Value Patterns of Elementary Teachers and Their Reactions to Religious Issues in the Classroom.

This study investigated the religious value patterns of elementary teachers in relation to attitudes expressed toward religious issues in the classroom. The variable "religion" was defined operationally in terms of a wide range of value patterns which might qualify as authentic value orientations in contemporary American society. A field study proceeded by administering two paper-pencil instruments to a sample of 207 teachers from random school districts in rural southwest Arkansas: (1) Inventory of Religious and Ethical Ways and (2) the Classroom Problems Inventory. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov two-tailed nonparametric statistic for independent samples was applied to the data. Findings indicated that teachers with traditional classroom attitudes toward religious issues differed significantly from teachers with non-traditional attitudes in their rankings of several value patterns. These differences reflected a trend for teachers to manifest a classroom point of view consistent with their personal beliefs. It was consequently suggested that teacher education give greater attention to curricular experiences which assist the prospective teacher to become aware of his value orientation. Such self-clarification in the affective domain of educational objectives may be helpful in handling controversial issues in the public school classroom. Two tables of statistical data were presented. (Author)