This study was conducted to determine the administrative functions that community college academic administrators perform with microcomputers; to identify demographic characteristics that distinguish administrators who rate their overall use of the microcomputer higher than others; to ascertain whether the importance placed on (1) microcomputer uses, (2) computer training, and (3) non-training conditions affecting computer use differed from the perceived current uses, training, and adequacy of conditions. Data for this study were collected through a survey instrument that was devised and evaluated for use in the study. The survey instrument was delivered during the fall, 1984 semester to the forty—two division chairs serving at the seven colleges that comprise the Dallas County Community College District. Thirty five division chairs responded to the survey for an 83.33 per cent return rate, and thirty-four of the survey forms returned were useable for analysis.

The purposes of this study were (1) to determine if the culture of the student's first language was a significant variable in field-dependent-independent cognitive learning style, and (2) if a student's second language achievement has a significant relationship to variables of grade level, sex, time in an English as a second language (ESL) program, second language proficiency level or cognitive learning style. It was hypothesized that (1) there are significant positive correlations between field-independence and the variables of achievement, proficiency level, and grade level, (2) there are significant positive correlations between second language achievement and proficiency level, grade level and time in an ESL program, (3) there are no significant differences in field-dependence between the sexes or the four cultures of Laotian, Spanish, Tongan, and Vietnamese, and (4) there is no significant difference in the mean achievement score between the sexes.

The problem of this study was an analysis of major spelling deficiencies among collegiate business students. The purposes were as follows: (1) to develop a diagnostic instrument that will measure spelling deficiencies; and (2) to make recommendations regarding the preparation of materials that will assist students in overcoming these deficiencies. Written assignments prepared by collegiate Business Communication students were examined for spelling errors. Errors were then classified into the following categories: (1) words with "ie" and "ei" ; (2) final "e"; (3) final consonant rule; (4) final "y"; (5) confusion over vowel sounds; (6) pronunciation problems; (7) sound-alikes; (8) plurals; (9) apostrophes; (10) omissions; (11) additions and repetitions; (12) substitutions; (13) demons; and (14) miscellaneous. Percentages of total errors served as a guideline for preparation of a Table of Specifications, and a Spelling Diagnostic Test was developed. Validity of the instrument was determined by a panel of experts. The test was then administered to 214 collegiate business students, and a reliability coefficient of .83 was determined using the split-half method.

The purpose of this study is to determine to what extent the individuals in middle management positions in campus activities perceive themselves to be effective as change agents. A thirty-three item survey was mailed to 315 directors. A total of 199 usable returns were received. The problem was investigated in terms of perceptions of (a) individual adequate training and competency to provide new and expanded service for today's student body, (b) individual influence on upper-level policy and decision making within their own reporting structure, and (c) commanding enough influence on campus to effect significant change.

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Forty spinal cord injury (SCI) patients were studied in order to determine the effects of an attribution based therapeutic recreation program on their perception of freedom in leisure. Perception of freedom in leisure of SCI patients was measured by a seventy-two item scale. This scale was translated into Spanish, adapted, revised, validated, and tested for reliability. The reliability of the Spanish Version of the scale was very similar to the English Version of the scale.

The purposes of this study were (1) to determine if learning to program a computer in either BASIC or Logo improves the problem-solving skills of fifth grade students when compared to a control group that receives no programming instruction, and (2) to determine if learning to program a computer in Logo is more effective than learning to program in BASIC for improving problem-solving skills in fifth grade students. Subjects were 132 fifth graders from two suburban elementary schools. The materials used in the study were the Computer Challenge Guide for the BASIC group and Logo in the Classroom for the Logo group. The New Jersey Test of Reasoning Skills was used as the pretest and posttest measure.

The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of special education teachers in regard to selected factors affecting their teaching environment. The problem focused on these professionals' perceptions of factors that can influence decisions to remain in the field or to cause special educators to seek reassignment or to leave the profession.This study utilized a modification of an unstructured Q-sort. After formulating, validating, and establishing reliability, a fifty item instrument divided among personal, administrative, and demographic categories was derived.Personal, administrative, and demographic sections of the questionnaires were studied separately utilizing mean scores and rank order correlation coefficients. The .01 level of significance was utilized.

