A survey of the Virginia Agribusiness Council members was conducted to identify the basic and technical skills that are important for high school graduates to develop prior to seeking entry-level employment in the agricultural industry. Available entry-level positions were categorized and the mean years of experience at each position identified. Skills were ranked in order of decreasing importance based on mean scores of the survey respondents. Overall, basic skills ranked higher than technical skills. The top five skills in order of importance were: a positive work attitude, self-motivation, the ability to follow directions, safe equipment operation, and working without supervision. Data were analyzed by firm category as utilized by the Virginia Agribusiness Council. Contrary to the skill ranking of the other firm categories, the producer category ranked the ability to follow directions as the most important skill. The entry-level positions identified could be classified into the following categories: management, laborer, skilled operator, sales, and clerk/office employee. The most frequent entry-level jobs identified were in the laborer and management training classifications. The mean years of work experience for all positions, across all categories, was seven years. Basic and technical skills are both essential elements for high school graduates seeking entry-level employment in agriculture. Neither area should be emphasized over the other in preparation for work at the high school level. A firm foundation of basic and technical skills needed in the agricultural industry is recommended for students’ successful transition from school to work. / Master of Science

Young people who are on the verge of maturity today have come of age during a period of rapid social change. The impact of such changes on personal values and attitudes raises the question as to whether these young people have lost formerly accepted social values, have retained them in part or whether they are in the process of discovering new ones... The purpose of this study is to analyze some prevailing attitudes toward the Church and some of its activities among college students. This analysis of attitudes toward the Church is part of a larger undertaking of the Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station which is studying country life trends in Virginia from 1900-1950. The Church section of the large study carries forward a bulletin published in 1929 / Master of Science

In this study eighty farmers were interviewed. As far as the writer was able to determine, this number represented over fifty per cent of the farmers who received one-half or more of their income from the farm as cash or family food. If the number interviewed may be considered to constitute a valid study, several conclusions are formulated. / Master of Science

M.S.

M.S.

no abstract provided by author / Master of Science

Public Law 94-142, The Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, mandates that all handicapped children, including those housed in correctional facilities, receive special education and related services as required by the law. Literature has suggested that services are not being provided as mandated. Factors inherent in correctional education and/or unclear, absent or conflicting policies of multiple agencies sharing responsibilities for incarcerated handicapped youth may inhibit delivery of special education and related services as required by federal and state regulations. Through interviews with personnel of the Virginia Rehabilitative School Authority (RSA) and examination of policies of the RSA, the Virginia Department of Education Office of Special and Compensatory Education (SEA), and the Virginia Department of Corrections, three questions were addressed: (1) What are the processes used by the RSA to implement SEA regulations governing the education of handicapped children? (2) What are the factors which affect the implementation of delivery of special education and related services as perceived by RSA personnel? (3) Are absent, unclear or conflicting policies of agencies (SEA, DOC, RSA) related to the provision of mandated services to incarcerated handicapped youth? It was found that state regulations were not fully addressed by RSA processes and that processes being implemented did not comply totally with state regulations. Factors found to inhibit the development and implementation of processes within state regulations included the precedence of DOC custody and treatment considerations over educational concerns, inadequate numbers of special education personnel, paucity of placement options within youth school programs and outside of the correctional setting, and inadequate training of DOC and RSA personnel in preparation for special education responsibilities. Absence of SEA policy relating to assignment of surrogate parents and absence of local and state agencies' policies addressing transfer of student information restrained development and conduct of required procedures. Conflict between policy foci of the DOC and RSA was a primary contributor to special education procedural and programmatic limitations. / Ed. D.

Master of Science

M.S.

On March 26, 1986, Governor Gerald L. Baliles appointed the Commission on Excellence in Education and charged them with the responsibility of bringing him recommendations for specific actions to place Virginia in the top ten states in the Quality of education it offers. The Commission's Report, entitled Excellence in Education: A Plan for Virginia's Future. contained thirty-six recommendations and was submitted to the Governor in October, 1986. Specifically this study was designed to determine how and why the thirty-six recommendations were made by the Commission. Those key actors or decision makers and those key factors that were most influential in developing the thirty-six recommendations made by the Commission were to be identified. A third purpose of this study was to determine whether the impact of the Commission's Report had met or exceeded the expectations of those responsible for the report. / Ed. D.