Thesis (Ph.D.)--Mississippi State University. Department of Instructional Systems, Leadership, and Workforce Development. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

There is no abstract available for this dissertation. / Department of Educational Studies

This study reports the duties and activities of surveyed public school business education teachers and offers some training alternatives.

Purpose of the Study The purpose of this study was to compare perceptions of vocational business teachers, entry-level office workers, and employers regarding employable qualifications for entry-level office workers in Utah. Business teachers, entry-level office workers, and employers were asked the following questions: 1. What occupational skills are performed by entry-level office workers? 2. What level off education is needed for entry-level office workers? 3. What are the reasons for selecting entry-level office worker applicants? 4. What are the reasons for not selecting entry-level office worker applicants? --- 5. What are the areas in which improvement should be made in the preparation of entry-level office workers? 6. What are the causes for termination of entry-level office workers ? 7. What are the personal characteristics desired by employers for entry-level office workers? 8. What is the relationship between participation in extracurricular activities in school to the job success of entry-level office workers? 9. What is the relationship between participation in on-the-job training programs and the job success of entry-level office workers? 10. What types of methods are used in the selection of entry-level office workers? 11. What further training is conducted by employers after hiring an entry-level office worker? Procedure The data for this study consisted of information obtained by questionnaires from vocational business teachers, entry-level office workers, and employers of entry-level office workers. Eighty percent of the 95 teachers surveyed responded, while 72 percent of the 232 businesses surveyed responded to the questionnaire. The data were then analyzed by one-way analysis of variance, Scheffe analysis, descriptive analysis and Chi-square programs. Principal Findings There is a difference between the perceptions of vocational business teachers, entry-level office workers, and employers regarding employable qualifications for entry-level office workers in Utah. Teachers indicate a greater frequency and a greater importance for the skills than did employers or employees. However, they do agree on the most important skills and the least important skills . There was a discrepancy among the three groups regarding the skills which were ranked between most important and least important . Teachers gave more importance to skills such as shorthand, filing, and running duplicating machines, while employers and employees gave more emphasis to the skills which require some sort of decision making or human relations skill. The three groups agreed that entry-level office workers need to complete high school before securing a job and that some college training was advisable. Personality was given as the primary reason for selecting entry-level office workers, while inability to communicate with employers was given as the primary reason for not hiring entry-level office workers. Once hired, making costly mistakes continuously was the reason given by the three groups for termination of entry-level office workers. Teachers viewed the ability to follow suggestions and instructions, employers the concern for productivity, and employees the ability to write and speak effectively as the areas most in need of improvement for entry-level office workers. Interviewing was the most common method used by employers in selecting entry-level office workers. Conclusion A continual evaluation of business education programs should occur to keep business education programs current with the changing demands of today's business world.

The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of an expert group of secondary school business teachers regarding whether previously identified competencies for working with students who have disabilities are important for secondary business teachers. The research questions used as a guide to conduct the study were: 1. From a list of identified competencies compiled from course objectives and literature, to what extent did the members of the expert panel of secondary school business teachers in Virginia and agree on competencies that are essential for business teachers related to working with students who have disabilities? 2. What comparisons can be made among the ratings of competencies by the members of the expert panel? The data were collected using a modified, two-round Delphi technique. The initial instrument used in Round I was developed by the researcher based on a literature review and authenticated by a validation panel. The 28 competencies were grouped in eight topical categories to assist in the review by the validation panel. The 16 members of a nominated Delphi panel were business education teachers from Virginia. The Delphi panel responded to the competencies using a five point Likert-type scale in which 1 = Strongly Disagree, 2 = Disagree, 3 = Neutral, 4 = Agree, 5 = Strongly Agree. The Round II instrument consisted of four competencies that did not meet consensus in Round I by having a standard deviation equal to or less than 1, and consensus was achieved on all four competencies in Round II. Of the original 28 competencies, 27 achieved the predetermined minimum mean score of 3.5 to be considered as important. The category of classroom management had the highest mean rating of 4.61 on the 5.0 scale. Also, the mean ratings were high for the categories of inclusion (4.31) and individual education programs (4.29). The two categories that had the lowest mean ratings (3.88) were characteristics of learners and transition services. Recommendations based on the results were made for improved policy and practice and for further research. / Ed. D.

The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of importance of each of the curriculum competencies in the National Standards for Business Education (NBEA, 1995) for the successful performance of beginning secondary business teachers in Virginia as perceived by experienced and inexperienced business teachers. The standards consist of 102 competencies in the 11 subject areas of business education. The questionnaire used in the research study was an original survey instrument developed by the researcher after a review of the literature did not reveal an instrument that could be used with the NBEA document. The survey instrument was mailed to a sample of public high school business teachers in Virginia who were systematically selected from an available population. Results from the demographic question on the survey resulted in the identification of 161 experienced business teachers and 18 inexperienced business teachers. Means, standard deviations, and t-tests were used to describe the data. The competencies were rated with a five-point Likert scale. All competencies were rated as having either essential importance, above average importance, or average importance. Of the 102 competencies, experienced business teachers identified 11 as having essential importance, 86 as having more than average importance, and 5 as having average importance. Inexperienced business teachers rated 11 competencies as having essential importance, 87 as having more than average importance, and 4 as having average importance. When comparing the experienced and the inexperienced teachers' lists of rated competencies, 9 competencies rated as essential importance were the same for both groups, and 3 competencies rated as average were the same for both groups. When comparing the overall content areas, no significant differences existed between the perceptions of the experienced business teachers and the inexperienced business teachers. / Ph. D.

This thesis sought to answer the research question: How do the top educators in the area of public relations, marketing, and advertising perceive the concept of integrated marketing communications as compared to one another?The mail survey applying Q methodology was sent to 15 top educators in each of the three fields in the United States for a total sample of 45 educators. A total of twenty-five responses were returned representing 55.5 percent of the sample. When the respondents were analyzed by discipline, there were eight responses from the pubic relations educators, nine from the marketing educators, and eight from the advertising educators. As a result the responses from each disciplines comprised, respectively, 53.3 percent, 60 percent, and 53.33 percent of the total sample.The statements in Q-Sorting were collected from the review of literature and in interviews with the Ball State University advertising, and public relations professors. Each statement either agreed or disagreed with the perception of integrated marketing communications. Each educator was asked to indicate how strongly they agreed or disagreed with each statement.A computer program developed for Q-Methodology studies was used to extract the factors from the educators' responses. After the Q-Sorts were tabulated, the researcher identified two factors, Factor I, and Factor II. The majority of Factor I respondents were the marketing, and advertising educators. The majority of Factor II respondents were public relations educators.The researcher concluded that these two groups had clearly different attitudes toward IMC. Stated in another way, marketing educators and advertising educators had similar perceptions of IMC, while public relations educators perceived the IMC concept very differently. Public relations educators indicated that the concept of IMC would be acceptable if it should be viewed as a total organizational communications function. / Department of Journalism

The purposes of the study were (1) to describe the historical rationale for teacher certification, (2) to survey and report the present requirement of the states for certification as a vocational office education teacher-coordinator, (3) to survey leading business and office education educators for recommendations for vocational office education teacher-coordinator certification requirements, (4) to examine, survey, and report the characteristics and qualifications of employed vocational office education teacher-coordinators, and (5) to develop a model of criteria representing ideal standards for initial and continuing certification requirements for vocational office education teacher-coordinators.

This thesis outlines the growth of curricula in the seven state teachers colleges in Texas from establishment to the 1939 - 1940 school year.