The intent of this study was to garner data regarding principals' teacher selection practices and perceptions of teacher effectiveness and to examine the degree to which their teacher selection practices aligned with qualities of effective teachers. The survey was sent to 450 practicing principals in the United States. Principals reported the frequency in which they engaged in identified teacher selection practices and rank-ordered qualities of effective teachers.;Descriptive statistics summarized the level of agreement among elementary, middle, and high school principals regarding how they ranked the nine identified qualities of an effective teacher as well as the degree to which their rankings concurred with research in the area of teacher effectiveness. Principals verified the importance of key qualities of an effective teacher as evidenced by multiple analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests. An ANOVA revealed one statistically significant finding for the quality of creating valid and reliable assessments. However, the ANOVA bolstered the significance of the relevance of qualities of effective teachers at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Lastly, content analyses were conducted to determine the three most important interview questions principals asked of teacher candidates and what factor determined why a specific teacher was hired over others.

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The purpose of this study was to research the evolution of three in-school suspension programs in Virginia. In a case study format, the programs were examined with regard to why and how they were established, what changes they have undergone, and their current status and effectiveness.;The three in-school suspension programs selected for this investigation met the following standards: (a) the program was among the earliest to be established in the area, (b) the school district kept reasonably accurate records, and (c) the in-school suspension program met certain criteria to qualify under the definition outlined in this study.;The research included three methods of data collection: interviews with personal sources, district-wide informational surveys, and the systematic search for documents to undergo content.;It was concluded that the following elements are essential for an in-school suspension program to achieve maximum effectiveness: (1) thorough research into available options; (2) a wide spectrum of persons included in the planning and implementation process; (3) adequate financial support; (4) a rehabilitative focus; (5) clearly defined, measurable objectives; (6) use of a variety of disciplinary options in addition to ISS; (7) full-time, qualified, trained staff; (8) standardized, frequently monitored record keeping systems; (9) systemwide rules and procedures which are consistently enforced; (10) opportunity for students to complete regular class assignments and receive remedial assistance; (11) a comprehensive counseling component; (12) a plan for systematic student follow-up; and (13) an evaluation design which is in harmony with the program's philosophy, objectives, and strategies.;Based on the findings and conclusions of the study, 12 critical steps involved in the implementation of an in-school suspension program were outlined. Also, 51 specific recommendations for program design were presented.;Further study is needed to evaluate the influence that geographical location, size of school division, type of district (urban, suburban, or rural) and socio-economic status of the majority of families served by the system have on the origin, design, effectiveness, and evolution of in-school suspension programs. In addition, future research might be undertaken to explore the impact of programs which incorporate a majority of the recommendations offered in this study, as well as to investigate program options for chronically disruptive students who are referred repeatedly to in-school suspension.

The major purpose of this study was to assess the presence of evaluation system components which assist principals in responding to teachers with less than satisfactory performance. Research data were used to determine the relationship between specific teacher evaluation system components and two measures of evaluation system effectiveness: (a) the principal's overall effectiveness rating of the evaluation system and (b) the incidence of administrative response to teacher incompetence. Administrative response included remediation, reassignment, inducement to retire or resign, and recommendation for dismissal of teachers. A questionnaire was employed to collect data from a randomly selected sample of principals in Virginia's public schools.;According to Virginia principals, 5% of the teachers in their schools were incompetent; however, only 2.65% were documented formally as being incompetent. The typical principal with a staff of 100 teachers, identified 1.53 incompetent tenured teachers per year and remediated.68 teacher, encouraged.37 teacher to resign/retire, reassigned.29 teacher, and recommended dismissal for.10 teacher.;Principals verified the importance and presence of the evaluation system components identified in the study. The mean effectiveness rating for the evaluation systems used by the principals, however, indicated only moderate support for the ability of the system to respond to incompetent teachers. The four evaluation system components of remedial procedures, evaluation criteria, evaluator training, and organizational commitment were found to predict 69% of the variance in the effectiveness rating, but none of the evaluation system components were found to predict administrative response to incompetence.

