The problem with which this investigation is concerned is that students of unequal writing ability are frequently placed in the same beginning media writing classes in college journalism. It is difficult for a teacher to be effective when the ability of the students ranges from those who cannot write clear complete sentences to others whose work already appears in newspapers and magazines. The purpose of this study is to determine whether students who are ability grouped into slow—average and advanced groups do the same, better, or worse than heterogeneously grouped students. In the spring semester of 1987, students in Journalism 1345, Media Writing laboratory, at the University of Texas at Arlington, were given a pretest to determine how well they wrote a simple news story and a simple feature story. On the basis of that test, which was graded by three raters, the students were placed in two separate ability groups in three classes. The fourth class contained students with heterogeneous abilities who were not placed in groups. At the end of the semester a posttest was given in news and feature writing. A two-way analysis of variance was used to analyze the posttest scores of sixty-seven students. There was …

This study provides a rationale for adopting course materials. It demonstrates the relationship between ability to read assigned materials and academic achievement, and that selection of materials creates two groups having different probabilities of success. The sample was selected from a population of all students enrolled in Principles of Economics courses at North Texas State University in the spring semester of 1986. The Nelson-Denny Reading Test was used to determine reading ability. Assigned materials were analyzed for readability. A frustration level was determined and used to divide the sample: the group of interest, those with reading abilities below the frustration level who underwent the treatment of reading materials written above their ability to comprehend; and the comparison group, those with reading abilities above the frustration level who did not undergo the treatment.

The juvenile justice system is society's response to juvenile misconduct. In spite of numerous federal, state, and local programs, the problem of juvenile delinquency persists. An increasing number of juveniles are being taken into custody and placed in institutional settings. Although juvenile delinquents share a number of common general characteristics (e.g., sex, minority, lower socioeconomic status, a history of school failure), they are not a homogeneous group. Effective educational interventions with delinquent juveniles can meet their unique academic, vocational, and social skills deficits. Handicapped juveniles are disproportionately represented among juvenile correctional facility populations. The identification of handicapped juveniles among delinquent populations is compounded as they share many of the same general characteristics. Federal statutes require individualized educational programs for all handicapped juveniles. This research investigated academic, behavioral, and social competencies of non-handicapped and handicapped adjudicated youth. Specifically, this investigation assessed measures of academic performance, classroom behavior, self-esteem, and social behavior. ANOVA indicated statistically significant differences between non-handicapped, learning disabled, and emotionally/behaviorally disordered adjudicated juveniles in reading achievement, mathematics achievement, and teacher generated measures of classroom behavior.

The problem with which this study is concerned is to determine whether or not differences exist in the achievement of student development tasks by college student athletes and non-athletes. The investigation also tested for differences in the achievement of developmental tasks between athletes and non-athletes based on the variables of race (black or white), classification, and interpersonal behavior orientation. The sample was composed of 276 male students (201 non-athletes and 75 athletes) who attend a large private university in Texas. Each participant completed both a student developmental task inventory questionnaire, which measures individual achievement of the tasks of developing autonomy, purpose, and mature interpersonal relationships, and an interpersonal relationship orientation-behavior instrument, which measures an individual's orientation to others on the scales of inclusion, control, and affection.

The problem of this study was to determine the perceived needs of selected Texas public school administrators in the areas of competence addressed in the PEEL (Performance Evaluation of the Educational Leader) definition of administrative competence. The conclusions included the following: 1. Between levels of administrative activity, differences were indicated in the high indexes of perceived need on the competency statements between the superintendency-level staff members (superintendent and his advisory staff who hold "line" positions) and the building-level administrators (elementary principals, junior high principals, and senior high principals). 2. Superintendency-level staff members tend to exhibit higher perceived needs on the competency statements relating to instruction and student-oriented responsibilities than do building-level administrators. 3. The size of a school district in which an administrator is employed, the number of years that an administrator has in educational administration, and the highest degree earned by an administrator cause no significant differences to appear in the manner in which an administrator assesses his perceived need on a particular competency statement.

The problem with which this study deals is that of describing and analyzing current new teacher orientation programs and practices in selected Texas secondary schools.

This study was concerned with the enrollment patterns in required general education courses by technicaloccupational students in an urban community college. The purposes of this study were to (1) examine the general education course enrollment patterns of technical occupational students in specific programs; (2) determine if completion of an English course yields a higher GPA; (3) profile the characteristics of the students who do and do not enroll in general education courses; (4) determine if students enrolled in certain technical-occupational programs are more likely to enroll in general education than students enrolled in similar programs; and (5) determine if completion of general education courses has a positive effect on overall GPA of students.

