A COMPARISON OF OPEN-MINDEDNESS BETWEEN HEALTH EDUCATORS AND OTHER EDUCATORS: A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION (CLOSED-MINDEDNESS, DOGMATISM)

The purpose of this study was to determine if health education majors were open-minded, and if open-minded, would select open-minded responses to controversial issues. It was also to discover if health education majors were more open-minded than physical education majors minoring in health education and more open-minded in large or small, private or public colleges and universities.;Of the 393 subjects, 105 (26.7%) were classified as open-minded and 288 (73.3%) were closed-minded. No significant difference was found in the open-mindedness of health education majors and physical education majors minoring in health education or in the open-mindedness of health education majors and education majors. Also, no significant difference was discovered between open-minded health education majors and responses to controversial subjects. However, there was a significant difference in the open-mindedness depending on size and type of institution. The student teachers attending large, public colleges and universities were more open-minded than those attending small, private institutions.;The 393 subjects were student teachers enrolled at 13 colleges and universities in the State of Ohio. They were administered the Rokeach Dogmatism and the Open-minded Closed-minded Attitude Scales. The Rokeach Dogmatism Scale determined the open-mindedness or closed-mindedness of the subjects. The Attitude Scale was used to ascertain if open-minded health education majors would select open-minded responses to controversial issues.