The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between anxiety reducing teaching methods and computer anxiety levels and learning gain of students in a college level introductory computer course. Areas examined were the computer anxiety levels of students categorized by selected demographic variables, the learning gain of students categorized by selected demographic variables, and anxiety levels and learning gain of students after completion of the course. Data for the investigation were collected via the Standardized Test of Computer Literacy (STCL) and the Computer Opinion Survey (CAIN), developed by Michael Simonson et al. at Iowa State University. The nonequivalent pretest/posttest control group design was used. The statistical procedure was the t test for independent groups, with the level of significance set at the .05 level. The data analysis was accomplished using the StatPac Gold statistical analysis package for the microcomputer. Based upon the analysis of the data, both hypotheses of the study were rejected. Research hypothesis number one was that students in a class using computer anxiety reducing teaching methods would show a greater reduction in computer anxiety levels than students in a traditional class. Hypothesis number two was that students in a class using computer anxiety reducing methods …

This study investigated the role of selected variables on organizational commitment in selected organizations in a North Texas metropolitan area. The selected (independent) variables were orientation attendance, unit size, educational level, gender, age, and length of service. Organizational commitment score was the dependent variable. The Organizational Commitment Questionnaire and a demographic questionnaire were administered to 1,055 employees. The Organizational Commitment Questionnaire contained fifteen statements which measured employees' feelings about their organization. Multiple regression was used to determine the relationship between organizational commitment and the selected variables at the .001 level of significance. It was determined that gender and length of service showed the strongest significant relationship on organizational commitment. This model shows that the six independent variables account for only 3 percent of the variance in the relationship between organizational commitment and the selected variables. Therefore, approximately 97 percent of the unexplained variance is accountable for the organizational commitment of the employees at the selected organizations used in this study. Studies using the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire to show the relationship between organizational commitment and other antecedents of organizational commitment are recommended. A follow-up study should also be conducted using the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire to show the relationship between organizational commitment …

Freshmen at Sul Ross State University are required to take tests which are used for placement purposes. One of the tests given is the Nelson-Denny Reading Test which measures comprehension, vocabulary, and reading rate. The scores are used with American College Test or Standard Achievement Test scores to place students in either remedial or regular freshman English. Remedial students, who score below the tenth-grade competency level, are placed in English 1300. Regular students are placed in English 1301 or 1302. Twelve studies were found which had been done in this area since 1980. One was directly related to this study. The Anglo and Hispanic population of the freshman class of 1987 was tested. Blacks were not included as they comprised less than 9 percent of the freshman class. There were 69 students in the experimental group and 162 in the control group. A pretest-posttest design was used. A three-way analysis of variance set up data for statistical testing. The Alpha level was set at .05. The findings indicate a significant difference for Hypothesis 1, which predicted no significant difference in the posttest performance of students required to take English 1300 and the pretest performance of students who were not. Therefore …

The purpose of this study was to determine if significant differences existed in attitudes of international students concerning college withdrawal. Data collection involved 200 freshmen international students from two universities in Texas. Two questionnaires were distributed to the students to determine attitudes toward college withdrawal. The instrument used to score the attitudes was the Purdue Master Attitude Scale. The analysis of variance was used for the statistical evaluation. The statistics indicated there was no significant differences between the students tested in the study and that the students had favorable attitudes toward college and unfavorable attitudes toward college withdrawal. Based on the findings of this study, universities should devise an extensive counseling and orientation program in order to provide students opportunities to complete their college education.

The research problem was to determine the perceived mean self-concept attitudes of academically at-risk students in Coordinated Vocational Academic Education (CVAE) cooperative education programs with at-risk students in regular academic programs as measured by the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale.

