Developing Understanding of Self and Others and the Appropriate Experimental Guidance Model

The effectiveness of the elementary level guidance program, Developing Understanding of Self and Others (DUSO), is assessed. Intended for use by counselors of children ages 5-8, the DUSO program is designed to help children understand social-emotional behavior through listening, inquiry, discussion, and role play. The DUSO Affectivity Device, containing 51 Yes/No items was administered to students in 14 classrooms. Classes were randomly assigned to treatment and nontreatment groups. Results indicated that exposure to DUSO produced desired results among children participating in the program when comparing the experimental and control group means, using the number of children participating as the sample size. The author states, however, that the proper sample size for the study design used is the number of classes, not the number of students, since the classes, not the students, were randomly assigned. Using this correct data analysis method, it was found that the experimental group was not significantly different from the control group in accomplishing DUSO objectives. (Author/DB)