Thesis, PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references.

Little has been written about opportunities for support staff to participate in professional development. Most of the related literature cites professional development for middle and upper management people. This study examined a particular in-service approach to professional development for support staff of the Greater Victoria School District (#61). In this approach, employees were centrally involved in suggesting topics for courses and workshops, facilitating workshops as resident experts, and engaged as participants. The purpose of the study was to: 1) understand voluntary participation; 2) examine the relationship between work-related learning and learning for personal growth and, 3) compare the cost of the in-service approach to two alternative options. The researcher gathered information from three sources: 1) a five-year database which tracked participation activities in a longitudinal quantitative study; 2) results of Boshier's Education Participation Scale (A Form) circulated to provide quantitative data of a cross-sectional study of participation and, 3) a series of interviews with twelve participants, recording their perspectives on the staff development program. A cost-effectiveness analysis was also conducted to determine the most economic approach to professional development. Some important findings of this study were the similar patterns of participation according to national figures of adult education participation in the Statistics Canada 2001 report. Examining variables of gender and frequency, a) this study found 71 percent male and 74 percent female participation in work-related courses compared to national figures of 62 percent male and 62 percent female participation in work-related adult education. And b) nationally 30 percent of adult Canadians participated in adult education compared to 26 percent of the population in this study. Evidence supported the fact that staff development participants preferred professional development topics rather than personal growth subjects. In the school calendar year, 1995/96 participants engaged in 66 percent work related courses, which evolved to 80 percent by 1999/00. The development of competent professional development programming involved more than predicting the needs of employees interested in remaining current in their job skills, or preparing for career advancement. Competent practice of professional development for support staff was positively influenced by a collaborative approach of all stakeholders; management, staff and, program facilitators. This study has implications for human resource personnel and training directors, employees, and others interested in workplace learning. It also shows that employees voluntarily suggest both professional and personal growth topics as important to their individual roles. The collaborative model studied here may be of interest and value in a variety of organizational settings, even those within a hierarchical structure. There are some promising avenues of future research which could also be explored. / Graduate

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 1988. / Title from title page screen, viewed September 21, 2005. Dissertation Committee: Robert Arnold (chair), Ronald Halinski, George Kohut, Mary Ann Lynn, Rodney Riegle. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 107-113) and abstract. Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

This study examined the sources of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction for classified employees in a large public suburban school district. The population included randomly-selected bus drivers, custodians, school and non-school secretarial employees, instructional assistants, maintenance workers, food service personnel and technical employees. Three research questions were posed: (a) What are the primary sources of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction for classified employees? (b) Is there a significant difference in job satisfaction among the specific categories of classified employees? (c) Are demographic/personal variables of classified employees related to overall job satisfaction? The study incorporated both qualitative and quantitative methodology. Focus groups were convened to identify satisfiers and dissatisfiers, which then served as a basis for questionnaire development.Sixty-four individuals participated in focus group discussions; 490 questionnaires were returned for a response rate of 78%. The self-designed questionnaire contained 100 job variables, including a single direct question of overall satisfaction. The assessment also included twelve demographic/personal variables and two open-ended questions. Data were statistically analyzed using ANOVA, ANCOVA, the Chi square test, multiple regression, and paired comparisons. The primary job satisfiers for all classified employees were: co-workers, students, work itself, work variety, autonomy, and work schedule. Dissatisfiers were: work overload, district policies, and job insecurity. There was a significant difference in job satisfaction among employee groups. There was also a significant difference in job satisfaction for the demographic variables of gender, work setting, and number of hours worked, even after the influence of job category was eliminated. The research suggests that there are issues which influence the job satisfaction of classified employees. In their quest for excellence, school district administrators, and business leaders, alike, can benefit from listening to the needs and recommendations of their support personnel.

Thesis--PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references.

Theses (Ed.S.)--Marshall University, 2007. / Title from document title page. Includes abstract. Document formatted into pages: contains 57 pages. Bibliography: p. 36-37.

Divorce is a significant event in children's lives. The ability of school personnel to be helpful with children of divorce can be influenced by their attitudes and by other factors. This study described the attitudes towards divorce of elementary school personnel and examined the relationships among the personnel's attitudes, personality factors, and selected personal and professional variables. The sample was comprised of 212 elementary school personnel from a large metropolitan school district in Western Canada. Data were derived from subjects' responses to the Sixteen Personality Factor Scale and two instruments developed by the author to assess subjects' attitudes towards divorce and their personal and professional characteristics. Findings indicated that teachers perceive divorce as a socially acceptable phenomenon. They perceived that it is better for children to live in happy homes, divorced or intact, than in conflict-ridden intact homes, and that children of divorce benefit when their fathers are active in parenting. Nearly all respondents perceived the school as fulfilling an important role for children of divorce. Significant differences were found between high and low scoring groups on each attitudinal sub-scale when personality factors, personal variables, and professional variables were considered. The results of this study suggest that certain personal variables (age, marital status, religion, and years of teaching experience) were related to differences in attitudes. Most of the professional variables (perceptions of children's motivation and homework completion and perceptions of parents' concerns) accounted for differences in attitudes. Several personality factors (warmth, ego-strength, rebelliousness, self-sufficiency, and imagination for example) also were indicated to have particular relevance for the attitudes of elementary school personnel towards divorce.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2006. / Title from title screen (site viewed on Feb. 6, 2007). PDF text: iv, 240 p. : ill. UMI publication number: AAT 3216346. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche format.

The purpose of this study was to design an objective-based Anonymous Screening Process (ASP) for selecting the most qualified finalists for non-tenured administrative employment searches in public higher education. The intent was to design a viable employment process that substantially meets equal opportunity mandates, the dual aim of the Federal government's affirmative action efforts to eliminate the discriminatory effects of the past and to bar future discrimination, and the goal of the U.S. Congress of improving the economic status of disabled individuals by removing discriminatory barriers to full employment. An anonymous screening process is part of a comprehensive employment process, including recruitment, application, evaluation, and selection, wherein an applicant's name, race, religion, color, sex, age, handicap, and institutional identify are unknown to all persons involved in the process through selection of the most qualified finalists. An anonymous applicant screening process will minimize evaluator bias, effectively eliminate the interjection of non-objective criteria from external sources in selecting the most qualified finalists, and provide a defensible basis for using protected class status in the final selection as an additional criterion in situations of underrepresentation. / Graduation date: 1992