This study was an exploration of the pertinence of applying a combination of the Delphi and Cross-impact techniques in deriving analytically objective judgments of importance to the decision maker, providing an alternative to otherwise discretionary and subjective decisions. / The study focused on and examined the impact of employment policies and procedures on faculty productivity, as perceived by professors and administrators in selected public universities of the Florida State University System. In order to study the issue, Delphi and Cross-impact techniques were proposed and a panel of "experts" was selected to analyze and study the problem and achieve consensus on the subject. / The study confirmed that Delphi and Cross-impact, when combined, are useful tools for the decision makers in the educational field. It also demonstrated that some employment policies and procedures have a greater impact than others on faculty productivity. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 43-06, Section: A, page: 1761. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1982.

The main purpose of this study was to determine the validity of the Prueba de Aptitud Academica (PAA) as a predictor of academic achievement of students enrolled in two Venezuelan higher education institutions: Lisandro Alvarado University and Barquisimeto Polytechnical Institute, and to determine whether a significant improvement in prediction could be obtained by using the student's high school grade point average (HSGPA) in addition to PAA scores. / Pearson product moment correlations and multiple correlations were used to analyze the data on a sample of 240 students enrolled in 1983-84 at the two Venezuelan higher education institutions participating in the study. The variables tested were PAA scores (verbal, mathematical, and total) and high school grade point average (HSGPA) as predictor variables, and first year grade point average as the criterion variable. / Analysis confirmed the predictive value of the Prueba de Aptitud Academica. PAA scores and HSGPA were of importance for the explanation of first year GPA. It was found that when HSGPA of students was entered into consideration, the accuracy of the prediction could be increased, as HSGPA had a significant effect on the interpretation of findings. / The findings of this study point to the need for additional research on the value of using the PAA as a criterion for admission at the higher education level in Venezuela. The work of research in this field must be continued with the purpose of improving the validity of the test. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 45-11, Section: A, page: 3245. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1984.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 40-10, Section: A, page: 5282. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1979.

The study was designed to obtain the leadership styles of principals as perceived by themselves, and leadership styles as perceived by randomly selected teachers from their schools. The study was also designed to obtain the leadership personality preference type of principals. Also the principals' perceptions of the data collected fom the LEAD-Self, LEAD-Other, and MBTI were obtained as to the usefulness of the data for self-diagnosis and policy formation relative to selection, transfer, and training of principals. The Leadership Effectiveness Adaptability Description-Self and Other twenty-item instruments developed by Eignor, Hambleton, and Blanchard in 1977 were used to gather data on the leadership styles of principals as perceived by self and other. The Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator was used as the instrument to gather data on the personality type preference of principals. Other data were gathered in structured interviews with the principals. / A Leadership Packet was developed for each principal which contained results of the principals' basic and supportive leadership styles as measured by LEAD-Self and LEAD-Other, a description of his/her profile style, effectiveness score, and the principal's personality type as measured by the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator. Interviews were conducted to obtain the principal's reaction to the usefulness of the packet for self-diagnosis and policy formation relative to the selection, transfer, and training of principals. / The population of thirty school principals in a Florida county were subjects for this study. In addition, 285 teachers were randomly selected from the thirty schools. An onsite structured interview was held with twenty-seven of the participating principals. / Conclusions from the study were: (1) The majority of the principals (60 percent) perceived their leadership as Style 2 (High Task-High Relationship) which is characterized by selling. (2) Likewise, teachers from the majority of the schools (66 percent) perceived the leadership of the principals as Style 2. (3) Congruence was shown by one-third of the principals (33.3 percent) and teachers from their respective schools in selecting Style 2 as the principals' leadership style. (4) More than half of the principals exhibited a sensing-judging personality preference which indicated a preference for routine and facts. (5) One-third of the principals responded positively to the interview and were aware the Leadership Packet could be used for self-diagnosis. (6) One-third of the principals were unaware of how the Leadership Packet could be used. (7) The remaining principals, or approximately one-third, responded negatively or had no response to the questions. (8) An overwhelming majority of principals were not knowledgeable of two facets of leadership which the literature indicated as important, namely leadership style and personality type. (9) All three female principals exhibited a feeling personality preference type as compared to only one of the twenty-six male principals. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 41-02, Section: A, page: 0484. / Thesis (Educat.D.)--The Florida State University, 1980.

The purposes of this investigation were: (1)To determine if the use of humor as a teaching strategy would significantly affect the pupils' attitudes toward their classroom environment, their teacher, and the classwork being presented. (2)To determine if a significant relationship existed between the use of humor in the presentation and the amount of factual and conceptual information learned by the pupils. (3)To determine if the use of humor in the presentation would significantly enhance the ability to recall factual and conceptual information at a later date. / The sample was composed of 203 eleventh grade students from three Northwest Florida schools--97 males and 106 females. / To measure factual and conceptual information, the Section Survey Test for American History was used. This instrument, which consisted of 28 items, was developed by the investigator. The Instructor and Course Evaluation System, which was developed by the Measurement and Research Division of the University of Illinois, was used to measure pupil attitudes. / The analysis of data was performed by utilizing the t test procedures for unequal group size with significant difference at (alpha) = .05 level of confidence. When compared with ones reported in the literature, this study was unique in that it was performed by an experienced subject-area teacher in a regular scheduled class. Also, the lesson plan was not designed specifically for the study, but was one which had been used within the curriculum. / The conclusions were that the use of humor does appear to enhance significantly the recall of factual information, but not the recall of conceptual information. Neither does its use in the classroom seem to improve the pupils' sense of well-being, their attitude towards the teacher who uses it, nor the classwork which is interspersed with humor. Furthermore, the use of humor does not appear to affect the amount of subject material learned, either factual or conceptual. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-03, Section: A, page: 0928. / Thesis (Educat.D.)--The Florida State University, 1981.

