The purposes of this investigation were (1) to determine if a systematic training program in communication skills could be used to improve written response levels of dental hygiene students, and (2) to determine if a systematic training program in communication skills could yield improved dental hygiene student-patient rapport. The experiment involved two groups of dental hygiene students that had previously been randomly selected and consisted of twelve junior and twelve senior students in each group. The entire population of dental hygiene students at Texas Woman's University participated in the study. Analysis of the data provided statistically significant findings on seven of the eight hypotheses. Those subjects in the systematic training program were able to demonstrate increased ability to write responses and, in addition, had higher patient rapport scores. The results were also statistically significant two weeks following the training period. It was, therefore, concluded that the systematic training program in communication skills was an effective teaching device for improving dental hygiene responses. The systematic training program also seemed to be an effective strategy for improving dental hygiene student-patient rapport formation.

This study investigates different factors related to master's degree graduates 1965-1976 in Physical Education at North Texas State University in order to gain information about the master's degree program's relevance to the subsequent career. The findings of the study support the following conclusions: 1. Approximately two-thirds of the graduates thought the program had satisfactorily prepared them for their current positions. 2. Seventy per cent of the graduates suggested there should be a core of courses required in the master's degree program in physical education. The courses most often included in the responses regarding core courses were Research Perspective in Physical Education, Thesis, Mechanical Analysis of Motor Skills, Professional Preparation in Physical Education, Administrative Problems in Physical Education, and Testing in Physical Education. 3. The greatest strengths of the master's degree program in physical education at North Texas State University as reported by the graduates were faculty, research work for students, teaching resources and courses available. 4. The greatest weakness of the master's degree program in physical education at North Texas State University as indicated by the graduates was availability of facilities. 5. The majority of the graduates suggested the following: candidates should be free to select a variety of courses, …

The problem with which this study was concerned was that of determining which of the "Goals for Public School Education in Texas" were perceived as appropriate by local educators and students in smaller school districts and to determine the degree to which each of these goals was being implemented. This study had a two-fold purpose. The first was to compare the differences between appropriateness and implementation as perceived by senior students, teachers, administrators, and the composite group. A comparison between the three groups regarding both appropriateness and implementation was also made. The second purpose of the study was to determine if sex, ethnic background, and geographic location were factors when comparing perceptions concerning the appropriateness and implementation of the "Goals for Public School Education in Texas." The comparison between students, teachers, and administrators revealed a significant difference between the groups on each, of the eighteen goals regarding appropriateness. With regard to implementation, there was a significant difference between groups on eight of the goals. Differences were generally between students and teachers and students and administrators. The comparison between male and female students revealed that the female students perceived the goals to be more appropriate than did the male students. There …

The problem of this study was to compare schools that utilize individualized instruction with schools that utilize a traditional or group-oriented approach to instruction. Comparisons were made relative to student perceptions of the schools' environmental climates, expectancy for school success, and promotion and non-promotion practices. The sources of data included a review of the literature related to traditional elementary education, the history and development of individualized instruction, humanistic aspects of individualized instruction, and the role of school personnel expectancy in individualized instruction. The Elementary School Environment Survey was used to collect the perceptions of 1,600 fifth-grade students about their school environments. A teacher self-report questionnaire, as well as a principal self-report questionnaire, provided data pertaining to expectancy for school success and non-promotion practices. Sixty-two fifth-grade teachers and twenty elementary principals responded to the questionnaire. The data gathered in this study indicated that fifth-grade students have similar perceptions of their school climate related to involvement, independence, morale, equity, and resources. Students in the traditional or group-oriented schools perceived their schools as being more humanistic. Elementary principals and teachers in individualized instruction schools and in traditional group-oriented schools do not differ in their expectations for school success. Schools utilizing individualized instruction non-promote …

The problem of this study is that of discerning the board positions, the roles, and the perceptions of Black elected public school board members in Mississippi as perceptions relate to racial discrimination, interpersonal relationships, and primary education interests. Major problems in education as perceived ranged from "racism" to "finances." Major contributions to education in Mississippi in the last five years as perceived ranged from "court decisions" to "election of Blacks to education positions." General conclusions are that less racial discrimination exists in school systems with Blacks represented on school boards; however, some racism is still perceived by Black board members.

The problem of this investigation was the development of a systematic method for the evaluation of curricula in baccalaureate nursing programs. The literature in nursing and general education was used to extrapolate theories and concepts for the formulation of a theoretical construct. This construct served as the basis for the evaluation instrument. The major concepts were identified as (1) underlying structure, (2) content of courses within the curriculum, and (3) methods and activities. Elements and components were chosen to clarify and extend the concepts. The literature and experts in nursing were both instrumental in the selection of weights. Based on the findings of the study, the following conclusions are made. (1) A faculty member's ability to use a systematic evaluation instrument does not depend upon years of teaching experience or prior experience as a National League for Nursing visitor. (2) The Evaluation Index appears capable of meeting the criteria for a more systematic method of curriculum evaluation. (3) A theoretical construct appears conducive to theory development as it is directed toward an approach which is more scientific than intuitive. (4) The inclusion of clarifying components within the instrument provides for the evaluative effort to be distributed across the entire curriculum …

This study was designed to investigate the opinions of District 4 membership of the Texas Nurses Association concerning mandatory and voluntary continuing education and to see if there was a relationship between members views and specific demographic characteristics. With the enormous growth of scientific knowledge, health professionals are becoming increasingly aware of the need to require their practitioners to show proof of competence to practice and to keep their knowledge and skills up to date. Many states have proposed legislation to require nurses to participate in continuing education to maintain current registration of the license to practice. Even though the majority of nurses in the United States would attest to the value of continuing education, the subject is fraught with controversy as to whether the programs should be voluntary or mandatory. The reasons most commonly indicated for support of mandatory education were these: (1) Mandatory continuing education requirements would upgrade nurses and the nursing profession; and (2) Many nurses are not self-motivated and need encouragement from the outside before they will participate in the continuing education which they need to keep current.

