This study addresses the attitudes of counselors, teachers, and administrators toward competency testing programs in their districts. ten districts from each of the four states --Arizona, California, Michigan, and Oregon-- were randomly selected to participate in the study. A total of 247 educators responded to the survey. The following conclusions were made on the basis of the findings: (1) The competency programs have the support the teachers, counselors, and administrators who work with them; (2) They are perceived as being effective in identifying students in need of remediation; (3) They are perceived as being most beneficial to the deficient student, but the setting of minimum standards had not lowered the expectations of the average and above average student; (4) They have not eliminated any programs or courses from the curriculum; (5) They have not limited the parameter of course content guides to concepts covered in the competency test; (6) They are perceived as nor being expensive to the district; (7) The competency program does add a burden of extra paperwork for the groups surveyed, especially the counselors; (8) Most competency programs involve teachers, counselors, and administrators in the planning; (9) Improvements in the quality of education and in student learning …

This investigation is concerned with the identification of creative students in the classroom. One purpose of the study is a search of the literature to determine the emphasis given to creativity in education today. A second is to determine if a measure of creativity given to a group of students would reveal a discrimination between the students. The measure of creativity used in this study was the Christensen-Guilford Fluency Tests. The sample group for the study included fifty-two male and fifty-three female students in the ninth grade of the Richardson Independent School District in Dallas', Texas. This study concludes that measurements of mental abilities must include measurements of creativity as well as intelligence if the more gifted students are to be recognized.

The purpose of this study is to determine. whether Charles Dickens's educational theories in England during the nineteenth century are conclusively juxtaposed to John Holt's educational theories in America during the twentieth century. Chapter One introduces the proposition and states the general nature of the discussion in -subsequent chapters. Chapter Two presents a history of economic conditions in nineteenth-century England and shows how its evolution influenced Dickens's educational theories. Chapter Three discusses the economic conditions in twentieth-century America, the moral crisis- and its affect on youth, and Holt's theories of how children fail and how they learn. Chapter Four synthesizes Dickens's and Holt's -theories and establishes that their philosophies and aims in the field of education are closely juxtaposed.

This investigation of twentieth century trends in mathematics education includes the survey of existing literature and questionnaires conducted with retired and active Texas teachers. Historical events, trends in curriculum, instruction, learning theories, and contradictions of twenty-year periods are delineated. Questionnaire responses are tabulated along the same periods and vignettes of typical classrooms are drawn from the data. Results of the survey show the impact of societal forces on mathematics curricula, a continued downward expansion of content into lower grades and expanding knowledge of learning processes. A unified mathematics curriculum, classroom-related learning theory research, and further development of team-teaching are postulated as future trends. Recommendations include further examination of trends through isolation of other variables such as region and ethnicity.

The problem with which this study is concerned is the methods and techniques that are utilized by some teachers in the identification of a gifted student. This study has a threefold purpose. The first is to discuss the plight of some of our valuable human resources as manifested by the gifted in the American educational structure. The second is to present and contrast the current approaches to conserving these resources. The third is to project some possible trends in meeting the needs of the gifted segment in American schools. This study concludes that the field of teaching the gifted has been exploited by educators, and that there is very little likelihood in replacing the suggested methods and techniques entirely by new ones. Though there is little chance to replace all the suggested methods and techniques, there is sufficient room for expansion and internal renovations in the American educational mode of arrnagement.

The problem of this investigation is to determine the relationships between certain cognitive, conative, and demographic variables and student ratings of instructors and introductory economics courses at North Texas State University. In addition, the study seeks to determine whether significant, interactive effects exist among the seventeen main variables: pretest, posttest, sex, age, college major, required course, actual grade, residence, SAT, socioeconomic class, Opinionation, Dogmatism, instructor, course rating, instructor rating, expected grade, and attitude. The principal sources of data are students' test scores on the Test of Understanding in College Economics, Rokeach Scales of Opinionation and Dogmatism, Modified Purdue Rating Scale, Personal Data Sheet with Hollingshead Index, and Questionnaire on Student Attitude Toward Economics-Revised. The organization of the study includes a statement of the problems, a review of the literature related to student ratings of courses and instructors, the ethodology used in the statistical analysis of the data, an analysis of the data, and the findings, conclusions, implications, and recommendations for additional research. Chapter I introduces the background and significance of the problems. Hypotheses are stated in the research form, terms in the study are defined, and limitations are delineated. Chapter II is a topically-arranged review of the related literature, including …