Basic Design and Intent. This study tested Rensis Likert's (1961, 1967) basic assumption that as organizations moved closer to a participatory leader-management style, productivity would increase. The productivity measure selected for this study was student academic achievement as measured by performance on the California Achievement Tests administered to students in grades 2, 3, 4 and 5 during the 1980-1981 school year. / Methodology employed in this descriptive investigation was used to answer two major research questions: (1) Did nine high achieving (Group 1 effective) elementary organizations (schools at least six months ahead of national norms) differ significantly in climate, leadership and intervening variable patterns from those evidenced in nine low achieving (Group 2 less effective) organizations (schools at least six months behind national norms)? (2) Did significant relationships exist between a school's academic performance (reading, language and mathematics subtests) and the school's leader-management style as measured by Likert's Profile of a School instrument (climate, leadership and intervening variable patterns)? / Methodology. Hypothesis 1, which proposed that effective schools would receive statistically higher mean scores on the (POS) variables measured than less effective schools, employed both univariate (student's t-test) and multivariate (Hotellings T('2)) tests of significance. Nineteen null subhypotheses were developed and tested at the .05 level. Hypothesis 2 proposed that student academic achievement would be higher as school organizations moved closer to a participatory leader-management style (System 4). All 18 sample schools were pooled and a partial order Peason Product-Moment correlation analysis was performed. Two confounding variables, percentage of minority enrollment and percentage of students eating lunch at free or reduced rates, were held constant. A series of 12 null sub-hypotheses were tested at the .05 level of significance. / Conclusions. Hypothesis 1: High achieving and low achieving schools selected for participation in this study did not differ significantly on any of the 19 organizational variables measured by the (POS). Hypothesis 2: Seven of 12 null sub-hypotheses accompanying hypothesis 2 were rejected. Sixty-eight per cent of 172 possible correlations were significant at the .05 level. The findings tended to support Likert's basic contention regarding the association of higher productivity with participatory leader-management systems. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-09, Section: A, page: 3820. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1981.

Cost sharing is the amount of the total project cost which is paid from university funds to meet the award agreements as outlined by the federal agency. This study examines the issue of cost sharing as it applies to the responsibilities of the university and the federal agency on a federally funded research project. / The objectives of the study were the following: (1) to examine the cost sharing practice of a single university in order to identify any undocumented cost; (2) to bring evidence to support or reject the hypothesis: the perceived cost sharing of a university exceeds the documented cost and is therefore rendered counter to congressional intent; (3) to provide to the field of institutional research a means by which questions concerning the university's and the state's role on cost sharing may be addressed; (4) to determine the satisfaction or dissatisfaction of a group of principal investigators regarding the research climate of a given university. / In order to meet these objectives, three distinct definitions of cost sharing were used: agreed cost sharing--indicated on the award document; reported cost sharing--indicated on the Faculty Activity Analysis Report; and perceived cost sharing--provided by the principal investigator in an interview. The latter definition distinguished the comparison from an auditing problem. This comparison identified the undocumented costs and demonstrated that the perceived cost sharing of a university exceeded the documented cost. This is counter to legislative intent which is that neither the institution nor the federal government should make a "profit" nor take a "loss" as a result of performing research. / The field of institutional research may assist the state and federal governments by analyzing the cost sharing posture at universities. The present study provides to institutional researchers a framework to better understand cost sharing and a method by which questions concerning cost sharing might be answered. It is beyond the scope of this study to make policy suggestions to improve the balance of cost sharing by federal and state agencies. / In an attempt to explain some of the differences with respect to the objectives, the analyses of data were broken down by the natural sciences and the social sciences. The thirty-three principal investigators included in the study had a university contribution on their 1978-1979 research project funded by the federal government. The relative satisfaction or dissatisfaction of these groups of principal investigators was determined through the results of the interview. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 41-03, Section: A, page: 0874. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1980.