The Problem. The purpose of this study was to examine fact-finding as a method of conflict resolution in Virginia Public School grievance cases to determine the extent that school boards and courts accept the fact-finders' recommendation. It was hypothesized that the recommendations of fact-finding committees are accepted more often than they are rejected; that the number of cases brought to fact-finding varies with the size and location of the school division, that the number of cases decided directly by school boards is less than the number of cases decided by school boards after a fact-finding hearing; and that school central office administrators prefer fact-finding to other methods of conflict resolutions.;Research Procedure. The subjects were superintendents of all school divisions in Virginia and representatives of ten selected school divisions. A survey developed by the investigator was used to determine the school divisions which reported fact-finding cases for the years 1982-83 and 1983-84. A 34 item interview schedule developed by the investigator was used to collect information on ten specific cases presented to fact-finding. Tables and rank orders were used to present information on percentages and types of cases.;Findings. There was no significant difference in the number of cases presented directly to the school boards and cases presented to fact-finding prior to a school board hearing. School boards accepted the fact-finders' recommendations more often than they rejected them. Fact-finding occurred in public school divisions in Virginia without regard to the size of student populations or the location of the school divisions. Dismissal was the most prevalent source of impass declaration. School administrators who were involved in the process prefer fact-finding to other forms of conflict resolutions.;Conclusions. A review of the data reported by school administrators revealed that it was both expensive and time consuming for a school division to go to fact-finding. Administrators stated that panels must be permitted to rule on teacher competency and must be given power to subpoena evidence and witnesses. Administrators recommend short time limits for each step of the grievance and dismissal process to reduce expenses and increase credibility of witnesses. The findings of this study have implications for the preparation for a fact-finding hearing and for preparation of state and local grievance and dismissal procedures.;Recommendations for further research are included.

This study explored the effects of school organizational climate on student self concept development. its purpose was to investigate the relationship between organizational climate and student self concept in selected elementary schools in an urban school district in Virginia.;The population of this study included 500 fifth grade students, 89 fifth grade teachers, and 25 principals in 25 elementary schools. The Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire (OCDQ) was used to assess teacher and principal perception of the organizational climate. The Piers-Harris Children's Self Concept Scale (CSCS) was used to assess student self concept.;It was hypothesized that (1) a relationship exists between the mean student self concept and the organizational climate of schools and (2) that there is a significant difference between the mean student self concept scores of the five schools with the most open organizational climates and the five schools with the most closed organizational climates.;Analysis of variance was employed to determine significant differences between student self concept in the schools with more open climate and more closed climate. The results of the analysis did not support the first hypothesis. Analysis of covariance was employed to examine significant differences between student self concept scores of the five most open schools and the five most closed schools. Covariates were SRA composite scores and school size. The second hypothesis was not supported by this analysis.;It was concluded that while there were differences between elementary schools in terms of organizational climate and student self concept, these differences were not significant. The findings do not support the notion that the self concepts of children attending open climate schools differ significantly from those attending closed climate schools.;Further study is needed to evaluate the relationship between student self concept and organizational climate.

The purpose of the study was to analyze the role perceptions of the school principal in Virginia. Information was gathered to identify principals according to such demographic and situational variables as sex, age, race, marital status, educational preparation, type of school assignment, school size, and years of administrative experience. Collected data was analyzed to determine if principals' perceptions of their roles differ significantly because of differences in sex, age, race, level of school organization (elementary, middle level, and senior high), and location of the principal's school (suburban, urban, and rural).;The subjects were Virginia public school principals. A 90-item questionnaire was used to collect data associated with the behaviors of principals. The interrelationships among the variables were measured by use of multiple analysis of variance techniques.;There were no statistically significant differences in respondents' perceptions of their roles with regard to sex, age, race, level of school organization, and school location. Principals indicated that they viewed the role of principal in much the same way. All groups considered all areas of the principal's behavior to be of greater than average importance.;Principals confirmed the ambiguous and interpersonal nature of their job by rating behaviors associated with school-community relations, student services, personnel administration, and curriculum and instruction as of better than average importance. Agreement among the groups of principals in their rankings of the various areas of administrative behavior supports the hypotheses that most principals hold similar perceptions of the job. Age, sex, race, school organization, and school location do not significantly influence these perceptions.

