This study was designed to identify the factors perceived by teachers and supervisors as those which are problem areas and which may have contributed to a limited acceptance of clinical supervision. Eight specific research questions were explored, dealing with the problems identified by teachers and supervisors, and whether they were the same; how the length of involvement with clinical supervision as well as length of experience and grade level taught affected problem identification; whether teachers saw clinical supervision as more helpful than other types; and for which grade level of teacher experience supervisors thought clinical supervision was most helpful. / The population for the study was teachers and supervisors from throughout the United States who had experienced clinical supervision. A teacher population of 576 resulted in a sample of 248; a supervisor population of 63 resulted in a sample of 53. A researcher developed questionnaire was used for gathering data. / The results, based on frequency tabulations and chi-square tests, indicated that clinical supervision appears to be a process which is most beneficial for teachers early in their careers. It can be concluded from this study that there are some problems with clinical supervision, but that they appear to fall into three major areas--the length of time it takes to learn how to carry out clinical supervision, the length of time it takes to actually carry out the process, and the fact that teachers do not like supervisors observing them. These three problems were the ones most frequently mentioned by both teachers and supervisors. / It may be concluded that the biggest problem with clinical supervision is the time it takes to carry it out. This was the problem mentioned most frequently by both teachers and supervisors and was a problem at all grade levels taught, and no matter how long the person had been a teacher/supervisor, or had been involved with clinical supervision. / It may also be concluded that the length of time a person has been involved with the clinical supervision model is an important determinant of the types of problems identified, but that the grade level at which the teacher works and the number of years they have been a teacher are not as important. / Another finding of the study was that, while K-3 teachers identify basically the same types of problems as other teachers, they account for one-third of all problems identified, thus indicating that this group may warrant special attention. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-06, Section: A, page: 2420. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1981.

The problem addressed by this research was the lack of procedures for use in establishing decision rules for application of program standards. The purpose of the research was to develop and evaluate procedures for establishing decison rules. Inherent in this purpose was the goal of determining the worth or merit of procedures for establishing decision rules (i.e., evaluation). / Two research questions were addressed in the study. The first question was what factors should be considered when establishing decision rules for application of standards to education programs. The second question was what procedures have greatest utility for establishing decision rules. / Through interviews with local education authorities and use of a paired comparison procedure, factors which should be considered when establishing decision rules were identified, defined, and evaluated as to their importance. Five strategies which could be used in establishing decision rules were identified or devised, and evaluated. Screening of the strategies resulted in selection of two strategies for development and field trial, the Conventional Interacting Group Process and the Nominal Group Technique. / The results of the study indicated that five factors should be considered when establishing decision rules. The five factors were: current status of the educational programs under review; legal basis for the criteria and standards being utilized for the review; perceived directness of impact of the criteria and standards upon students; economic impact of the criteria and standards upon educational programs; and who has the responsibility for making program review decisions. / The utility of the Conventional Interacting Group Process and the Nominal Group Technique was compared. The results of the study indicated that both the Conventional Interacting Group Process and the Nominal Group Technique are appropriate for use in establishing decision rules. The Conventional Interacting Group Process had greater utility in the research setting. Differences in outcomes appeared to be dependent upon characteristics of the group leader and the participants. Advantages and disadvantages of using the techniques were identified. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-10, Section: A, page: 4222. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1981.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 40-10, Section: A, page: 5256. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1979.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 40-10, Section: A, page: 5257. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1979.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 40-10, Section: A, page: 5259. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1979.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 40-10, Section: A, page: 5261. / Thesis (Educat.D.)--The Florida State University, 1979.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 40-10, Section: A, page: 5256. / Thesis (Educat.D.)--The Florida State University, 1979.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the per-pupil expenditure of 36.5 million dollars of Compensatory Education funds provided Florida public schools through state legislation and the rate of failures of 1977-78 eleventh graders on the State Assessment, Part II, Test. Specifically, the correlation between per-pupil expenditure in each district for one or two years of remedial education prior to retaking the examination for 1979 graduation and the rate of failures was examined through the use of the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. In the data collected from sixty-seven Florida school districts as reported to the Department of Education (DOE), no significant relationship was found at the .05 level of probability between per-pupil expenditure of State Compensatory Education funds and the rate of failure on the SSAT II, Test. However, the statewide mean failure rate was reduced from 38.54 percent to 4.6 percent during the two year remediation period, 1977-78 to 1978-79, in which these funds were expended. A two-tailed T-test showed no significant difference at the .05 level after remediation in the performance on the Test of males and females. / This study focused only on the financial aspect of strong school leadership, and use of a variety of instructional approaches and materials reported to the Department of Education as indicators of successful programs. Recommendations for further research include longitudinal studies beginning with third grade students who would continue to take state assessment tests at the fifth, eighth, and eleventh grade levels. Other studies recommended would investigate variables other than cost-effectiveness in compensatory education, particularly at the secondary level. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 41-10, Section: A, page: 4229. / Thesis (Educat.D.)--The Florida State University, 1980.

