Study of enrollment changes within eighteen Oklahoma high schools which had participated in an experimental visiting science teacher program

Abstract

Scope of Study: During the school year 1958-59, Oklahoma State University in cooperation with the Frontiers of Science Foundation of Oklahoma put a visiting science teacher on the road to travel to several schools carrying specialized equipment and lectures to schools that were willing to share in the cost of the program. This Program was expanded to twenty-five traveling teachers during 1959-60. This report is an attempt to evaluate the results of that program as it was carried out the first year. An attempt was made to measure the results in the increase or decrease in the enrollment in the elective high school science courses. Eighteen schools were visited and eighteen schools were selected at random to serve as a control group. The records in the State Department of Education, Capitol Building, Oklahoma City, were searched for the needed data.

Findings and Conclusions: It was found that the schools visited had a high percentage of their students enrolled in science classes. It is assumed that the reason for this was that they were enough interested to help pay for the program. It was found that these schools had 28.6 per cent more of their student body enrolled in science classes than the control group. The small increase in enrollment in the participating schools was due to the near peak science class enrollment that they were already experiencing.