Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

8-1986

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Major Professor

Gerald Cheek

Committee Members

John I. Matthews, Gerald LaBorde, Dewey H. Stollar

Abstract

Very little research had been done in the use of peer tutoring in vocational education prior to this study. This experiment was conducted to investigate 2 methods of instruction to ascertain the effects, if any, of inverse tutoring versus traditional tutoring in improving reading competencies of secondary vocational improvement program (VIP) students at Campbell County High School in Jacksboro, Tennessee.

Experimental subjects of this study were randomly assigned by intact classes to 1 of 4 treatment groups: nontutored, inverse tutors, inverse tutees, or traditional tutees. The Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests, Survey Level E, Form 1, were used as pretests; Form 2 of these same tests was used to posttest the students. There were 50 sessions of treatment. Pretest, posttest, and posttest gain scores were tested in separate one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests for each group. No significant differences were observed between any groups. Multiple linear regression analysis was applied to the data to identify intervening variables that might have the most significant impact on posttest gain scores. Selected independent variables were tested for relationships with the mean achievement scores of the groups. No significant relationships were found. Separate Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficient tests were run on the 2 measures of reading achievement: the Tennessee State Proficiency Test (TSPT) and the pretests and the TSPT and the posttests. There were significant relationships established at the .05 level in various instances. However, post hoc analysis was not done since no significant relationships were found from the testing of the 2 major hypotheses.

It was concluded that long-term academically and socioeconomically disadvantaged students were not significantly affected by their tutoring roles. Additionally, intervening variables such as IQ, reading abilities, sex, age, or parents' occupational status are not likely to be significantly related to reading achievement scores of this homeogeneous grouping.

Recommendations were that future studies be conducted to determine the effects of various tutorial arrangements for disadvantaged students for longer periods than 10 weeks and that these studies be conducted in earlier grades than high school. It was further recommended that future tutorial studies be conducted in both academic and vocational programs and that these studies include larger, more heterogeneous groupings of students.

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