The purposes of this study are to describe the past and the present system of secondary education in Western Nigeria; to examine the goals, achievements, and failures with special consideration for three distinct periods: (1) prior to the arrival of the British people in Western Nigeria, (2) between 1842 and 1960, and (3) between 1960 and 1976; to formulate generalizations about secondary schools, and to offer suggestions for the improvement of the secondary educational system in Western Nigeria. One recommendation that the study makes calls for mass secondary education, not education of the elite only. The recommendations call for programs that would lead to industrial and technological progress.

The purposes of the study were (1) to assess the validity and reliability of Values for Helpers, (2) to determine whether the test would be a usable instrument for analysis of value systems of mental health professionals, (3) to provide information on possible utilization of the test as a measurement tool for assessing the quality of relationship skills of helpers, and (4) to provide information of a heuristic nature for future research with Values for Helpers. To accomplish these purposes, the following questions were examined. 1. What are the relationships between the scales of the Allport-Vernon-Lindzey Study of Values and Values for Helpers? 2. What are the relationships between the scales of the Personal Orientation Inventory and Values for Helpers? 3. What are the relationships between the total scores on Myrick and Kelly's Counselor Evaluation Rating Scale and the scales of Values for Helpers? Conclusions based on the results suggested that (1) there was acceptable reliability for Values for Helpers, (2) the tribalistic and conformist scales of Values for Helpers demonstrated negative convergent validity with the scales of the Personal Orientation Inventory, (3) the existential scale of Values for Helpers demonstrated positive convergent validity with the scales of the Personal …

This study identified the problems of mature college women students, assessed their intensity, and described relationships between the intensity of problems and the following seven demographic variables: number of credit hours for which they were currently enrolled, number of hours previously earned, age range, marital status, number of dependent children, age range of youngest child, and estimated total annual family income range. The Introductory Chapter includes the problem, purposes, research questions, background and significance, definitions, and limitations of the study. Chapter II contains a review of the literature concerning mature women, with a focus on two areas: (a) motivation for enrolling in college and (b) measured personality traits. The need for further research on the problems of mature women is also presented. Chapter III describes the subjects, the development of the questionnaire, procedures for the collection of data, and the method of treatment of the data. The findings are reported in Chapter IV. The summary, conclusions and recommendations are presented in Chapter V.

The purposes of the study were to (a) determine whether there was a significant difference in the mathematics achievement of students which may be attributed to any of the nine variations in trimester scheduling during the two-year period, and (b) to analyze the implications of trimester scheduling as they apply to teachers, counselors, and administrators in the middle school program. On the basis of careful treatment and analysis of data collected to ascertain the effect of time-lapse scheduling on mathematics achievement in arithmetic computation, arithmetic concepts, and arithmetic applications, the following conclusions, limited to the population studied, were drawn: 1. None of the nine time-lapse schedules had a significant differential effect on mathematics achievement. 2. The results of this study may be generalized to include the high, middle, and low achievement segments of the target population of students in all middle schools in the school district of this study. 3. Middle school administrators and counselors may schedule students into any convenient sequence of courses without fear of relative detrimental consequences to mathematics achievement. 4. Teachers need not be concerned that "learning loss" in mathematics due to different time-lapse schedules of the students will require different amounts of review prior to …

The problem of this study was to investigate the comparative effects of two in-service training programs on the attitudes of rehabilitation practitioners. There were two experimental groups, the consecutive three-day program and the two-week program, and one control group in the study. The two-week program was staggered, having training for five days, a three-week interval, and the remaining five days of training. The two programs were compared to determine which was more effective in altering rehabilitation practitioner attitudes. Conclusions were drawn from the experimental study and related literature review. They were that in-service training programs of two days and less will probably not produce significant attitude changes; in-service programs of three days to five days have a higher probability of producing significant attitude changes; in-service programs of two weeks to six weeks will probably produce less of a positive change than a program of less than two weeks but longer than two days; an in-service program of ten weeks to one year will probably produce less significant changes in attitudes than a shorter program; the shorter the in-service program (i.e., less than ten weeks and more than two days) the greater the probability of gaining significant attitude changes; the critical …

The problem of this investigation was to identify the persuasive speaking techniques of private Black college and university presidents in their fund-raising efforts to support the educational programs of Negro colleges and universities. This study did not seek to defend nor justify the arguments for the existence nor nonexistence of these institutions. It focused on techniques of speaking whereby men attempted to alter reality by adjusting ideas to people and people to ideas. The evidence tended to support the conclusion that there is some relationship between speaking and fund-raising. The speeches probably produced some effect on the audiences. They (1) provided a voice to make the appeals for funds, (2) defended the posture of private Black colleges and universities, (3) provided a primary source of information about these institutions, (4) reinforced common beliefs, and (5) provided impetus for the like-minded to persevere.