10
MAIL TRIIUNI, M.dford, Or.
Sunday, April 1, 1sO
Oregon's 'Talent Loss' Topic
Of Study at Monmouth School
(Editor's noiei This ii an
clhtr in eri of articles
en research and public
service activitiai of in
itala'i tax supported col
lege, and university. It was
writtan tor tha slata syitam
oi highar aducation by Mrs.
Wilma Morrison, long-tima
Oragon education reporter.)
By WILMA MORRISON
If 1,201) students in five
Willamette valley high schools
constitute a sampling, Oregon
has as many capable young
sters who do not plan on col
lege as do.
The statistical evidence in
Oregon of the "talent loss
that has become a matter of
national concern, is a by
product of a two-year study at
Oregon College of Education
in Monmouth.
Another by-product of even
more significance to parents
and educators, is the over
whelming evidence that it is
the family pattern far more
than the school that determ
ines the child's attitude to
ward learning - and college.
Also shown by the tests and
Interviews is the fact that al
most twice as many Drigm
girls as bright boys see little
value in training beyond high
school.
Project Launched
The OCE research project,
conceived and directed by Dr.
Jack V. Edling, was launched
one year ago under a $60,000
National Defense Education
act grant. It is an attempt to
find out whether some of the
Madison Avenue advertising
techniques that whet the pub
lie appetite for deep freezes
and tail fins, could be used by
schools to Inspire children
who don't want to learn. I
The focus of the study has
been narrowed to one area -
the attitude of students to
ward college. In this case, col
lege is broadly defined to
mean college or any kind of
technical schooling beyond
high school. "College-capable"
has also been broadly defined
to Include those above the
100 IQ median.
Dr. Edllng'i Idea: that
where the school has a group
ot children who are indiffer
ent or opposed to a sublect or
concept, some kind ot dcliVer- attitude
no auoio - visual appeal u ,choolng
goals or interests are - how
ever trivial - might serve to
motivate them.
Shapes Advertising
This la the approach that,
under the name "motivation
al research," now shapes the
advertising campaigns, and
the buying habits, of the coun
try. The first job is to Identify
the "market" to be sold - in
this case, the group of young
sters who are able to profit
from education beyond the
high school, but who do not
want it, or at least, are not
making any effort to get it.
The OCE study proposes to
examine, through tests and in
terviews, the background, at
titudes and interests of 5,000
Willamette valley high school
students. The end product will
be two films designed to ap
peal to what the staff determ
ines to be the distinctive char
acteristics of the group of college-capable
children who are
indifferent about college.
"If we asked 100 profes
sional firms to prepare films
that would influence children
to go to college, we would get
100 different emphases," Dr.
Edling said. "We think that
the contributions of psychol
ogy and behavioral sciences
generally, can narrow down
the appeals to a few specific
ones that will have an effect
on those we want to reach."
Findings Offer Evidence
Whether the films that will
later he designed from the
motivational research findings
will be demonstrably effective
when tested by comparison
with control groups, Dr. Ed
ling can't prophesy. His find
ings, however, already offer
evidence that there are pro
nounced and distinctive char
acteristics common to the
group of college-capable, college-indifferent
children.
The 1,200 youngsters whose
tests and interviews have
been recorded thus far are
from Clackamas, Woodburn,
Milwaukie, Lebanon and
North Salem High schools.
They have been divided
Into four categories: (1) Those
who are capable of education
beyond high school and who
intend to go on either to col
lege or Into technical school
abopt 30 per cent. (2) Those
who are capable but do not
intend further schooling
about 30 per cent. (3) Those
who, on basis of intelligence
scores, do noi nave necessary
college aptitude and who do
not plan further education
30 per cent. (4) Those who do
not have the aptitude but who
say they intend to go to col
lege 10 per cent.
Group 2 is the o.ne the OCE
experiment is concentrating
on.
Range of Intelligence
The range of intelligence as
shown on IQ tests is about
the same in groups 1 and 2
It runs from 101 (about ave
rage) to 145 (very superior).
