The purpose of this study was to determine faculty participation in and approval of professional growth and renewal activities in the Dallas County Community College District. The population consisted of 526 full-time faculty employed by the district. The DCCCD Survey instrument, which was used in the study, included activities grouped into seven categories: career development, leaves, international activities, instructional renewal, grants, reward, and a miscellaneous category. Faculty members identified participation in activities; they also identified their approval or disapproval of all activities on a five point Likert-type scale. The population was grouped by teaching field, age, years-of-experience and campus for statistical analyses. A Chi-square test of goodness of fit was conducted to determine if significant differences existed between expected and observed participation among groups in each of the seven categories. An analysis of variance was completed to determine significant differences of opinion. The findings of the study indicated significant differences between expected and observed participation in the following categories: international and instructional activities when faculty were grouped by teaching fields; reward activities among years-of-experience groups. Significant differences of opinion were reported in all but the miscellaneous category when faculty were grouped by teaching field. Other significant differences were reported in career development among age groups, in leaves and grants among years-of-experience groups and in career development, reward and the miscellaneous category among campus groups. Based on the findings in the study, the following recommendations were made. The career development program should be broadened to appeal to faculty. Leaves and travel funds must be provided for faculty. International and instructional activities must be expanded to include appropriate activities for all teaching fields. Further study should be conducted in specific areas of professional growth to determine if these activities influence the effectiveness of faculty.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether elementary teacher morale is related to teacher freedom to make decisions and give input into their work and work environment. Additionally, the study attempted to determine whether teacher decision making freedom varies with age, gender, number of degrees, years of experience, or special teaching assignment.

Open access institutional repositories (OA IRs) are electronic systems that capture, preserve, and provide access to the scholarly digital work of an institution. As a new channel of scholarly communications IRs offer faculty a new way to disseminate their work to a wider audience, which in turn can increase the visibility to their work and impact factors, and at the same time increase institutions prestige and value. However, despite the increased popularity of IRs in numbers, research shows that IRs remain thinly populated in large part due to faculty reluctance to participate. There have been studies on the topic of open access repositories with the focus on external factors (social or technological context) that affect faculty attitudes towards participation in IRs, and there is a lack of understanding of the internal factors and the psychology of the reluctance. The goal of this mix method study was to identify the overall factors that affect faculty attitudes towards participation in IRs and examine the extent to which these factors influenced faculty willingness to participate in IRs. First, from literature review and the Model of Factors Affecting Faculty Self-Archiving this study identified eleven factors that influenced faculty members' intention to participate in OA repositories. Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) postulated that faculty intention to participate in IR was determined by three categories of factors: five attitudinal, four external (social) and two individual factors. Within the framework of the TPB this study (1) confirmed the measurement scale for each factor using principal component analysis, (2) it examined the influence that each factor had on the faculty likelihood to participate in IR using logistic regression, and (3) it weighted the relative importance of each factor on faculty intent to participate, utilizing relative weight analysis. Quantitative analysis revealed that four out of 11 factors proved to be statistically significant in faculty members' intention to participate in IRs; difficulty with the submission process, discoverability access and readership, altruism, and faculty perception of IRs as low-quality publishing venues. While qualitative analysis revealed that more than half of the faculty remain unfamiliar with OA and its goals, and while they supported the principles of OA, they also had a myriad of concerns regarding participation in IRs.

This quantitative methods study explored the knowledge, attitudes and practices of PK-5 teachers on the use of technology applications in the classroom. The Texas State Board of Education has set in place standards for technology applications that require the use of technology applications across all grades. Likewise, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published new guidelines on the use of technology by children. However, it is the responsibility of teachers to implement and embed these standards, while also paying attention to the recommendations of the AAP. I developed a survey that provided demographic information, and included 12 items to measure the knowledge, attitudes and practices of teachers of technology applications in the classroom. Participants included 251 PK-5 teachers from three different districts in a South Texas region. Multiple regressions were conducted for each of the constructs produced by a factor analysis. Knowledge and attitudes presented no statistically significant results from individual teacher characteristics, but there were statistically significant differences on attitudes by districts. The regression analysis for practice reported a statistically significant difference between teachers that held a master's degree and those who did not. I conclude that technology applications implementation in the PK-5 classrooms is still developing and evolving, but there is still no consistency across districts, and further research in this matter is still needed.

