A study of the effects of demographic variables on dogmatism and curriculum choices: of community junior college social science instructors

This study investigated the effects of demographic variables on dogmatism as measured by the Rokeach Dogmatism Scale and curriculum choices as measured by the Rose Social Studies Questionnaire of social science teachers in the community junior college. This study was undertaken in order to provide information for program development in the preservice education of community junior college teachers and for staff development programs within the colleges. The data also provided a profile of faculty in the social sciences which could aid administrators in the community junior college with information for faculty selection. The population studied consisted of social science instructors teaching in community junior colleges within a sixty-mile radius of Houston, Texas. The research population was selected to equal 50 percent of the social science faculty of each junior college. Fifty-six teachers were selected. To statistically determine to what extent the demographic groups differed using scores obtained from the Dogmatism Factors and the SSQ Factors, stepwise discriminate analysis was employed. [...]