NCJ Number
72090
Date Published
1976
Length
162 pages
Annotation
Cognitive guidelines were developed in terms of performance outcomes and instructional objectives on education for death and dying for use in courses for criminal justice majors at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
Abstract
A survey instrument for evaluation of course performance outcomes and instructional objectives by panels of experts on death and dying was developed from an extensive literature search, a review of numerous college courses in death and dying, and discussions with policemen, police administrators, and criminal justice educators. The cognitive guidelines of the survey form were contained in three performance outcomes, supported by their performance outcomes, supported by their respective instructional objectives. The instructional objectives were rated by the 78 experts on a seven-point scale where the rating of one represented an objective that was 'Not At All Important,' and the rating of seven represented an objective that was 'Extremely Important.' Four was defined as the midpoint of the scale. In the first performance outcome, the student demonstrates the ability to preplan for his own death, for which there were 69 instructional objectives. Forty were rated Extremely Important, ten were rated Important, and 19 were rated Nonessential. In the second performance outcome, in which the student demonstrates the ability to assess the grieving process experienced upon the death of a significant other, all 12 instructional objectives were rated Extremely Important. In the third performance outcome, in which the student, as a criminal justice major, develops strategies for dealing with job-related tasks in such areas as suicide prevention and informing the next of kin, 9 of the 10 instructional objectives were rated Extremely Important. The majority of experts considered the area dealing with the grieving process and 'the role of crisis intervention in dealing with attempted suicides' and the 'appropriate method of informing the next of kin based upon his knowledge of the grieving process' as the most important instructional objectives. The conclusion advocates that affective components be developed to complement the cognitive guidelines developed in the study. Also, performance outcomes and instructional objectives receiving high ratings should be incorporated into the education for death and dying courses at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Seventy-three references, 3 data tables, the preliminary and final survey instruments, and lists of panels of experts used in the study are included in 14 appendixes.