Cost has an undeniable effect on educational programs; decreased enrollment has become a serious problem for universities in many countries because of the financial importance of the cost of education. / This research study was carried out in seven major steps to develop a planning simulation model in the area of elasticity of demand for higher education. The results of this study are intended to serve as a quantitative tool to aid planners and decision makers in reaching conclusions concerning the elasticity of demand for higher education, and to help them to predict and optimize--actions which are very important in reaching better decisions. Under the assumption that universities are open to all students who can afford the expense, and have the capacity for maximum enrollment, the simulation model developed was divided into three phases: the first phase illustrated use of two techniques to compute elasticity. The second phase involved use of forecasting techniques. Phase three was the plotting process and the construction of the optimization tables showing (a) the real values for the cost and enrollment for what is, (b) the forecast values for what could be, and (c) the optimum values of what should be. / The principal conclusion of the study is that by utilizing the concepts presented, the demand problem will be identified; the user will be able to forecast enrollment, cost, and elasticity to predict what the situation will be in his/her institution in the future. Then he or she will be able to make optimal decisions. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 44-10, Section: A, page: 2942. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1983.

Despite all the efforts which have been made to adopt Competency-based Vocational Education (CBVE) in Florida, the majority of vocational-technical centers have not implemented CBVE. / The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers' perceptions of those factors which encourage--and those factors which deter--the implementation of CBVE and to suggest strategies for the implementation of CBVE. Of the many influential factors that were identified through the review of related literature, seven were considered as the key to the implementation of CBVE. / Four research questions were developed which provided the following results: (1) Florida vocational teachers empirically validated factors which are crucial to the implementation of CBVE. (2) There is no relationship between the degree of teachers' agreement regarding the influential factors and the years of teaching experience. (3) In terms of the perception of those teachers who had the experience in teaching both the traditional and competency-based vocational education compared with the perceptions of teachers who taught only CBVE, there were no significant differences for most of the factors, except factors 1 and 4, which showed some significant difference at .05 level. (4) Teachers reported additional factors which they considered crucial to the implementation of CBVE. (5) Teachers listed some important strategies in order to help facilitate the implementation of CBVE in Florida. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-07, Section: A, page: 2379. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1986.

This study was an exploration of the situation for faculty performance evaluation at King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Saudi Arabia, and how it might become an integral and more useful part of university management. The researcher identified certain conditions which in the West are conducive to success in faculty performance evaluation. These conditions were explored for their existence and desirability at KAU. The population studied was the faculty at KAU from the colleges of Economics, Art, and Science. Two methods were used to collect data: a survey questionnaire (administered to faculty), and interviews (with chairmen and university officials). The validity of the questionnaire was documented and the reliability calculated. / It was found that the selected conditions were practiced only minimally at KAU. The faculty strongly desired that the conditions be implemented at the University. A large gap was found between the existent and desired situations. There was an awareness of problems in the faculty performance evaluation program at KAU. / The conditions that most needed improvement were (1) follow-up and feedback, (2) multiple methods for the evaluation of teaching, (3) administrative support, and (4) faculty involvement. Least in need of improvement were multiple methods for the evaluation of research. KAU's faculty performance evaluation program was weakest in its evaluation report form and strongest in its evaluation of research for promotion candidates. / KAU's faculty performance evaluation program needs to be improved. Improvement should occur over time and be instigated by a task force developed for that purpose, along with a supportive training program. It is suggested that environmental/cultural factors be investigated further for their influence on faculty performance evaluation in Saudi Arabia's universities. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-05, Section: A, page: 1545. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1986.

