The summary of the data was presented in five major divisions: 1. The summary of the background data. 2. The summary and conclusions of the extent of the turnover. 3. The summary and conclusions on the location on the turnover. 4. The summary and conclusions of the effect of marital status and sex on the turnover. 5. The summary and conclusions of financial, administrative, teaching experience and certification, health and normal advancement, and miscellaneous other reasons for the turnover. In summarizing the data and drawing the conclusions the writer adhered to two considerations: (1) The questions of the problem should be clearly answered from the data analyzed. (2) The summary and conclusions should reveal clearly to others the result of methods and questions used in this study, which might prove beneficial in future studies of this kind. / Master of Science

Master of Science

The purpose of the study was to decide whether the present business curriculum of Lane High School, Charlottesville, Virginia, is adequately meeting the needs of its business students. In gathering the data for this study, the questionnaire method of research was used. A questionnaire, a letter, and a sheet, “Definition of Job Titles,“ were sent to the business graduates. Data compiled from the questionnaires revealed the following findings: 1. Lane High School, Charlottesville, Virginia, had 31 boys and 147 girls, a total of 178 business graduates during the five-year period 1945-49. 2. A total of 103 questionnaires were completed and returned, which makes a 57.9 percent return from the 178 graduates to whom these questionnaires were sent. 3. At the time of the survey 35, or 45.5 percent, of the 77 female respondents were married. 4. The business graduates who are employed at the present time are in four main fields: Stenographic, 20, or 19.4 percent; General Clerical, 15, or 14.5 percent; Bookkeeping, 6, or 5.9 percent; and Others Employed (outside business field), 23, or 22.3 percent. 5. A total of 39, or 27.8 percent, are now taking additional training, have married, or are unemployed. 6. The business graduates feel that typewriting is extremely important. Ninety-nine, or 23.7 percent, of the total business course enrollments were in this subject. 7. Of the 20 business graduates in the Stenographic group, only 15 took Shorthand I while in high school. The others secured their shorthand training in private business colleges. 8. The survey points out that 74, or 27.2 percent, of the business graduates who responded found typewriting as the most useful on the job. 9. The most frequent means of securing initial employment were through friends and relatives. Personal applications ranked second. Only 2.4 percent secured their initial position through the high school office; yet, 14.1 percent secured them through the business teachers. 10. Thirty-nine of the graduates, or 37.9 percent, have held only one position since graduation. Twenty-four, or 23.2 percent, have held two positions; and 27, or 26.2 percent, have not held any position whatsoever because they went on with their education or they did not desire employment. 11. Eleven of the graduates who gave reasons for changing positions did so because of promotion. Only 3, or 6.5 percent, changed because of dissatisfaction or ill health. 12. There were more graduates who received beginning monthly salaries within the low salary level of $75-100 than any of the other four brackets. A total of 25, or 24.3 percent, of the 103 respondents received their beginning salary within this bracket. The second bracket, $101-125, ranked next in the number of graduates with 17, or 16.5 percent, of the 103 respondents. 13. More respondents received current monthly salaries within the $126-150 bracket than any other bracket used in this table. 14. After graduating from high school, 46, or 44.7 percent, of the graduates took additional training. 15. When asked to rate their business and non-business subjects taken after graduation which proved to be helpful to them on the job, the graduates rated shorthand first in the business group with accounting and office machines as their second choice. English received the highest score as a non-business, followed by psychology. 16. When the business graduates were asked to check the subjects they wished they had taken in high school, shorthand ranked first. Office machines and accounting were their second and third choices. 17. Only a few respondents felt that any of their business subjects were of little value to them on the job. Bookkeeping ranked first, followed by business mathematics and typewriting. / Master of Science

This investigation included the study of the 102 business graduates of Covington High School for the years 1946-1950. This study was made to determine what use the business graduates had made of the business subjects they satisfactory completed. / Master of Science

In 1947 seven cooperative part-time office training programs were organized in the State of Virginia. / Master of Science