On November 3, 1970, the voters of Virginia approved a new Constitution. Within Article VIII, the education article, was the constitutional provision for a new statewide program to "seek to insure that an educational program of high quality is established and continually maintained" throughout the Commonwealth. An important aspect of this program, The Standards of Quality and Objectives, was the directive that each school division develop systematic, multi-year plans to guide the quest for quality.;The purpose of this study was: (1) to determine whether progress has been made by Virginia's school divisions toward reaching a major goal of the Standards of Quality and Objectives which has usually been stated as, "The student will become competent in fundamental academic skills; (2) to examine the relationship between multi-year planning and the progress made toward reaching this goal; and (3) to examine the use of time-series data and analysis on unobtrusive measures to conduct a summative evaluation of a statewide educational program.;The population in this study consisted of all the public school divisions in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The twenty-one divisions comprising the sample were drawn from those divisions whose 1975-80 Five-Year School Improvement Plans were ranked as high, average, or low in overall quality on a rating instrument especially designed for this purpose in an earlier doctoral study. Two types of data were collected for these divisions. The first type included measures specifically identified in the 1972-74 Standards of Quality and Objectives. These included overageness in grades K-7, attendance in grades K-12, and scores on standardized tests of ability and achievement. The second type of data included unobtrusive measures, including retentions in grades 8-12, K-12, 11 and 4; overageness in grades 8-12, K-12, 11 and 4; attendance in grades K-7 and 8-12; high school graduates; and high school dropouts. The source of data was state records.;It was hypothesized that significant changes would occur in the levels of both types of measures during the 1972-74 period and that school divisions with multi-year plans rated high would have significantly higher levels of performance than those divisions with plans rated low. The archival data were organized in graphic and tabular form. The TSX and CORREL computer programs were used to test for significant differences in the levels of measures before and after the introduction of the Standards of Quality and Objectives. Insufficient data points existed to permit the use of the computer programs and the data were analyzed through visual inspection.;The following conclusions were drawn. Performance objectives regarding the measures stated in the Standards of Quality and Objectives were achieved. While improvements in performance did occur during and after the 1972-74 period, the historical trend preceding the introduction of the Standards of Quality and Objectives was such that one cannot assign causality for the changes to the Standards themselves. School divisions with multi-year plans rated high tended to perform better than those divisions with plans rated low.;Although statistical tests of significance were not possible, the consistent trends of the data, when examined as a time-series, led to the conclusion that the 1972-74 Standards of Quality and Objectives tended to reinforce trends that had been in evidence for several years. In addition, other variables, especially size, could have influenced the performance of school divisions.

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to examine the behavior of a specific group of educational leaders, to determine the presence of masculine, feminine, and androgynous qualities, and to relate these specific qualities to their performance ratings. The researcher examined current literature relating to the concept of androgyny in several areas.;Method. The Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI) was administered to a sample of 59 school administrators from one school system. The scoring of the BSRI resulted in four separate categories: feminine, masculine, androgynous, and undifferentiated. The school system's evaluator provided a rating (exceptional, average, or weak) of the 59 principals in six areas. Six hypotheses were developed in relation to the purpose of the study: (1) A greater percentage of the female school principals will receive "androgynous" ratings on the Bem Sex-Role Inventory than will male school principals. (2) A greater percentage of the male school principals will receive "masculine" ratings on the BSRI than will female school principals; a greater percentage of the female school principals will receive "feminine" ratings on the BSRI than will male school principals. (3) More of the school principals who receive "undifferentiated" ratings on the BSRI will be males. (4) The school system's evaluator will rate the "masculine" school principals higher in building management and administrative procedures and policy than those who are "feminine" or "undifferentiated." (5) The school system's evaluator will rate the "feminine" school principals higher in public relations, staff relations, and personal qualities than those who are "masculine" or "undifferentiated." (6) The school system's evaluator will rate the "androgynous" school principals higher in building management, administrative procedures and policy, public relations, staff relations, personal qualities, and instructional program than those who are "masculine," "undifferentiated," or "feminine.".;Results. An analysis of the data formed the basis for conclusions and recommendations relating to differences between sex-role classifications and performance of duties as demonstrated by the formal evaluation procedure. The findings supported the first five hypotheses, although the "androgynous" administrators were not rated as high in those areas in which the "masculine" or "feminine" administrators excelled. Implications for future research were discussed.