Quality Circles (QC) took root in Japan during the 1960s and was introduced into the U.S. in 1974. Today, many people believe QCs can increase teacher and school effectiveness. Beyond the realm of opinion, however, little research supports this belief. This study had three purposes. The first was to review QCs' literature. The second was to identify QC structures and problem solving procedures. The third was to test QCs in an educational setting and to analyze their effects on the attitudes of teachers. Methodology. QC groups and comparison groups were established at four school sites. Two measurement instruments, the Work Environment Scale (WES) and the Group Environment Scale (GES), were selected. Both the QC group and the non-QC group were pre tested using the WES. QC experience (treatment) was provided for the QC group. After six months, post testing was conducted to identify attitude changes regarding the work environment. The QC group was pre and post tested using the GES in order to identify change in participants' attitudes regarding relationships within the QC group and attitudes about the group's effectiveness. Findings. Hypothesis One: Significant improvement will occur in the attitudes which Quality Circle members hold about their work environment. In eight out of ten WES subscales, QC attitudes changed in the predicted direction. In only two cases, however, was the change statistically significant. Hypothesis Two: Significant improvement will occur in the attitudes which Quality Circle members hold about their work environment as compared to non-circle members. In eight of the ten WES measures, attitude improvement for the QC group exceeded that of the non-QC group. In only three cases was this improvement statistically significant. Hypothesis Three: Significant improvement will occur in the attitudes which Quality Circle members hold about other circle members. In four of five measures, change occurred in the direction predicted. In only one case was this change statistically significant. Hypothesis Four: Significant improvement will occur in the attitudes which Quality Circle members hold about the effectiveness of the group. All five measures of group effectiveness showed statistically significant change. Conclusions. (1) QCs can operate successfully in an educational setting. (2) The attitudes of QC participants toward their work environment improved when compared to the attitudes of non-participants. (3) QC problem solving QC worked effectively in the educational sites. (4) QC participation improved personal relationships.

The research on cooperative learning has been conducted in terms of student achievement but little is known of how training in and use of cooperative learning affects teachers. The central purpose of this study was to examine the association between training in cooperative learning and teacher job satisfaction, with special attention to the subsets of collegiality and efficacy. A second purpose was to examine how levels of job satisfaction, efficacy, and collegiality vary as a function of the following training variables: (a) setting, (b) amount of use, (c) kind of training, (d) preparation for implementation, and (e) opportunity for skill maintenance. The research was conducted via questionnaire with 129 teachers responding, which was a response rate of 71%. The questionnaire gathered data about training variables and included a 30-item Job satisfaction Survey which had subscales: 10 questions on collegiality, 15 on efficacy, and 5 on overall job satisfaction. The validity of the Job satisfaction Survey was established by pilot testing, by expert review of the questions, and by the use of an established survey as a bench mark for comparison. The research analysis involved examination of mean scores on the Job satisfaction Survey and ANOVA technique to examine the significance of variables in training and levels of job satisfaction as well as the subsets of collegiality and efficacy. Although the research did not reveal a significant relationship between training in cooperative learning and teacher job satisfaction, a significant relationship was found between several training variables and levels of satisfaction as well as collegiality and efficacy. The training variables found to be significantly associated with teacher efficacy were these: (a) use of cooperative learning at the level of seven or more times a week, (b) small group sharing and problem solving sessions for participants during training, (c) discussion with colleagues to maintain skills, and (d) the use of principal observation and feedback. The training variables found to be associated with collegiality were as follows: (a) the use of five different opportunities to maintain skills as opposed to three or fewer and (b) the use of peer coaching and feedback. Training variables associated with overall job satisfaction were: (a) small group sharing and problem solving sessions during training, (b) the use of five skill maintenance opportunities as opposed to three or fewer, and ((c) the use of peer coaching and feedback. Given the results of this study, staff development specialists should structure training to include these significant variables as sources of collegiality and efficacy as well as overall job satisfaction of teachers.

No description available.

An investigation was conducted to determine what values were perceived as being of "high importance" by business faculty of community colleges; to compare the values of participants of the study with those of three comparison groups (two-year private junior colleges; two-year community colleges; four-year universities;) and to explore the possible relationship of values to job satisfaction. The design of the investigation was a questionnaire mailed to 185 business faculty members from mine community colleges which represented the states of Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia. Colleges were selected which possessed characteristics (urban, rural, suburban and small, medium, large) as to be representative of the three community college systems. One hundred and fifty responses were received for a response rate of 81 percent. Two instruments were used to obtain data: The Job Descriptive Index (JDI) for measuring dimensions of job satisfaction and the Rokeach Value Survey for the ranking of values. The data was analyzed using the Page L-statistic and the Schucany-Frawley rank order test. In this study business faculty members of community colleges ranked the tenninal and instrumental values of "high importance" in accordance with the ranking of the terminal and instrumental values by faculty members in general from samples drawn at two-year private junior colleges and two-year community colleges; and by business faculty representing four-year universities. Of the terminal values, the three values ranked highest by medians and composite scores were "self-respect," "family security," and "sense of accomplishment." Of the instrumental values, the three values ranked highest were "honest," "responsible," and "capable." Respondents of this study also ranked a subset of the terminal and instrumental values, the "academic values" (sense of accomplishment, capable, intellectual, logical, imaginative), in concordance with the rankings by faculty of the three comparison groups. This confirmed the Rokeach (1973) study that educators were unique in placing a high priority to the "academic values" which indicate a high value on intellectual competence and self-actualization. The relationship between "academic values" and total job satisfaction was tested. Results indicated that there was no relationship between an individual's score on total job satisfaction and his/her respective ranking of the "academic values." Finally, the possible relationship between "academic values" and two subsets of job satisfaction, "work" and "advancement," satisfiers and/or motivators according to Herzberg (1959), were explored. Results indicated that there was no relationship between an individual's score on the JDI subset of either "work" or "advancement" and his/her ranking of the "academic values." In summary, the study concluded that business faculty of community colleges ranked the terminal, instrumental, and "academic values" in concordance with the rankings of the three comparison groups and that there was no relationship between either values and job satisfaction or values and Herzberg (1959) motivators and/or satisfiers. / Ed. D.

The purpose of this study was to measure the level of professional identification and the degree of job satisfaction of home economics teachers employed in school systems throughout the United States and to determine which personal variables related to those two constructs. The sample of 500 members of the Elementary, Secondary, and Adult Education section of the American Home Economics Association was randomized by ZIP Code to assure national geographic coverage. Multiple instruments were used to measure the variables in the study. The short-form of the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (Weiss, et al., 1967) measured extrinsic and intrinsic job satisfaction. Hall's Professionalism Scale (1968) revised by Snizek (1972) measured five components of professional identification. The researcher-devised Personal Data Questionnaire determined the personal variables. The research incorporated 263 persons who met the qualifications for inclusion in the study. The Pearson Product-Moment formula delineated a positive correlation between home economics teachers' job satisfaction and their professional identification. Analysis of variance and multiple regression analysis described the relationships among the personal variables, professional identification, and job satisfaction. Job satisfaction scores of home economics teachers differed on the basis of marital status, age, professional identification, and attendance at national or state meetings of professional organizations. Service, creativity, and the variety of tasks performed emerged as the factors that 90 percent of the home economics teachers found most satisfying. The variables of job satisfaction, reading professional journals, and attending professional meetings contributed to the professional identification of the home economics teachers. Professional organizations and the public service components of professional identification received the highest scores on the Professionalism Scale. The research results provide pertinent information for home economics educators, state home economics supervisors, and professional associations. / Ed. D.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

M.Ed. (Education Management) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education