This study identified and compared characteristics in the career progression of African-American college presidents of institutions in the continental United States. The study was concerned with personal, educational and professional characteristics of these senior level administrators. From a population of 141 individuals, 73 presidents participated in this study. Frequencies, means, percentages, chi-square, crosstabulations and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were employed in the analysis of data. The level of significance was set at 0.05.

This study examined the need for, and interest in, preretirement preparation programs for educators (teachers and administrators) in Nakorn Nayok Province, Thailand. All educators were between 46 and 60 years of age and were working in elementary and secondary schools in Nakorn Nayok Province, Thailand. The sample consisted of 333 teachers and 101 administrators. Data were collected by questionnaire survey. Of the returned questionnaires, 81.33% were usable. The results were analyzed by using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Results of the study show that elementary and secondary school teachers and administrators in Nakorn Nayok Province, Thailand, would benefit from preretirement preparation programs, but that few programs exist for educators. With all things taken into consideration, individual Thai educators have to be responsible for their retirement preparation knowledge, because the Ministry of Education does not consider preretirement preparation programs important enough to require that they be provided for educators.

Ellis County has been the home to one or more institutions of higher education almost since its existence as a county. The attraction for these schools to Ellis County included one or more of the following: a small town atmosphere and setting, a proximity to large centers of population, a strong economy based largely on agriculture, a dry county (free from alcoholic sales) except in Ennis, a strong religious influence, and a desire for educating the citizens of the county. The early schools included: Waxahachie Academy, Marvin College, South West Normal College, Waxahachie Institute, Ferris Institute, and Polytechnic Academy. They were all entrepreneurial in nature. Located in every part of the county, they provided college level work, while some provided all levels of education. The next three schools, Texas Presbyterian College for Girls, Trinity University, and Southwestern Assemblies of God College, were religious in nature. Trinity and Southwestern were both located in Waxahachie and Texas Presbyterian located in Milford was a college for girls only. Navarro College is the only public institution and is a two-year community college. The benefits to Ellis County as a result of the establishment of these institutions of higher education can be seen by their …

The problem of this study concerns ethnoviolence on the campus of a predominantly white, state-supported university in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Area. In order to study ethnoviolent behavior, the effects it has on the victims, and the perceptions that minority students have of the campus climate, all African-American, Hispanic, and international students enrolled at The University of Texas at Dallas were mailed a questionnaire.

The purposes of this study were (a) to analyze whether any significant differences exist in students' satisfaction among the 11 composite scales/satisfaction measures of the SSI (retention programs); (b) to determine whether significant differences exist in satisfaction among students of the institution based on their demographic characteristics of gender, age, ethnicity, class load, and employment; and (c) to record findings, draw conclusions, and make recommendations from the study. The research was conducted using a questionnaire, The Student Satisfaction Inventory (SSI), developed by Juillreat and Schreiner in 1994. The instrument measures, among other matters, students' perceptions and satisfaction. The population of the study comprised all students at the institution during the 1996-1997 school year. A total of 312 students was sampled, with 182 (58%) returns received. Statistical treatments used to analyze the collected data included frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviation, multiple analysis of variances (MANOVA), one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Tukey's Post Hoc t-test for multiple comparison.

The purpose of this study was to provide both businesses and institutions of higher education with a descriptive analysis of the programs of five companies that have utilized community colleges in their basic skills programs. The five companies represented included Texas Instruments Defense Systems Corporation and SGS-Thomson Microelectronics (electronics companies), Abbott Laboratories (a pharmaceutical company), J & E Die Casting (a small die casting firm), and Company X, a semiconductor company that requested anonymity. The community colleges included were Richland College, Brookhaven College, and North Lake College. Modified case studies were used to obtain data collected through individual interviews with representatives from the community colleges and the companies. The syntheses of documentaries provided details of how the five community college-directed workplace literacy programs met, or failed to meet, their literacy challenges. Descriptions of the curriculum and structure of each program were also included. Numerous factors contributed to the success or demise of the programs studied. Elements that served as powerful assets when adequately supported were detrimental when neglected. Factors common to all of the programs were financial support, management philosophical support, confidentiality, adequate testing instruments, class schedule flexibility, instructor capability, physical classroom facilities, and work-related documentation integrated into the curriculum. …