This study reports on an investigation of the effectiveness of the "Positive Approach to Discipline" (PAD) system for classroom management. The data from the study were analyzed by the analysis of variance with repeated measures. The data indicate several implications for the utilization of the PAD system for classroom management. The findings of the study indicate that, 1) teachers utilizing the PAD system significantly reduced the number of students referred to administration, and 2) teachers utilizing the PAD system significantly reduced the number of Black students referred to administration, and 3) the PAD system was effective in reducing the number of students suspended from school.

This study develops the first measurement instrument designed to accompany the concept of competency basing in counselor training. In so doing, the study screens and validates a list of skills most essential to an effective counselor. The problem of this study is to develop and validate an instrument for the measurement of competencies of school counselors. The instrument developed and validated by this study is especially designed to delineate the specific skills which best represent the competencies necessary for a well-qualified counselor.

The purpose of this study was to determine if any correlation exists between the presence of vocational bias in elementary students and (1) the presence of bias in the textbooks they use, (2) father's occupation, (3) student grade level, (4) level of intelligence, and (5) sex of the student. The population for the study consisted of 368 kindergarten, third-grade, and sixth-grade students from two North Texas school districts. The instrument used to measure student vocational bias was the Were I a Worker attitude inventory developed by P. K. Yonge Laboratory School at the University of Florida under the direction of the Fusion of Applied and Intellectual Skills Research Project. The instrument used to categorize the father's occupations into professional and non-professional groups was the "Two-Factor Index of Social Position" developed by A. B. Hollingshead. The data were collected by having each student respond to the attitude inventory under the supervision of the participating classroom teacher. In addition, the student's I.Q., grade level, sex, and father's occupation were recorded on the test booklet. A notation was also placed on each instrument indicating the type of textbook used by that student. After all the data were collected, the attitude inventory was hand …

The problem of this study is differences in perceptions of priorities in selected areas of student teaching existing within the governance set, i.e., university directors of student teaching, public school administrators charged with implementing Senate Bill Eight, and presidents of local units of the Texas State Teachers Association. Six areas were chosen as the focal point of the study: selection of student teachers, selection of cooperating teachers, selection of college coordinators, placement of student teachers, evaluation of student teachers, and expenditure of Senate Bill Eight funds designated for the support of student teaching programs. The study concluded that the governance set is in overall agreement concerning the ordering of priorities. However, some significant differences were manifested concerning the implementation of specific priorities. Disagreements were noted in the following areas: selection body for student teachers, selection body for cooperating teachers, selection body for college coordinators, minimum grade point averages in education courses, and minimum grade point averages in major area courses.

This study examined the student's achievement, attitude toward science, and self-concept of ninth grade physical science students in an individualized science program and ninth grade physical science students in a traditional science class. The research was conducted to ascertain the effect of individualized instruction upon the achievement, attitude, and self-concept of inner-city junior high school science students, and to analyze the implications of these effects for administrators, teachers, counselors, and others who are interested in the optimum achievement of students to science instruction. The sample size was 150 ninth grade physical science students enrolled in an individualized science program and 150 ninth grade physical science students enrolled in a traditional program. The students were administered the Stanford Achievement Test: Science, Remmer's Attitude Toward Any School Subject Scale, and the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale. The experimental design of the study was patterned after the posttest only control group design. Preliminary data were obtained for each student within each participating class. The preliminary data were used for establishing group equivalence and as a concomitant observation in the analysis of covariance. The preliminary data were obtained from the permanent records of each participating school and involved the student's age, I.Q., natural science achievement …

The problem of this study was to survey and report the perceptions of superintendents of school districts in Region 10 regarding programs of service offered by Region 10 Education Service Center. The superintendents of all public school districts in Region 10 were included in the survey study. All school districts concerned were grouped into one of three categories, according to size. The primary purpose of the study was to determine the perceptions of superintendents in Region 10 regarding programs of service offered by Region 10 Education Service Center, and to make the results available for use in planning future center operations.

