James S. Leming

Cheating Behavior, Subject Variables, and Components of the Internal-External Scale under High and Low Risk Conditions

AbstractUnder two conditions (high and low risk) college undergraduates (N = 153) were administered the Rotter Internal-External Scale and the circles test of Hartshorne and May. The I-E Scale was scored for the Collins subscales (1974). The only significant correlation between cheating, the I-E Scale, and the Collins subscales was on the difficult-easy world subscale under the high risk condition (r = .19). This finding was consistent with the findings of Houston. It was found that cheating was situationally specific; subjects cheated more under the low risk condition than under the high risk condition. The data were also analyzed with respect to the relationships between sex, academic ability, and cheating behavior. In the low risk condition women cheated significantly more than men. Sanction threats (high risk condition) were found to reduce the incidence of cheating only for women. Cheating behavior was not related to academic ability; however, under the high risk condition high ability students cheat...

Cheating Behavior, Situational Influence, and Moral Development

AbstractUsing the Hartshorne and May circles test, cheating behavior was detected among 152 undergraduates under two situations: high threat, high supervision (HTHS) and low threat, low supervision (LTLS). Rest’s Defining Test was used to assess level of moral development. Among all subjects and across both situations it was found that subjects high in moral development cheated less than other subjects (p >.01). However, it was also found that in the LTLS situation, subjects high in moral development were just as likely to cheat as subjects low in moral development. The implications of the findings for moral education and the cognitive developmental theory of moral development are discussed.

Ideological Perspectives within the Social Studies Profession: An Empirical Examination of the “Two Cultures” Thesis

Differences in perspective between professors of social studies education and teachers of social studies regarding the proper focus of social studies instruction frequently have been noted. In order to better understand one potential source of these differences, data on the political ideology of both groups was collected and examined. The professorate sample was found to be substantially more liberal than the teacher sample. The implications of these findings for the future vitality of the profession are discussed.

Intrapersonal variations in stage of moral reasoning among adolescents as a function of situational context

On a set of classical moral dilemmas and on a set of practical moral dilemmas 60 randomly selected eighth- and twelfth-grade students were asked to (a) judge the actions of others (judgment) and (b) reach a personal decision and give reasons for what they would do (deliberation). The interviews were transcribed and scored for stage of moral reasoning. Stage of moral reasoning associated with deliberation on practical moral dilemmas was found to be significantly lower than their moral judgment on classical moral dilemmas. An explanation was presented which combined social learning and cognitive-developmental moralization theory.

On The Limits of Rational Moral Education.

Abstract Contemporary approaches to moral education feature individual choice through rational decision making as the essential component of morality. There is no research which indicates that these approaches significantly alter moral behavior. This paper explores the reasons for moral educations ineffectiveness and offers an alternative perspective on the proper purpose and methods for moral education. A review of the literature on the development of prosocial behavior found that social interactions during childhood are highly significant in the development of a morality. From this research perspective rationality is not a major determinant of moral behavior. The functionalist perspective of Emile Durkheim on the development of personal morality was also discussed. This paper builds upon the above two perspectives to develop a broad conception of directive moral education which emphasizes modeling, induction, and the necessity of organizing the moral education curriculum around a gradient of rationality.

Rethinking Social Studies Research and the Goals of Social Education

Abstract This paper examines the research on social studies curriculums influence on the social, moral, and political attitudes of youth. It is argued that it is difficult to make a case for the social or educational significance of these findings given their small magnitude. Four alternative interpretations of this genre of research are presented. It is concluded that the social studies profession should focus primarily on the achievement of cognitive goals and that further research into curricular effectiveness without longitudinal data is of limited value. As an alternative to curricular effectiveness research, it is proposed that descriptions of the workings of exemplary programs become a major research priority.

A Citation Analysis of the Handbook of Research on Social Studies Teaching and Learning

Abstract This study evaluated the characteristics of the knowledge included in The Handbook of Research on Social Studies Teaching and Learning with a view toward better understanding the sources of the discourse and the epistemology of the field. The method used was citation analysis. Tallies were computed for the most frequently cited authors, single pieces of scholarship, and journal citations. We found that the field largely relies upon its own scholarship, rather than drawing upon the social sciences for its knowledge base. We also found that new approaches to research focusing on critical, multicultural, and gender-based perspectives have not been widely incorporated into the research base. Overall, it Was concluded that the field appears to remain unclear regarding its purpose(s), traditional in its view regarding knowledge construction, and inward looking in its attempt to develop its knowledge base.

On the Normative Foundations of Economic Education.

Abstract Research is cited to support the claim that current economic education curricula fail to demonstrate any persistent or significant influence regarding student commitment to the normative foundations of our free enterprise system. The perspectives of Bettleheim, Dreeben and Jackson are presented to demonstrate how schools, in spite of a relatively impotent cognitively oriented curricula, have the potential for transmitting some key economic values to youth. It is argued that developing an allegiance to the principles of our current mixed market economic system is as important as developing commitment to the democratic values embedded within our constitution. It is concluded that economic education should begin to take a broader view of how latent and manifest curricula can better develop commitment and understanding of our economic system.

The Effect of Logo on the Nonverbal Reasoning Ability of Rural and Disadvantaged Third Graders

AbstractPrior research that has attempted to assess the impact of Logo programming on the cognitive abilities of youth has utilized samples drawn primarily from white middle class populations. This study assesses the impact of Logo programming using a sample that consists of rural and disadvantaged student’s. Thirty-six third-graders were randomly assigned to either a treatment group or a control group. The Matrix Analogies Test, a test of nonverbal reasoning ability, was selected as the dependent variable. The treatment group received eight weeks of Logo programming experience. An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) computed on the MAT posttest, controlling for pretest, revealed a significant group effect. The Logo group scored significantly higher than the control group.