The purpose of this study was to examine the financial nexus between college choice and persistence for full-time, first-time, first-year freshman college students. The theoretical framework of this study was the financial nexus construct developed by St. John, Paulsen, and Starkey (1996) and Paulsen and St. John (1997). This is the first study to apply the financial nexus construct to full-time, first-time, first-year freshman population; the first to examine baccalaureate/comprehensive and doctoral/research institutions in both public and private sectors separately. The results of this study found that (1) overall, it is slightly evident that there is a financial nexus between college choice and persistence among full-time, first-time, first-year freshman students; (2) the nexus between college choice and persistence may be different by the Carnegie Classification, and (3) the pattern of the direct effects of financial variables (i.e., tuition and financial aid) on persistence was different from the previous results. Unlike in the previous studies, tuition increases appeared to have a positive effect on the enrollment of full-time, first-time, first-year freshman students attending institutions of all Carnegie Classifications. The result suggests that price may reveal a "quality effect" and that higher tuition institution may signal higher quality. In both public and …

Since the birth of the United States in 1776, Greek-letter societies have been an integral part of American higher education. Research on the impact of Greek membership varies at best, and often is in conflict from study to study. This study surveyed students affiliated with Greek-letter organizations at the University of North Texas. The research examined the college adaptability of Greek students by gender in five areas: Overall adjustment, academic adjustment, personal-emotional adjustment, social adjustment, and attachment to the institution. The study, conducted in the spring of 2006 at the University of North Texas had 80 respondents. The Student Adaptability to College Questionnaire (SACQ) consisted of 67 items on a 9-point scale. The SACQ is designed to assess how well students adapt to the demands of the college experience. Raw scores and percentile rankings were determined by t-test calculations. Test scores were expressed through t-scores in relation to the standardized sample. Data show no statistical significance in any of the five areas studied: Overall adjustment, academic adjustment, personal-emotional adjustment, social adjustment, or attachment to the institution. Female participants scored higher on all scales than male participants, indicating a slightly higher level of adjustment, though not enough to be significant. Both …

One of the most important skills of a pianist is the ability to read at sight. Because there are so many areas of piano study to address, sight-reading is overlooked either out of frustration or simple neglect. However, if acquisition of this skill is neglected, it will be difficult for a pianist to ever attain his full potential. For a pianist, sight-reading is one area that strengthens all others. The purposes of this study were to secure data concerning teaching sight-reading to undergraduate piano majors, to identify methods and techniques in current use in the instruction of sight-reading, to determine the extent of keyboard and computer-assisted learning technology usage within sight-reading instruction, to identify more effective methods and techniques being used to teach sight-reading, and to search for ways to enhance sight-reading instruction, including the utilization of recent computer technology applications in education and learning. The method used was survey research with a questionnaire sent to 168 randomly selected NASM colleges and universities. Response rate was 49.4 percent. The questionnaire, designed by the researcher, sought to ascertain the status of sight-reading instruction in these colleges and universities and to endeavor to determine the extent, if any, keyboard and computer-assisted learning …

This study aims to increase the level of knowledge about the gerontological knowledge of a sample of registered nurses by creating a portable and concise continuing education seminar that is based upon the fundamental components of the normal aging process. The impact on the learning outcomes of an accredited continuing education seminar that was developed for this study was analyzed. The continuing education seminar focused on some of the major areas of social gerontology pertinent to nursing. Although other variables (age, gender, educational level, and previous gerontological training) were analyzed, none were found to have significant effect on the level of knowledge.

This study concerned the impact lifestyles of the elderly have on purchases from different product categories. The main purpose was to determine, evaluate, and analyze the effects of lifestyles on elderly shoppers' choice of retail outlets.