Teacher burnout is a human malfunction caused by continued, unresolved, job-related stress that results in once committed, dedicated teachers either abandoning the profession or remaining in the classroom, no longer motivated to provide the effective learning environment they once did for their students. The purpose of this study was to collect data to determine: (1) the degree practicing teachers and principals perceive the principal to be in control of sources of job-related stress that have been identified in the related research and literature; and (2) the degree practicing teachers and principals agree or disagree with the literature concerning the proposed strategies designed for principals to employ in order to reduce teacher job-related stress. The study was envisioned for its implications for Colleges of Education as well as Principal and Teacher Centers concerned with both in-service and pre-service programs. / A survey questionnaire was distributed to the total principal population (N = 110) and a stratified randomly selected sample (N = 893) of the 4,490 teachers in the regular public schools of Escambia, Okaloosa and Santa Rosa counties in the Florida Panhandle. The t-test was employed to determine significant differences between principals' and teachers' responses. A two way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine if personal characteristics or school demographic variables had a significant effect on participants' responses. / The teacher sample population respondents perceived the principal to have significantly more control over identified sources of stress than did the principal population respondents in this study. Both groups of respondents indicated they "strongly agree" that the principal's successful implementation of the action, emotional and technical support strategies would reduce teacher stress. / Sex was the only variable having a significant effect on responses. This effect was limted to two of four sections of the questionnaire. / Recommendations included pre-service and veteran educators be exposed to planned change efforts designed to increase their awareness level of teachers' and principals' perceptual matches and mismatches regarding the principal's role in teacher job-related stress. These change efforts could be utilized by Colleges of Education in: undergraduate and graduate course work for teachers and principals and collaborative efforts with Teacher Centers, Principal Centers, and other linkage systems involving university and public school personnel. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-07, Section: A, page: 2406. / Thesis (Educat.D.)--The Florida State University, 1986.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the introduction of a Quality Circle Program would be associated with a positive change in staff perceptions of the organizational climate in the Student Services Division of a community college. A population sample of 86 members of the Student Services Division staff was surveyed to determine their perceptions of organizational climate before the implementation of the Quality Circle Program and, again, twelve months later. / The instrument used was The Survey of Organizational Climate developed by Alan L. Siegel and John R. Turney. It measures perceptions of organizational, supervisory, group, individual, job, and work outcomes characteristics. Two-tailed t tests were used to ascertain if there were significant differences in the perceptions of organizational climate before and twelve months following the introduction of the Quality Circle Program. / Major findings were: (a) there were significant differences in the respondents' perceptions of certain group characteristics; including group cohesiveness, decision-making, cooperation within the work group, intergroup relations, and the feeling that their ideas were listened to; (b) there were no significant differences in the respondents' perceptions of organizational, supervisory, individual, job, and work outcomes characteristics. / It was concluded that the aspects of employees' perceptions which were most likely to be affected by quality circles were their influence on the organization and the flexibility of management in making changes. Additional perceptions which were affected were those which were concerned with intragroup and intergroup cooperation. Recommendations were made for organizational improvements and further research. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-08, Section: A, page: 2834. / Thesis (Educat.D.)--The Florida State University, 1986.

The purpose of the study was to identify and compare the instructional leadership behaviors of principals, department heads, and other administrative staff (i.e., assistant principals, curriculum and/or instructional specialists/coordinators, guidance counselors, etc.) as perceived by principals and selected teachers in effective high schools in Florida--schools with mean student scores of 90% or above on the Florida SSAT. / A survey instrument entitled Instructional Leadership Behavior Description Questionnaire (ILBDQ) was developed to solicit perceptions of principals and teachers in effective high schools concerning their schools' instructional leaders. Ninety- five principals and 184 teachers responded to this instrument, representing response rates of 55.90% and 54.12%, respectively for the principals and selected teachers surveyed. In addition to demographic data, the instrument elicited Likert-type responses to 32 items in the following instructional behavior categories: (a) Provides leadership; (b) Has high expectations; (c) Provides instructional assistance; (d) Demonstrates instructional expertise; (e) Holds himself/herself accountable; (f) Provides staff development; (g) Has good human relation/communication skills; and (h) Provides effective instructional supervision/evaluation. / Comparisons of perceptions of teachers with those of principals was achieved through determination of means (((')X) and standard deviation (SD), and by the use of the Mann-Whitney U-test. Results indicated that principals in the sample had strong positive perceptions of their own instructional leadership behaviors (((')X = 3.93 out of a possible 5.00 combined category rating). Principals' rating of department heads as instructional leaders produced a mean of 3.13; for other administrative staff, the mean was 3.48. Teachers' mean rating of principals on the combined categories was 3.30; for department heads, 3.07; and for other administrative staff, 2.80. Differences in mean rating between principals and teachers were significant at P (LESSTHEQ) = .05 (2-tailed) for principals and other administrative staff in all eight behavior categories in the study. The results, however, showed some strong agreement between principals' and teachers' perceptions concerning departments heads' instructional leadership role. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-01, Section: A, page: 0037. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1985.

The primary purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of a time management training program upon occupational stress levels and modification of the Type A behavioral pattern among college administrators. / Data will be obtained from 50 subjects who are employed as department chairpersons, deans or educational administrators at The Florida State University and Florida A&M University. These individuals will be randomly assigned into a treatment group (time management training) or control group (no time management training). Because of possible subject sensitization to the treatment, a post-test only design will be utilized. / The instruments used for the purposes of this study are: The Occupational Environment Scales (Osipow & Spokane, 1981) and the Jenkins Activity Survey (Jenkins, Zyzanski & Roseman, 1965). Multiple confidence intervals will be used to determine if time management training is effective in reducing occupational stress and modifying Type A behavior among the educational administrators. It is hypothesized that the treatment group (time management training) will exhibit significantly lower levels of occupational stress and Type A behavior characteristics than the control group (those not receiving time management training). / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-12, Section: A, page: 4245. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1986.

