The Effect of Adult Student Participation in Program Planning On Achievement, Retention and Attitude

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of adult student participation in program planning on student achievement, retention, and attitude. Participants in two in-service groups at a North Carolina hospital were assigned to two experi mental classes. One class participated in planning its educational program; the second completed a course identical to the one planned by the first, but was given no opportunity to participate in planning the course objectives and design. The results permitted three conclusions: (1) adult student participation in program planning appears to affect positively stu dent achievement; (2) no evidence was found to support the pre diction that participation in classroom planning positively influ ences retention of information; (3) given a situation where prior attitudes are not firmly fixed, participating in program planning may have considerable impact on attitudes of adult students.