CAM Academy: A Philosophy in Action
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Authors
Dean, Susan Elizabeth
Issue Date
1968
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
The original purpose of this study was to evaluate the
academic success of CAM Academy and determine as far as possible
the relative contributions of the factors responsible
for whatever degree of success was found. This was to be done
by means of participant observation, interviewing students,
collecting test scores and other data, and administering a
semantic differential for measuring attitudes. The selection
of this focus for my project was, of necessity, made with
very little knowledge about the Academy itself. On the basis
of one visit to the building early in the summer to talk with the principal, and the reading of several planning papers and
progress reports from the first semester, I had to choose a
specific topic for study, review the literature in that area,
and plan my research in detail. This was to be done during
the summer quarter at Kalamazoo. The result of this situation
was that my early background reading had more effect on my choice of focus than did the Academy itself. From this reading I formed two specific hypotheses concerning
attitudes for testing at CAM Academy. While trying to keep
CAM's primary goal for its students --academic achievement -- paramount
in the study, I planned to evaluate it in relation
to the students' attitudes. I hypothesized that (1) A) Returning
CAM students will show more favorable attitudes towards
the concept "school" than either new students or dropouts; and
B) New and returning students will show more favorable attitudes
towards "CAM Academy" than will CAM dropouts. I assumed
that all CAM students would show favorable attitudes towards
"education" since they came to CAM voluntarily. My second
hypothesis was: Achievement w1l1 be positively related to
general attitude among returning students and dropouts; that
1s, students who show improved achievement will also show
increasingly favorable attitudes towards "school," "education"
and "CAM Academy," and those who have not improved, will not.
I also stated a third hypothesis concerning the factors of the CAM Academy environment itself and their influence on both
attitudes and achievements CAM Academy's teaching methods and
materials, its emphasis on non-academic achievement, its work study
program, and its interest in each student as an individual
will be felt by students and staff to make the greatest
contribution to developing more favorable attitudes and raising achievement levels.
Description
iv, 76 p.
Citation
Publisher
Kalamazoo, Mich. : Kalamazoo College.
License
U.S. copyright laws protect this material. Commercial use or distribution of this material is not permitted without prior written permission of the copyright holder. All rights reserved.