Because occupational therapy involvement in transition planning is a relatively new area. little was known about the characteristics of school-based therapists who serve students in this age group. The purpose of this study was to determine their current level of participation in the transition process, the roles that therapists identified for themselves in this process, their attitudes towards best practices for serving students ages 14 - 22, and occupational therapists’ future training needs if they are to participate fully in the national transition initiative. A survey was mailed to 1,000 therapists on the American Occupational Therapy Associations Direct Mail List for School-Based Practice. A total of 755 surveys were returned representing a 76% return rate. The results of this dissertation indicate that occupational therapists are minimally involved in the national transition initiative for students ages 14 - 22. Four hundred and sixty-five therapists (61.6 percent) indicated that they did not provide services to transition-age students during the 1993-94 school year. Of the 290 respondents who reported that they served these students. the majority indicated that their caseloads consisted primarily of students under 13 years of age. In addition, therapists reported minimal involvement in community-based instruction activities (e.g., evaluating students’ needs in community sites, analyzing or modifying community jobs for students’ paid employment, providing occupational therapy services for daily living tasks in community environments). Finally, occupational therapists reported that they do not fully participate in the transition team process. However, the findings from this dissertation seem to indicate that occupational therapists’ inability to attend team meetings. failure to discuss and develop students’ goals in collaborative teams, limited time to train other team members, and failure to participate in community-based instruction, in some instances, may be beyond the control of the individual therapists. Specifically, therapists expressed very supportive and positive attitudes toward many best practices for transition. Statistically significant findings also were found between therapists’ attitudes towards best practices for transition and several work-related variables for school-based practice. Occupational therapists who indicated that they spent the majority of their time teaching other team members to integrate occupational therapy techniques into students’ daily activities expressed more positive attitudes toward transition best practices. Therapists who spend the majority of their workdays in therapy rooms expressed less positive attitudes toward best practices. Therapists who indicated that they had low numbers of transition-age students on their caseloads also expressed less positive attitudes toward transition best practices. Therapists who reported being a member of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps or having read journal articles from this association expressed more positive attitudes toward transition best practices. Other variables such as educational background, length of employment in schools, length of employment in other areas of practice, and employment relationship did not have a significant relationship with therapists’ attitudes toward best practices for transition. The results of this dissertation provide important information for university personnel, the American Occupational Therapy Association and school administrators for facilitating occupational therapists’ involvement in the transition process.

Individuals employed as social workers in local public welfare agencies in Virginia are not required to have a social work degree or mandated to participate in continuing professional development activities as a condition of their employment. The study employed survey research to investigate Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activities of Social Workers employed in local Departments of Social Services or Welfare in Virginia. Two social work-related focus groups and an expert panel of adult educators helped identify CPD activities used to construct the survey. The resulting twenty (20) CPD activities, used as the dependent variables for the study, were: formal education, mandatory training, voluntary training, supervision, mentoring, coaching, shadowing, formal peer interaction, informal peer interaction, instructing others, instructional development, computer-based learning, work-related teams, professional meetings, professional memberships, professional licensure/certification, testing/ inventories, professional reading, professional writing and critique, and reflective practice. The independent variables, employee characteristics of job class, program/practice area, total years of employment in a local agency, highest level of education, major, and agency class, were also surveyed. A proportionate, stratified random sample, N=330, of social work staff in Virginia's local public welfare agencies was surveyed. The overall response rate was 62.7% (N = 207). For each of the twenty CPD activities, survey respondents were asked whether they had participated in the activity "ever", "within the last 3 years", and , if so, their assessment of the "impact" of the activity on their practice, Significant difi‘erences were found for impact on practice between those who had participated within the last three years in an activity and those who had not. There was statistically significant evidence that there is some association of certain CPD activities with time in the job and with area of practice. Two activities which had some of the highest levels of participation and were identified as contributing to professional development were professional reading and shadowing. Professional writing had the least participation, but a high level of impact for those who do participate. Further study of the relationship of the length of time employed and program/practice area hold some promise for identifying CPD patterns.

This study explored how currently licensed, active dental hygiene practitioners in the Commonwealth of \firginia, retrieve, validate and process new knowledge in the discipline which provides a basis for clinical decisions on selection of dental hygiene interventions for patients. The research design was a non experimental, correlational design using mail survey methodology. A self-developed questionnaire was mailed to 500 practicing dental hygienists in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The survey contained questions on demographics of the respondent, current methods of retrieving new information in the discipline, and preferences for information retrieval. The completed surveys that were returned yielded a 52.7% response rate. and provided descriptive data for analysis concerning the variables of interest in the research questions. The analyses conducted in this study focused on the sample characteristics, including gender, ethnicity, years since graduation, membership in the professional organization, actual information-seeking methods used, access and frequency of use of the Internet, preferences for information retrieval, and critical assessment of the new information in the discipline. In general, the findings indicate three areas of relationship between graduation era (before and after 1990) and online continuing professional education, Internet retrieval of new evidence on which to base decisions for clinical patient care, and contacting a dental or dental hygiene educator for new information in the discipline. Traditional resources for receiving new knowledge in the discipline were favored, with the greatest number in professional journals received at home, followed by face-to-face continuing education lectures. Online continuing education led the preferred Internet or computerized retrieval sources. Almost two-thirds of the respondents indicated they evaluate new knowledge retrieved from the Internet, and the same number indicated agreement that they question the source and content of nontraditional information resources prior to incorporation and translation of the new knowledge into clinical decisions for patient care. The author concludes with additional findings, continuing professional education opportunities for practicing clinicians and implications for critical thinking skills and information retrieval in the dental hygiene education curriculum.

