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This investigation sought the perceptions of a selected group of Mexican-American community leaders in Tucson, Arizona, concerning their recollected classroom relationships with their teachers. The investigation proceeded on the basis of a three-part theoretical framework drawn from the literature of psychology, anthropology, and education. The theory included the following: (1) Perceptual Processes; (2) Cultural Processes; and (3) Interpersonal Processes. An interview schedule, based on the elements of the theoretical framework, was developed employing a Likert type scale together with an open-ended comment format. Twenty Mexican-American community leaders were identified and interviewed in depth regarding the perceived relationships that they recalled having had with their respective teachers. Among the findings, the following appeared to be most significant: (1) the participants generally agreed that their teachers were aware of them; (2) the participants reported perceiving that their teachers had accepted them; (3) the participants agreed that their teachers had generally not accepted most aspects of their bicultural being. They reported perceiving that their teachers' thrust appeared to have been toward assimilation; (4) the participants reported that their teachers seemed not to have cared sufficiently to communicate to them that their bicultural identities were important; (5) the participants reported that their teachers had not encouraged them to make choices in becoming independent persons. They tended to report that their teachers had lowered expectations for them and therefore had not adequately challenged them; and (6) the participants perceived that their teachers had not extended themselves to positively support their cultural identities.

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The purposes of the study were to design an Arts Based/Language Arts curriculum in one elementary school at the K-3 level, and (1) determine whether this curriculum was effective in improving academic achievement, (2) determine whether teachers would be comfortable teaching such a curriculum, and (3) determine whether parents perceived their children as successful in learning arts and language arts. Samples of K-3 children were selected in one elementary school during 1986 and treated with an exploratory Arts Based/Language Arts curriculum for the 1986-87 school year. Pretest and posttest achievement data were collected with the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills and a Student Achievement Survey instrument constructed especially for the study. Pretest and posttest cognitive and creative skills data were collected with the Silver Test of Cognitive and Creative Skills. Teacher and parent perceptions of the curriculum were measured with instruments constructed especially for the study. Analysis consisted of testing for differences in pretest and posttest measures of cognitive and creative skills, ITBS test scores, and teacher's ratings on the Arts Based/Language Arts Survey. Comparisons were made on pretest to posttest differences with the Wilcoxon T-statistic, and comparisons of the differences for male and female groups were made with the Mann-Whitney U-statistic. Statistics were tested for significance at the 0.05 level. As a result Arts Based/Language Arts curriculum student cognitive and creative skills and student achievement in language arts did not improve, however teachers perceived improvement in motivation, language arts, and the arts. Findings and conclusions support the continuance of the Arts Based/Language Arts curriculum for a longer duration during which the instrument for measuring teacher perceptions could be revised and scores correlated with standardized test scores.

This study focused on a 1978 teacher strike in the Tucson Unified School District, Pima County, Arizona, and was designed to explore patterns of perceptions and behaviors reported by teachers concerning their involvement in the strike. Teacher perceptions and behaviors were examined in terms of: viewpoints concerning the issues and causes of the strike; attitudes toward the act of striking; choice to either strike or not to strike and the differeing factors which may have influenced the strike decison; feelings of stress occasioned before, during, and after the strike; post-strike relationships with significant others in the school system; and feelings regarding the outcomes of the strike. To implement the research study, a questionnaire was developed to explore teacher attitudes, viewpoints, and reported behaviors regarding various aspects of the strike. The questionnaire was distributed by the Tucson Education Association through the Tucson Unified School District mail distribution system to all 2,751 teachers of the school district. A total of 1,728 teachers participated in the study by completing and returning the questionnaire, which represents approximately 63 percent of the population. Data for the study were derived from the questionnaire responses. The demographic data and strike behavior data were crosstabulated and their significance reported in terms of chi-square statistics. The chi-square indicated a significant relationship between teacher strike behavior and the following demographic variables: teaching level, age, sex, teacher tenure, total years teaching, membership in a professional organization, and spouse being a teacher in the district. Data regarding teacher perceptions and behavior were analyzed and summarized on the basis of the perceptual framework constructed for this study, which was drawn from the literature in social and perceptual psychology. Briefly it included the following five categories: Empathy; Acceptance; Stress; Adequacy; and Perceptual Framework. The following perceptions were reported by teachers regarding: Issues and Causes of the Strike: The reported issues of the strike were salary, discipline, fringe benefits, class size, teacher professionalism, and dignity. The teachers reported that the factors generating the strike were not the issues themselves, but rather the way the issues were handled by the school board, superintendent, and central administration. Influences Upon Strike Behavior: The greatest influence reported by teachers regarding their strike decision was the teachers' association, followed by teachers in their own schools, family, teachers outside their schools, the media, and building principal, in that order. Strike Stresses: Ninety percent of all respondents reported experiencing stress during the strike. Stress was greater among elementary teachers, female teachers, and non-striking teachers. Post-Strike Relationships: Teachers reported more harmonious relationships with fellow teachers and students in their schools following the strike. Teachers reported less harmonious relationships with their supervisors. Strike Perceptions: Teachers reported that the strike produced a greater sense of personal dignity for teachers. The recommendations of the study included the following: A school system should develop and maintain a deep philosophical commitment to the worthiness and dignity of all persons. A continuous and effective communication process should be developed whereby school district administrator and teacher representatives can meet and interact in an atmosphere where every person is encouraged to express his viewpoints. Teachers and school district officials should have an adequate set of board-adopted policies providing orderly processes for dealing with disputes and difference between them. The policy that is adopted should result from the widest possible participation of all concerned groups throughout the community and the school district. The school district, including the school board, administrators, and teaching staff should carefully plan and effectively implement a program for continuous improvement of human relationships throughout the district.