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Toward a Reconsideration and Refinement of the Pattern Stage of Self-Knowledge Development

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Toward a Reconsideration and Refinement of the Pattern Stage of Self-Knowledge Development University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 1-1-1985 Toward a reconsideration and refinement of the pattern stage of self-knowledge development. Harry F. Sweitzer University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1 Recommended Citation Sweitzer, Harry F., "Toward a reconsideration and refinement of the pattern stage of self-knowledge development." (1985). Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014. 4047. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1/4047 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. TOWARDS A RECONSIDERATION AND REFINEMENT OF THE PATTERN STAGE OF SELF-KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT A Dissertation Presented by H. Frederick Sweitzer III Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION September 1985 Education TOWARDS A RECONSIDERATION AND REFINEMENT OF THE PATTERN STAGE OF SELF-KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT A Dissertation Presented by H. Frederick Sweitzer III Approved as to style and content by: H. Frederick Sweitzer III All Rights Reserved ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I'm not sure just when it happened, but sometime during the last decade I stopped being obsessed with establishing my independence and competence and began to be more appreciative of the many wonderful relationships I have been lucky enough to have. Therefore, although I am very proud of myself for writing this dissertation and finishing my degree, I also feel truly indebted to many people who have been a part of this project and of my life these past six years. I hope these words will confirm for them the appreciation I feel. If you are reading this dissertation, I hope you will also read these acknowledgements, for these people deserve a share of whatever credit is due for this paper. Let me start with people at the University of Massachusetts. Every doctoral candidate has a committee, but not everyone is fortunate enough to have one that works as well for them, individually and collectively, as mine has. Jerry Weinstein, my chairperson, was the main reason I came to the School of Education. I heard him speak, I read the theory of Self-Knowledge Development that he and A1 Alschuler wrote, and I knew he would be a great person for me to learn from. He has been that and more. He has been a teacher, a mentor, a colleague and a friend, and has moved iv among these roles with fluidity and with a pervasive humanness that is as important to me as anything else about him. He has been intimately involved in every phase of this project. He has taught and advised me and also learned from me, and his enthusiasm has helped me get through times when my own was flagging. Thanks Jerry, I hope we do lots more work together. I discovered George Forman several years ago when I was attempting to learn more about Piaget, a project I hoped to accomplish in a few weeks. My knowledge of Piaget and my relationship with George have been growing ever since. George's somewhat Socratic style is simultaneously challenging and supportive. He has been especially valuable in the design and methodology of this study, helping me combine the inspiration of a clinician and teacher with the precision of a researcher and scholar (a line which he himself walks in a way that I hope to emulate). George cares enough about me to push me to do my best work, and although I occasionally meet his criticisms with a touch of defensiveness and reluctance, both this paper and my education have benefitted tremendously from his thoughful attention. It's been a real pleasure. Ellen Cooney was another real find. She has done this kind of work herself, and knows well the joys and the frustrations. Her comments are always helpful and v thought-provoking and, besides, I just like being with her. She stuck with me through a difficult year. I hope that other graduate students who are interested in structural development will find their way over to Hampshire to see her. It’s worth the trip. Sheldon Cashdan was good enough to come onto the committee fairly late in the game, and filled the role of outside member with sensitivity and flexibility. I appreciate his help and his interest. As I come to the end of my time at the School of Education, I find myself thinking about what a truly remarkable group of teachers it has, many of whom have been important to my growth and training. Allen Ivey, Evan Imber Coppersmith, Doug Forsyth and Norma Jean Anderson are four people I feel lucky to have learned from. Don Carew and Sheryl Riechmann Hruska have been especially important to me. They have been inspiring teachers and dear friends, and they each have a lasting place in my heart and mind. My fellow graduate students have given freely of their time and support as I nursed this project along. Don Margulis, Ned Norris, Donne Marchetto, Claudette Kiely, Jim O'Donnell, Lynn Pelletz, Bill Banks, Jane Hart and Juliann Martinez were willing guinea pigs and more. Their interest, comments and support have buoyed me and I thank them. I also thank Linda Kuralt and her Human Development class for vi allowing me to pilot the instrument for this study. Betsy Howiett has been especially helpful. In addition to following this project with interest, she was the "novice coder" for the study. She learned the coding system quickly, and it is better for her comments. Betsy fulfilled and surpassed her all her commitments to me, and did so with efficiency and enthusiasm. I hope she knows that I learned a lot from working with her and I appreciate her support. My students in Education of the Self for the last four semesters were a large part of the inspiration for this dissertation. They made up the sample for this study, but what is more important to me is their willingness to share their personal struggles with me and with each other in a way that is truly touching. Finally, I would like to thank Jane Sibley, Betty Swasey, Gail Hopper Triplett and Eileen Besse, those long suffering secretaries who extended themselves for me many times and who have guided me with kindness and caring through the maize of graduate school. I am also fortunate enough to have a wonderful system of family and friends who helped me in many ways. My good friends Mitchell and Annie Kosh, Mark Rosen, Will Ratliff, Phil Irish, Jerry Barilla and Jeff and Judy Bauman have kept me sane and made me feel special. They have been with me through times of great joy and pain (mine and theirs), through seriousness and silliness. They have laughed, played, studied, worked, sung, and learned with me. I'm not sure what I did to deserve them but I'm glad to have them. My parents have given me, in this and every other endeavor, unconditional love and invaluable emotional and financial support, even when they didn't exactly understand what I was doing. They believe in me, and that helps me believe in myself. Thanks Mom and Dad - I'm a doctor after all. The rest of my family, my sister Sally, her husband Joe and all my aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents have cared about me, they have asked about my work and listened with interest, and they have celebrated my accomplishments with me. A real extended family and another on my list of blessings. Also in my extended family are my in-laws Bill, Jackie, Gram, Kathy, Carol, John, David (and Gretchen!). Many of them live close by, which is a treat, and all of them have loved me and cheered me on. The feeling is mutual. Finally I want to thank my wife Donna, who, in addition to being the love of my life, has held two jobs, put up with me, patiently edited and re-edited this paper, celebrated the ups and smoothed out the downs, and somehow managed to write her comps. Now it's your turn, and I hope I can be as much of a companion to you as you have been to me. vi i i ABSTRACT Towards a Reconsideration and Refinement of the Pattern Stage of Self-Knowledge Development (September 1985) H. Frederick Sweitzer, B • A . , University of Pennsylvania M.Ed., University of Massachusetts, Ed.D . , University of Massachusetts Directed by: Gerald Weinstein The purpose of this study was to explore the phenomenon of growth within the pattern stage of Self-Knowledge Development Theory, which is a neo-Piagetian theory of the development of self understanding (Weinstein and Alschuler, 1984). Specifically, the study attempted to discover dimensions of growth within the pattern stage and sequential steps along those dimensions occuring in the pattern and transformational stages. The study also examined relationships among steps from different dimensions. A three part approach was used to study this problem. Using a variety of theoretical and logical analyses, theoretical formulations of dimensions and steps were developed. An instrument, the Pattern Inventory, was developed to test the presence or absence of reasoning from each step. Ordering theory was used to provide empirical support or disconfirmation for the proposed step sequences, ix and to study relationships and ordering among all steps from all dimensions. Three dimensions were posited and studied: differentiation/integration, causation, and change. In general, the data analysis supported the hypothesized ordering of steps on these dimensions.
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