This D Issertation Has Been 61—5109 M Icrofilm Ed Exactly As Received MOORE, M Iriam Brown, 1924- an ANALYSIS OP VALUES HELD B
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This dissertation has been 61—5109 microfilmed exactly as received MOORE, Miriam Brown, 1924- AN ANALYSIS OP VALUES HELD BY TWO GROUPS OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY LIFE EDUCATORS AS INDICATED BY THEIR RE ACTIONS TO A SELECTED NUMBER OF CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES. The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1961 Home Economics University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan Copyright by Miriam Brown Moore 1962 AN ANALYSIS OF VALUES HELD BY TWO GROUPS OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY LIFE EDUCATORS AS INDICATED BY THEIR REACTIONS TO A SELECTED NUMBER OF CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Miriam Brown Moore, B. S., M. Ed. I ****** The Ohio State University 1961 Approved by: Adviser School of Home Economics ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The writer wishes to express her sincere appreciation to particular individuals who provided encouragement, assistance, and guidance from the inital stages to the completion of the dissertation. Outstanding among these has been the director of this study, Dr. Christine H. Hillman, who offered her steadfast encouragement and undaunted assistance. Other individuals from the Ohio State University who provided ideas, especially in the planning stage, are Dr. Dorothy Scott and Dr. Marie Dirks of the School of Home Economics; Dr. Everitt Kircher of the Education Department; and Dr. A. R. Mangus of the Sociology Department. Valuable criticisms were given by the reading committee— Dr. Christine Hillman, Dr. A. R. Mangus, and Dr. Dorothy Scott. To the Groves Conference participants representative of those persons attending the 1960 meeting and the participants representative of home economic staffs in Ohio and Georgia, who made the study possible through their cooperation, thanks can be only inadequately expressed. Special thanks are offered to General Foods for its fellowship bestowed in 1959-60, which provided the financial assistance as well as a feeling of security and confidence necessary for this research to be undertaken. ii iii These acknowledgments would be altogether incomplete without an expression of sincere appreciation to the writer's husband, William H. Moore, and children, Bradley and Anne, for their unfailing interest and support throughout the study. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION .................. 1 The Problem ............. ................................ 1 Purpose of Study ............................ 4 Procedure ............ .............. 4 Definition of Terms .................. ...... 9 The Sample ....................... 11 Assumptions and Hypotheses . .............. ....... 12 Assumptions ......................... .. 12 Hypotheses .......... .............. .. 13 Limitations of the Study . ............ ......... 13 II. BACKGROUND OF LITERATURE . ........... 16 Values and Valuing .................. ..... ......... 16 Value Concepts ........... ............ 16 Approaches to the Study of Values ........ 18 General Importance of Values for the Individual ............. 22 Special Significance of Values for Marriage and Family Living .......... 23 General Importance of Values for Higher Education . 27 General Education ................ 27 Home Economics ...a............. 31 Research Studies by Home Economists ....... 37 Summary . o . 0 . 0 0 . 0 0 . o.. .. ,o.. 38 III. PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF D A T A ............ 40 Characteristics of the Groups Participating ............ 41 Treatment of the Data ............. 46 Analysis of the Data .................. 48 Findings from Percentages ............ 49 Findings from Chi-Square Tests ......... 74 IV. THE SUMMARY .............. 84 Conclusions ...o«o.oo.o....oo.o..o 86 Implications and Recommendations ............ 91 iv V APPENDIXES „ . ......... a ............. a 99 A. ISSUE STATEMENTS ......... .. 100 B. DIRECTIONAL PROCEDURE ................. 110 C. COMMUNICATIONS TO ADMINISTRATORS AND HOME ECONOMICS PARTICIPANTS 113 D. ADDITIONAL ISSUE STATEMENTS SUBMITTED BY THE PARTICIPANTS .................... 118 LITERATURE CITED »»»aooae>c»o»oeaa*Qa<>0««<»<»aI23 AUTOBIOGRAPHY * . ................................................................ * • . , * . , 130 LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Number and Percentages of Home Economists and Groves Conference Participants Showing Educational L e v e l s ................................ 44 2. Number and Percentages of Georgia and Ohio Home Economists Classified as to Type of Institution in Higher Education ................................. 45 3'. Percentage of Home Economists and Groves Conference Participants Ranking 105 Issues in Marriage and Family Life Education at Three Levels of Importance ....................................... 