A STUDY OF SELF CONCEPT AND DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES IN TRADITIONAL AND ALTERNATIVE HIGH SCHOOLS IN DEKALB COUNTY, GEORGIA

The purpose of this study was to examine two related yet separate aspects of the high school student population in open and non-open school settings: (1) self concept as measured by the Tennessee Self Concept Scale (TSCS) and (2) demographic variables as reported on a questionnaire. The self concept variable was analyzed with respect to program enrollment and the demographic variables of race and sex. The demographic data were analyzed and presented to provide a comprehensive description of the samples included in the study.;An examination of the self concept variables indicated that there was no overall statistically significant difference between the self concepts of students in open and non-open schools. A significant race by school interaction on the Behavior subscale indicated that the self concepts of white students are equally affected by open and non-open schools, and the self concepts of nonwhite students are much more positively affected by enrollment in the open school. Additional findings on the Moral/Ethical Self and Personal Self subscales indicated the white population felt significantly more positive than did the nonwhite population; and on the Behavior and Moral/Ethical subscales females scored significantly more positive than did males.;The frequency and percentage data on the demographic variables from the open and non-open schools indicated that the open school appeared to be serving a population somewhat different from that at the non-open schools. Open School students were different in that they were older, more representative of the entire population in sexual and racial composition, frequencly married, more self-supporting, rated themselves more strictly, and more positive in self-evaluations of grades and learning.;The sample for the study was 200 senior students enrolled in four high schools in the DeKalb County School System. The resulting data from the two instruments used in the study were analyzed with frequency and percentage statistics as well as Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) and Univariate Analysis of Variance (ANOVA).