M. S.

No description available.

In recent years special education administrators have frequently found themselves in conflict with parents of handicapped children regarding such issues as: (1) private school placement of handicapped children; (2) transportation of handicapped children; (3) the provision of related services for handicapped children; and (4) due process hearings requested regarding the evaluation and placement of handicapped children. The problem this study investigated is whether the power base used by the special education administrator to influence conflicts with parents is affected by the socioeconomic status of the parents, the race of the child and the parents, and/or the handicapping condition of the child. In order to examine how special education administrators use social power to influence conflicts with parents seven bases of social power were studied. The original five power bases developed by French and Raven (1959)--expert, referent, legitimate, reward, and coerci ve--were used, plus two additional bases--information power developed by Raven and Kruglanski (1970) and connection power developed by Hersey, Blanchard and Natemeyer (1979). In addition three variables (the socio-economic status of the parents, the race of the parents and the child, and the handicapping condition of the child) were examined through the use of scenario questions. The scenario questions were developed by the researcher and were tested to establish their reliability and validity. The study examined five primary research questions, secondary research questions, and a research hypothesis. While no definite pattern of responses emerged, it was found that (1) administrator's decision making appeared to be sensitive to the context in which it was made; (2) administrators relied on reward power to influence conflicts; and (3) administrators used information power to resolve conflicts with white, high SES parents. / Ed. D.

This research was undertaken to determine the effect that computer aided design (CAD) had on the spatial visualization abilities of selected gifted adolescents. The following hypotheses was tested: Subjects receiving instruction in CAD will show improvement in spatial visualization ability, as measured by the Revised Minnesota Paper Form Board (RMPFB) test. when compared to the subjects not receiving CAD instruction. The experimental group consisted of 20 students enrolled in the CAD course offered in the 1991 Virginia Governor's School of Technology. The control group consisted of 20 Governor's School students not enrolled in the CAD course. Both groups were pretested using the RMPFB test Form AA to measure entry level spatial visualization. A treatment consisting of three weeks of CAD instruction using CADKEY 3.5 was given to the experimental group. Following the treatment both groups were post tested using the RMPFB test Form BB to determine their existing level of spatial visualization ability. The nonequivalent control group design was used in this study since the experimental group was an intact group and therefore not randomly assigned. ANCOVA statistical analysis was used to determine if there was statistical significance of the post test scores. / Ph. D.

In 1976, Congress amended the Vocational Education Act to include, among other things, categorical funding for consumer and homemaking education. The purpose of this study was to discover why consumer and homemaking education received categorical funding in that legislation. This research was a policy formulation study. In order to formalize the study, the purpose was divided into specific research questions. They formed the structure of the study. The study consisted of three stages. The first stage involved a review of congressional meetings, a study of publications of interest groups and a review of historical accounts of pre-1976 legislation for home economics education. Stage two involved the development of interview questionnaires. Stage three involved interviewing key persons who worked on federal legislation for consumer and homemaking education. This stage also included a study of personal papers, unpublished documents and transcripts of closed meetings relating to federal funding for consumer and homemaking education. It was found that, in 1976, home economics educators not only had to encourage Congress to continue categorical funding, but they were divided about how to affect the continuation. One group wanted to prepare legislation that would closely meet the visions held by the members of Congress. While another group wanted to lobby for provisions favored by home economics educators. Categorical funding was obtained with neither method exclusively. It was obtained through the efforts of home economists, lobbyists, and congressional aides who analyzed proposed provisions and who, through compromise, prepared legislation that was acceptable to all parties. It is recommended that home economists continue to work with Congress and that they improve the image policy makers have of their program. These professionals should develop strong state-level power structures and extensive legislative networks. Furthermore home economics educators should work closely with professional associations to draft acceptable home economics legislation. / Ed. D.

The major purpose of this study was to ascertain the views of school board members concerning retrenchment in public school budgets. School board members make budget decisions within a framework of frequently competing priorities of increased pressures for improved school outcomes and relatively decreased revenues as a result of the current economic recession. Data were gathered from a national sample of school board members to determine what, if any, budget cuts had been made by local boards in their current operating budgets and what choices board members would make if cuts are required in the next budget. These data were then cross-tabulated with demographic variables. Descriptive research methods were employed in this study. A stratified, random sample of school board members was identified from the list of subscribers to The American School Board Journal. Of the 23,958 board members in the population, 5271 or 22 % were surveyed using a mailed questionnaire. The response rate was 21%. The study was sponsored by The American School Board Journal, published by the National School Boards Association, the national professional organization for school board members in the United States. The study revealed that funding had decreased for 47.5% of the respondents, and that as a result of funding shortages 56.3% of boards had reduced or eliminated previously funded programs. Specific cuts within the categories of positions, programs and services, salaries, and products were detailed. Meaningful differences related to the reductions were noted in relation to the variables of region of the country, type of community, and student enrollment. If further cuts are required in next year's budgets the most likely line items for reduction were school board development, athletic programs, extracurricular programs, and fringe benefits. The items identified as least likely to be reduced were regular education programs, teacher positions, teacher salaries, and textbooks. / Ed. D.

