Comparing Freshmen At An Urban Texas University With Those Of A Rural University On Democratic Maturity - Statistical Data Included

The study used scores from The Democratic Maturity Test to compare freshmen at a rural university with those at an urban university in Texas.. The data shows that the freshmen at the Texas urban university were significantly better in terms of democratic maturity scores than those at the rural one. It is obvious that a selective factor in admissions was responsible for the higher democratic maturity of freshmen at the urban university.

In a Communistic country the government assesses the number and types of jobs in a community and then assigns people to such jobs for the rest of their life, and where they are not permitted to leave the area being assigned. In a Socialistic country there is some semblance of "collective will" and the voting of the people for rules, but always there is the guarantee of government to provide for the needs of individuals. In a democracy, in theory, one should be able to find a job where work is like play, if they are willing to prepare and then search for the special opportunity.

Basic Requisites for Success in a Democracy

A democracy was best described by John Dewey when he insisted that "A democracy is the interdependence of independent individuals." Clearly, this means two basic requirements for successful living in a democracy:

1. First, is the ability to compete in an economic society and to be able to make a living in such competition for self and family, and

2. Second, is to be able to get along with all kinds of people -- different religions, races, and cultures.

The Democratic Maturity Test (DEMO)

The DEMO test (1998) is designed to assess the degree to which an individual is able to live effectively in a democracy. The first part is made up of four part scores that measure the "Personal Maturity," and the ability to lire and compete in a democracy, and the second part is made up of four part scores that seek to measure "Social Integration," and the ability to live with different kinds and races of people.

Part I - Personal Maturity

1. Ego Status -         EGO

2. Coping Skills -      COP

3. Assertiveness -      ASS

4. Locus of Control -   LOC

Total Part I - PERMAT

Part II - Social Integration:

5. Conformity -         CFM

6. Sympathy -           SYM

7. Withdrawal -         WIT

8. Caring -             CAR

Total Part II -         SOCINT

Overall Total -         DEMOTOT

Groups Involved

The two test populations involved first-year students at relatively equal size institutions. The urban one serving northeast Texas with strong representation from cities and suburbs; the rural one lies in central Texas serving small towns and farms. The rural group included 36 freshmen students ranging in age from 18 to 20 years with a mean age of 18.28 years and with a standard deviation of 0.51 years. There were 23 females and 15 males. The urban university had 176 freshmen ranging in age from 18 to 38 years, with a mean age of 18.32 years, and with a standard deviation of 1.64 years. There were 100 females and 76 males..

Comparative Findings

The findings suggest that the freshmen at the urban university were superior in terms of democratic maturity as measured by The Democratic Maturity Test. to the rural university freshmen. Since both groups were entering freshmen students, it is clear that the Texas university tended to select for admission purposes students that were superior in terms of democratic maturity to those in the urban university.

Significant Differences

The data contained in table 1 below shows that in terms of age and gender there were no statistically significant differences between the freshmen in the rural university and the urban university freshmen. Twelve of the 13 part scores on DEMO showed a statistically significant difference in favor of the urban university freshmen. The Sympathy (SYM) score alone was not statistically significant, but favored the rural university freshmen.

Table 1

Comparing of Mean Scores on DEMO With a t-Statistic (N=36 Rural 176 Urban)

Scores   Rural  Urban   Difference   t-statistic   Probability

1. AGE (nearest 6 months):

M       18.28   18.32         0.04          0.167         n.s.

SD       0.51    1.64

2. GENDER (F=1, M=2):

M        1.36    1.43         0.07          0.781         n.s.

SD       0.49    0.50

3. Self Esteem (EST):

M       48.89   71.80        22.91        10.506         0.000

SD       7.54   12.62

4. Coping Skills - COP:

M       60.44   74.09        13.65         6.166         0.000

SD       9.97   12.48

5. Assertiveness - ASS):

M       44.22   63.27        14.05         9.183         0.000

SD      11.83   11.24

6. Locus of Control - LOC:

M       52.22   69.89        17.67         7.927         0.000

SD       6.89   12.98

7. Personal Maturity - PERMAT:

M      205.78   279.05       73.27         12.450        0.000

SD      20.85   33.99

8. Conformity - CFM:

M       46.00   61.27        15.27          6.410        0.000

SD      12.67   13.10

9. Sympathy - SYM:

M       67.11   64.69         2.42          1.150         n.s.

SD      13.21   11.10

10. Withdrawal - WIT:

M       46.56   57.39        10.83          4.69          0.000

SD       9.71   13.10

11. Caring - CAR:

M       49.00   57.64         8.64          2.651        0.009

SD      11.45   18.83

12. Social Integration - SOCINT:

M      208.67   240.94        32.27         4.876        0.000

SD      21.26    38.48

13. Total Score - DEMOTOT

M      414.44   519.47       105.03        10.204        0.000