The problem was (1) an analysis of the physical education program for men in Texas Baptist colleges offering a baccalaureate degree with a major in the area of physical education, and (2) a comparison of physical education programs in Texas Baptist colleges with selected Texas state colleges and universities.

The problem of this study was an analysis of the differences between associate degree and baccalaureate degree nursing school graduates in relation to the functions they were currently performing, their perceptions of the adequacy of their educational preparation for these functions, and their apparent readiness for these nursing functions as reported by employers of nurses. A questionnaire was devised and mailed to a random sample of employers of nurses and to recent graduates of two associate degree and two baccalaureate degree nursing programs in Texas. Graduates were asked to report on the extent of their performance of each of eighty nursing activities as well as their perception of their preparation for each activity. Employers were requested to report the readiness of recent graduates to perform each nursing activity, The eighty activities were categorized into the following five functions: (1) physical care and technical skills, (2) interpersonal relationships, (3) leadership, (4) decision making, and (5) community health care.

The purposes of this study were (1) to describe the persons twenty-five and older entering the teacher education program and seeking certification, and (2) to compare the persons twenty-five and older with a "typical" group of persons under twenty-five with respect to (a) ability, as measured by the Cooperative School and College Ability Test, (b) factors for entering teaching, as measured by "Factors Influencing the Decision to Become a Teacher," (c) attitudes held toward teaching, as measured by the Kerlinger Education Attitude Scale, (d) professional aspirations, and (e) role expectations, as measured by the Teacher Practices. Questionnaire.

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 …

The purposes of this study were to identify the procedures and criteria used for conducting teacher performance evaluation in Texas public schools, to determine the degree to which teacher performance evaluation procedures and instruments reflect the stated evaluation policies of Texas public schools, and to determine the degree to which teacher performance evaluation instruments used in Texas public schools reflect presage criteria (teacher characteristics) as opposed to process criteria (teacher behavior) as opposed to product criteria (student change or gain) as opposed to general job performance requirements (job expectations). The main findings include the following. (1) Teacher performance evaluation is required in all Texas public school districts and is often performed several times a year by more than one observer. The building principal is the key person involved in this process. (2) Although all school districts stated the supervisory function of the improvement of instruction as the major purpose of their teacher performance evaluation policy, a large number of school districts utilize teacher performance evaluation for the administration functions of serving as a basis for retention or dismissal. (3) If in reality teacher performance evaluation were construed as the improvement of instruction or teaching performance, it should be predictable that …

The main purpose of this study was to determine the effect of Texas House Bill 72 on equalization of finances in the public school districts of Texas. House Bill 72 is a finance reform bill which was passed by the Texas Legislature during the Summer of 1984. This study involves basically three steps. First, current criteria for equity as defined by school finance "experts" and recent definitive court decisions were determined. Second, financial data from the Texas Education Agency were statistically analyzed for the 1984-1985 school year. Third, the statistical analysis was used to determine if the current Texas school finance plan meets the current criteria for equity. The population used in the study was 1,068 school districts. Based on the findings of this study the following conclusions were drawn. 1. The use of a per capita flat grant by the Texas Public School Finance System contributes to the unequalizing of financial resources available to school districts. 2. School districts with greater property index values are required to exercise very little effort toward the support of their public schools. 3. School districts with high property index values tend to have lower effective tax rates and high per-pupil expenditures. 4. School …

This study is concerned with the problem of analyzing the attitudes of the faculty and administration of North Texas State University. The purposes of this study are to describe the North Texas State University campus environment as perceived by the faculty and administration through responses to the CUES II questionnaire, and to compare selected subgroups of the faculty with regard to their perceptions of the campus environment. The questionnaire used in this study is the College and University Environment Scales: Second Edition. The questionnaire consists of 160 items or statements about facilities and conditions that may or may not be characteristic of a particular campus. There are seven different scores on the scales for the measurement of campus environmental characteristics. These scales are Practicality, Scholarship, Community, Awareness, Propriety, Campus Morale, and Quality of Teaching and Faculty-Student Relations.

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of private funds on selected Texas public institutions of higher education by identifying and comparing the specific ways these institutions are affected by private funds. Conclusions: 1. Private contributions to institutions of higher education will continue to increase in the immediate future. 2. Private contributions to public institutions of higher education come from a variety of sources. 3. Private contributions make a greater impact on programs and projects involving people rather than on buildings and equipment in public institutions of higher education. 4. Future uses of private money in public institutions of higher education also appear to be related to people rather than to capital spending. 5. Public institutions of higher education in Texas will depend upon private funds to a greater extent in the foreseeable future.