50 4. The Rank of Order of Specific Issue Statements at Two Levels of Importance as Indicated by Fifty Per Cent or More of the Participants in 2Vo Selected Groups of Family Life Educators ............. 57 5. The Clustering of Specific Issue Statements at Two Levels of Importance in Ten Major Areas of Marriage and Family Life Education as Indicated by Fifty Per Cent or More of the Participants in IVo Selected Groups of Family Life Educators ............. 60 6. Percentage of Home Economists and Groves Conference Participants Ranking 105 Issues in Marriage and Family Life Education within the High Level of Importance ......... .... .................. .. 64 7. Specific Issue Statements (Within the TOP TEN RANK Order) at the Highly Important Level in Ten Major Areas of Marriage and Family Life Education as Indicated by the Participants of Two Selected Groups of Family Life Educators ............ 73 vi vii 8. Chi-Square and Levels of Probability for Home Economists and Groves Conference Participants For Their Opinions on Issue Statements in Marriage and Family Life Education ....... a ... 75 9. Extent of Agreement on 105 Issue Statements in Ten Major Areas of Marriage and Family Life Education ( B a S e d O n .oa.*a»«o.oo..o.oooo»« 81 10. Range and Mean Scores Based on Chi-Square Tests and Showing Probability Levels for 105 Issue Statements in Ten Major Areas of Marriage and Family Life Education 82 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The Problem Achieving a "set of values" is considered to be one of the great est human needs of the individual in a civilized society. Each individual must decide for himself what he wants most out of life, be able to weigh various courses of action, count the cost and arrive at a philosophy of life satisfying to himself and to the society in which he lives. Suzuki has said, "All the values in the broad field of human activity may be stamped as sold and dilapidated and even worn out in the sense that ever since the dawn of civilization we have been talk ing about them constantly" (70, p. 94). Discerning philosophers have agreed that values held by man play an important role not only in the development of a healthy personality but in the rise and fall of nations as well. Smith in his review of the recent publication New Knowledge in Human Values (edited by Maslow) makes the following observation: For a hundred years now the condition of western man has worried most of its perceptive observers: Hegel, Marx, Kierkegaard, Nietzche, Matthew Arnold, Spengler, Eliot, Marcel, and Jaspers, to mention only a few. Diagnoses and prognoses differ widely in details, but on two points there is agreement: the sickness is acute and its locus is in the realm of values (64, p. 24). 1 / A review of literature pertinent to any organized study of the subject of values reveals the fact that this is a phenomenon of great diversity and complexity. Many have written on the subject; some have dealt with the problem from a subjective point of view, others objec tively. Certainly not all who have written have been in agreement as to theory. Many writers have lost themselves in comtemplation and philosophical explanation while others have founded their conclusions on inferences drawn from principles which have been established on independent evidence. In one respect, however, the majority are in agreement— values are needed to bring or'der and meaning to satisfying human existence. A study of the literature further reveals that confusion of ideas and theory relative to increased understanding of the origin and devel opment of a value system seem to cluster in some areas of humanics more than others. Among those in which there appears to be considerable concern and differences of opinion is in the area of education for marriage and family living in the present-day world. Education for marriage and family living focuses on the individual as a family member, the family unit, and families as integral parts of society. Attention, also, is given to the structure of society as it impinges on individuals and families. In this respect, there is a growing realization that patterns of family life are changing and that the effect of outside forces are making an increasing impact on family living today. Many who are engaged in this field of study are agreed that if the essential aspects of family life in the United States are to be preserved and enriched then values which supply the individual 3 with a sense of purpose and direction and which serve as a basis for action as well as for the evaluation of behavior must be more clearly identified. Certainly, it would appear that this identification is important if confusion and alternatives of value systems are to be dealt with in this century. The family is among the smallest (if not the smallest) unit for decision-making and value formation