An Experimental Program in Vocational Education at the Elementary School Level. Final Report.

A one-year study evaluated the Human Development Program, or "Magic Circle," a project (conducted in the Tuscaloosa County (Alabama) School District) designed to explore student concerns and ideas in the areas of awareness, mastery, and social interaction and consisting of daily twenty-minute classroom meetings of teacher and pupils in a circular arrangement. The evaluation was designed to determine "Magic Circle's" effectiveness in the following areas: its ability to bring about significant changes in self-concepts and classroom achievement of elementary students and in teacher behavior; and as a means for introducing information about jobs and the world of work into ongoing classroom activities. Second, fourth, and sixth grade pupils in two schools participated in the study; one school provided treatment subjects, the other served as a control. Treatment subjects experienced daily "Magic Circle" sessions using prescribed curriculums. The control group experienced no such involvement. Pre- and postmeasures of self-concept, academic achievement, and locus of perceived control were obtained, along with periodic measures of classroom behavior and "Magic Circle" behavior. Results showed some students in the experimental group made significantly different gains in some areas, but the control group showed significantly different gains in equally relevant areas. Teacher behavior did not differ significantly in Circle activities and there was no indication that classroom behavior changed substantially from participating in the project. (Author/BL)