The problem of this study was to determine the degree and level of research activity in the College of Education at North Texas State University through an examination of the doctoral dissertations produced by its graduates. The study had three basic purposes. One purpose was to analyze the dissertations in terms of types of study, focus of each study, subject headings of each study, design characteristics, statistical treatment of data, general results of experimental studies and data collection techniques. The second purpose was to synthesize the data of the present study with that obtained by Novak in her study, in order to provide an overall description of the characteristics of dissertation research in the College of Education from 1953 through 1986. The third purpose was to examine the research activity taking place in the College of Education in terms of the quality of dissertations produced by its graduates. Seven hundred and ninety-five dissertations were the sources of data for this study. The format developed and validated by Novak in her study of dissertation research from 1953 through 1974 was used in the analysis of the dissertations completed from 1975 through 1986. Based on the findings of this study, the following …

The purposes of this study were to identify criteria which influence students' decisions to attend specific colleges and to determine whether different groups of students use similar criteria. The following groups were compared: white students and minority students, males and females, older students and younger students, university-bound students and vocational students, and full-time students and part-time students. The sample used for this study was taken from the students enrolled in freshman English classes at Vernon Regional Junior College, Clarendon College, and Grayson County College. Approximately 100 students at each college were selected to participate in the study. Each student in the study received instruction, provided demographic information, and completed a two-part survey. The survey asked respondents to evaluate each of twenty items on a Likert-type scale. The data provided were compiled and organized into groups by a data base computer program. Data obtained from specific groups of respondents were compared, first through an examination of means, then through a chi-square test of independence. It was determined that the most important college selection criteria to these respondents were the cost of attendance, the availability of specific programs, the size of the college, the size of individual classes, the location of the …

The purpose of the study was to determine if occupational investigation teachers and vocational administrators held similar or differing attitudes toward the occupational investigation courses in relation to the mainstreamed handicapped students they served. The following conclusions were warranted from the findings of the analyses of the data. Findings derived from multiple T tests indicate that occupational investigation teachers perceive all survey item statements concerning Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) meetings and the content of Individual Education Programs (IEPs) as occurring to a significantly lesser degree than do vocational administrators. There is no significant discrepancy in their perceptions toward the current practices of occupational investigation teacher training, student assessment, classroom accessibility, course content, or special education assistance described in the survey items. The results of the multiple T tests indicate that there are no significant differences between the attitudes and perceptions of occupational investigation teachers and vocational administrators in Texas toward the future of any of the conditions reflected in the survey items. Teachers and administrators agree that all of the current conditions reflected by the items should be promoted to a higher degree in the future. The results of the multiple T tests indicate a high degree of significance …

The problem of this investigation was to clarify the responsibilities of the employer participating in the VOE program. Three major purposes were stated: (1) to determine the role expectations of employers of VOE students as perceived by employers participating in the program; (2) to determine the role expectations of employers as perceived by the VOE teacher-coordinators; and, (3) to determine if any significant differences existed between the employer perceptions and those of the teacher-coordinators. To obtain information, questionnaires were sent to a random sample of fifty employers participating in the VOE program during the 1983-84 school year. An identical survey instrument was administered to thirty VOE teacher-coordinators in Fort Worth. A Chi-square test of independence was applied to the data to test the hypotheses, with the .05 level used as the point of rejection. Of the seventeen surveyed possible role functions addressed, a majority of the employers responded positively to sixteen, were undecided about one, and responded negatively to none. A majority of the teacher-coordinators responded positively to eleven, were undecided about six, and responded negatively to none. One significant difference existed between the employer perceptions and those of the teacher-coordinators concerning one training responsibility which resulted in the rejection …

The purposes of this study were to determine the role expectations of academic counselors in vocational education as perceived by home economics cooperative education teachers and academic counselors, to compare the extent of agreement between these two groups, and to determine if selected demographic variables caused significant differences in perceptions of role expectations. This study surveyed randomly selected counselors and teachers by means of a questionnaire designed to ascertain role perceptions and to collect demographic data. The Likert-type scale instrument consisted of 46 items that were categorized into six areas of counseling tasks. A total of 45 teachers and 158 counselors returned usable questionnaires.

This investigation, which was conducted on the post-secondary level and included vocational and academic students, was undertaken to develop an instrument to assess the attitude and knowledge of students concerning body language and to develop a module of instruction in body language to favorably influence their attitude and knowledge concerning body language. Hypotheses were formulated related to the differences in mean effective and cognitive scores of the experimental group who were taught body language and the control group. Additional hypotheses were formulated related to mean differences in the scores of students differing in age, sex, business experience, and prior exposure to body language. The findings of this study included first, the testing of the instrument; second, the testing of the validity of the research design and third, the testing of the hypotheses. The following conclusions are based on the findings of the study: the instrument seems to be acceptable for assessing the attitude and knowledge of post—secondary students concerning body language, the module of instruction in body language seems to be acceptable as a basis for influencing the attitude and knowledge of post—secondary students concerning body language, the mid-management and speech students were comparable in attitude and knowledge concerning body …