The problem of this study was to compare the perceptions o£ Kansas state legislators, superintendents, and teachers toward the Arkansas Student Assessment Program. The purpose was to generate data which would benefit educational planners in Arkansas. Hypotheses which focused on current national issues in the statewide testing movement and on issues pertinent to the Arkansas program were constructed, and a questionnaire was developed to test the hypotheses. The questionnaire was mailed to all Arkansas state legislators and to the superintendent and a fourth-grade teacher in 100 randomly selected Arkansas school districts. Responses were received selected Arkansas school districts. 70 percent of superintendent from 50 percent of legislators, 70 per dents, and 74 per cent of teachers. The chi-square statistic was applied to individual questions in test for significance of difference between the groups, the Kruskal-Wallace one-way analysis of variance by ranks was applied to the hypotheses to test for significant differences between groups. In examining individual questions relating to legislators, superintendents, and teachers, significant differences were found on twenty three of the forty items on the questionnaire. A significant difference was found on each of the seven hypotheses, as follows: (1) superintendents and teachers understand the program better than legislators, …

The problem of this study was to describe and analyze the computer programming abilities and thought processes of five-year-old children using a conventional microcomputer and the Apple LOGO language. This dissertation reports on the behavior of five kindergarten children and the counts they made as they learned to program in LOGO on an Apple XI Plus microcomputer. The five participants were randomly selected from a group of ten five-year-olds who passed a screening test of numeral and capital letter recognition. The sample included three girls and two boys, all of whom were white. The students met individually with the researcher and the computer for about twenty minutes every day during a ten-week period.

Art history serves as a record of civilization's cultural heritage. Yet there is a paucity of art history or appreciation materials for the elementary level child that are historically ordered. The problem with which this study is concerned is the development of a prototype of a slide-tape series on art history for instruction of upper elementary students. The purpose of this investigation is to produce a slide-tape set that is designed to use advance organizers, direct attention, proceed with moderate speed, elicit responses, and give feedback. The series also guides the student in analyzing art with a historical approach. More over, the media stress key ideas on the culture and examine the relationship between the culture and the art produced.

This study investigated the Adlerian concept of social interest m entering community college students to determine the predictive value of social interest for academic achievement and to determine the relationship between social interest and ethnicity and gender. Data for this study included age, gender, ethnic origin, high school class quarter, financial aid status, ACT Composite, grade point average, and scores on the Social Interest Scale. The results of stepwise multiple regression analyses revealed that the social interest scores did not contribute significantly to the prediction of academic achievement. The results of an analysis of variance indicated a significant difference in the social interest scores of Anglo-American, Black-American, and Mexican-American students but the Scheffe test for multiple comparisons did not indicate any significant differences among or between the three ethnic groups. The results of a two-tailed t-test for independent samples indicated no significant difference in the social interest scores of males and females.

This study is concerned with the problem of determining the types and characteristics of wellness programs presently offered by selected junior and community colleges throughout the United States. The purposes include (1) the investigation of the extent to which the six dimensional scheme of wellness, as developed by William Hettler, M. D. [Family and Community Health, May, 1980], has been implemented on the campuses of junior and community colleges and (2) an exploration of the validity of Hettler's model of wellness for these institutions. The study population sample is the membership list of the junior and community college section of the American College Health Association, which is a multidisciplinary professional organization for university and college health administrators. The specially designed survey instrument produced a 73 per cent response return. Response frequencies and percentages were gathered to show the current and anticipated prevalence of different types of wellness programs and the current and anticipated management related characteristics of wellness offerings in these college settings. Several open-ended questions also produced narrative respondent opinions.

The problem of this study was an analysis of an individual study instructional approach of teaching mathematical concepts as they relate to business needs. The purposes were as follow: (1) to identify mathematical competencies required by business firms; (2) to further validate CVAE materials; (3) to evaluate the achievement of vocational office education students using programmed materials to review business mathematics; and (4) to develop, present, and describe a teaching model for these applications.

This study investigated the factors related to the delivery of health care services by school nurses. The purposes of the study were divided into three categories. The first was the nurses' identification of the handicapping conditions of children in their caseloads and their perceptions of the children's health problems. The second involved data about the nurses' educational background and preparation they felt as useful in their work with children with handicaps; data on barriers which limit or prevent nursing care of these children was also solicited. Third, information was sought about future plans of nurses for obtaining more education, barriers perceived which hindered their plans, and special considerations in program planning that would facilitate their educational goals. Institutional guidelines were written based on findings of the study and the review of literature.

The purpose of this study was to identify differences in attitudes of vocational teacher education majors based on age, sex, marital status, earner status, educational level, vocational program area, mother's work history, and familial attitudes. Data for the study were obtained from 1,182 vocational teacher education majors. The more contemporary attitudes were held by those who were female, aged 26 - 35, currently members of dual-income families, graduate students, identified as homemaking education majors, from families whose mothers had worked outside the home when they were growing up, and who were not brought up to believe that a woman's place is in the home.While females had more contemporary attitudes than males, both could be described as having moderate attitudes toward the dual-income financial support of the family. Both females and males felt that women should contribute financially to the support of the family, that it is just as important for a woman to be able to earn a living as it is for a man, and that women should expect to be permanent members of the labor force.

