Teacher Education as a Framework for Reducing Authoritarianism

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a special program on the level of authoritarianism of subjects with high scores on the California F scale. The subjects were graduate students of education, mostly from developing countries. The design called for measuring gain in two equivalent groups one of which received a specially constructed counter-authoritarian treatment while the other was used as a control group. The method of pooling variances was used for data processing, and the results showed a significant reduction in post-test F scores in the experimental group. While the findings demonstrate feasibility of introducing counter-authoritarian influences into teacher training programs, certain issues are raised and discussed, especially in regarding to permanence of such changes as those obtained in this experiment, and the need for support elements in the teaching environment for the purpose of reinforcement.