No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

The study, tenth in a series sponsored by Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and the National School Boards Association, proposed to determine salient factors in the recruitment and selection of school board members and, further, how these factors related to selected demographic and personal variables and/or the method (elected or appointed) by which school board members' were selected. In addition, the study examined board members' preferences for a trustee versus delegate role in relation to their communities. The study utilized descriptive research methodology and survey technique to gather data from a national sample of school board members. A stratified random sample of board members was selected from the list of subscribers to The American School Board Journal. The survey was designed to collect attitudinal, personal, and demographic information about school board members and obtain information regarding selected characteristics of their school board and factors related to their recruitment and selection to that board. Appropriate descriptive research methodology and statistical treatments were utilized. Findings were related to six major research questions as well as historical information and previous research on this topic. The study's results described respondents by region of the United States, enrollment size, type of community, sex, race, age, educational level, occupation, length of board service, size of school board, coterminousness of boundaries, and fiscal relationship of the school districts. Ten factors related to the recruitment and selection of school board members were described including prior community service, sources of encouragement, reason for seeking membership, representative structure, political status, format and competition, the campaign process, selection, recall, and future intentions. Data were analyzed to provide a descriptive summary and determine differences according to method of selection (elected versus appointed) and 12 variables related to demographic, personal, and school board characteristics. Differences between elected and appointed board members were viewed as representing statistically significant as well as "true" phenomenological differences. Data revealed a preference for a trustee role suggesting that the majority of school board members sought, were selected, and were motivated to represent the interests of their communities. / Ed. D.

The purpose of this study was to systematically synthesize and analyze through a meta-analytic method the results of various studies pertaining to the validity of the NASSP Assessment Center process. Thirtyfour studies were identified as potential sources of information. The analysis focused primarily on criterion-related validity and the potential of gender, position type and racial bias in the assessment process. Results of the study indicated criterion-related validity of the NASSP Assessment Center process to be very low. Questions were raised about the ability of the assessment process to discriminate among the twelve skill dimensions. The low discriminant validity in the NASSP process probably reduced the criterion validity reported by the various studies. The results indicated the criterion validity of the process was relatively low across most of the criteria used to substantiate validity. No significance relationships were found between the twelve skill dimensions and the demographic variables of gender, position type, or race. Although thirty-four studies were identified as sources of data for assessing the validity of the NASSP Assessment Center process, there isa need for more research on both construct and criterion-related validity. Criterion-related validity should be based on the application of skills on the job rather than a global measure of job performance. / Ph. D.

The major purpose of this study was to study the perceptions and expectations of school board members regarding turnover in the superintendency of the public school systems. Data were gathered regarding the frequency of superintendency turnover and compared to board turnover. The study sought to collect data concerning board satisfaction with the superintendent, priority issues the board expected the superintendent to address, the kind of experience board members preferred in their superintendent, the ideal length of superintendency tenure, and at what point school board members think that a superintendent's contract should be terminated. These data were then crosstabbed with selected demographic variables. Descriptive research methodology was utilized in this study. A nationwide sample of school board members was identified from a list of 53,247 board members provided by the National School Boards Association. The study was completed using a stratified random sampling technique by state. Of the 94,716 board members in the population, 11,992 or 12.6% were surveyed. The response rate was 18%. The study was sponsored by The American School Board Journal, published by the National School Boards Association, the national professional organization for school board members in the United States. / Ed. D.

This study examined the teaching performance, academic achievement, and perceived staff value of teachers recruited through the Chesapeake Career Commitment Program as compared to those teachers recruited through a more traditional method. The problem statement of this study was to determine what differences existed between the Career Commitment teachers and the traditionally recruited teachers. Grade point averages, scores on the National Teachers Examination, evaluation of teaching performance by the respective principals, evaluation of teaching performance by the central office evaluator, and the staff value of teachers expressed by ranking scores were analyzed for both the Chesapeake Career Commitment teachers and the traditionally recruited teachers. Additionally, the reasons stated of both groups for accepting employment with Chesapeake Public Schools, and the retention rate for both groups was investigated. The subjects in this study were the 1985 Career Commitment teachers and certain selected teachers who were matched with the career teachers. The matched teachers were selected because they had not taught before and were assigned to the same school as was a Career Commitment teacher. Related literature was examined regarding supply and demand of teachers, recruitment, the need for quality teachers, measures of academic achievement, teacher retention and the development of Chesapeakes' Career Commitment Program. The findings reveal a measurable difference between the performance of teachers recruited through the Career Commitment Program and those teachers recruited in the traditional method exists. Findings suggest that: (1) the Chesapeake Career Commitment Program is very successful and should not only be continued but expanded beyond the present scope, and (2) that it may, if properly structured be equally effective to recruit and hire teachers prior to conclusion of all classwork and student teaching rather than observe the traditional delay until all educational work is completed. The principals, as a group, viewed the Career Commitment teachers as being more of a staff asset than the traditionally recruited teachers. / Ed. D.

The purpose of this study is to try to answer these questions: By what standards may application letters for teaching positions be judged? How well does the average teacher meet these standards in his own application letters? What changes should teachers make in their application letters to make them stronger?

This study examines the technology and appointment scheduling habits of older adults over the age of 55 through an exploratory sequential three phase mixed methods study. Phase One of this study examined features of ten existing mHealth applications through a qualitative content analysis, then a mHealth wireframe was developed from the app to replicate in addition to a redesigned version. Phase Two of the study was a thirty-four questions survey with 40 participants that inquired about their background with appointment scheduling, prior experience with technology, and demographics. After that, the mHealth applications were revised into two mHealth application prototypes. Lastly, Phase Three conducted a user test with the two mHealth prototypes through A/B testing with 15 participants. Findings from the survey showed the preferred method of scheduling an appointment among participants was primarily in-person or by phone. The user test revealed that some participants were willing to use a mHealth application to schedule an appointment if it was deemed easy to use. Recommendations for future research suggests that the iterative design process of a prototype with an underserved population would garner feedback inclusive of those older adults who are less tech savvy. The major contribution of this research was the development of the mHapps Framework which will be tested in a future study.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education