The problem of this study was to measure the effectiveness of a public school Montessori program. The purpose of this study was to measure and compare student academic achievement and self-concept, attendance and promotion rates, and level of parental involvement in the schools of students enrolled in public school Montessori and traditional programs. The 95 subjects in this study were third-grade subjects selected from the student populations in Montessori and traditional school sites. The Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) was used as the pre-test scores, and the Norm-referenced Assessment Program for Texas (NAPT) was used as the post-test scores to compare academic achievement in reading and mathematics. Multiple regression was used to compare the levels of academic achievement and self-concept. Multiple regression was also used to test for possible relationship between the Montessori and traditional programs and gender and ethnicity.

The purposes of this study were to explore the leadership styles and personality types of Texas elementary administrators. The Leader Effectiveness and Adaptability Description-Self (LEAD-Self) assessed the leadership style and adaptability of the administrators. The four identified styles were Telling/Directing, Selling/Coaching, Participating/Supporting, and Delegating. The MBTI measured 16 combinations of 4 personality types which included Extrovert or Introvert, Sensing or Intuition, Thinking or Feeling, and Judging or Perceiving. The sample was 200 Texas elementary administrators: 100 with early childhood certification and 100 without early childhood certification. A chi-square test of independence was utilized. Findings included: (a) A majority of Texas elementary administrators in both groups had a Selling/Coaching or Participating/Supporting leadership style; (b) Leadership adaptability scores of both groups were equivalent; (c) Most Texas elementary administrators had Introvert/Sensing/Thinking/Judging and Extrovert/Sensing/Thinking/Judging personality types; (d) Administrators with early childhood certification had a higher percentage of Intuitive personality types, while administrators without early childhood certification had a predominance of Sensing types; (e) A large percentage of administrators which had Participating/Supporting leadership styles had Feeling personality types; (f) No significant relationship between leadership styles and personality types was found in either group; and (g) No significant relationship between leadership adaptability and personality types was …

This paper examined the process followed in the selection and establishment of an inner-city Professional Development School located in a large, North Texas school district.

This study compared three groups of adult learners in a church education environment in order to determine the effectiveness of using lecture/demonstration plus cooperative learning elements with or without group processing (LCL) as compared to the use of lecture/demonstration plus individualistic learning elements (LIL) with the Inductive Bible Study Method (IBSM) as the common subject for all groups. While group A experienced highly structured cooperative learning without having group processing, group B experienced highly structured cooperative learning with an emphasis on group processing. Group C served as a control group. This study took place with a total of five class hours. For measuring student cognitive achievement, the subjects were administered a written pretest and posttest in the form of a "use-of-IBSM measure." For measuring students' attitude toward Bible interpretation (as promoted by IBSM), the students responded to an "attitude-toward-Bible-interpretation measure" at pretest and posttest. For measuring students' affective reactions, the students responded to a posttest-only "students'-satisfaction-with-the-learning-experience measure". Students' attitude toward the philosophy behind IBSM was measured by using an "attitude-toward-IBSM" instrument at posttest. In addition, teachers and students were interviewed orally at posttest to ascertain their affective reactions to the instructional approach they experienced. Connections between demographic data and students' …

The purpose of this study was to determine if appraisers using the TTAS in Texas perceived themselves as being objective in the evaluation process. The population for this study was 213 appraisers, both elementary and secondary, chosen randomly from four educational service areas in four regions of Texas. Data were obtained from a 25-item questionnaire mailed to the appraisers. The organization of this study includes a statement of the problem, the research questions, a review of the literature, the methods and procedures used to collect the data, the analysis of the data, and a summary of the findings, conclusions, implications, and recommendations for additional research. Data from the 213 returned questionnaires were treated with the chi-square test of independence. The analysis of data revealed the following: 1. Regardless of the level, elementary or secondary, of the administrator, the majority of respondents held the same views. 2. Regardless of the region of Texas from which the respondents came, the majority of respondents held the same views. 3. Regardless of the number of years of experience of the appraisers, the majority of respondents held the same views. 4. The majority of respondents felt they are objective in their use of the TTAS. …

In 1983, the report A Nation at Risk catapulted school reform to the forefront of national attention. The State of Texas responded with legislation dictating curriculum and instructional time. Failure to accomplish the desired improvement in student achievement caused these mandates to be eased. In lieu of the mandates, the Texas legislature and the Texas Education Agency have set expectation standards called academic indicators. Local districts and campuses must utilize site based decision making (SBDM) to determine how each campus will meet the set standards. Dealing primarily with curriculum roles and responsibilities, this study details perceptions of principals and teachers as SBDM was being implemented in a suburban school district serving 25,000 students. Data were gathered utilizing a structured interview and a follow-up telephone interview. Addressed in the study are perceptions of: (a) role changes, (b) responsibility changes, (c) needed improvements in the implementation process, (d) teacher empowerment, (e) positive and negative elements, and (f) student achievement.

This study was conducted to analyze the differences in the news coverage of public education by a state and local newspaper, to ascertain if trends exist in the coverage of topics, and if the coverage is negative, positive, or neutral. All issues of The Dallas Morning News and The Piano Star Courier from the years 1988 and 1993 were evaluated. All articles about public education (with the exception of athletics, obituaries, and advertisements) were evaluated using a content analysis form. The content analysis form provided information for classifying all articles. Information was tallied for the number of articles and column inches by newspaper and category. Findings indicated a number of differences between the two newspapers in 1988 and 1993. The Dallas Morning News increased the number of articles and column inches of space it committed to the coverage of public education from 1988 to 1993. During the same period The Piano Star Courier reduced both the number of articles and column inches of space which it used for the topic of education. The Piano Star Courier began publishing editions on only five of the seven days per week in February, 1993. The Dallas Morning News reduced its local coverage and …

In this study, six research questions were addressed: (1) Does a teacher who has a spiritual calling have a different motivation (self, interaction, task) to his/her work than a teacher who does not have a spiritual calling? (2) Does a teacher who feels a spiritual calling have a different locus of control (internal, external) than a teacher who does not have a spiritual calling? (3) Does a teacher who has a spiritual calling have a different degree of burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, personal accomplishment) than a teacher who does not have a spiritual calling? (4) Does a teacher who has a spiritual calling have a different sense of voluntary commitment in the longevity of his/her work experience than a teacher who does not have a spiritual calling? (5) Is there a different concentration of teachers who have a spiritual calling in public or parochial schools? (6) Does the public or religious school affiliation make a difference in research questions #1 through #4? A Teacher Motivation Inventory was compiled using The Orientation Inventory by Bass, Rotter's Internal/External Locus of Control, Maslach Burnout Inventory by Maslach, Jackson, and Schwab, a Researcher-made Spiritual Calling Inventory, and longevity questions. Tukey HSD post hoc comparisons …