SCIENCE AND THE ROAD: AN EVALUATION

This report describes a quasi-experimental comparison of users and non-users of the RTA instructional materials, "Science and the Road," comprising two Units - a Driver unit and a Vehicle unit. The sample for this study consisted of (mostly) Year 10 students in 14 secondary schools (high, technical and independent) situated in inner and outer suburban areas of Melbourne and in a Victorian provincial city. Most schools provided data for evaluating either the Driver or the Vehicle unit; a few schools participated in both. The experimental group consisted of classes which had studied the unit; the control group consisted of classes (mostly, but not always, in the same school) which had at that time of year not yet embarked upon that unit. The main findings were that the Driver unit had a highly significant effect on Knowledge; the Vehicle unit had a lesser but still significant effect on Knowledge when the individual student was used as the unit of analysis; however, this usage effect was not consistent across schools. Neither unit had a significant effect on students' attitudes. Further analysis yielded a very strong gender effect for attitudes: females display a much more cautious, socially responsible attitude than males. However, a reverse effect is found for Vehicle Knowledge, with males outperforming females.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0730602877
• Corporate Authors:

  Monash University

  Wellington Road
  Clayton, Victoria  Australia  3800

  Road Traffic Authority

  854 Glenferrie Road
  Hawthorn, Victoria 3122,   Australia 
• Authors:
  • Gardner, P L
• Publication Date: 1987

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; References; Tables;
• Pagination: v.p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Attitudes; Driver education; Evaluation; High schools; Knowledge
• Geographic Terms: Australia
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00496532
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• ISBN: 0-7306-0287-7
• Report/Paper Numbers: GR/87/18, HS-040 397
• Files: HSL, TRIS, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: Aug 31 1990 12:00AM