The problem of this study was to identify the perceived characteristics and administrative skills of women administrators in vocational education in the United States. The purpose of this study was to determine the perceived characteristics and administrative skills of women employed as vocational administrators in the United States. Additional sub-purposes were 1. To develop a profile of women administrators in vocational education; 2. To assist institutions of higher learning in preparing prospective women administrators in vocational education; 3. To assist local education agencies in the selection of women administrators in vocational education; 4. To provide information for women who aspire to become vocational administrators.

This study investigated effects of selected demographic variables and styles of leadership on the self-perceived leader effectiveness scores of vocational administrators at two-year postsecondary institutions in Texas. Demographic variables were type of institution represented, teaching experience, age, trade experience, administrative experience in vocational education, highest degree earned, institutional enrollment and vocational enrollment. Seventy-eight administrators were mailed copies of the Leader Behavior Analysis II—Self (LBA) and a demographic questionnaire. The LBA contained twenty supervisory situations. Respondents were to select the alternative approach that most closely resembled action they might take. Scoring determined the respondents' primary leadership styles and leader effectiveness scores. One-way analysis of variance was used to determine if selected demographic variables or primary leadership style was significant in determining a difference in their effectiveness scores. Primary leadership style and degree held were significant in determining leader effectiveness scores at alpha .05. It was determined that 84 percent of the administrators completing the questionnaire preferred the supporting style. None of the administrators preferred delegating or directing styles. Recommendations included studies using the LBA with supervisors in associations serviced by the institutions to provide an understanding of relationships between the leadership style of the administrators of training institutions and those of …

The purposes of this study were to identify the factors influencing industrial-technical students in the choice of major area of study, to determine if certain areas were more influential when these students elected a major, and to provide information for industrial arts teacher-preparation programs that would aid in determining the reasons for the current industrial arts teacher shortage. From the study of factors influencing the student's choice of major, one may conclude that there is a definite need in the state of Texas for students to major in industrial arts education. One may also conclude that at the high school level, the industrial arts class and the industrial arts teacher have positive influences on the student when the student selects a college or university major. Perhaps the most significant conclusion is that the existence of an industrial arts teacher shortage is, in part, due to the fact that teaching salaries are not competitive with salaries offered by industry.

The purpose of this study was to compare the achievement mean test scores in Technical Drawing of students enrolled for the NCE (Technical) program at the College of Science and Technology, Kaduna polytechnic, Kaduna, Nigeria. Test score means were compared between direct and remedial (preparatory) entry students and secondly among type of high school attended. Data were collected directly from students' permanent records. Two major hypotheses with three sub-hypotheses for each were tested. The first major hypothesis compared direct and remedial entry students. The second major hypothesis compared among three types of high schools attended. The One Way Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze the data. The Duncan Multiple Comparison Test was also applied on the second major hypothesis. Both hypotheses I and II were retained at the .05 level of significance. However, hypothesis I was rejected at the .01 level of significance because the remedial entry students were found to have higher mean test scores than the direct entry students. Findings for hypothesis II indicated no significant difference among type of high school attended. It was recommended that selection for admissions for both the remedial and direct enrollments should not be based only on type of high …

The purpose of this study was to assess the achievement of older learners when using computer-assisted-instruction tutorials with no time limits and to compare this achievement with that of other older students who were taught by the conventional lecture method of instruction. The effects of prior formal education, physical limitations, socioeconomic status, and sex were also identified. Students in the age categories fifty-five to sixty-seven and sixty-eight and over were placed at random in either a control group that would receive instruction in the conventional lecture method or a treatment group that would receive computer-assisted-instruction. Each of the students in the study completed a demographic data form, received instruction, and was tested over the topics which had been covered. The test scores and demographic data were summarized and analyzed using two-way analysis of variance. The purpose of the analysis was to determine (1) if there was a significant difference in the effectiveness of the two methods of instruction, (2) if there was a significant difference in the performance of the two age categories, (3) if there was a significant interaction between the age levels and the methods of instruction, and (4) if the test scores were affected by past formal …

The purpose of this study was twofold. The first major purpose was to determine if Occupational Orientation teachers perceived the required certification courses to be useful in helping them provide the instruction necessary to prepare young people to make tentative choices about the world of work. The second major purpose of this study was to provide this information to the teacher educators and personnel at the Texas Education Agency, so that it might be used to modify the content of these certification courses so that they will be more relevant to the needs of Occupational Orientation teachers.

