1. This study includes information about 125 departments of vocational agriculture, or 58.6 per cent of the 213 white departments established in the State of Virginia when this study was begun. 2. Data from the teacher trainers and district supervisors of Virginia shows the same trend and results as the data of teachers of vocational agriculture. 3. This study shows 101 or 80.8 per cent of the departments have an advisory council and 24 or 19.2 per cent have none. 4. The average years of experience with using advisory council in present position was 7.4 years, while those not using a council at present was 3.6 years. The teachers using councils serve in present school over twice as long as those not using a council. 5. There were only three teachers with nine or more years of service in present school who did not have an advisory council. 6. The teachers without councils reported an average of 1.7 reasons each for not having an advisory council. 7. Only 12 departments were making use of special councils, and 10 of these also used general councils. 8. The average council in the Southern region is almost the same as the average council in Virginia. / M.S.

With serious skill shortages in the field of marketing expected during this time period, the increase in marketing opportunities will reinforce the importance of marketing education (U. S. Department of Labor, 1989). "Marketing education programs must be structured to match the diversity of marketing dealing with the principles, concepts, attitudes, and skills necessary to prepare students to work in retail, service, and other business environments." (National Marketing Education Curriculum Framework, 1987, p. 7). The attitudes counselors have toward marketing education can have a major impact on course enrollment and students' planning of schedules including a combination of both academic and vocational courses (Washburn & McEwen, 1989). To date no evidence was found in the literature that shows what high school counselors think about the overall marketing education program. The purpose of this study was to determine selected Virginia's secondary school counselors' perceptions towards Virginia's Marketing Education program. A mail survey was developed and distributed to 186 schools offering a Marketing Education program in Virginia. When completing Section 1 of the survey instrument, participants supplied information concerning selected demographic variables. Data obtained from Section 1 were used to determine if differences existed between these selected demographic variables and Virginia's secondary school counselors' attitudes toward Virginia's Marketing Education program. When completing Section 2, participants used a 5-item Likert-type scale to indicate their attitudes toward Virginia's Marketing Education program. When completing Section 3--Virginia's secondary school counselors' knowledge of Virginia's Marketing Education program--participants selected true, false, or don't know to indicate their knowledge of Virginia's Marketing Education program. Two hundred and eighty-five counselors in 62% of the schools offering a Marketing Education program in Virginia participated in the study. Research question 1 found that most of the counselors responding have a positive attitude toward Virginia's Marketing Education programs. Research question 2, seeking information on what secondary school counselors know about Marketing Education found that even though their attitudes may be positive, they are not knowledgeable about the Marketing Education program. Research question 3 concerning selected demographic variables in relation to counselors' attitudes toward and knowledge of Marketing Education found that very small differences exist between the selected demographic variables and Virginia's secondary school counselors' attitudes toward and knowledge of Virginia's Marketing Education program. Conclusions and discussion, considerations for the study, recommendations, and suggestions for future research were described. / Ed. D.

This study addresses systemized transition planning and preparation for adult adjustment of secondary students with disabilities. Transition planning and preparation for youth with disabilities as they move from school to work and community adjustment is essential; however, thorough planning is rarely accomplished. Therefore, it is important to study the level at which transition services are currently delivered for secondary students with disabilities and to examine factors that affect delivery of those services. This study investigates (a) the status of transition services in Virginia school Divisions, (b) the status of specific factors that may affect delivery of transition services, (c) factors related to delivery of transition services and (da) demographics about persons most responsible for coordination of transition in local school divisions. Specifically, four transition service areas were examined: a) integration of students with disabilities with nondisabled peers, b) instructional programs, c) coordinated planning and d) support services. Also investigated were three factors that affect delivery of transition services: a) cooperation of vocational and special education, b) administrative support and c) a formal interagency transition team. Findings indicated the degree to which transition services were delivered across the state, as well as relationships between the level of delivery of transition services and the factors that were examined. Positive correlations demonstrated that the greater the level of administrative support for transition at the local level, the greater the level of delivery of transition services. Further, the greater the level of cooperation of vocational and special education, the greater the level of delivery of transition services. Existence of an interagency team correlated substantially with coordinated planning services. / Ed. D.