The problem of this study was to ascertain the role and status of the specialist in human relations in the desegregation of selected public schools in Texas. Its purpose was to review human relations literature in order to compile a list of representative criteria for human relations programs in industry and to describe the human relations programs and roles of the directors in selected schools. An analysis of available information indicated that industrial organizations have given more attention to human relations programs than have the educational institutions of this country, although their problems have been similar. It was in the workshops of the factories, rather than in the classrooms of America, that social scientists developed human relations skills and techniques. The social issue of desegregation of the races has been a battle often fought on public school campuses. These racial confrontations, coupled with conflicts spawned by the rigidity of traditional schools, have signaled the urgent call for human relations programs to alleviate human problems. The background study included a review of relevant literature, interviews with public school officials, and discussions with state and regional educational administrators. The survey technique was used to collect data for the study. Personal interviews were …

The problem with which this investigation was concerned was that of determining the practices utilized by college supervisors of secondary student teachers in Kentucky. A mailed questionnaire was employed to determine the emphasis of practices of the college supervisor pertaining to student teachers, cooperating teachers, and cooperating school administrators. The purposes of this study included the following: 1. To determine the status of Kentucky college and university supervisors of secondary student teachers. 2. To compare the practices of Kentucky college supervisors with practices recommended by national authorities in the field of student teaching. 3. To compare the practices reported by general supervisors with practices reported by special supervisors. 4. To compare the supervisory practices as reported in Texas in 1968 to the practices reported currently in Kentucky. The findings pertaining to the status of the Kentucky college supervisor included the following: 1. Seventy-one percent of Kentucky college supervisors reported having a total of more than ten years teaching experience at different levels. Twenty-eight percent had more than twenty years full-time teaching experience. 2. Sixty-four percent of the supervisors reported twenty-one or more student teachers as a full supervisory load. 3. Fifty-four percent of college supervisors at state schools and 39 …

The problem of this study involved the identification of white student teacher racial attitudes relative to blacks and whether these attitudes changed during the course of student teaching. The purpose of the study was to determine the nature of these racial attitudes, to determine if these attitudes were influenced by the experience of student teaching or the racial environment in which student teaching was accomplished, and, in light of the findings of the study, either to reinforce the manner in which racial attitudes are treated in traditional teacher preparation programs or suggest new directions in the curriculum that might lead to more realistic and desirable teacher attitudes. In light of the above findings, the following conclusions seem warranted: 1. The contact thesis of racial attitude change is confirmed. However, among experimental group subjects, the nature of the contact achieved was incongruous with what research has found to be most conducive to positive attitude change. 2. Racial attitudes are so deeply and emotionally embedded that attitude change, if it is to be accomplished, should be treated as a priority item, and any programmed attempt to alter racial prejudice should be comprehensive in design.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a school-developed continuous-progress program in mathematics in terms of how well students achieved in arithmetic computation, concepts, and applications. The study also investigated the student's attitude toward arithmetic. Conclusions and Recommendations: 1. All students in grades four through six favored the continuous progress program over the conventional program in terms of arithmetic computation and concepts. Grades four through seven favored the continuous progress program in terms of arithmetic applications. A trend was noted that indicated the program was more effective for lower grade levels. It is recommended that the continuous progress be used with all fourth and fifth grade students and that a longitudinal study be developed for the fourth and fifth grades as they continue the experimental program through the eighth grade. 2. Sex is a doubtful factor in determining the effectiveness of the continuous progress program. A trend did appear in the area of arithmetic computation that indicated sex may be a greater factor in this variable than in the other three variables studied. It is recommended that further study be done concerning the relationship of sex to arithmetic achievement when using a continuous progress concept. 3. …

The problem of this study was to measure the effects of differing curricular patterns involving the use of planetarium centered activities on the affective domain of high-,middle-, and low-achieving secondary school students. Two different curricular patterns were studied. At each achievement level, one group viewed two planetarium lessons in conjunction with their classroom work in astronomy. Also, at each achievement level, two groups viewed the planetarium lessons as review activities which followed their completion of classroom work in astronomy earlier in the school year. The following conclusions were made with respect to the planetarium-related curricula studied. 1. Two exposures to planetarium lessons as a review activity caused a significant decline in the attitude toward astronomy among high-achieving students. 2. Two exposures to planetarium lessons did not significantly improve students' attitudes toward astronomy at any achievement level or with either curricular pattern studied. 3. Middle- and low-achieving students' attitudes were not significantly affected by two exposures to the planetarium lessons. Varying the manner of employing the planetarium in relation to classroom work in astronomy, in the manner studied, made no significant differences in the attitudes of students at either of these achievement levels.

