M. S.

The way in which a school division addresses the problem of an unsatisfactory teacher varies. A school division may choose to tolerate the problem, dismiss the teacher, or provide assistance to foster the development of the skills needed to meet minimum performance standards. The design of teacher assistance programs varies in the type of personnel who provide remediation and the extent to which events in the program are documented. This study describes the status of teacher assistance programs that were operational in Virginia during the 1988-89 school year. A survey instrument was distributed to each school division in the Commonwealth of Virginia. First, all of the existing programs were identified. Each program was classified by degree of formality: informal, semi-formal, and formal. Each program was further classified by the type of staff utilized: school-based and central office-based staff. Secondly, the categories were developed into a model of teacher assistance programs for comparison. / Ed. D.

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the perceived staff development needs of part-time occupational-technical instructors in the Virginia Community College System and to determine if there was a relationship between these needs and selected independent variables. Also considered were the instructors' attitude toward staff development and under what conditions they would participate in an in-service program. The 308 part-time occupational-technical faculty members who made up the sample were surveyed. A total of 196 or 63.6 percent of the 308 questionnaires used in the survey were returned and coded for use in resolving the four research questions. Absolute frequencies, percentage frequencies, and chi square tests of significance were used. Using the responses on the 196 returned questionnaires, the following conclusions were rendered concerning part-time occupational technical teachers in the Virginia Community College System. l. That a typical part-time occupational-technical teacher wi 11: a. Hold at least a Baccalaureate Degree b. Have more than 200 clock hours of teacher training c. Have from one to ten years experience d. Have more than ten years of occupational experience in the field in which they are teaching e. Be between 26 and 45 years of age 2. There is a need for in-service training for these teachers and that their needs are found in certain areas. 3. There is an inverse relationship between the educational level and certain perceived staff development needs, and that as their education level increases, their staff development needs in the given areas decrease. 4. Staff development is important to these teachers. 5. If a staff development program were offered at a convenient time and if the teachers were paid the same amount as they would receive for teaching, the majority of the teachers would participate in the staff development program. Recommendations rendered concerning staff development for part-time occupational-technical faculty in the Virginia Community College System were as follows: 1. The characteristics of these teachers discovered by this research should be considered when establishing a staff development program for these individuals. 2. When a staff development program is set up the in-service training should be organized so as to give training in the areas in which the instructors indicated having need. 3. Any in-service program should be developed with the idea in mind that as the level of education increases, the level of need decreases in certain areas. 4. A staff development program should be developed and offered to these teachers at a convenient time and that they be paid the teaching rate for the hours they participate in the program. 5. A study should be conducted to find out what specific kinds of staff development programs would best fit the needs of these individuals. / Ed. D.

Staff development, which is designed to help individuals grow personally and professionally in a supportive environment, is an important responsibility of supervisors in state and local education agencies. For teachers entering the field, staff development is particularly important since beginners often find the first years of teaching difficult and overwhelming. However, research related to the training needs of beginning special education teachers is limited. The purpose of this study was to: (a) identify competencies which beginning and experienced teachers of students with mild disabilities (emotionally disturbed or ED, educable mentally retarded or EMR, and learning disabled or LD) perceive as being necessary for effective special education teaching and (b) determine differences in training needs among beginning and experienced special education teachers. Survey methodology was used to gather information to answer the research questions. A staff development questionnaire was developed that contained 80 items under 7 broad categories: assessment/diagnosis, individual educational programs and planning, integration and collaboration, curriculum, instructional strategies, behavior strategies, and advocacy issues. The questionnaire was based on Virginia certification requirements, the professional literature, teacher interviews, and expert reviews. Teachers were asked to judge the relevance of the 80 skills to their teaching positions and to rate the extent to which they felt a need for additional training in each of the skill areas. Questionnaires were mailed to 1,056 ED, a EMR, and LD teachers in Virginia. Six hundred two teachers responded for a response rate of 57%. Data were analyzed* using descriptive statistics and analysis of variance. Major findings of the study include the following: (1) special education teachers perceived that the 80 competencies were extremely relevant to their jobs; (2) both beginning and experienced teachers indicated moderate training needs in the seven areas; (3) beginning LD teachers rated the need for IEP skills higher than experienced teachers; (4) experienced EMR teachers perceived that 5 of the 7 broad categories were more relevant than did beginning EMR teachers; and (5) EMR teachers rated need for training in curriculum higher than LD teachers. Implications for educational agencies, such as information on training priorities and teacher preparation programs are discussed. / Ed. D.