The American Romantic writers laid a broad foundation for the historic and heroic Abraham Lincoln who has evolved as our national myth. The writers were attracted to Lincoln by his eloquent expression of the body of ideals and beliefs they shared with him, especially the ideal of individual liberty and the belief that achievement of the ideal would bring about an amelioration of the human condition. The time, place and conditions in which they lived enhanced the attraction, and Lincoln's able leadership during the Civil War strengthened their estimation of him. His martyrdom was the catalyst which enabled the Romantic writers to lay the foundation of the Lincoln myth which has made his name synonymous with individual freedom everywhere even today.

The main purpose of this study was to examine the various finance models that are presently being used to finance facilities and to provide information for the Texas legislature, the Texas Education Agency, and local school districts concerning facilities funding models that might be used in Texas. Based on the information gathered and analyzed, several conclusions are drawn and recommendations regarding state funding of capital projects in the State of Texas are made. The model recommended for Texas is one that provides for an equalized grant and includes formulas for the distribution of state money.

The reasons given by thirty-three junior high school band directors for success and failure at the University Interscholastic League Concert/Sightreading Contest were studied using the methodology of Attribution Theory. All of the subjects attended the same contest and were members of a region which included urban and suburban schools. The subjects responded to a questionnaire which evaluated their attitudes towards the contest, allowed them to make judgments about other directors in hypothetical contest situations, and finally asked them to list the five most important reasons for their success or failure at the contest in an open-response format.

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. …

Technology experts suggest that one barrier in implementing technology has been a lack of appropriate training for teachers. Past efforts have been few in number, poor in quality, and uncoordinated. Some large school districts are developing comprehensive programs. However, few models exist and none are suitable for small school districts. The purposes of this study were: (1) to survey 53 small school districts in Texas to identify hardware and software configurations, patterns of recent technology staff development, and needs for future technology staff development; (2) to design a staff development program which addresses these technology needs; and (3) to evaluate the program in a small school district.

The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship existed between teachers' or principals' effectiveness and their risk tendency. The population consisted of 57 principals and 115 teachers from the state of Texas from average and exemplary campuses. The exemplary campuses were those nominated by Texas Education Agency to participate in the National Exemplary School Recognition Program for the past four years. Data was generated by sending a survey packet to the 57 campuses requesting that the principal and two teachers (one who had been recently been recognized as teacher of the year and one who had never been so honored) complete the instruments. Teachers responded to a 16 item Risk Tolerance Questionnaire and principals responded to the Risk Tolerance Questionnaire and a Styles of Leadership Survey. The hypothesis that exceptional teachers will not take more risks was not upheld. It was determined that exceptional teachers do take more risks; however, there was no significant difference in scores on the Risk Tolerance Questionnaire of principals from average and exemplary campuses. The findings were that 1) exceptional teachers do take more risks, 2) age and years of experience of teachers was not significant, 3) principals from average and exemplary …

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 …

This study was designed to develop a procedure for the identification of freshman students at risk in the academic and social integration process at Texas Christian University. The data for the study were collected from the Student Information Form (SIF) and student records system at Texas Christian University. The data included demographic, attitudinal, educational background and one-year persistence indicators (retain and drop) as well as one-year cumulative grade point averages for the fall 1990 entering freshman class.

The attitudes of preservice teachers towards individuals who are nonvocal and using either a high technology augmentative communication (HAC) device or a low technology communication board were investigated. A rating scale was devised, consisting of three sub-scales. The three sub-scales measured preservice teachers' estimates of intelligence, academic potential, and social acceptance in the regular education setting. Reliability and validity were established through a pilot study. Preservice teachers viewed videotapes of children using either high technology or low technology augmentative communication devices and subsequently completed the rating scale based on the videotapes. Results indicated that preservice teachers perceived the same child as having greater academic and social acceptance potential when using high technology augmentative communication.

Is there a relationship between work role and information seeking behavior? Three behaviors were examined: choice of information channel, choice of method for information retrieval, and choice of method for storing retrieved information. The Protestant clergy was selected as a profession with clearly identified work roles, including preacher and administrator. Questionnaires were mailed to 150 randomly selected ministers in Tarrant County, Texas. Sixty-four responded. Additionally, fifteen ministers selected at random were interviewed for additional data. The data collected through the questionnaires were analyzed using nonparametric statistical techniques.

Sexual abuse of children has profound negative effects on psychological development. This study examined the effects of sexual abuse on object relations functioning by using the Mutuality of Autonomy Scale (MAS, Urist, 1977) to score Rorschach protocols of 63 abused children and 60 non-abused clinical controls. The hypothesis that abused children would have less developed object relations than their non-abused counterparts was not supported. Neither was the hypothesis that children who experienced greater severity of sexual abuse would exhibit more malevolent object relations. The hypothesis that mean and modal MAS scores would be highly intercorrelated and interchangeable as research variables was supported. Comparisons of this sample to a normative sample are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of Senate Bill 351 on public school finance equity in Texas and to provide information to those concerned with the financing of schools in this state. Data provided by the Texas Education Agency were used to determine differences in expenditures per student and local tax rates before and after the implementation of Senate Bill 351.

Mental imagery is a common theme in research that clarifies how musical thought relates to musical performance. Unfortunately, minimal information exists regarding mental imagery and singers. The purpose of this study was to probe the role, if any, mental imagery plays in the conceptualization of pitch and vowel. By interviewing singers at differing levels of expertise, basic information was obtained about the mental processes used by singers. Through evaluations of the singers' mental processes, it was concluded that 95% of the singers in the study employed mental imagery. All singers described using kinesthetic imagery, while the majority implemented sensory and auditory imagery. Viso-spatial imagery was implemented among the more experienced singers. The majority of singers also reported: imaging pitch and vowel interactively; imaging from an internal perspective; and utilizing mental rehearsal. Less than half of the singers described using methods other than mental imagery to conceptualize pitch and vowel.