The second Corps Member Training Institute, (CMTI-II), sponsored by the National Teacher Corps is studied as a temporary system, using an ethnographic participant/observer methodology. / Preceded by a review of the relevant literature and a discussion of the participant observer methodology, the chronological evolution of CMTI-II is examined. Particular attention is given to the achievement of tasks, linkage with the Lewin/Sche in change model, and the observed level of effort and emotional intensity displayed by staff and participants. Also included is an analysis of the consistency between the processes used to accomplish tasks at CMTI-II and the temporary systems model. In addition, a study of the feelings of the leadership and participants in terms of their respective roles is reported. / Like other anthropological research, the findings of the study are primarily reflected in the body of the ethnography itself. However, a summary of the data shows that twenty-one of of twenty-seven tasks specified by the model were achieved at CMTI-II, linkage with the Lewin/Sche in change model was partial, the observed level of effort among staff and participants was generally high, there was partial consistency between the processes used to achieve tasks and the model, and the feelings of staff and participants generally reflected enthusiasm for and ownership of the system. It is suggested that future research focus on the importance of the following up stage of the temporary systems model in relation to change of the permanent system. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 48-07, Section: A, page: 1591. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1987.

The Ministry of Education in Yemen has encountered problems in recruiting Yemeni youth into the teaching profession. The purpose of this study was to survey Yemeni secondary school students' career motives and their attitudes toward the teaching profession. A five-part questionnaire was used to gather data from a stratified random sample of 515 students; these were drawn from the population of third level students in the secondary schools of Sana'a City, the capital of Yemen. / The major findings of the study were the following: (1) It appears that students' choice of a career would be strongly motivated by (a) respect of their fathers for the profession; (b) its importance to the country; (c) its significant contribution to society; (d) its requiring the use of intellectual abilities; and (e) respect of the closed community for the profession. (2) The five most important factors which might encourage students to be teachers were (a) the country's need for teachers; (b) a desire to impart knowledge to others; (c) opportunity for teachers to pursue higher studies; (d) provision of incentives to College of Education students; and (e) love of teaching itself and opportunity to contribute toward building the society. (3) The five most important factors which might discourage students from entering teaching were (a) the low salary for teachers; (b) lack of appreciation for teachers' sacrifices; (c) lack of effort made to interest students in teaching; (d) working conditions in schools; and (e) the poor advertisement teachers present for their profession. / Based on the study findings, several recommendations were generated, such as the need for information and occupational guidance to be directed toward students, parents, and the whole community; raising current teachers' professional, social, and economic status; and evoking public appreciation for the teachers' role and contribution. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.) / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-12, Section: A, page: 4242. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1986.

Issues at the local, state and national levels support the need for study into the conditions affecting increased cooperation among all levels of public education. Enrollment declines throughout most of the nation have heightened interest, if not activity, related to cooperative activities and have served as an impetus for studies into the nature of cooperative agreements. / According to the literature, attitudes of those involved in the cooperative process were the key variables in determining the success or failure of joint efforts. A questionnaire was developed to investigate the perceptions of selected administrators in public school districts and community colleges concerning levels of cooperation in existence and attitudes towards levels of cooperation felt to be desirable. / Administrators from districts reporting large numbers of cooperative activities were contrasted with those from districts reporting fewer activities. Attempts were made to assess the overall climate for increased cooperative activity as well as specific areas where cooperation may have the greater chance for success. / Findings. The overall climate for increased cooperation in selected districts in Florida is very positive. Administrators surveyed had similar perceptions of the current levels of cooperation in existence. Administrators from districts reporting the fewer number of cooperative activities expressed significantly greater interest in more attempts at cooperation. When looking at administrators both within and across occupational categories, few differences were noted in either perceptions or attitudes. Administrators from districts reporting the fewest number of activities had significantly greater interest in increased cooperation in the areas of personnel and facilities. / Subjective commentary indicated that top level administrative support and strong organizational and communications networks may be as significant as attitudinal variables in the districts surveyed. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-12, Section: A, page: 4257. / Thesis (Educat.D.)--The Florida State University, 1986.

The completion of a preservice internship is becoming a common requirement for obtaining a principal certificate. Research concerning the outcomes of internships has been scant. Little effort has been made to determine the internship experiences common to high performing principals. / The purpose of this study was to determine the differences, if any, between the internship experiences of high performing and moderate performing principals in selected Pennsylvania school districts. / Although Pennsylvania had required an internship be completed for principal certification since the 1930s, the requirement was not enforced until 1984. The resultant small number of respondents was a contributing factor in the lack of conclusive data available to answer the research question: "Are high performing principals more likely than moderate performing principals to have completed formal internships?" / Evaluation of the skills observed, performed, and discussed by principals during an internship in the areas of: (a) purpose and direction, (b) cognitive skills, (c) consensus management, (d) quality enhancement, (e) organization, and (f) communication indicated that high performers had opportunities to observe, perform, and discuss skills while moderate performers had opportunities to perform but relatively few opportunities to observe or discuss skills. / Moderate performers had the least opportunity to observe, perform, or discuss skills related to the area of purpose and direction. / Investigations into the relative worth of types of internships need to be conducted. Although this study did not yield conclusive results, there were indications that the quality of internship experience is a factor in the development of high performance in principals. Since increases in both the types and numbers of internships offered by educational institutions are projected, the role of the internship in the development of high performance in principals should be the subject of further study. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-12, Section: A, page: 4247. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1986.