This was a survey study with a follow-up interview to determine the status and the impact of the changes which have occurred in three areas of the language arts--language, literature, and composition--in Florida high schools, grades 10-12, since the introduction of the State Student Assessment Test in 1977. / It attempted to answer the following questions concerning the language arts program: (1) What are the established standards of an exemplary language arts program for grades 10-12 as revealed in the literature? (2) What changes have occurred in the three major areas of the language arts in Florida since the introduction of the SSAT, and what is the nature of these changes? (3) What is the impact of the changes on the Florida language arts program? / From a review of the literature were established 27 standards for an exemplary high school language arts program. From the standards was developed a questionnaire to obtain the perceptions of language arts teachers and administrators in 17 high schools in ten selected counties of Florida representing socio-economic and demographic factors which may influence curriculum decision making. / In summary the following changes were reported: (1) Greater emphasis was placed on the study of the basic skills of reading, usage, and writing. (2) Less emphasis was placed on the study of literature. (3) More emphasis was placed on the study of basic composition skills rather than written composition per se. (4) More emphasis was placed on the study of language. / The impact of the changes resulted in less integration of the study of literature, language, and composition in many language arts courses. / The following conclusions were made from this study: (1) Administrators and teachers reported that increased emphasis on basic skills precipitated a change in the balance of the instruction of literature, language, and composition. (2) Teachers did not perceive as much change as administrators. (3) Administrators and teachers perceived the SSAT as a first step in improving instruction for some students, but they did not perceive the students' passing the SSAT as achieving the ultimate goals of the language arts program. They expressed the need to modify the SSAT so as to test the students' actual writing skills, and furthermore, they felt the need to resolve the teachers' problem of the burdensome responsibilities of retesting and recording test results. / Considering the results of this research the following recommendations are made: (1) further study to reveal the extent of the changes which have occurred, the number of students involved in the intensive remediation and compensatory programs, and the validity of the SSAT to determine the students' ability to read and write, (2) further study of the organizational modifications needed to facilitate teachers' becoming better teachers of literature, composition, and language, (3) workshops for language arts teachers which include new technology in the teaching of literature, language, and composition, the restructuring of courses, exploration of current methodology, and the most productive use of time. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 41-07, Section: A, page: 2855. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1980.

The study sought to identify the attitudes of selected business and educational middle managers in Escambia County, Florida Public School District toward educational issues extracted from the 1969-1979 national Gallup Polls. An additional comparison was then made between responses of the Escambia County sector and those of the Gallup national sample. The relationship between responses by the Escambia County sample and certain demographic variables, i.e., age and management experiences was also analyzed. / A total of 114 subjects were included in this study; 56 principals and 58 industrial middle managers. All principals employed in public schools, except for three who served on the professional panel, were asked to complete the questionnaire. An equal number of industrial middle manager participants were randomly selected from a list of private businesses in Escambia County. / The instrument was a 23-point questionnaire covering five broad categories of educational concerns; student management, finance, curriculum, community relations and administration. For purpose of data analysis, frequencies and percentages were used to compare the responses of the local groups. Chi-square was also used to test for a significant difference at the .05 level of the Escambia sample and the national results and between the responses by the Escambia County sample and certain demographic variables. / Analysis of data collected in this study showed that the three groups responded in a significantly different manner on all the questions, indicating a need for improved communication regarding educational issues. The public school middle managers felt that influences from outside the schools (e.g., parental indifference) were the major school problems. The industrial group indicated that the major concerns for school problems were influenced by factors within the schools (e.g., discipline). National respondents identified factors both within and outside of the schools as major concerns, e.g., financial support and discipline. / No significant relationships at the .05 level were found between the ages and length of management experience of the Escambia County groups and their perceptions of school problems. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-06, Section: A, page: 2403. / Thesis (Educat.D.)--The Florida State University, 1981.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the degree to which a need exists in Florida to provide public school teachers at both the preservice and inservice levels with knowledge relative to the legal aspects of their professional roles. In an effort to achieve this purpose, basic statements of educational legal knowledge were identified from the literature, developed into a survey instrument, and validated by a sample of Florida public school teachers, administrators, district school board attorneys and directors of teacher preparation programs. / Of the 933 survey instruments mailed, 450 (48%) containing usable data were returned. The final sample of respondents was composed of 344 teachers, 71 administrators, 22 school board attorneys, and 13 directors of teacher preparation programs. / The survey instrument contained 37 statements of basic educational legal knowledge and utilized a basic discrepancy design in an effort to address the following six research questions: (1) What were the perceptions of the respondents with regard to each identified legal knowledge statement's degree of criticality and the degree to which each statement was perceived to be known by teachers in Florida public schools? (2) What discrepancies existed between the respondents' perceptions of the criticality of each statement and the knowledge status of Florida teachers? (3) What areas of educational legal knowledge were perceived as important by the respondents? (4&5) Are preservice and inservice teacher preparation programs in Florida presently providing educational opportunities in the legal implications of teachers' professional roles? (6) Does a need exist in Florida to provide opportunities for teachers to learn about the legal implications of their professional roles? / The findings of the study seem to indicate the following: (1) The education of teachers in the legal aspects of teaching was considered to be of "more than great" importance by all respondents. (2) A discrepancy exists between the criticality and the knowledge status of Florida teachers relative to educational legal knowledge. (3) Some teacher awareness of educational law does exist but only to an average degree. (4) Teacher preparation programs and inservice education programs are not addressing the need for legal preparation of teachers. (5) All areas of the law presented in this study were considered of great importance by the respondents and 35 of 37 statements were considered validated. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-06, Section: A, page: 2421. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1981.