Research abstracts

Abstracts compiled by Nancy R. Preston, ERIC Clearinghouse on Information Resources, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244-2340 (telephone 315-443-3640).     

Communications programs in higher education: Objectives and curricula

Conclusion This report has shown that there are areas of commonality and areas of diversity in existing communications programs in higher education. The undergraduate and graduate curricular structure reflects, for the most part, the stated objectives of the program. Several questions remain to be answered: “What is being accomplished under the communications label that could not otherwise be accomplished?” “What are some of the emerging trends in this rapidly growing field?” These topics will be covered in subsequent articles. This is the second in a series of articles on communications programs in higher education by the author who is director of the audiovisual center at Syracuse University. The first article, “Communications Programs in Higher Education,” appeared inAV Communication Review, Winter 1960.     

The Effects of a Large Scale Mastery Environment on Students’ Self-Concept

The Tennessee self-concept scale was used to measure the self-concept of eighty-eight college freshmen at the end of their first semester in college. Forty-four of these students had been randomly assigned to a large scale mastery learning environment, and the other forty-four were randomly assigned to conventional classes. “T-test” ratios indicate that the mastery learning students have higher self-concepts than do their conventional counterparts.