This study investigated three major questions: (1) What staff development needs are identified by community college faculty?; (2) what staff development needs are identified by community college administrators?; and (3) how do the perceptions of faculty compare with the perceptions of administrators with regard to community college staff development needs? / The population for this study consisted of administrators and faculty members from the twenty-eight public community colleges in Florida. A seventy item questionnaire covered staff development needs in instruction, service, administration and training considerations. / Three critical areas of staff development need identified by community college faculty were: (1) creating an environment in which the student assumes responsibility for his own learning; (2) guidance and counseling; and (3) participative management. Three critical areas of need identified by administrators were: (1) developing programs for disadvantaged students; (2) knowledge about remedial and developmental programs; and (3) collecting and using data properly. This study found significant perceptual administrators. It also produced three major reasons for faculty apathy in staff development program participation: (1) lack of sufficient time; (2) lack of administrative support; and (3) lack of knowledge of the potential benefits of staff development. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 41-09, Section: A, page: 3912. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1980.

The purpose of this study was to determine the status of top-level black women administrators in two-year and four-year higher education institutions, and to determine the perceptions of top-level black women administrators regarding the perceived effect of race and sex on their career progression. / A STATUS OF WOMEN(STOW)-Form I was mailed to the chief executive officers at 322 institutions requesting them to identify their top-level black women administrators. Responses to the STOW-Form I were received from 262 institutions (81.3%), but only 183 institutions reported top-level black women administrators. One hundred and ninety top-level black women administrators were identified. A STATUS OF WOMEN-Form II was mailed to these 190 top-level black women administrators, and 170 responses were received (89.4%). / The respondents to STOW-Form I who were primarily Affirmative Action Officers or Assistants to the President, reported that women composed an average of 22.8% of the full-time faculty positions and an average of 10.1% of the administrative positions on their campuses. Most of the faculty and administrative positions, however, were held by white women. / STOW-Form II determined that black women were well distributed among the administrative groups. The majority were in the Student Affairs and Administrative Affairs categories. This study did not report any black women chief executives. / The majority of the respondents were in predominantly white, four-year, public institutions, and earned between $20,000-$29,000. The highest degree attained was a master's degree and was usually attained at a predominantly white institution. / Two-thirds of the women did not have tenure or faculty rank, had been employed in their present position for 5-9 years, and had held a lower or middle management administrative position in their previous job. / The perceptions of black women revealed that their administrative responsibilities matched their administrative titles, and that race and sex had a negative effect on their career progression. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-06, Section: A, page: 2525. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1981.

The purposes of this case study were (1) to provide a descriptive profile of students served by Bainbridge Junior College, located in rural southwest Georgia, (2) to examine the retention of these students at the college, and (3) to investigate the persistence of these students in postsecondary education. Community colleges in general tend to have higher attrition rates than four-year institutions. / The study was implemented in three phases: (1) examination of a sample of 585 student permanent records at the college, (2) mailed survey to a sample of 293 former students, and (3) planned interviews with persons identified as atypical high persisters in postsecondary education. Three instruments were developed by the investigator. Responses in Phase II were received from 116 former students or 41.4 percent of the sample. No atypical high persisters were able to be contacted for an interview. / The dependent variables, retention and persistence, were viewed as (1) college degree awarded, or (2) number of hours completed. Statistical tests of 16 hypotheses at the .05 level of significance analyzing retention/persistence with various demographic, academic, motivational, and college environmental variables yielded the following results. In Phase I, statistically significant relationships were found between retention at the college and the following variables: age, county of residence, academic load, type of program, time interval since receiving a high school diploma, high school grades and Scholastic Aptitude Test scores, and first-term college grades. The results were non-significant for the variables: sex, ethnic origin, and marital status. The findings in Phase II revealed statistically significant relationships between persistence in postsecondary education and the following variables: receipt of financial aid, socio-economic origin, parents' educational level, and positive student peer relationships. Non-significant findings were indicated for parental encouragement and non-classroom faculty interfaces. Phase III objectives were not able to be studied as only one person was identified as an atypical persister. Efforts to contact this person were not successful. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-10, Section: A, page: 4315. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1981.