There are just as many su
perior and very superior iw
scores among the Group 2
youngsters, Dr. Edling said,
as among Group 1, those who,
intend to go to college.
There are almost twice as
many girls as boys in Group 2.
The Group 2 children come
from larger families and re
port greater financial blocks
to schooling. But, Dr. Edling
said, their answers show that
money is not by any means
the only, or even the chief,
factor that influences Ineir
toward luilhar
Following are some of the
characteristics of the Group 2
children, as shown on what
Edling regards as the best in
lerest inventory lest available,
the "Dynamic .Factors Opin-
test, "Your Educational
Plans." which is designed to
give family background in
formation as well as the as
pirations of the student.
'Non-Reinforced Group'
These children are, in psy
chologists' language, "a non
reinforced group." Approxi
mately three-fourths of them
said their parents do not con
sider education beyond the
high school important. Over
and over again, these students,
when .they faced questions
about what their parents
thought about higher educa
tion, would tell the interview
er, they didn't know how to
answer because, "They never
talk about it.
"Here is a group whose
narpnli riirin'l on tn colleee.
whose brothers and sisters
didn't go to collpge, whose
best friends aren't going to
college," Dr. Edling said.
Their goals are immediate
-a job or marriage, and their
job and monoy aspirations
are either low or unrealistic.
Their ideal jobs-store clerk,
salesman, repair man, wait
ress, beautician, etc. - are the
same as showed in answers of
Group 3 students, those who
have neither the necessary
college aptitude nor the inten
tion of going to college.
Other Differences
Other- differences between
these Group 2 children and
their college-bound equals in
capacity "are so significant
that they would occur less
than one In several thousand
times, if it were due to
chance," Dr. Edling said.
They show dependence as
contrasted with self - reliance.
They are conformists, and
most markedly, they seek se
curity as contrasted with ad
venture or risk. These charac
teristics show up most strong
ly among the girls most of
whom see early marriage as
synonymous with security.
They show a greater need,
both for attention from others.
and for entertainment, diver-!
lions. I
There are other distinctive
traits which have been "fac- j
tored out" as far as the film
designing end purpose of the
research is concerned. But
they add to the total picture
ol this group ot non-school-;
........... - f l- 1
.....,ubw juuu(aiEis, iu in
stance, their answers show
that they are generally low on
quantitative thinking, and
low on aesthetic interests, ap
preciation of art, literature,
music. They show an allergy
COLLEGE INTENT VS COLLEGlTABILITY
(O.C.E. HIGH SCHOOL STUDY)
There ire no earth faults! Since 1951 the total use of During the same period, eolor
to an English Channel new. paper, by advertiser. In newspaper ,d, ha. nc e.s
tunnel, a study shows. I ha. increased 40 per cent. ! ed more than 100 per cent.
. HIGH ABILITY .
COLLEGE BOUND ,
30
. s- ' H.GH ABILITY V
. 'V . NON-COLLEGE BOUNOV
' '' i t-V ' ' MED SELLING)
' io" r ' ,
LOW ABILITY , j
' COLLEGE BOUND X
NEED UNSELLINGX N.
A 30 X
LOW ABILITY
NON-COLLEGE BOUND y
CHART OF LOSS Oregon's loss of poten- Oregon College of Education, aimed to find
tial college and technical trainee is told in out whether Madison Avenue advertising
this chart. Percentages reflect findings of techniques can sell the value of learning,
unusual "motivational research" study at
Christ- Prepared for Public Life
With 40 Days o
B.Y THE RT. REV. MSGR.
J. M. KELLY
Editor, The New World
Catholic Archdiocese of
Chicago
Written for UPI
During the holy season of
Lent our thoughts naturally
turn to penance and sacrifice.
We have as our prime exam
ple the forty days and nights
Christ spent in the desert in
prayer and fasting in prepara
tion for His public life.
Even though He was the
f Prayer, Fasting
Son of God and totally sin
less, He chose to strengthen
His mind and will by an ex
tended period of voluntary
mortification. He knew well
the grave burdens that lay
ahead of Him-His task of
teaching, the bitter opposi
tion He would face, and fi
nally His sufferings and death
on the cross.
