What types of classroom instruction on self-control significantly affect the locus of control of inner-city seventh-grade students

This study examined the efficiency of eight types of classroom instruction on self-control aimed at improving the decision-making skills of inner-city, seventh grade students. The research population consisted of 345 seventh grade youngsters from two middle schools in Boston, Massachusetts.; The eight, 45-minute lessons on self-control were arranged in a Taguchi-style L8 design. The lessons were taught by students from the Boston College Graduate School of Education. Seventh grade youngsters were randomly placed into nine groups at each middle school. One group from each school received all eight lessons. Seven groups from each school received four of the lessons in a variety of combinations. A control group from each school did not receive any of the lessons.; Five areas were chosen for testing following the teaching of the lessons: locus of control as measured by the Nowicki-Strickland Children's Locus of Control Scale; self-control as measured by the Teacher's Self-Control Rating Scale; academic achievement as measured by grade point average; absence from school as measured by attendance data; and major disciplinary infractions as measured by discipline records.; Seventeen null hypotheses were used to test the data. The major findings of the study rejected two hypotheses in the area of locus of control at the.05 level of significance. Youngsters who received all eight of the lessons scored significantly more internal on the Nowicki-Strickland Children's Locus of Control Scale than did the control groups that did not receive any of the lessons on self-control. In addition, youngsters who received four of the lessons on self-control scored significantly more internal than did the control groups when measured by the Nowicki-Strickland Children's Locus of Control Scale.; It is recommended that further research be conducted in the area of developing additional lessons that teach self-control skills. It is further suggested that more concrete guidelines be established for measuring the effects of self-control curricula in the areas of academic achievement, attendance, and discipline.