Interactional instruction in the teaching of driver education.

Stoke, Charles B · 1972 · ROSA P / Virginia Transportation Research Council (VTRC)

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Summary

This 1972 study by Charles B. Stoke investigates whether "interactional instruction"—a curriculum utilizing small group discussions, role-playing, and decision-making techniques—can effectively modify the driving attitudes and behaviors of high school students. The research was motivated by the recognition that while traditional driver education focuses on vehicle manipulation and traffic laws, many traffic collisions stem from psychological factors, such as poor attitudes and emotional states. The study aimed to determine if a group-based approach could instill socially responsible driving attitudes more effectively than conventional lecture-based methods. The methodology involved a pilot study with two randomly selected high school classes, which were split and matched into four groups: two experimental and two control, balanced by sex, age, grades, and test scores. The experimental groups participated in an interactional curriculum featuring readings, projects, and role-playing exercises designed to foster self-insight and social responsibility. The control groups received traditional instruction. All participants completed pre- and post-test batteries consisting of the McGuire Safe Driver Scale, the Henderson & Cole Cartoon Reaction Scale, and a self-evaluation grid. Statistical analysis, including t-tests and correlation coefficients, was used to compare pre- and post-test scores within groups and between experimental and control groups. The results indicated no statistically significant differences in attitude scores between the experimental and control groups, nor between pre- and post-test scores for any group. Specifically, t-tests showed that the interactional instruction did not produce superior outcomes compared to traditional methods. Furthermore, there was no significant positive correlation between the McGuire and Cartoon scales, suggesting the tests measured different constructs. Non-statistical review of the self-evaluation grids revealed negligible changes in self-rated attitudes, with male students showing no measurable change and female students showing only slight, insignificant positive shifts. The author noted potential methodological flaws, including the possibility that the Cartoon Reaction Scale was less effective as a post-test because students had previously seen the cartoons, and that the tests may not have been sensitive enough to detect subtle attitude changes. The study concludes that, within the short term, neither the experimental interactional approach nor the conventional method demonstrated effectiveness in improving driving attitudes. Students entering with positive attitudes retained them, while those with negative attitudes did not improve. The author recommends continuing the study with modifications, such as increasing the emphasis on attitude training, deleting the difficult-to-quantify self-evaluation grid, and adding the Driver Attitude Survey to the test battery. The findings suggest that further research is needed to determine if long-term behavioral changes, such as accident and violation records, might differ despite the lack of immediate attitudinal shifts.

Key finding

There were no statistically significant differences in attitude scores between experimental and control groups or between pre- and post-tests, indicating the interactional instruction method was not superior to traditional driver education.

Methodology

lab_experiment

Provenance

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Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

Topics

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• driver education effectiveness
• learner drivers
• public messaging
• novice curricula
• older driver retraining
• in vehicle coaching

Information type

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• Applied Guidance: countermeasure evaluation
• Methodological Resource: validation psychometrics
• Theoretical Contribution: computational model