An Analysis of Interactive Behavior in a Practicum in Personnel Relationships
Purpose and Rationale. The purpose of this research is to examine the validity of the general hypothesis that: patterns of operational behavior of persons participating in a Practicum in Person nel Relationships can be identified, the patterns be ing relevant to attitude, flow of discussion, inter action during discussion, and seating contiguity . Analysis of the behavior of participants while they are engaged in sessions of a practicum would pro vide appropriate data for an evaluation of the prac ticum. If it be possible to discern patterns of op erational behavior in a human relation training program like the Practicum in Personnel Relation ships, these patterns could be related to appropri ate criteria and a relatively controlled, objective assessment of the program could be made in terms of operational behavior rather than, or as well as, in terms of written reports or self-analyses. Though several methods of analysis reported herein have been used by various investigators, three relatively new methods of analysis were de veloped by the investigator for this research on the Practicum: thread-flow diagrams of participation in group discussion, an analysis of the equitable ness of the distribution of participation in group discussion, and a seating contiguity index. If the methods of analysis used for this study be effec tive in identifying patterns of operational behavior, the methods could be used in other research stud ies on human relations training programs. The research design is a developmental, longi tudinal survey of the four behavioral var i a b 1 e s enumerated in the general hypothesis above. Review of the Literature. Two supporting con cepts are found in the literature on human rela tions training. The first concept is that human relations training is an important aspect of pro grams for the preparation and development of teach ers and educational administrators. The second concept is that there is a continuing need for re search regarding the analysis and evaluation of hu man relations training. Bonner (3:327), Moore (6:28-9), and numerous abstracts in Pi s s e r t ation Abstracts, in the subdivision on "Education, " at test to the importance and prevalence of human re lations training for educators. Hughes (4:14) and Miles (5:252) point out the need for research and re ports on human relations training programs. That the American Educational Research Associ?t ion publishes a volume on "Human Relations in Educa tion", (1) is testimony to the concern of educators for research in this field. Insofar as this investi gator knows, this report on the Practicum is the first extensive research dealing with observations of these selected networks of interactive behavior as a means of analyzing a program in human rela tions. Even though the findings have limitedgener alizability, it is hoped that the research will be helpful in the designing of methods and the testing of hypotheses by other investigators concerned with human relations training.