 119 AUTOBIOGRAPHY 128 iT LIST OF TABLES 1. Family Life Education Taxtbooks Used in th is Study and Published in the Last Ten Years Currently in Use at the Secondary Level Arranged Alphabetically According to Title* 2* Subject-Matter Categories and Their Definitions* 3. Percentage of Agreeaient between the Two Judges in Scoring Subject Matter of Three Textbooks* A* Percentage of Agreement on Subject-Matter Categories by the Test-Retest Method After a Three-Month Interval. 5* Percentage of Space Allocated to Major Subject-Matter Content Categories for Each Textbook* 6* Percentage of Space Allocated to Subdivisions Included under Miscellaneous for Each Textbook* 7* Percentage Distribution of Subject-Matter and Space Allocation* 6* Footnotes Ranked According to the Frequency of Citation of the Fields of Specialisation (of Footnote Authors)* 9* Total Number of Suggested Readings in the Family Life Education Texts by Book* 10* Distribution of Suggested Readings by Field of Specialisation of the Authors* ▼ CHAPTER I STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM AND BACKGROUND MATERIAL In secondary education an increasing emphasis is placed on the area of family liv in g . Widely variant and sometimes divergent subject matter characterizes the present-day literature of family life education. This divergence may in part be due to the fact that originally family life education was confined to the home econosiics departments and the study of the family to the sociologist* Today, however, we see family lif e education as a fusion of subject matter from various disciplines, covering psychological, sociological and home economics points of view. These points of view have not necessarily been coordinated into a single homogeneous systematic discipline, but may be somewhat eclectic in nature. Whatever they involve, it seems reasonable to assume that various types of con cepts, values, and attitudes are transmitted via education media in th is Important area. Knowledge concerning the kinds of concepts, opinions, and approaches u tiliz e d in textbooks from which students learn about family life has important sociological significance. This signifi cance lies in the fact that family life educators are attempting to influence the attitudes and values of students. Such education then becomes one of the so cia l forces affecting orientation toward family livin g and may have an important impact on the evolving family structure and organization. 1 2 What we today are calling education for marriage and family life, may In the yeara to cane, be recognised as the first atepa toward a reorganisation of our culture, something of far greater significance than all the contemporary p o litic a l movements, programs, and co n flicts that now engross our attention. 3- - Lawrence K, Frank, "Opportunities in a Program of Education for Marriage and Family Life." Mental Hygiene. Oct. 1940, fflV, 4, p. 594. On the basis of this point of view, an intensive study has been made of textbooks used in family life education courses at the secondary level. This group was chosen because texts potenti ally reach the largest student population, and many high school graduates never attend college* Consequently, it would seem particularly important for sociological reasons to investigate the content material presented to this group. The sp ecific problems explored in th is study are: 1. What is the concept of family life described in these textbooks? 2. What types of subject matter are included in high school textbooks on family life? 3. What sources are used to establish the concept of family life, i.e ., what sources do the authors use in presenting their particular point of view? Historical 0a|£. It is difficult to date the beginnings of a fie ld . 3 It* emergence i* usually the result of a timber of factors, no one of which is singly more responsible than another. The social forces of industrialization, urbanization, and the emancipation of women brought with them changes in the family and family life . Factors which formerly contributed toward the continuance of the marriage tie are no longer operative. Women are not forced to marry as the only means by which they can a tta in so cial p o sitio n or financial support and security. Men no longer have to marry in order to be comfortably housed and fed. The penalties for failure in the marriage relationship are less severe than formerly. As the mechanics of living demand less time, more time can be devoted to cultivating the relationships of living. Between 1871 and 1874 domestic science courses were instituted a t th e U niversity of I llin o is , Iowa State College, and Kansas Agricultural College. A 1908 report states that by that date home economic courses had been established in seven universities and in 2 all but three of the agricultural colleges. 2 Ksturah E. Baldwin, The AHEA Saga, Washington, D.C.t American Home Economics Association, 1949, P» 5 These early courses in domestic science dealt primarily with cooking, interior decorating, and household management. In 1893 the National Household Economic Association was formed. In 1899 a conference was held at Lake Placid, New York, bringing together a group of persons interested in home science or household econoades. 4 These conferences continued annually until 1909, when it was voted to establish a national organisation known as the American Home Economics Association. The objective of this organisation was to improve the conditions of living in the home, the institutional household, and th e community. The first interest in family relationships, rather than in the mechanics of living, appeared in the early 1 9 0 0'a when G. Stanley Hall began to focus interest on child development. Dr. Hall is credited with having initiated the Child Study Movement. In 1924 the American Home Economics Association established sections for businesswomen, homemakers, and those interested in related activities. There followed in 1927 sections on the economic and so c ia l problems of th e home. In 1927 th e American Home Economics A ssociation received a grant from th e Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial to study child development and parent education. This culminated in the publication of three books by Lemo Dennis Rockwood: Living Together in the Family (1934), a text on family relationships for young people of high-school age; Pictures of Faa'tiv Life (1934), also designed for use with teen-age groups; and Tsacking Faai 1 v Relationships in the High School (1935), prepared to help teachers and administrators in developing a high school program in family relationships. Paralleling and to a large measure stimulating interest in the family was the work being done in Sociology. W. I. Thomas and Florian Znaniecki presented the first dynamic study of the family 3 in The Polish Peasant. 5 3 W.