The problem with which this study is concerned is to analyze the impact of the local cooperative teacher education centers on teacher education programs at institutions of higher education in Texas. A survey instrument was designed around seven research questions; after the instrument was evaluated by a panel of experts, it was sent to 142 individuals who are involved with the Texas teacher centers, 111 of whom responded.

This study is an analysis of trends in public higher education and their probability and desirability for the 1970's as perceived by persons in positions of leadership in public higher education. The purposes of this study were (1) to identify the major trends in public higher education in the United States, (2) to assess the opinions of persons in positions of leadership in the public four-year colleges and universities in Texas, (3) to determine if there were significant differences in opinions of the probability and desirability of trends for the 1970's, and (4) to develop projections of the most probable and the most desirable trends for the 1970's.

Doctoral students and graduates of the program in Higher Education, Division of Higher Education, North Texas State University, enrolled during the summer semester of 1980 were selected as the sample for the study. The purpose of the study was to determine the effectiveness of the doctoral program by (1) determining doctoral students' and graduates' experiences and reactions to the program, (2) measuring the extent that perceptions about the program by students differ from or are similar to those of graduates, (3) comparing these findings to an earlier study by Brice (19 74), (4) presenting conclusions and recommendations based on the findings of the study which could aid in the administration of the doctoral program, and (5) providing information for planning new program policies or supporting those already in existence.

The primary purpose of the study was to identify and describe the arguments used in the sex education controversy in the Dallas Independent School District. The issue was examined as a debate and as a social movement promoted and resisted by community rhetoricians. Arguments were elicited from interviews with rhetoricians on both sides of the issue.

This study assesses the attitudes of resident college students and staffs toward the concept in loco parents as it pertains to residence hall administration. It also describes relationships between attitudes toward in loco parentis combinations of four demographic variables: university, status (staff or resident) academic level, and sex. The chi-square analysis indicated thirty-one significant relationships between attitudes toward the eleven residence hall situations and the four demographic variables. Major findings indicated that: (a) resident students and staffs were ambiguous toward in loco parents; (b) resident students and staffs were for or against in loco parents depending upon the situation (eleven situations are discussed); (c) attitudes of resident students and staffs were similar in most situations; and (d) the majority of resident students and staff members felt positively toward an objective description of in loco parentis, but this attitude did not prevail when the concept was manifested in university staff behavior in typical residence hall situations.

Interest in this study was evoked by concern over the small percentage of women employed as school administrators. Despite recent legislation, this situation has not changed markedly. This study was needed to determine the current status, attitudes, and concerns of women certified as administrators in Texas with those of the superintendents of Texas public school districts? and to compare the differences of the two concerning this situation. It was concluded that not only did a larger percentage of the women prefer to be employed as elementary school administrators, but also the superintendents felt they would be more likely to be employed at that level. It was further concluded that a majority of the superintendents were likely to give women substantial consideration for employment as elementary school administrators, but were unlikely to hire them as chief administrators of their secondary schools. Many of the women also perceived that Texas school districts are still "in effect" participating in sexually discriminatory hiring practices whether or not the superintendents are aware of the situation. The attitudes of the women and the superintendents very clearly differed concerning opportunities available for female administrators in Texas.

This study examines the main research hypothesis that there is significant interaction between the effects of computer use/non-use and level of computer training among community college educators in the state of Texas regarding attitudes toward the implementation of administrative and instructional computing. A statewide survey was conducted with deans of instruction and full-time faculty members who represented the three academic transfer departments of natural/physical sciences, social science, and humanities/fine arts. Fifty-five deans of instruction and three hundred fifty-six faculty members participated in the study. A factor analysis of data from the questionnaires revealed four factors which were identified and labeled: Factor One: Computer Applications: Advantages and Disadvantages; Factor Two: Administrative Computer Applications: Advantages and Disadvantages; Factor Three: Apprehensions About Educational Computing; Factor Four: Situational Factors Associated With Computer Applications in Education. A 4x3x2 (professional position x level of computer training x level of computer experience) multivariate analysis of variance of both main and interaction effects was then performed within and across these factors.

The problem with which this study is concerned was that of developing an understanding of teacher attitudes toward collective bargaining. The investigation was initiated so that members of school boards, administrators, and those associated with professional organizations could have the needed knowledge to permit them to deal realistically with employer-employee relations. There were two purposes for conducting this study. First, an effort was made to determine the specific attitudes these teachers possess toward collective bargaining. The second purpose was to analyze the teachers' background characteristics to determine whether classifications such as sex, academic degree, experience, assignment level, professional memberships, or age have an impact on these attitudes.

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.