A comprehensive diagnostic prescriptive law for educating children in grades Kindergarten through 3 was passed by the 1979 Florida Legislature. The law specified a long list of desirable job tasks for the primary specialist position, a major innovation created by this statute. Primary specialists annually impact more than 420,000 students, 33,000 basic classroom teachers, 1,253 schools, and 1,234 primary specialists, as well as hundreds of other educators and non-educators. / The purpose of this study was to explore perceptions held by selected primary specialists on the amount of time spent on tasks performed and the amount of time which should be spent on each task. The study focused on legal or district prescribed job tasks by investigating seven questions. / A mail-out questionnaire, validated by a panel of experts, was sent to 400 selected Florida public school primary specialists. The questionnaire ascertained perceptions of the functions performed and those which should be performed in the 40 areas identified in law. This instrument was also used to determine grades Kindergarten through 3 student enrollment in schools where respondents worked, years of experience, amount of time spent as a primary specialist, and tasks performed beyond those stated in law. Perceptions of the primary specialists for the 40 job functions were rated on a five point scale. / Results of this study indicated that the primary specialists perceived the major role they performed and should perform as a non-supervisory, non-judgmental assistance to basic classroom teachers. They felt that they should do more than they are doing in assisting and supporting teachers. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-12, Section: A, page: 4245. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1986.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a significant relationship exists between cognitive style and decision style of selected leisure services administrators in the State of California. Variables included were age, sex, educational level, and experience as an administrator. / Ninety-five administrators in attendance at the annual Administrators' Institute at Asilomar in Monterey, California were included in this study. Participants were asked to complete Coscarelli's Decision Making Inventory and Witkin's Group Embedded Figures Test. After the instruments were completed, scored, and data compiled, the data generated were analyzed utilizing the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences subprograms FREQUENCIES and CROSSTABS. / A profile of the administrators in attendance reveals a wide range, but a typical administrator was: male (78%), between 36 and 42 years old (35%), had earned a bachelors degree (55%), and had been an administrator from six to ten years (30%). According to the data collected and analyzed at the .05 alpha level, there appears to be little relationship between the manner by which a person thinks and perceives information and the method of analysis or the way information is gathered for the decision-making process. / The three statistically significant relationships that were found were a relationship between age and cognitive style and a relationship between cognitive style and decision style for those individuals holding a bachelor's degree. In addition, it was significant that 68 (72%) of the administrators utilized a systematic method of gathering information in their decision-making process. / Two apparent trends emerged from the data collected: (a) as longevity as an administrator increased, a shift in cognitive style became more prominent from field independence to field sensitivity; and (b) as educational level increased, a shift was apparent in cognitive style from field sensitivity to field independence; and a shift in decision-making style from systematic-external to systematic-internal was noted. Neither of these trends, however, is statistically significant. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 48-02, Section: A, page: 0277. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1987.

State-of-the-art organization theory indicates that if organizations are to achieve their goals, they must pay attention to the needs of human resources. In spite of the vital role of department chairs in higher education, their needs are rarely the focus of attention. This study investigated how department chairs at four-year colleges in Puerto Rico perceived that their jobs were fulfilling five needs identified by Maslow/Porter (1961), i.e. Security, Affiliation, Self-Esteem, Autonomy, and Self-Realization, and how selected factors (demographic, personal, organization environmental characteristics) influenced those perceptions. The data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire (89% response) and interviews. / Three need aspects were measured: Need Fulfillment, Need Satisfaction, and Need Importance. The results indicated that Self-Esteem was the most fulfilled need and Autonomy the least fulfilled. While the department chairs are equally satisfied with four of the needs, they are considerably less satisfied with the Security need. With regard to Need Importance, the questionnaire responses indicated Self-Realization and Autonomy as the most important needs, but those interviewed ranked Security as the most important need, followed by Self-Realization. The factors that related significantly to the perceived needs fulfillment were: sex (women perceived greater Self-Esteem need fulfillment than men); academic major (those in technical/vocational fields perceived greater Self-Esteem need fulfillment than those in arts and sciences); sector (those in private colleges perceived greater Affiliation need fulfillment than those in public colleges); and tenure (those with tenure perceived greater Security fulfillment). / This study also found that private colleges provided greater collegiality and opportunities for participation in decision making than public colleges, and that public colleges were subject to greater outside influences on institutional decisions. A multiple regression analysis revealed that these environmental characteristics significantly influence the perceived needs fulfillment of the department chairs. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 48-02, Section: A, page: 0261. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1987.