The purpose of the study was to determine if occupational investigation teachers and vocational administrators held similar or differing attitudes toward the occupational investigation courses in relation to the mainstreamed handicapped students they served. The following conclusions were warranted from the findings of the analyses of the data. Findings derived from multiple T tests indicate that occupational investigation teachers perceive all survey item statements concerning Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) meetings and the content of Individual Education Programs (IEPs) as occurring to a significantly lesser degree than do vocational administrators. There is no significant discrepancy in their perceptions toward the current practices of occupational investigation teacher training, student assessment, classroom accessibility, course content, or special education assistance described in the survey items. The results of the multiple T tests indicate that there are no significant differences between the attitudes and perceptions of occupational investigation teachers and vocational administrators in Texas toward the future of any of the conditions reflected in the survey items. Teachers and administrators agree that all of the current conditions reflected by the items should be promoted to a higher degree in the future. The results of the multiple T tests indicate a high degree of significance in the disparity between teachers and administrators with regard to their attitudes toward the amount of change and the degree of improvement in the conditions in the survey item statements reflecting ARD committee meetings and the uses of IEPs. However, no significant disparity was found between their perceptions of the difference between the current practice and the optimum condition for items illustrating teacher training, classroom accessibility, course content, student assessment, or special education assistance.

This study examines the main research hypothesis that there is significant interaction between the effects of computer use/non-use and level of computer training among community college educators in the state of Texas regarding attitudes toward the implementation of administrative and instructional computing. A statewide survey was conducted with deans of instruction and full-time faculty members who represented the three academic transfer departments of natural/physical sciences, social science, and humanities/fine arts. Fifty-five deans of instruction and three hundred fifty-six faculty members participated in the study. A factor analysis of data from the questionnaires revealed four factors which were identified and labeled: Factor One: Computer Applications: Advantages and Disadvantages; Factor Two: Administrative Computer Applications: Advantages and Disadvantages; Factor Three: Apprehensions About Educational Computing; Factor Four: Situational Factors Associated With Computer Applications in Education. A 4x3x2 (professional position x level of computer training x level of computer experience) multivariate analysis of variance of both main and interaction effects was then performed within and across these factors.

The purpose of the study was to answer the questions: Do students show greater academic success in English language arts/reading as measured by the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) exam scores in secondary education when their teachers are the same ethinicity? Do students show greater academic success in math as measured by the TAKS exam scores in secondary education when their teachers are the same ethnicity? Minority students' success on the TAKS test was compared to the assessment scores of White students from the 2010-2011, 2011-2012, and 2012-13 school year in thre suburban school districts. This topic has been a subject of discussion since the late 10970s when Cardenas and Cardenas (1977) studied the achievement among minority students and their White peers. The conversation continued through authors such as Takei and Shouse (2008), Hays (2011), Ladson-Billings (2006), Dee (2003, 2005), and Brown (2006). To answer these research questions, a hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted on the data collected. Although the study verified the achievement gap between minority students and White students, the study indicated no consistent pattern corroborating that minority students were more successful when taught by teachers of the same ethnicity. In many cases, students learned better with teachers of a different ethnicity. Black students were successful with Hispanic or White teachers, Hispanic students were successful with Black or White teachers, and White students were successful with Black or Hispanic teachers. The TAKS assessment scores were the only data used to support this analysis.

This research was a qualitative study of 10 elementary school teachers working with predominantly African American students in a large urban school district. The primary focus of this study was to analyze the perceptions of effective teachers of African American students. The hope is that the data presented in this study will initiate trends that assist in effectively preparing teachers to attain successful outcomes with African American students. Through document analysis and interviews with selected university faculty, this interpretive qualitative study also examined the multicultural education training component that targets African American students in the undergraduate elementary teacher preparation program at a highly selective public university in Texas. The data were collected through interviews and document analysis. The themes that emerged from data collected with the 10 elementary school teachers included (a) perceptions of culture, (b) beliefs about teaching, (c) academic accountability, (d) teacher preparation, and (e) contributions to success. This study utilized Ladson-Billings' (1995a, 2001) theoretical framework of culturally relevant pedagogy to examine teachers' perspectives. Supplemented with interviews of selected university faculty, this study also utilized document analysis of relevant teacher preparation programs and educational policies. Along with uncovering areas of further research, an examination of the various components of this study identifies recommendations for reform of educational practice, teacher preparation programs, and educational policy. / text

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The purpose of this study was to develop information and understanding concerning the use of instructional resources, including library materials, by community junior college vocational-technical instructors. The study sought to determine whether the kinds and amounts of instructional resources used by vocational technical instructors in their courses were related to their: (a) level of formal education, (b) number of courses in Higher Education completed, (c) years of teaching experience, and (d) teaching status (full or part-time). Further, the study sought to determine whether the attitudes toward use or non-use of the library were related to such instructor characteristics. The analyses of the data revealed that vocational technical instructors at Tarrant County Junior College utilized a wide variety of instructional resources in their courses. Instructional resources used in at least 50 percent of vocational-technical courses were: audio-visual materials, 88 percent; departmental books, 73 percent; personally owned books, 72 percent; manufacturers' literature other than service manuals, 63 percent; information from notes of previously taken courses, 63 percent; departmentally prepared syllabi, 58 percent; personally owned journals, 56 percent; self-prepared syllabi, 53 percent; manufacturers' service manuals, 52 percent; and association publications, 50 percent.