University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 1-1-1975 An evaluation of personal, social, and political change through Upward Bound. Frederic Paul Bemak University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1 Recommended Citation Bemak, Frederic Paul, "An evaluation of personal, social, and political change through Upward Bound." (1975). Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014. 2930. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1/2930 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]. AN EVALUATION OP PERSONAL, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL CHANGE THROUGH UPWARD BOUND A Dissertation Presented By FREDERIC PAUL BEMAK Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degre DOCTOR OF EDUCATION June 1975 School of Education (c) Frederic Paul Bemak 1975 All Rights Reserved AN EVALUATION OF PERSONAL, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL CHANGE THROUGH UPWARD BOUND A Dissertation By FREDERIC PAUL BEMAK Approved as to style and content by: Dr ToVm U_ Uiripman. (Thai Tin .an nf Committee Dr. Seymour Cabin, Member School of Education June 1975 lv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Ther-3 are several individuals whose inspiration and guidance aided me in completing this dissertation. To Jack Wideman, whose scholarship, sensitivity, and depth assisted me in both the academic and spiritual realms of growth over the past several years and whose continual support was in- valuable in completing this thesis, I wish to express my deepest gratitude. To Jackie Stanton, whose time, political perspective, advice, and support helped me to shape the dis- sertation, I would like to express my deep appreciation. To Seymour Cabin, a special friend, I can only put forth a warm thanks for his persistence, time and dedication in helping me to sort out some of the difficult aspects of the thesis. Not only were committee members invaluable individually, but their collaborative effort was a constant source of mo- tivation. The spirit of cooperation of this wonderful group was what ultimately facilitated the completion of my disser- tation as well as modeled an ideal for my own future work. To Norma Jean Anderson I wish to express sincere thanks for her past assistance and for being with me at the final oral examination. I would also like to acknowledge the deep appreciation hours dur- I have for my father, Walter Bemak, who spent many ing the past year editing the thesis. V And of course to my soon to be wife, Adi, I am especial- ly grateful for her love, care, patience, and continual un- derstanding. I wish to also thank the Upward Bound students and staff who shared with me in the joys and pains of becoming more aware, responsible human beings. An Evaluation of Personal, Social, and Political Change Through Upward Bound Frederic P. Bemak, B.A., Boston University M. Ed . , University of Massachusetts, Amherst Directed by: Dr. John W. Wideman This dissertation thoroughly examines the situation of poor people in America and investigates the efforts of one program, the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Upward Bound Program, to combat the detrimental results of poverty. By means of a questionnaire and interview the study specific- ally evaluates the following five major areas of impact in the students' lives: self, family, friends, academics and school, and the significance of the future. Twelve Upward Bound graduates from the year 1972 participated in the study. Prior studies on Upward Bound have only looked at narrow segments of students’ lives such as writing skills, speech patterns, testing abilities, future goals, high school grades, college retention rates, and self concept as learners. This study differs, however, in that it is a holistic evalua- tion exploring the personal, social, and political growth of the student. The results of this study can be applied to na- tionwide Upward Bound programs due to the uniformity of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare guidelines. Univer- In the thesis a thorough description of the 1972 is sity of Massachusetts, Amherst, Upward Bound Program offered » This in itself would be incomplete. Therefore in order to provide a framework for understanding the existence of Upward Bound programs a , comprehensive overview of the many dimensions of poverty is discussed. The results of the study show that every student was overwhelmingly influenced in at least four of the five areas under investigation. Wrtarge majority of the subjects re- ported that Upward Bound had a strong influence on their self perceptions, thoughts, and feelings; their relationships with their families; their skills and capacities to make new friends; their grades, attitudes, and attendance in school; and their ability to see the future clearer. A significant number of subjects disclosed that because of Upward Bound their activities with friends changed and their high school curricula changed. Hence the study clearly demonstrates that Upward Bound plays a major role in helping subjects to im- prove the quality of their lives. Students were not only influenced in the five focal areas of this study's concentration, but the results contin- ually pointed to three additional significant areas of impact on the Upward Bound students. They were: the development of political awareness and sophistication, the development of a spirit of synergism, and the development of an understanding, appreciation, and respect for other individuals and cultures. An examination of the subjects' financial backgrounds lamilics and current situations was also made. Nine students' received full or partial public aid during their Upward Bourd years. An evaluation of the students’ present situations showed that seven were enrolled in college, three others had already been to college and planned to return, one other planned to enter college, and one subject did not plan to gc to college but had a steady job and was supporting his wife and child. Of the other four not in college three are finan- cially independent and one is completing a work training pre- gram. Therefore all the subjects are either in college or financially self supportive except one who will be financial- ly independent shortly, showing that Upward Bound plays a significant role in improving the quality and enhancing the success of Upward Bound students’ lives. ^/tJpward Bound affects individuals and groups other than those who are directly involved in the program. This thesis discusses the following other areas of influence: Upward Bound families; Upward Bound staff; non-Upward Bound students community agencies; and local, state, and federal politicians The limitations of the study and future recommendations for students, staff, additional outreach programs to include coalition in the Upward Bound structure, the formation of a individual of community agencies, and survival strategies for and nationwide Upward Bound programs are discussed. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter I. Overview of the Study Statement of the Problem 1 Design of the Dissertation 3 The Evolution of the Upward Bound Program 4 The Purpose of the Study 8 Methodology 10 Rationale 12 Chapter II. A Review of the Literature and Research on American Poverty 16 Introduction 16 American Poverty—The Historical 1960s 17 The Poverty Stricken: Realities 24 The Poor and Money 27 The Poor Do Exist 30 The Myths of Poverty 33 Characteristics of All Families and Poor Families in the United States, 1971 36 White and "Nonwhite" 37 Income by Race and Sex 39 Women and Their Children ,42 Rural and Urban Poverty .43 Health and Poverty ,44 The Poor Live Somewhere .52 Crime: Who Is the Culprit? .55 Unemployment and Underemployment .59 Education .62 America and Education .62 The Public Schools: A View from the Other Side of the Tracks .65 Characteristics of Impoverished High School Youth .73 General Characteristics .73 An Example of Racism in Public Schools.... .74 Can They Succeed? .76 The College Bound Obstacle Path .82 Racism and Higher Education .87 Through the Maze to College..... .91 Aspirations .91 , Hopes, Dreams, and Persistence in College .93 Summary .95 Program. ... 99 Chapter III. A Description of the Upward Bound Introduction 99 X The Population— General Characteristics 99 Obj ectives 103 Recruiting New Students 104 Incentive to Enter Upward Bound 105 The Summer Program 106 General Description _06 Student Government 106 Extra-curricular Activities 107 Summer Staff 108 Summer Activities —Non-Bridge 110 Elective Courses — Non-Bridge 112 Summer Academics —Bridge 114 The Follow-Up Program 115 General Description 115 Community Resource Committee .....116 Academic Policy Committee 117 Tutorial Program I.l8 Reunions 118 Visiting Post-Secondary Institutions 119 Upward Bound: Strengths 319 Upward Bound: Weaknesses 122 Summary 123 Chapter IV. Results 125 Introduction 125 Profile of the Subjects 127 Financial Background..... 127 Family Constitution 128 Curriculum Level 129 Rank in Class 129 High School Grades 130 Absentee Records 131 Years in the Program 13 1* Current Situations 136 Results of the Interview and Questionnaire .139 The Self ,139 The Family .148 Friends .156 Academics and School .161 Significance of the Future .172 .176 • General