Typescript. / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

The purpose of this study was to develop an adequately reliable and valid measure to assess five dominant life values held by adults. Additionally, by using the developed instrument, the study also compared major life values held by Anglo and black subjects. Items for the initial draft of the instrument were drawn from a pool of items obtained from surveying a group of community college students who were asked to list 10 to 20 important life values. Once these values were listed, the students were asked to rank order them in terms of their importance to their life and survival. These rank ordered values were categorized into five areas which formed the basis for the final version of the values scale. The final version of the draft included 50 items grouped into five value areas which were labeled as: moral outlook, family-mate relationships, work values, personal growth, and values related to creative use of leisure time. This instrument was then administered to a group of 723 secondary students whose ages ranged from 17 to 31 years. The data obtained from this sample was used to determine the internal consistency measure of reliability for the total as well as individual sub-scales. The reliability coefficients ranged from a low of .82 to a high of .91, indicating high reliability of the scale. The concurrent validity of the scale was developed by correlating five value sub-scales to the Taylor-Johnson Temperament Analysis (TJTA). The validity coefficients obtained by this procedure indicated a moderately high construct validity of the developed scale. The intercorrelations of five sub-scales also revealed that there was some overlap among these scales; however, low to moderate correlations provided some justification for using them as separate sub-scales of human values. For the purposes of comparing values of subjects from two ethno-cultures, 72 students were randomly selected from each group, and their responses to the value scale were analyzed by a factorial analyses of variance design. The results obtained from a three-factor ANOVA (sex x race x religion) revealed no significant differences in values of Anglo and black subjects in terms of ethnic and religious attributes. However, significant differences were observed in values held by male and female subjects. The greater sex differences occurred in the values related to creative use of leisure time. Male subjects placed significantly higher importance upon leisure time activities than their female counterparts. The significance and implications of the findings were discussed.

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

Counselors can work at a variety of locations (Vacc & Loesch, 2000). Yet very little is known about each setting (King, 2007) and what type of counselors would have an optimum fit. Burnout is a pervasive issue in counseling (Lawson, 2007) and providing good-fit information could lessen turnover and burnout from the counseling field. The primary purpose of this study included investigating the differences between job satisfaction and value priorities of counselors in private practice and agency settings. The overarching theoretical framework included Frank Parsons‘ counselors, with seventy-two agency counselors and sixty-three private practitioners. Counselors completed two assessments and a survey in a descriptive correlational design. Two methods of group and e-mail administration produced a 98.7 % and 33% response rates, respectively. The data collection instruments included: The Schwartz Value Survey (SVS; Schwartz, 1992), the abridged Job Descriptive Index (aJDI; Stanton et al., 2002), the abridged Job In General Scale (aJIG; Russell et al., 2004), and the Counselor History Questionnaire (Cunningham, 2009). The statistical procedures used to analyze the data included two one-way MANOVAs and four standard multiple regressions. Post- hoc analysis included ANOVA for five subscales on the aJDI measure. The three research questions included; (a) Are there any differences between job satisfaction between counselors in private practice and agency settings? (b) Are there any iv differences between value priorities of self-transcendence and self-enhancement between counselors in private practice and agency settings?, and (c) Are there any relationships among the variables of job satisfaction and value priorities of counselors in private practice and agency setting? The first research question was supported, with private practitioners reporting statistically significant higher levels of job satisfaction on two measures, with 12.9 % of the variance explained by the model. Furthermore, the results of the post-hoc included private practitioners reporting statistically significant higher ratings on the aJDI subscales of Work and Income, and Agency counselors reporting higher scores on the Supervision subscale. The second and third research questions were not supported; as there were no differences in value priorities of counselors in private practice and agency. Furthermore, no predictive relationships existed among the variables of work location, value priorities, and job satisfaction. The data suggested that private practitioners experienced a higher level of job satisfaction than their counterparts in agency settings. Furthermore, the non-significant results of value priorities suggested that counselors, as a whole, possess similar value priorities which are not altered by different work settings. Implications for counselors and counselor educators were presented, along with areas of future research.

The purposes of the study were (1) to assess the validity and reliability of Values for Helpers, (2) to determine whether the test would be a usable instrument for analysis of value systems of mental health professionals, (3) to provide information on possible utilization of the test as a measurement tool for assessing the quality of relationship skills of helpers, and (4) to provide information of a heuristic nature for future research with Values for Helpers. To accomplish these purposes, the following questions were examined. 1. What are the relationships between the scales of the Allport-Vernon-Lindzey Study of Values and Values for Helpers? 2. What are the relationships between the scales of the Personal Orientation Inventory and Values for Helpers? 3. What are the relationships between the total scores on Myrick and Kelly's Counselor Evaluation Rating Scale and the scales of Values for Helpers? Conclusions based on the results suggested that (1) there was acceptable reliability for Values for Helpers, (2) the tribalistic and conformist scales of Values for Helpers demonstrated negative convergent validity with the scales of the Personal Orientation Inventory, (3) the existential scale of Values for Helpers demonstrated positive convergent validity with the scales of the Personal Orientation Inventory, (4) the existential scale of the Values for Helpers demonstrated concurrent validity when related to the Counselor Evaluation Rating Scale, and (5) the existential scale of Values for Helpers appeared to exhibit very low predictive validity for counselor success in developing relationship skills and demonstrating positive practicum performance as measured by the Counselor Evaluation Rating Scale.

The purpose of this study was to develop a test which would reveal a person's primary level of existence according to Clare W. Graves' model of adult psychosocial behavior. The sub-purposes of this study were (1) to translate Graves' theoretical levels of existence into discrete components of attitude and behavior which could then be assessed with a written test instrument, (2) to create such a written instrument, and (3) to test the instrument for reliability and validity. The general conclusion of this study is that the Levels of Existence test meets the standards of reliability and validity accepted within psychometrics sufficiently to recommend that it be revised with respect to certain details as specified in the study, and that further research be undertaken.