Most of us certainly will
never be faced with the ex
treme trials and labors that
Christ had to endure: yet we
all have our own burdens and
countless temptations to face
as we go through life.
There is no better way for
us to prepare ourselves than
by embracing some voluntary
mortification especially dur
ing these days. By giving up
some of the things we like
we will strengthen our souls
and will therefore be much
better prepared to face our
problems and to live in the
imitation of Christ,
Salem-dlPO-A legal educa
tion series to be held as part
of the Oregon Justice Depart
ment staff conferene in Port
land April 6 will discuss col
lecting debts due the state.
t .:. ..-
4 DAYS ONLY! BEGINS
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6th
Get a Beautiful 5x7"
Picture of Your Baby
Q jT v On or two chIN
If I - dron In any ono
nnlv VI II will bo pho-
t i- A 1 tooraphod SINOIY
I M tbo first picture.
LL lon additional
WDM
child under five,
$1.30 for tbo
picture.
Cheese any one of .ovorol aoiplotoly finished photographs ... ad
In alPerant pose. ... far only 49c. You wHI not be urged to buy,
vt M ye wish you can buy the remaining photograph. t enty
1.JS lor the Art. $1 for the Sod and 5 for any oddMonal pl
PHOTOGRAPHER'S HOURS: 9:30 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.
Pixn Ptm-Upa Exclusively nt Penmen9
ion purvey, mm mi ......-. , Ior precision, all things requir
"" ' ling exactness and detail.
Pattern of Dislike
1 While the OCE research
has not included high school
grade records in its documen
tation, Dr. Edling said, the
Group 2 children, in answer
to questions, placed themselv
es lower on the grade scale
than did those in the college
hound group. And, unlike
their college-focused contem
poraries, they showed a pat
tern of dislike of high school.
Anyone looking over the in
terest and background records
of these average and superior
students who, obviously, have
not been "motivated" in high
school, and are not "motivat
ed toward college or techni
cal training, winds up with
the big question:
Has the school - can the
school-do much to make them
self-starting learners when
the home and society does
not?
Dr. Edling's answer was,
"As yet, no. But we are hop
ing . . ."
Ex-God Hill Woman
Dies in Texas
Gold Hill -Word has been
received here of the death of
Mrs. Nellie Winn, former
Gold Hill resident, in Odessa,
Tex., recently.
Mrs. Winn lived here several
years ago, and was active in
the Amethyst Mebckah lodge,
the local Methodist church
and the Past Nobel Grands
club.
Survivors Include her hus
band. Dave Winn, Odessa; a
daughter, Mrs. Sam Ledbet
ter; a son, Alvis Winn, who
live In California.
G r a n d c h lldren of Mrs.
Winn are Miss Jennie Lou
Thompson and her brother,
Paul Thompson, who live
with their paternal grand
parents, Mr. and Mrs. Taiil
Thompson, Gold Hill.
thos
yfld be yu.
A Father Says ...
Savings at JACKSON COUNTY FEDERAf
ARE . . . SAFE . . . SECURE . . . INSURED
4c
per annum
Q current dividend rate-
NOTICE!
The American Laundry
Has Sold Their Business
EFFECTIVE APRIL 1, 1960
All American Laundry Customers
Will Now Be Served by
Dumas Domestic Laundry
and DRY CLEANERS
30-32 North Riverside
Phone SP 2-6154
Crystal White Laundry
and CLEANERS
811 N. Central Ave.
Phone SP 3-6226
THE AMERICAN LAUNDRY OFFFICE, 132 S. Central,
Will Be Open 2 Week, for Your Convenience
A Mother Says
Saving Money at JACKSON COUNTY FEDERAL
by the 10th . . . EARNS from the Ittl
4
per annum
currant dividend rata-
A Young Saver Says . . .
Your Savings Add Up Faster .
at JACKSON COUNTY FEDERAL
Jackson County Federal
SAVINGS AND LOAN ASSOCIATION
"It does make a difference
where you save!"
Home Office
126 E. Main
Medford, Ore.
Ashland Branch
337 E. Main
Ashland, Ore.