Date
4-1-2008
Department
School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Chair
Dr. Chick Holland
Primary Subject Area
Education, Secondary; Theater
Keywords
High school, freshmen, Solomon four-group design, Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale
Disciplines
Education | Educational Methods
Recommended Citation
Seagraves, David, "A Theatrical Take on Educational Self-Esteem" (2008). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 76.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/76
Abstract
This study examined the constructs of self-esteem and theatre arts. The experimental research utilized a Solomon four-group design, which included four groups of public high school freshmen. The study investigated whether or not self-esteem would increase after studying theatre arts, and if a cause and effect relationship existed between theatre arts and self-esteem. The study’s independent variable was a theatre arts treatment of ten lessons centered around a novel. The dependent variables were the scores on the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (1965), a self-reporting and numerically measurable self-esteem survey. The scale was administered in a pretest and posttest format. The self-esteem survey was used to ascertain the cause and effect relationship between the constructs of theatre arts and self-esteem. The survey was a series of statements about the construct of self-esteem developed by Morris Rosenberg (1965). A one-way ANOVA showed that the treatment of theatre arts did have an effect on self-esteem. A paired-samples t test was conducted between the experimental group’s pretest and posttest scores showed that there was a cause and effect relationship between theatre arts and self-esteem.