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the perceived attitudes of vocational administrators, vocational office education teachers, and marketing and distributive education teachers toward using microcomputers in vocational education programs. The sample forth is study was randomly selected from all vocational administrators , vocational office education teachers, and marketing and distributive education teachers employed by Texas School Districts. A total of 288 questionnaire were returned from the three vocational education groups. The return was seventy-seven percent. Statistical techniques included descriptive statistics, one-way, and two-way analyses of variance (ANOVA) to describe the responses and to test the seven null hypotheses. The results of the study was reported in two categories: statistical significance of the tested hypotheses, and the educational inferences of the vocational administrators' and vocational teachers' responses to questionnaire items. There were significant differences in the perceived general attitudes of the three groups. There were no significant differences in the perceived general attitudes of the three groups when categorized by levels of age, occupational experience, amount of computer training, and availability of microcomputers. There were no significant differences in hypotheses which tested for differences in the perceived attitudes of the three groups toward utilizing microcomputers for classroom instruction …

This study investigated the predictive value of time on-task and error scores on tests administered through Control Data Corporation PLATO interactive computer graphics simulation as predictors of errors and time on-task for inertial navigation system equipment operation. In addition, the correlation between simulated pass/fail error and time on-task scores, and subsequent pass/fail criteria using actual equipment was investigated.

This study identified the admissions criteria for selected doctoral programs in vocational-technical education in Oklahoma and Texas and investigated the relationship of these criteria to success in the doctoral programs. Success in the doctoral programs was identified in terms of cumulative doctoral grade point average. Data were obtained through a questionnaire designed to ©licit both general information concerning admissions criteria for vocational-technical doctoral programs at the selected institutions and to collect specific information on a random sample of twenty doctoral candidates from each of the four selected institutions. Factors considered included birthdates, gender, scores on admissions tests, grade point average in the masters program, the year the latest masters was completed, number of colleges attended, and cumulative doctoral grade point average. A statistical analysis using nine separate one-way analyses of variance determined that four of the nine factors considered proved to be statistically significant at the .05 level or better when correlated with the criterion variable (cumulative doctoral grade point average). Those factors were gender, Graduate Record Examination verbal and composite scores, and masters grade point average. The results of the study basically parallel findings of research concerning admissions criteria and success in graduate programs in other areas. Additional research …

The problem of this study was to investigate the relationship of the variables of impulse control, adaptive behaviors, responsible behaviors, intelligence, and duration of institutionalization to job performance of the mentally retarded student at the Denton State School, Denton, Texas. The purposes of this study were 1. to ascertain the correlation of the variables of adaptive behaviors, responsible behaviors, impulse control, duration of institutionalization and intelligence quotient to job performance of the mentally retarded student at the Denton State School; 2. to determine which factor or combination of factors would be most useful for predicting job performance effectiveness of the mentally retarded student. It was concluded that of those variables included in this study, intelligence quotient was the best single predictor of job performance. The combination which was found to be the best predictor of job performance was impulse control and intelligence quotient. The variables included in this study (adaptive behaviors, impulse control, responsible behaviors, intelligence quotient, and duration of institutionalization), taken either singly or in combination, do not correlate highly enough with job performance to be of much value for predicting job performance.

This study examined the comparative effectiveness of learning of cognitive skills when instruction is presented through computer-based instruction using student-to-computer ratios of one-to-one and two-to-one. Effectiveness was gauged through scores on posttests administered subsequent to completion of each of nine computer-based lessons and on a single composite test score.

The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) as a method of delivery. Student attitude toward method of instruction was examined. Additionally, the amount of study time required by the students was observed.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role ambiguity, role conflict, and job satisfaction perceptions among selected Human Resource Development (HRD) practitioners. The study's target population was the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD)—Dallas Chapter. The independent variables used in this study consisted of HRD practitioners' gender, age, length of HRD experience, educational level, and HRD role category.