The purpose of this study was to determine the professional development needs of business educators in Virginia. An instrument was developed to assess priorities for leaders in business education in Virginia and the Virginia Business Education Association. The priorities were analyzed according to geographic region represented, and demographic factors of the respondents were compared to the priority rankings. Business educators attending regional conferences throughout Virginia during October, 1990 participated in this study. Two hundred and fifty usable instruments were received. A descriptive statistical analysis was used to determine the rank order, mean and standard deviation of the priorities; the same analysis by break-variable was used to determine the mean rankings for each geographic region. Correlations were run to determine relationships between the demographic factors and the priority rankings. Conclusions resulting from data analyses performed and reported in this study are as follows: (1) business educators are concerned with keeping business education relevant to workforce needs, and they are aware of the importance of integrating business education into the academic curriculum; (2) business educators desire their professional organization to act as their advocate at the local and state levels, as well as provide them with regional professional development opportunities; (3) business educators from all geographic regions agreed on their priority rankings for business education leaders and the VBEA; and (4) business educators with advanced degrees and/or more years experience do not differ significantly in their priority rankings from those educators without advanced degrees and fewer years of service. / Master of Science

This study was undertaken in order to determine the specific business training needs of the office employees in Waynesboro, Virginia, and to develop recommendations for the institution of in-service training programs. A survey of a representative group was made by having the employers and the employee evaluate job competencies in selected areas of their work. The conclusions of this study were as follows: 1. The secretaries and their supervisors would like in-service training programs in the area of shorthand, typewriting, reception duties, and business English. 2. The accountants and their supervisors would like in-service training programs in the areas of handling depreciation and amortization, reserves and surpluses, taxation and social security, accruals and deferrals, and analyzing financial statements. 3. The clerical workers and their supervisors would like in-service training programs in the areas of typewriting, telephone techniques, reception duties, handling the mail, business English, human relations, usage of forms, penmanship, personality development, and grooming. 4. A majority of the participants of the survey would prefer that training programs covering the above areas be held in the schools in the evenings. / Master of Science

The purpose of this project was to (1) evaluate and revise a computer-based instructional management system developed to organize business computer competencies, and (2) develop and revise documentation for using the system. The instructional management system consists of a database and various applications employing relational database architecture. The resulting system will be used by Virginia business teachers in implementing their curricula. The prototype system was developed initially to organize a taxonomy of tasks identified to measure computer competencies. The computer competencies were extracted from the Business Education Suggested Course Competencies and Performance Objectives, published by the Virginia Department of Education in 1989. The taxonomy resulted in the publication of the Business Computer Software Curriculum Series in 1990. This latter publication forms the core of the instructional management system. The 1990 curriculum guide was ultiloately expanded to include multiple choice and matching test questions organized to measure the tasks. / Ed. D.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the reliability and validity of three achievement tests, with emphasis given to instructional validity. The tests were used to assess the performance of Business Computer Applications (BCA) students on their achievement of knowledge of computer application software concepts and vocabulary for word processing, spreadsheet, and database. Five concepts and vocabulary categories addressed included: vocabulary, access software, data/text entry, editing, and formatting. Data were also collected from BCA teachers of the students. Teachers were asked to rate each item for the three software types of the achievement test as to whether the concepts and vocabulary corresponding to that item had been taught. A selected sample was used in the study. Classes were divided into three approximately even student groups. Each group completed one of the tests for each software type. Percentage of items correct for the three software types were 53%-word processing, 46%- spreadsheet, and 36%-database. The Kuder-Richardson 20 (KR-20) estimates for the software types were .92--word processing, .92--spreadsheet, and .76--database. Due to a wide dispersion of KR-20 values for items within the 5 concepts and vocabulary categories by software, the items are useful only for group measures. Most of the 8 teachers did not teach a substantial part of the concepts and vocabulary included in the validated test items. This outcome indicates the curriculum related to the items needs to be examined and revised so that teachers can emphasize the most important concepts and vocabulary with their students. Analyses outcomes indicated that 59 of 60 word processing items, 51 of the 59 spreadsheet items, and 45 of the 59 database items were instructionally valid. Teachers selecting items for purposes of examining the achievement of their students related to software concepts and vocabulary cam effectively use items determined to be instructionally valid in this study. / Ph. D.