This study assessed the degree of the relationship between a computerized method and a manual method of ranking AE Rating tasks for commonality in terms of (1) the agreement between manual and computer rankings of identical tasks, and (2) the comparative costs of two similar projects, one utilizing a computer, and the other utilizing the manual process. / Data were subjected to the Kendall Coefficient of Concordance and to the Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficient statistical tests; ten and eleven of the twelve sets of data achieved statistical significance at or above the .05 level for the two tests, respectively. In terms of practical significance, the two methods produced similar, statistically significant results. / A cost analysis resulted in the recommendation that the computerized method be selected for implementation in the Navy. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-10, Section: A, page: 4317. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1981.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether: (1) students in a selected major had a predominant cognitive learning style, (2) a particular cognitive learning style of students was related to academic achievement, (3) a match or mismatch of cognitive learning styles of students and cognitive learning styles of instructional settings was related to level of student achievement, (4) the two instruments used to categorize cognitive learning styles of students resulted in similarities in classification of students into learning style categories, (5) and instructors' cognitive learning styles were related to their instructional presentation style. The Witkin Group Embedded Figures Test and the Kolb Learning Style Inventory were used to classify 173 fashion merchandising students and six instructors into cognitive learning style categories. The Herold Teaching Strategy Observation Checklist was used to categorize six clothing/textile classes into instructional styles of field independent or field dependent. Results showed students in the selected field of fashion merchandising did have a predominant cognitive learning style. Fifty nine percent of the students were field dependent and 41% were field independent on the Witkin instrument. The Kolb Inventory showed 44.5% were Divergers, 30.6% were Accommodators, 14.5% were Assimilators, 10.4% were Convergers. No relationship was found between a particular cognitive learning style and academic achievement. No relationship was found between a match or mismatch of cognitive learning style of student and instructional setting and student achievement. The Kolb and Witkin instruments showed no similarities in classification of students into learning style categories. There was no significant relationship between personal cognitive learning style of teachers and their style of teaching. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 46-04, Section: A, page: 0905. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1985.

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of mentor and mentor-type relationship experiences of first-year law students, and the differences among these relationships. / The population investigated consisted of first-year law students at The Florida State University College of Law during the 1983-84 academic year. A survey was developed and mailed to 216 first-year law students. Usable responses were received from 126 (58.3%) of the respondents. / More male than female students were represented in this study. Most of the respondents were between 24 and 31 years of age. Almost half of the respondents were never married. Over half the respondents were certain of their career plan in 15 years. / Almost half of the respondents listed three mentor and mentor-type individuals, while one-fourth listed no support relationships. Law students and attorneys or judges were the positions of the persons most often listed, while others frequently listed were parents, professors, and spouses. / The majority of mentor and mentor-type persons reported were males. Most of the support persons had been known for less than one year or for more than 10 years. Peer mentor and mentor-type relationships were most often listed. Mentor relationships were reported least often. Over four-fifths of the respondents requested no additional assistance from the mentor and mentor-type individuals. / A number of statistically significant relationships were found between relationship characteristics and respondents' characteristics. Younger students, males, unmarried respondents and those with no career plan more often listed no mentor or mentor-type relationship. Older students, males, and those with definite career plans were more likely to experience higher level (sponsor and mentor) relationships and to report support persons who were attorneys or judges. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 46-04, Section: A, page: 0905. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1985.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 40-06, Section: A, page: 3159. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1979.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 40-06, Section: A, page: 3160. / Thesis (Educat.D.)--The Florida State University, 1979.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 40-06, Section: A, page: 3144. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1979.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 40-06, Section: A, page: 3146. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1979.