Personality profiles and dogmatism in undergraduate teacher education students

A sample of 435 junior education majors in a large Southwestern university were given the 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire and the Opinion Scale. Correlations were computed between these two scales, and a profile of personality factors was developed which defined the nature of authoritarianism or dogmatism. A step-wise multiple regression analysis revealed that an accurate prediction formula for dogmatism could not be developed from the personality factor scores. Implications for teacher education programs include research to determine if treatment programs can be developed to change a student's degree of dogmatism, and the importance of screening procedures which include an assessment of open-mindedness.     

General Communication

THE MEDIA MONOPOLY by Ben H. Bagdikian (Boston, Massachusetts: Beacon Press, 1983—$8.95, paper).

COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES &; SOCIETY: CONCEPTIONS OF CAUSALITY &; THE POLITICS OF TECHNOLOGICAL INTERVENTION by Jennifer Daryl Slack (Norwood, New Jersey: Ablex Publishing, 1984—price not given).

THE MIRROR MAKERS: A HISTORY OF AMERICAN ADVERTISING AND ITS CREATORS by Stephen Fox (New York: William Morrow, 1984—$17.95).

INSTEAD OF REGULATION: ALTERNATIVES TO FEDERAL REGULATORY AGENCIES edited by. Robert W. Poole, Jr. (Lexington, Massachusetts: Lexington Books, 1982—$28.50).

MASS MEDIA ISSUES: ANALYSIS AND DEBATE edited by George Rodman (Chicago, Minois: SRA Inc., 1984— price not given, paper).     

Arts participation: Comparing the elderly and non-elderly

Conclusions From this brief examination of the leisure activities of older Americans, several previous findings have been validated with national, representative data and a few surprises have been discovered in arts participation. As expected, those younger than 65 years of age were more active than seniors in nearly all of the leisure activities tested. In addition, the elderly were more likely to participate in in-home rather than out-of-home activities.The most intriguing finding concern the elderly's arts participation. While leisure activities decline as one grows older, participation in passive arts activities in the home and out of the home decline far less than for leisure activities and more participatory arts activities. Unlike other activities discussed, few significant difference existed between the younger and older groups in the away from home art activities. Those 65 and older were more willing to attend fine arts performances, such as opera, musical plays, stage plays, and ballet. It is also notable that the differences in frequency of the away from home arts activities are in not great between the older and younger groups. Finally, this study does dispel somewhat the idea that the elderly prefer solitary activities. The elderly are a diverse and widely varying group of citizens who in some cases maintain their patronage of the arts while other leisure activities decline.     

Postgraduate Certificate in Guidance and Pupil Support: The Impact of the Course on Practice

This paper reports an investigation into the impact of a postgraduate certificate in guidance and pupil support on the practice of its recent graduands. The Certificate is one delivered within the Postgraduate Award Scheme of Northern College. The writers' investigation showed that the course had a major impact on graduands' professional practice, particularly in their effective use of enhanced interpersonal skills and counselling approach. Given the current climate, work which demonstrates the value of training in relation to the affective area is particularly valuable. A full report of the study is available from Northern College.     

RETHINKING THE FINANCING OF POST‐COMPULSORY EDUCATION

Throughout the world, the financing of education is in a state of crisis, a condition made even more acute by the simultaneous appearance of a doctrinal crisis with regard to the ends and the utility of education. For European higher education, the situation calls for the diversification of funding mechanisms. The public authorities which up until now have born most of the burden of higher education financing must transfer a goodly portion of the burden to users, i.e., students and parents, and to the private sector. Various methods for financial diversification are explored as well as different formulae for user‐financing.     

Politiques d'éducation et de formation: Université et professionnalisation. 2001/02. Bruxelles: De Boeck Université. 130 pp. ISBN 2-8041-3732-5, ISSN 1377-3488.

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