The Utility of Social Attitudes Theory

Kerlinger’s social attitudes theory indicates that attitudes regarding educational practices can be subsumed by the two uncorrelated dimensions, progressivism and traditionalism. This study examined in detail the nature of educators’ education-related attitudes. A stratified sample of 195 students completed two instruments measuring educational attitudes. The results suggest that the already potent explanatory power of Kerlinger’s constructs can be augmented by measuring additional constructs when examining educational phenomena. The results also suggest that Kerlinger’s theoretical principle that social attitudes are dualistic may need to be qualified when the attitudes studied involve the vital roles of subjects.