This study was undertaken to determine whether economy of scale and cost assumptions were used implicitly in the state-level allocation formula of appropriated funds to 28 community colleges in Florida. A formula reflects assumptions about the functions of organizations and organizational commitments. Analysis of the assumptions underlying a state-level funding formula is essential. The purposes of the study were: to determine whether there were significantly different unit costs among instructional programs in Florida's public community colleges; to determine if economies of scale were evident in unit expenditures for instructional and support programs; and to develop groupings of community colleges with similar costs. / This study was carried out in three phases with data collected from the Management Information System of the Florida Department of Education's Division of Community colleges. A relational cost analysis strategy employing multivariate statistics was followed. / The results of the first phase of the study led to the conclusions that: significant variation can be found between instructional discipline costs; the assumption of economies of scale must be rejected; and an inflation effect can be found in some aggregate cases but not in each discipline. / The conclusion of the second phase of the study was that the variation in unit cost between institutions cannot be traced in some strong linear way either to such factors as size of institution, inflation, or to other unique institutional attributes identified in the study. / In the third phase of the study, groupings of community colleges with similar unit costs for the instructional program, support program and total per unit expenditures were developed. / The overall conclusion of the study was that the state's formula funding system did not accurately reflect the character of costs in Florida's 28 public community colleges; however, the colleges can be grouped by like cost configurations. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-06, Section: A, page: 2397. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1981.

A survey study was carried out on recent graduates of the master's degree programs in adult education to identify (i) the tasks performed by these graduates in their positions of employment; (ii) the proficiencies required to fulfill these tasks; (iii) their opinions of the usefulness of these proficiencies in their positions of employment; and (iv) the extent to which the master's program of study provided them with the learning experiences necessary for the development of these proficiencies. / A questionnaire consisting of twenty knowledge and twenty skill proficiencies was the survey instrument which utilized, by cluster sampling, 267 recipients of the master's degree of adult education during the period 1972-1977. A fifty-one percent reply rate or a total number of 137 returned questionnaires supplied the data. The respondents were categorized as either teachers or administrators according to the tasks performed. Percentage distributions, median scores, rank order and upper quartile ratings were the statistical measures utilized in the analysis of the data. The Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficient was also applied to measure the degree of associated between the ratings of the respondents. / Neither the teachers nor the administrators found significant relationships between the proficiencies which were most useful in their present positions of employment and those for which they were adequately prepared by the learning experiences in their master's program of studies. The teachers identified that fifty-five percent of the proficiencies were adequately provided for in graduate programs of study when compared to their usefulness after graduation, while the administrators only identified twenty-seven percent of the proficiencies similarly. / In general, both appeared to be satisfied with their master's programs of studies as most of the proficiencies were rated at the high end of the scale. The study did however reveal that although the proficiencies were useful to both groups of respondents, the needs of each group were certainly not the same in terms of skill and knowledge required. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-06, Section: A, page: 2379. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1981.