Policy analysis of individualized education program (IEP) regulations and their application was done by describing and interpreting IEPs as lived experiences of disabled people. An interpretivist paradigm was employed with research techniques informed by psychoanalytic theory. Five participants used their childhood life stories to critique the IEP policies and practices. The participants performed the roles of co-researchers as well. Through a focused synthesis of their analyses, the identified strengths and weaknesses of the IEP policies and practices were discussed in terms of the appropriateness of education received, the school environment, the cost of education and the empowering of disabled children. Recommendations were made for policymaking, service provision and further research. / Ph. D.

This study approached the concept of equity in public elementary and secondary school finance as a complex, multi-variable phenomena. The purpose of this study was to develop a procedure for determining whether or not an equitable distribution of current expenditure per pupil in a state had been achieved based upon the interrelationships of multiple fiscal, non-fiscal school and community variables, and pupil output measures. Six orthogonal factors, derived from principal components analysis and varimax rotation of 24 school and community variables from 131 Virginia school districts during the 1987-88 school year, became the independent variables in multiple regression analysis with school finance data and student output data as the dependent variables. Community Type, Fiscal Capacity, and Economic Composition of a District Population accounted for 61% of the variability in current expenditure per pupil and 63% of the variability in the percentage of students planning to attend a four year college. Over 70% of the variability in Achievement Test Scores was accounted for by Black Family Structure, Fiscal Capacity, Economic Composition of a District Population, and Community Type characteristics. / Ph. D.

One of the most important administrative problems in education today is how equitably to finance the school system of a state, since frequently the question of insufficient revenue and disparity between school divisions and states reflects a larger societal problem of commitment to public education. The proposal to restructure, if not refound the present educational system as a quasi~ public marketing entity using educational vouchers now challenges the time- honored common school ideal. This study provides a philosophical rationale for the American common school to aid legislators, jurists, and policymakers in interpreting key terms in the educational provisions of state constitutions. It assumes that the school financing policies of a nation reflect the value choices of a people as well as their priorities in the allocation of resources. The terms selected for analysis: "common," "system," "uniform," and "efficient," are pregnant with meaning in the context of education. Defined etymologically and philosophically, they are "terms of art" because they suggest ethical standards for a common school system. In the process of defining each term, the study examines the intellectual roots of the American common school, an institution its founders believed could unite the nation and ensure the common good. The present movement to privatize public systems, however, reflects a paradigm of laissez-faire individualism that encourages private self interest and a divisive pluralism in contrast with an older, more egalitarian tradition of classical republicanism which has shaped the common school ideal. The phrase "common good," associated with the public interest, is a rubric used to define "common" and other related root terms such as "commonality," "commonwealth," and "virtue." It defines "system" as an aspect of polity and suggests that the terms "efficient" and "uniform" have moral implications for school systems that have a public purpose of effecting a virtuous and enlightened citizenry for the preservation of a republic. This multidisciplinary investigation emphasizes the duty of the state to educate in the republican, civic humanist tradition. It thus serves as a guide to policymakers required to make complex school finance decisions that will ensure equity and equality of educational opportunity for all citizens in every state throughout the commonwealth. / Ph. D.

This study was undertaken to identify continuing education program design and promotion preferences of nurses in the Washington metropolitan area and to determine relationships between these preferences and selected demographic characteristics of study participants. Data were collected using a 73-item survey instrument. The instrument developed by the investigator, collected information from 279 respondents in fourteen categories. Analysis of collected data indicated nurses preferred continuing education programs that are four to six hours in length, held in the middle of the week, held anywhere space is adequate and available but within one hour's driving distance. Program titles featuring lengthy descriptions and new information were preferred as were programs listing several speakers on one topic. Academic degrees of faculty do not seem to influence nurses decisions to participate, but experience related to topic does. Subjects generally wanted detailed information about programs to make decisions and tended to learn about programs through brochures mailed to their home. Program approval by recognized bodies would positively influence nurses choices but the awarding of contact hours for participation would not influence decisions. Cost and distance were sited as attendance deterrents and the majority of respondents would not personally pay more than $25 for a CE program. Employed nurses are receiving registration fee support and paid leave time for CE. The data also indicated that nurses are making their own CE program decisions. Study findings suggest that, for these nurses, some modifications in program design and use of promotional materials may be warranted by continuing education providers. / Master of Science