Training in the public presentation of a school exercise: a study in school morale

Abstract

Aquestionnaire was given to the students and faculty of a teachers' college at the beginning of the practice for the public presentation of a pageant. The questionnaire asked for information in regard to class time lost, courses interfered with, amount of personal time taken, the effect of the pageant on school morale, the educational and cultural values of the pageant, the light thrown on the problem of organization and direction of such school exercises. The average loss of class time by students was 8.7 hours. The courses interfered with were chiefly those which had something to contribute to the pageant. The students gave their time after school, evenings, or week ends. During the pageant practice school morale was low; after it was over, it was high. The cultural and educational values listed varied from dancing and musical training to training in observing the organization features of such a program. Recommendations for future organization indicated that (1) "the process of preparation should be accorded at least as much weight as the resulting performance," (2) the students should be given an opportunity to take part in the organizing end of the production, the faculty to correlate the work of the pageant with the curriculum, (3) work on the pageant should not be compulsory on the part of either students or faculty. A suggested plan for the possible organization of a pageant is given in diagram form. The questionnaire is given in full. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)