The problem of this study is to identify and describe specific bureaucratic/organizational barriers that inhibit needed curricular and instructional flexibility and freedom in an urban school system and to determine if means exist by which the barriers can be overcome. The purposes of this study include the identification, description, and assessment of the barriers identified and the development of a process model which addresses identified barriers. The study includes samples of parents, teachers, principals, and central administrators. Questionnaires were administered to parents and teachers. Structured interviews were conducted with all administrators. The survey instruments were validated through means of pilot tests and jury panels.

The problem of this study was to determine the cognitive development sequence of music skills. This sequence was determined by finding the music skills level, the Piagetian developmental level, and the developmental art level for twelve students differing in reading ability and in the first through fourth grades.The students were individually tested, using Piaget's semi-clinical interview technique. The students were tested on seven Piagetian tasks, ten music tasks, and one art task. The validity was determined through the interview process. The examiner redirected questions until he was certain the subjects were responding from conviction. The reliability of the study was achieved through a test-retest procedure and impartial expert evaluation of the test sessions.

The problem with which this study is concerned is that of identifying, validating, and ranking a set of computer competencies for school administrators. A set of thirty five proposed computer competencies for school administrators was prepared and submitted for validation to a panel composed of ten members. These ten panel members judged the competencies and suggested additional competencies that they felt should be added to the list of proposed competencies. These additional competencies were also validated by this panel. A final list of forty-two validated competencies was established and submitted to a panel composed of thirty-one members for the purpose of determining the importance the panel members attached to each competency.

The purpose of this study was to identify and compare the specific writing assignments provided in the five basal readers, grades one through eight, adopted by the state of Texas. These seventy-eight basal reader's guides were first analyzed for statements indicating specific writing assignments. The total number of writing assignments in each of the teacher's guides were totaled for each publisher. The location of each writing assignment which supported the TABS categories was recorded. The writing assignments which did not support the TABS categories were assigned appropriate categories and recorded on a table. Another table compared the five publishers and the total number of writing assignments supporting the TABS categories. A fifth table compared the five publishers and the total number of writing assignments found in other categories not supporting the TABS categories.

This study determined the reading skills that community college faculty perceived as necessary for their students' success in certain English, history, and biology courses. Three questions were posed: What reading skills do faculty perceive as necessary for their students' success? Which skills are perceived to be most important? To what extent are the perceptions of English, history, and biology faculty similar or different? Sixty-one faculty from nineteen Texas community colleges completed three Delphi questionnaires for this study. Perceived reading skill needs were rated by levels of importance. Ratings were analyzed by determining medians and interquartile ranges for each identified skill.

The purposes of this study were (1) to determine the difference between the cognitive style of low and high achieving students in an algebra course in a traditional high school and the cognitive style of low and high achieving students in an algebra course in a high school for dropouts, and (2) to determine the difference between the cognitive styles of low and high achieving males and females in an algebra class in a traditional high school and in a high school for dropouts. It was hypothesized that (1) low achieving mathematics students are more field-dependent than high achieving mathematics students in both the traditional high school and in the high school for dropouts, (2) female students are more field-dependent than male students in the mathematics classes of both schools, and (3) there will be a significant interaction on the achievement variable and the sex variable with respect to field-dependence in both schools.

The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of a context approach to learning reading vocabulary with the effectiveness of the context approach accompanied by illustrations. Subjects were 152 fourth graders from 19 reading classes in 8 elementary schools. Materials included illustrated and nonillustrated vocabulary cards, a researcher-made multiple-choice instrument, and a widely used achievement test, which was used to identify the subjects as good or poor readers. The researcher made instrument was administered as a pretest during the first week of the study. Forty-eight vocabulary words were taught during the second through fifth weeks. The instrument was given again as a posttest during week six and as a delayed posttest during week twelve. Results were analyzed with the analysis of covariance procedure.

The problem with which this study is concerned is that of determining the specific stated factors that influenced Nigerian adults to participate in adult basic educational programs of the Nigerian Baptist Convention which lead to the first-school-leaving-certificate. The purpose of the study was to identify and examine the factors that influence Nigerian adults to participate in the adult basic and certificate educational programs of the Nigerian Baptist Convention, and to make recommendations for program improvements based on these findings. The data for this study were collected from questionnaires which included demographic information about the participants and a list of reasons for educational participation and needs-met statements. Questionnaire items were rated on a five-point scale. The researcher mailed 600 questionnaires to both adult basic and certificate education students in the adult education programs of the Nigerian Baptist Convention in Ibadan, Nigeria. The basic education group responded to 126 questionnaires, while the certificate groups responded to 122 questionnaires.