This study was conceived as an attempt to determine .and analyze factors deterring participation in continuing professional education among social workers in environments where continuing education for relicensure is mandatory and voluntary. The specific research design implemented to complete this study was the ex-post facto descriptive design. The sample included 106 social workers randomly selected in the state of Texas where continuing education is mandatory and 94 social workers in the state of Louisiana where continuing education is voluntary. The instrument used was the Deterrent to Participation Scale developed by Scanlan (1983) and a demographic inventory. Scanlan (1983) earlier identified six factors deterring participation in continuing professional education: Disengagement, Lack of Quality, Family Constraints, Cost, Lack of Benefit, and Work Constraints. The study concluded that social workers in both states considered work constraint as a major factor deterring participation in continuing professional education. Also the factors of cost and lack of quality were also considered as crucial barriers in their efforts to participate in continuing professional education. The Wilks' multivariate test of significance of the means and univariate F tests at alpha level p < .05 revealed differences in the combined mean scores of social workers in both states when …

In 1976, the Louisiana Legislature passed Act 709. This act mandated accountability in education. As a result of this law, Louisiana students in grades four, eight, and eleven are given tests each year in reading, mathematics, and writing. The primary motivation for conducting this study was the wide-spread discussion about the value of the state-assessment program. There was a need to determine what the perceptions toward the Louisiana State-Assessment Program were by superintendents, principals, and teachers. Based upon a review of related literature and discussions with Louisiana educators, a questionnaire was developed with thirty-three items. These thirty-three items were grouped into six research questions that determined what the perceptions of superintendents, principals, and teachers were toward the Louisiana State-Assessment Program.