This study compares results of sighting, control, suppression and wink tests of visual dominance with a dissociation test administered to 240 high-achieving (ninetieth percentile and above academically) and low-achieving (twenty-fifth percentile and below academically) students at grades four, eight, and twelve. The study examines differences between visual dissociation and other visual-dominance tests. In so doing, the study tests the proportion of consistent dominance revealed by each test among underachievers with a high incidence of dominance variations, examines possible influences on choice of dominant eye, and compares distributions of dominance functions in high- and low-achieving populations.

The problem of this study was the determination and analysis of perceptions of selected educators in the State of Texas with regard to current in-service education programs in the public secondary schools. Conclusions were, (1) differences appear to exist in the perceptions of personnel who represent large-, medium-, and small-school districts, (2) teachers' needs, such as motivation, seem to be good staff improvement topics, (3) there appears to be substantial differences in the perceptions of administrators and teachers in the organizing and conducting of programs, (4) current programs and ideal programs appear to have differences in such areas as selection of activities, and (5) programs are not as effectively planned and organized as they should be.

The problem of this study was to determine and report the attitudes of selected undergraduate military veterans toward selected campus organizations at North Texas State University. The purpose of this study was to provide a basis for evaluating and possibly improving the campus organizations at this university. As a result of this study, it was concluded that the majority of responding veterans had very little knowledge concerning the majority of campus organizations. It was concluded that the majority of responding veterans preferred the miscellaneous type of organizations as opposed to the national honorary and professional, departmental, and social types. It was also concluded that all the responding veterans stated the overall groups of campus organizations were between "good" and "fair," and felt they needed help from their advisors about the organizations on this campus.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the interaction of (1) the secondary school teacher's knowledge concerning both the problem of adolescent suicide and the potential for teacher intervention and (2) selected demographic variables on the dependent variables of the teacher's attitudes concerning both the problem of adolescent suicide and the potential for teacher intervention in order to develop a data base upon which to examine the prospects for realizing the intervention potential of secondary school teachers in the area of adolescent suicide. Findings indicate that there are significant differences in knowledge concerning the problem of adolescent suicide and the potential for teacher intervention as a function of particular demographics. Similarly, there are significant differences in attitude toward the problem of adolescent suicide and the potential for teacher intervention as a function of particular demographics. Findings further reveal that level of knowledge appears to be a significant contributing factor in the secondary school teacher's attitude as a function of selected demographics. Secondary school teachers appear to possess a low level of knowledge concerning both the problem of adolescent suicide and the potential for teacher intervention, and they exhibit a range of predominantly negative attitudes toward the problem of adolescent …

The major problem of this study was to compare the views of the role of the student in a science class as reported by college science educators and secondary science teachers of grades 6-8 and of grades 9-12. Analysis of individual items. The Q-sorts indicate that all groups in this study recommend greater emphasis on student activities, student discovery, student questions, teacher accepting students' new ideas and viewpoints, student freedom to ask any science question, student enjoyment of science, more time spent in doing things other than listening, student ease in getting equipment, student revealing likes and dislikes in science, student maintenance of science equipment and student use of laboratory equipment.

This research sought to discover whether minority and economically disadvantaged students are underrepresented in gifted and honors programs. Another goal was to ascertain attitudes of students and teachers currently participating in gifted and honors programs regarding: admission criteria; adequacy of teacher preparation to meet special needs of gifted and honors students; levels of needs satisfaction of gifted and honors students; perceptions of students and teachers about program modification.

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent specific ergonomic factor implementations in computer and video display terminal (VDT) installations for student use in middle school classrooms. The data interpretations using existing furniture without modification or adaptation. Of all the seating observed, 75% of the seating met standards for middle school students. Keyboards and video display screens had been placed on existing tables and were all higher than ergonomically desirable for middle school students or adults.