Cafferky, Colin Richard2024-08-132024-08-1319781978https://hdl.handle.net/1828/17374The purpose of this study was to determine whether tutoring an elementary student can significantly improve the self concept and reading ability of high school tutors. Nine grade 11 and 12 student volunteers enrolled in a remedial English course, and nine enrolled in regular English courses each tutored an elementary student using a primary level reading program for one month. The program contained ten 20 minute lessons. The pre and post tutoring test scores of the two groups of tutors on the Self Regard and Self Acceptance subscales of the Personal Orientation Inventory and on the four subtests of the Gates MacGinitie Reading Survey Level F were compared. Comparisons were also made with the scores of a control group of remedial English students and a control group of regular English students. While significant differences existed between the read­ing scores of the remedial students and the regular class students, no differences existed in the self concept measures. However, when pretest differences were considered in assess­ing the differences on post tests, only one significant difference was found between the four groups on 21+ comparisons by analysis of covariance. The comparison of each group's post test mean with its pretest mean by t test revealed that only one of the four groups had changed significantly after tutoring, and that this change was in fact in a negative direction. The findings of this study, that tutors do not benefit significantly either academically or in self concept measures, agree with the majority of well designed and controlled studies which have been completed on tutoring, and with theories of self concept which claim that self concepts can be changed, but never quickly ' or easily. However, the find­ings do not agree with the claims of many anecdotal reports which cite tutoring as a source of self concept and academic improvement for tutors. Because the tutors did not improve significantly either academically or psychologically from tutoring, it was concluded that the inclusion of tutoring experience in a Remedial English program was not justified. The main limitation of the study was the length of the tutoring program. The one month (ten lesson) tutoring schedule may have been too brief for improvements in self concept and/or reading to be made by tutors.126 pagesAvailable to the World Wide WebThesis