The purposes of this study were to estimate: (a) the extent of biblical literacy among convenience samples of adults from randomly selected religious and non-religious groups, (b) the extent to which American adults are religious, and (c) the association between religiosity and biblical literacy.

This study examined the prospects of Korean reunification. The study explores how the factors of integration affect North and South Korea after the country was divided into the two sides despite its millennium of unity. A sample of both North and South Korean newspapers covering a 47-year period of Korean reunificational efforts were analyzed as a major source of data to discover if there is any evidence of Korean national will to integrate among Koreans in the two countries. Content analysis is a major method of this research. The most obvious findings of this study are that the newspapers in North Korea did not show any significant change in their tones or attitudes throughout 47-year period studied. The North Korean regime which controls what is published in the papers is still fiercely ideological and hostile toward South Korea. The South Korean papers, on the other hand, showed marked changes in their tones and attitudes toward reunification during this period. Korean reunification remains a matter of time because the political development of South Korea, combined with remarkable economic progress, can surely heal the broken unity and national will among Koreans. The enormous financial burden to rebuild the North Korean economy which …

This study examined international education (IE) programs in Texas community colleges to determine how they compare to a general, theoretical model of IE programs discussed in the literature. The study proposed: (a) to describe, through a review of literature, the components of IE; (b) to describe the administration of IE within the Texas community colleges; (c) to identify existing IE instructional activities; (d) to describe the student support services related to IE which are in practice; (e) to describe what community and out of country outreach components are in operation; and (f) to determine how the IE programs in Texas community colleges compare to theoretical components of IE programs as identified in the literature.

The purposes of this study were (a) to examine the major reasons for the establishment of Paul Quinn College, (b) to examine the development of academic programs, and (c) to examine the reasons and processes involved in relocation of the campus to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex in 1990. Chapter 1 includes a statement of the problem, purposes of the study, and background and significance of the study; Chapter 2 traces the legal steps in establishing the college in the state of Texas; the original leaders, educational philosophy and mission statement, site selection and building program, first class offerings, and funding sources; Chapter 3 includes a profile of faculty, a profile of students, program origins, additional program offerings in nontraditional education, degrees conferred, accreditation process, and contributions to education; Chapter 4 examines the reasons for relocation, results of site changes, relocation to Dallas in 1990, and Paul Quinn College today; and Chapter 5 offers a summary of findings, conclusions, and recommendations. During the research, it was realized that the early founders and those connected with Paul Quinn College did not keep concise, accurate, and detailed records. The data available in the archives were not consistent, nor had they been kept in …

A Faculty Orientation and Design for Writing Across the Curriculum is a case study of the work done to introduce the concept of writing across the curriculum at an urban community college. Emphasizing the related processes of learning, thinking, and writing, the researcher describes private interviews and analyzes transcriptions of small group meetings designed to discuss ways to encourage increased quantity and improved quality of writing in vocational and university-parallel courses on the campus. The focus of the study is the transcription of the faculty meetings where teachers reveal their methodologies and educational philosophies as they discuss ways to provide increased writing opportunities to large classes of open-door students. The culmination of the orientation project is a faculty booklet of ways to increase writing. The researcher concludes that although a writing "program" is not in place as a result of the year's work, essential groundwork for such a program is laid.

This study investigated the following with regard to technical-occupational students in a multi-campus urban community college: The enrollment patterns in required general education courses at specific intervals of course work; the relation between successful completion of certain required general education courses (English and mathematics) and academic success as measured by grade point average; and the profiles or basic characteristics (age, GPA, sex, and high school graduation status) of (a) the student who had completed a specified amount of general education course work and (b) the graduate who had attained a higher grade point average in technical course work than in general education course work. The data was obtained from the academic records of 328 current student, selected by established criteria, and 284 graduates of six technical-occupational programs. The six programs were chosen by pairs to represent white-collar, technical-skilled, and blue-collar oriented occupations. Data on enrollment patterns were analyzed according to percentage in frequency distributions. Differences in mean grade point averages for completers and non-completers of English and mathematics were analyzed using the t-test. Significant variance among the groups representing types of occupations was analyzed using the chi-square test for independence. The Pearson Product Moment test was used to investigate correlations …