This case study examines an effective board of directors of a nonprofit organization. The research identifies three qualitative characteristics of the Board, seeks to understand benefits and challenges of this Board's diversity, the processes it follows and Board members perceptions of Board effectiveness. Twenty-seven active Board members are interviewed in depth, observed at Board and Committee meetings and surveyed as to their perceptions of Board effectiveness. The results are presented based on emerging data gathered over a six-month period of time. Thirty-seven different definitions of Board effectiveness have been identified by Board members in this study. Conclusions and implications are drawn from an analysis of the data and compared to current, larger research studies on board effectiveness. A new board. member typology is suggested for understanding involvement of the board members. Implications for current and future research are offered.

Post-industrial society in the United States is characterized by a knowledge explosion which has been accompanied by an increase in occupational complexity and specialization and the ongoing need to upgrade knowledge and higher education at the master’s level, especially in professional programs. Research supports a consensus about the positive outcomes of master’s education in general, however, conflicting data exist regarding master’s degree programs in business, including criticisms of graduates, declining application and enrollment patterns, and concerns on the part of graduates with the major organizational changes which are occurring in the workplace as post-industrial society moves from a goods-producing to an information- or knowledge-producing society. The study examined the relationship among job satisfaction, educational satisfaction, and post-industrial change for a randomized, stratified sample of 1,000 graduates of master’s degree programs in business, 1970 to 1990. Data were collected from a mailed survey questionnaire (N=314) which included questions developed by the investigator to obtain demographic, educational, and employment information and the 1967 Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (long-form) to obtain an overall measure of current job satisfaction and measures of individual job satisfaction factors. The study’s findings suggest (1) that graduates of master’s degree programs in business are moderately satisfied with their current jobs; (2) that the intrinsic factors of moral values, activity, responsibility, creativity, and achievement are the most satisfying components of job satisfaction; (3) that security and the extrinsic factors of compensation, supervision-technical, company policies and practices, and advancement are the least satisfying components of job satisfaction; (4) that graduates are moderately to highly satisfied with their master’s degree education in business; (5) that they appear to have been involved to a high degree in some form of post-industrial change; and (6) that overall job satisfaction, educational satisfaction, and involvement in post-industrial change appear to be related (p ≤ .05). Statistical significance was observed, as well, between involvement in positive or negative post-industrial change and gender, ethnicity, age, master’s degree program, master's degree date, undergraduate degree discipline, current job function, current industry type, salary, current job tenure, and current job industry.

This study investigated the effects of individualized writing instruction with and without phonemic segmentation on the standard spelling performance of at-risk first graders. Forty-two students from fifteen non-public elementary school Chapter I programs participated in the study. Subjects were pretested using the Yopp-Singer Test of Phoneme Segmentation to determine their phonemic awareness level. Students were matched in triads and placed in one of two treatment groups or the control group using a constrained random assignment procedure. The Basic Achievement Skills Individual Screener (BASIS) spelling subtest was administered to assess standard spelling performance. The first treatment group received individualized writing instruction using a phonemic segmentation procedure based on the work of D. B. Elkonin and used in the Reading Recovery program for at-risk first graders. The second treatment group received individualized writing instruction where teachers supplied correct spellings. The control group received no additional writing instruction emphasizing spelling. Treatment occurred twice weekly for twelve weeks. Following treatment students were re-evaluated using the BASIS spelling subtest and Yopp-Singer Test of Phoneme Segmentation. The Cognitive Abilities Test was also administered to determine a cognitive ability level for each subject. Data were analyzed using a 3X3X3 analysis of covariance. Due to the impact phonemic awareness and cognitive ability have on spelling performance, the study stratified students into high, medium and low phonemic awareness levels and high, average and low cognitive ability levels. Results indicated there were no differences among the groups following treatment. As the data analysis progressed a question as to whether either treatment improved phonemic awareness arose. Analysis of variance on the mean differences of phonemic awareness scores indicated there were no significant differences among the three groups. Study results suggested that use of the Elkonin analysis phonemic segmentation procedure in isolation may have limited benefits in improving spelling for at-risk first graders. Additionally, the study pointed to the need for further research on phonemic awareness training programs and the importance of earmarking financial resources for students who will benefit most from phonemic awareness instruction.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the value high school counselors assign to the fourteen national work competencies identified by the Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (Author, 1991) and the National Career Development Guidelines (National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee, [NOICC] 1989) among different groups of students: at-risk, work-bound, and college bound. Rising national concern about economic competitiveness in the global marketplace has dictated the need to provide all students with the skills necessary to enter the workforce. Two research questions were explored in this quantitative study. The data were acquired via a questionnaire adapted from a similar multi-state study by Deborah Bloch, Ph.D. (1996), and developed by her for that purpose. The population for the study was high school counselors in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Two hundred fifty-five individuals responded to questions about their value of the 14 work competencies among the three student groups. Results of the study indicate that counselors consistently believe that the work competencies are more valuable for college-bound students than for work-bound students and more valuable for work-bound students than for at-risk students. Results also show that counselors valuing of the work competencies are consistent with those of the participants of Bloch’s 1994 study (1996).