This study presented the possibilities of the use of stock market cycles in the management of educational endowments. The literature review delineated the scope of cycles in research, and presented an explanation of technical and fundamental analysis techniques for security investment. / The statistical treatment of the data included a computer simulation for the derivation of cyclic effects. A Fourier transform routine was run on various sets of smoothed and detrended data. Weekly averages of the daily closing prices of the Dow-Jones Industrial Averages comprised the data. Fourier transforms and periodogram ordinates were calculated from the data set, and statistical tests were performed. / To validate the statistical method, a validation test was run on cycles well documented; these were the 4.0, 9.2, and 18.3 year cycles. The results from the validity tests confirmed the existence of these cycles and the validity of the statistical method. / As expected, cycles appeared in the smoothed data sets. The 11.0 year smoothing yielded a significant result at approximately 11.0 years. However, the cycle generated from this run is not as useful as cycles appearing at shorter periods. / Cycles which might be used in the formation of forecasting models for time series data were derived from data sets smoothed for cycles in the 6.0 year to 5.0 year time frame. The cycles derived from these data could be combined with other known cycles such as the 9.2 year and the 4.0 year along with long-range trend and short-range random effects. / Shorter cycles discovered in the 2.5 and 2.0 year smoothing runs produced results that could be used for the development of trading models. These models would be based on screening strategies derived from the amplitude and period of these cycles. / Recommendations for further research included the investigation of trading and forecasting models and their consequent testing. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-12, Section: A, page: 4250. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1986.

The purposes of this study are the development of a proposed site analysis process, the assessment of the acceptability of the process to school superintendents, and the subsequent modification of the process for practical application at the local level. The site analysis process provides the site information necessary for matching the site and the potential principal. The actual matching process, however, is not part of this study. / Based on the review of literature, a proposed site analysis process was developed that included sections on conceptual framework, instructions for users, analysis of specific factors (with 84 factors), and analysis of general factors (with 6 factors). These four sections, plus the potential application of the process, were assessed by means of a questionnaire mailed to 40 superintendents in Northwest Florida and Southwest Georgia. The questionnaire was designed to elicit responses that would indicate the level of acceptability of the site analysis process to the subject group and 11 subgroups. / Based on the analysis of the results, it was determined that the proposed site analysis process was acceptable to the subject group and to all 11 of the subgroups. The level of acceptability can best be described as moderately acceptable. Use of t-tests showed that these levels of acceptability were not a chance occurrence nor was the level of acceptability significantly affected by situational differences between school districts. The acceptability of the proposed site analysis process is closely tied to the belief that site analysis improves the principal selection process by making it more objective. / Based on these conclusions, the proposed site analysis process was revised slightly, with the specific factors reduced to 57 and the general factors to 4. The revised document is entitled the Comprehensive Operational Procedure for Site Analysis. This document provides a method of site analysis that can be useful not only in the improvement of the principal selection process, but also in the overall school improvement process. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-01, Section: A, page: 0048. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1985.