The primary purpose of this study was to find the content and form of movies which conform to the taste of the majority of Thai audiences and, at the same time, are universal enough to attract international audiences. Because film is an extension of other art forms, this required extensive research into the roots of Thai performing arts.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of word processor use by foreign college writers and their attitudes toward writing, writing revision practices, writing quality, attitudes toward the use of computers, and time spent on computers. The results indicate that students' attitudes toward writing and their perceptions of computer usefulness significantly affected their writing quality. Students with more positive attitudes toward writing and the usefulness of computers tended to produce better quality writing. In addition, the findings indicate that students' writing revision practices significantly affected their attitudes toward writing. Students who revised their writing more frequently tended to have better attitudes toward writing than those who did not. In contrast, students' levels of computer anxiety, computer confidence, computer liking and their writing revision practices did not significantly affect the quality of their writing. Furthermore, the amount of time that students spent on computers did not significantly affect their attitudes toward using computers in writing.

This study explores the relationship between diversity within executive decision-making teams at institutions of higher education and their propensity for strategic change. Previous research in the areas of strategic change, group decision making, and higher education was drawn from in this study. Statistically significant relationships were discovered the demographic background of executive decision-making teams at public colleges and universities, as measured by both the pursuit of new degree and certificate program offerings and multiple measures of student retention. The results also indicated the presence of an insufficiently diverse pool of potential executives for colleges and universities to draw from.

This study examined the association among ethnicity, age, and scores on selected portions of the TASP and MAPS tests. This study further examined if the TASP could identify students for success in college level course work as well or better than selected portion of the MAPS test.

The researcher examined a relatively unexplored and limited territory dealing with higher education organizational pluralism pertaining to particalized substance abuse programs in private sectarian institutions of higher learning with student populations of under five thousand. The conceptual framework, which was a recapitulation of Lee G. Bolman and Terrence E. Deal's (1984) "multifaceted lens," applied to the human resource framework, the structural framework, the symbolic/cultural framework and the political framework in the administration of these selected substance abuse programs. The frames under which the respective substance abuse programs operate were identified by utilizing a semi-structured interview protocol. The study found usage of management frames by substance abuse program administrators to be in agreement with Bolman and Deal's "four frames theory," with the preferred management style consistent across the frames. The administrators of the substance abuse programs prefer the human resource frame almost categorically. Each institution places a strong emphasis on recruitment of an ideal type of student, modeled after a very clear and concise institutional mission statement. The pervasive theme of the mission message seeks potential Christian leaders only. Almost exclusively, the institutions studied do not tolerate substances of any sort. The administrators interviewed were knowledgeable about the various organizational frames …

Although it is widely assumed that listening is among the most important learning skills (Wolvin & Coakley, 1988), an examination of the literature indicates that it has been woefully neglected as subject matter in schools. Listening has also been neglected as an area of research. Surveys have been conducted to see if listening is being taught or can effectively be taught, but little evidence exists to suggest that effectively teaching listening improves students' academic performance. This study investigated the relationship between listening skills instruction and academic performance among university students. The purpose was to determine if teaching university students comprehensive listening skills improves their academic performance. It was assumed that listening can be effectively taught. The goal of the study was to compare 75 students who were enrolled in a listening course to a similar group of 75 students not enrolled in a listening course. The students were compared on the basis of grade point improvement the semester after the experimental group had completed the listening course. The t test was chosen because it can be used for testing the significance of the difference between the means of two independent samples. The grade point averages of the two groups were …

The study was undertaken: (a) to categorize the contents of educational computing articles using a taxonomy developed by Knezek, Rachlin, and Scannell (1988), (b) to examine the trends in educational computing subject matter addressed in community/junior college journals between 1977 and 1991, and (c) to identify and analyze specific characteristics of contributing authors and their employing institutions which might explain writing and publication biases.