The effect of a choice theory program on the attendance and conduct of sixth grade students.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The purpose of this study was to describe the effect of the Choice Theory Program on the attendance and conduct of sixth grade students.
A causal comparative research design was utilized to test the hypotheses in this study. The design was selected because the problem called for an exploration of the causal relationships between variables in a situation where the groups had already been formed. The study called for a comparison of samples that were different on a critical variable but were otherwise comparable. The independent variable was participation (or non-participation) in the Choice Theory Program and the dependent variables were attendance and conduct.
One group of participants consisted of a convenience sample of 240 sixth grade students from an intermediate school in a school district in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas who participated in the Choice Theory Program for one year. The comparison group consisted of a convenience sample of 308 sixth grade students from another intermediate school in the same school district who had not participated in the Choice Theory Program.
The results indicated that: (1) the attendance of the students who had participated in the Choice Theory Program was statistically significantly higher than the attendance of the students who had not participated in the Choice Theory Program; and (2) the conduct of the students who had participated in the Choice Theory Program was statistically significantly better than the attendance of the students who had not participated in the Choice Theory Program. Although the effect sizes obtained did not reach the criterion established for educational significance, the results did suggest that the Choice Theory Program had been effective with regard to student attendance and conduct. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).