The purpose of this study was to identify those factors that caused doctoral students to discontinue their enrollment in the Florida State University and The University of West Florida Cooperative External Doctoral Degree Program. This study proposed to answer the following questions: (1) What were the personal factors that caused students to withdraw?; (2) What were the institutional factors that caused students to withdraw?; and, (3) What other factors neither directly controlled by the students nor the institutions caused students to withdraw? Additionally, this study determined various demographic characteristics of the surveyed population. The population for this study consisted of sixty-five former students who enrolled but subsequently withdrew from the Florida State University and The University of West Florida Cooperative External Doctoral Degree Program. Thirty-four or 52%, of the former students responded to this study. A questionnaire was developed from previous research studies which were described in the review of literature. From the findings of this study, the following conclusions were determined: (1) Personal attrition factors were found to be most responsible for student attrition in the Florida State University and The University of West Florida Cooperative External Degree Program; (2) Personal, or family, illness was frequently cited by the former students as the cause of their withdrawal; (3) The vast majority of dropouts held full-time jobs; (4) Most former students began the program for greater job opportunity; (5) Institutional attrition factors contributed minimally to student attrition; (6) The majority of former students were satisfied with the institutional factors; (7) The former students' families supported their enrollment; (8) The vast majority of students have not re-enrolled in other doctoral programs; and (9) Only a few / students withdrew because of attrition factors that were neither personal nor institutional in nature. The major demographic findings were that most students withdrew from the program during the instructional stages; almost half of the students who withdrew had a master's degree in educational administration, and the majority of the students who withdrew were employed in the field of education. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-02, Section: A, page: 0383. / Thesis (Educat.D.)--The Florida State University, 1986.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, only 34% of the nation's administrators are women. The reasons for this underrepresentation, particularly in educational administration, is unknown. The main purpose of this study was to identify the factors that had been researched from the Civil Rights movement (1955) to the present (1985) concerning women in educational administration in kindergarten through twelfth grade settings. A sample of 171 research studies (published and unpublished) was used for content analysis. / The methodology used to integrate the body of the literature was the meta-analytic approach introduced by Glass and updated by Hedges and Olkin (1985), listing factors, and averaging statistics. To categorize the studies, six categories introduced by Shakeshaft (1979) were adopted: behavior, structural determinants of organization, attitudes, barriers, profile, and status. / Overall, the majority of the studies were conducted in the eastern part of the United States; most of the researchers were female. Most studies used a survey design, questionnaires, and univariate statistics. The quality of the resarch was mediocre; the only variables to have consistent relationships with the quality of research were type of research and sex of the researcher. / The findings of the study are inconclusive; the question of why women are underrepresented in educational administration remains unanswered. Although this body of literature about women in educational administration introduced much information that was not known before, there are many aspects of the research that need improvement. More appropriate theoretical frameworks should be used, such as symbolic interaction, Marxism, ethno-Marxism, and radical humanism. The methodology of research should include more observational techniques to obtain first-hand information (ethnography). / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 48-07, Section: A, page: 1608. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1987.

Accreditation of higher education in the United States has become an important part of the thinking of the educational profession and the general public. Many institutions belong to various accrediting agencies, but some institutions have chosen not to be accredited. A portion of these non-accredited institutions believe that accreditation will change their mission and their character. This opinion has existed at some fundamentalist institutions, yet other fundamentalist institutions have sought and won accreditation. The problem of this study was to determine whether or not accredited fundamentalist institutions have a mission and character that differs from non-accredited fundamentalist institutions. / The literature on accreditation has increased during the last few years. Studies of regional, state, and federal activities in accreditation have begun to clarify the picture for the educational profession. The regional groups continue to improve their methods of evaluation of institutional performance, but the role of state and federal accreditation could undergo great change in the future. / To study the relationship of accredited and non-accredited fundamentalist institutions, the first Seven Standards of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools served as a basis for a questionnaire. The population for the study was 110 fundamentalist institutions of which 86 institutions responded, a 78 percent response. Case studies were made of six institutions. / (1) The data reveal a variety among fundamentalist institutions in size, age, and physical characteristics, but these differences are not related to their accreditation. (2) There is a strong agreement between the founding mission and the present mission of fundamentalist institutions. (3) There is some difference among fundamentalist institutions in rules of student conduct, but the basic character of the institutions remains strongly Christian. (4) Some accredited institutions have been able to improve institutional programs and services sooner than anticipated because of the accreditation process, but these changes were already planned and did not affect the basic mission or character of the institution. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 46-06, Section: A, page: 1458. / Thesis (Educat.D.)--The Florida State University, 1985.

The study was designed to identify through a questionnaire the perceptions of Nigerian educators concerning alternative change strategies for improvement of instructional supervision in Nigerian public education systems. The research sample consisted of 220 Nigerian educators enrolled in colleges and universities in the southeastern United States. / The research instrument was based on change strategies (Ben Harris, et al.), clinical supervision, and Nigerian educational inspection concepts. / Findings are: (1) Educators agreed that inspectors of education often assist their respective schools in education activities, such as curriculum development and identification of resources. (2) Educators disagreed that one of the strategies of the inspectors for the development of professional growth was regular meetings with the teachers and school site leaders. (3) Respondents agreed that the inspectors collaborate and communicate with the education officers regarding staff. (4) Organization of workshops, seminars, and inservice training to improve teacher effectiveness was lacking. (5) The inspectors did not confer with the representatives of the local communities on the provision, expansion, and maintenance of the school. (6) Agreement was indicated that the inspectors serve as specialists in advising the school principals and the staff. (7) The inspection practice was regarded as an inadequate supervisory practice for Nigerian public education systems. (8) Educators preferred clinical supervision as an alternative supervisory practice that might be more productive in improving instructional effectiveness in Nigeria. (9) Adoption of clinical supervision will require retraining of the ministry of education inspectors, and the school site leaders. (10) Funding and introduction of clinical supervision into the Nigerian public schools should not create any financial problem for the Federal government. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 46-09, Section: A, page: 2506. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1985.