Privacy in the workplace will be a significant legal and policy issue in employment during the late 1990's. The impact of computer technology in employment highlights privacy concerns and issues and is particularly acute in public school employment. Public schools have a right to know information about teachers which relates to their fitness in working with children. At the same time, teachers have a legitimate expectation of privacy, especially as it applies to their professional reputations and their abilities to maintain or obtain future employment in teaching. This study had two purposes. One was to determine the extent of computer usage for personnel files in Virginia public schools, and the existence of policies and nature of practices for the management of data maintained in such a fashion through a survey of all school divisions in Virginia. The other was to make recommendations to assist public school divisions in the establishment or revision of management policies and practices governing computerized personnel files, after a thorough review of applicable sources of federal and state law. The study found that 83% of all public school divisions in Virginia responding to the survey use computers to maintain at least one category of personal information about their teachers. The categories of data range from contract information to employee assistance programs. School divisions use a variety of computer formats (i.e., mainframes, minicomputers, PCs) for these purposes. The results of the survey demonstrate that not all school divisions have written policies in place, or training of staff, or security mechanisms for their computer systems necessary for compliance with state statutes. These statutes, the Freedom of Information Act, the Privacy Protection Act, and the Computer Crimes Act, delineate the legal responsibilities of school divisions in the areas of employee privacy and management of personal information. The study concludes with specific recommendations for the areas of written policy, staff training, and system security.

This study describes teachers' attitudes toward critical thinking: their definitions of critical thinking, the importance of critical thinking in their daily lives, how important it is to them that their students use critical thinking in class, whose responsibility it is to teach critical thinking, and who or what has influenced their attitudes about critical thinking. Each of these aspects of critical thinking was analyzed by teaching level (elementary, middle, or high school) and by subject area assignment (English, social studies, mathematics, science, and "other") to determine if relationships exist between these attributes and attitudes toward critical thinking. The population sample (n=408) consisted of 106 elementary, 123 middle, and 179 high school teachers from a large school division in central Virginia. These teachers completed a Critical Thinking Survey developed by this researcher. Results indicate that teachers define critical thinking and critical thinking skills very broadly. There is a lack of consensus about the definition. This is consistent with the literature in the field.Teachers report a high level of importance of critical thinking in their daily lives. They also report that they believe critical thinking to be of great importance to their students, yet only half of the include assessment of critical thinking in their student evaluation procedures. Teachers seem to accept the responsibility for teaching critical thinking to students. They seem confident in their ability to teach critical thinking, yet they report that they have not had adequate professional training for the task. College, graduate school, and job responsibilities have had a great impact on their attitudes about critical thinking. There were no significant differences by level or assignment with regard to definition. With regard to identification of critical thinking skills, differences were significant for ten of the 23 listed skills. There were also differences on ten of 31 items measuring importance of critical thinking, and on three of ten activities for teaching critical thinking skills.

In 2008, the Institute of Medicine recommended increasing CNA training programs to 120 hours of training. In accordance with that change, the Pennsylvania Department of Education recommended that the Pennsylvania's CNA training program of a required 80 hours be increased to 120 hours of training. This increase was intended to improve CNA job performance and job satisfaction, as well as the quality of patient care. The purpose of this phenomenological research study was to understand how Certified Nurse's Aide (CNA) graduates of 100-hours or fewer training programs in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, perceived their clinical training as related to effectively performing clinical duties in a skilled nursing facility. Roger's learning theory served as a basis for analysis due to its approach of student-centered learning. Through the voices of seven CNA participants, data were collected through the implementation of in-depth interviews, surveys, and observation field notes. Data were analyzed through manual coding of themes combined with peer reviewers and record review to triangulate data. Three themes emerged: (a) CNAs perceived they were inadequately prepared to effectively complete clinical tasks, (b) a mentoring or shadowing program prior to employment reduced the physical and mental stressors and improved the quality of patient care they provided, and (c) CNAs voiced little desire to attend continuing education courses other than those provided by the nursing facility. These results may improve state curricular standards, provide insight for skilled nursing facility administrators relative to effective CNA patient care, and facilitate increased CNA job satisfaction and retention.