The purpose of the study was to select and field test at the Selma Middle School, Selma, Indiana, a needs assessment process which could be applicable to schools in Southern Mozambique. The study was also designed to: 1) conduct a needs assessment to determine the extent of agreement among parents, teachers and pupils on the relative importance of eighteen educational goals established by the Office of Education of the State of California, in cooperation with selected school corporations; 2) provide a rank order of priority of the five most important educational goals selected from a list of eighteen educational goals; and 3) obtain the judgment of parents, teachers and pupils to determine whether the school was meeting the five goals identified as most important.To field test a systematic approach to needs assessment and to attain community participation of parents, teachers and students, the following steps were used: 1) obtain a set of eighteen educational goals; 2) select a representative parent committee; 3) select students representing those attending Selma Middle School; 4) ask all available teachers of the Middle School; 5) provide a list of the eighteen educational goals to each member of the various groups for study.The second major task of the three groups was to judge whether or not the school was meeting the goals identified as the five most important of the eighteen educational goals. A second questionnaire was used to determine the degree to which Selma Middle School was meeting the five goals identified as most important.The three groups were composed of thirteen parents, five male and eight female; ten teachers, five male and five female; and twenty-one students, ten male and eleven female. Three student groups of seven each represented the sixth, seventh and eighth grades.The Chi-square technique, x2 = (0-E)2 , was used to test Ethe null hypotheses for significance at the .05 level.Based upon the goals selected by parents, it would seem that their selection was based on parental experience in life, which in turn influenced the decisions for selecting the goals. Many of the goals selected by parents were goals that expressed what the parents needed or hoped to achieve themselves.Teachers, because of their goal selections, did not show great interest in non-skilled subjects. Rather, the teachers were more interested in goals related to the development of pride in work and a feeling of self-worth.Based upon their selection of goals, students stressed goals related to affective domain. Students contended that most students have potentialities which, when released by teachers through satisfying and meeting the students’ needs in affective domain, the students are capable of meeting the demands of the teachers.There were more differences than similarities among parents, teachers and students, in the selection and ranking of educational goals. Students did not necessarily depend on parents to decide what was best for the students. Neither did parents rely necessarily on what the students would judge as important. Similarly, teachers were no closer to students than were parents in judging what was best for students. However, greater agreement existed between parents and students than between teachers and students on the degree to which Selma Middle School was meeting the identified goals. The greatest differences in all tasks were found to be existing between teachers and students.

The purpose of the study was to identify and compare the perceived concerns of novice and experienced teachers in the middle-level teaching years. The population consisted of 200 public school teachers and 100 Catholic school teachers in grades six, seven, and eight in the state of Indiana.A forty-item questionnaire listing concerns in the areas of professional growth, classroom management and routines, instructional activities, and evaluation problems was utilized. Three null hypothesis were tested by using a multivariate of analysis of variance (MANOVA). Decisions with regard to the hypotheses were made at an alpha level of .05.Findings1. No statistically significant differences were found to exist between novice and experienced teachers.2. No statistically significant differences were found to exist between male and female teachers.3. No statistically significant differences were found to exist between public school and Catholic school teachers.4. Salary commensurate with demands for professional growth, motivating pupil interest and response, stimulating critical thinking and developing good work and study habits were identified as major professional concerns of teachers.Conclusions1. Level of experience does not account for major differences in the degree of concerns of teachers.2. Sex of the teacher does not account for major differences in the degree of concerns of teachers.3. Type of school--public or Catholic--does not account for major differences in the degree of concerns of teachers.4. The area of Instructional Activities causes the greatest concern followed by Classroom Management and Professional Growth. Evaluation Problems causes the least concern.5. Salary, motivating student interest and response, developing in students good work and study habits, and stimulating critical thinking are major concerns for teachers.6. Individual items causing concern for teachers have experienced modest changes during the past 14 years. / Department of Educational Administration and Supervision

The purpose of this action research study was to examine strategies that lead to effective and efficient band rehearsals at the junior high level. Participants in the study were 28 grade 8 band students, 11 males and 17 females, as well as one music teacher researcher. Of 35 grade 8 band students, 28 or 80% chose to participate in the study. The school is located in a relatively high social-economic suburban junior high school. The research questions addressed were: 1. What proportion of instructional time do I spend on: teaching musical concepts and skills; conducting active music making; classroom management; waiting or wasting time? 2. How can I change my rehearsal practice to spend more time engaging students in active musical learning, and less time on non-musical tasks, thus improving the effectiveness and efficiency of my middle years band rehearsals? 3. How do students perceive and respond to their band rehearsals? During a 10-week block, from January to March, 2006, specific teaching innovations, drawn from the research and pedagogical literatures, were implemented with an aim to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the band class. Music classes were video taped and later analyzed using rehearsal frames. Students responded to the instructional innovations by completing exit slips daily and attitudinal surveys at the beginning and completion of the research project. The teacher tracked her perceptions through daily journal entries and reflecting on the classes videotaped. Qualitative data were unitized and then sorted by thematic codes while quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Pre- and Post-survey mean scores were calculated and compared using T-tests. The following conclusions were drawn: 1) The majority of class time was spent in active music making followed by “waiting” and “instruction” time; 2) The innovations introduced were effective and improved the efficiency of the band classes; 3) Students strongly agreed that they were involved during band rehearsals conducted throughout the project; and 4) The overwhelming majority of students responded positively to all survey items related to band rehearsals.

The purpose of this action research study was to examine strategies that lead to effective and efficient band rehearsals at the junior high level. Participants in the study were 28 grade 8 band students, 11 males and 17 females, as well as one music teacher researcher. Of 35 grade 8 band students, 28 or 80% chose to participate in the study. The school is located in a relatively high social-economic suburban junior high school. The research questions addressed were: 1. What proportion of instructional time do I spend on: teaching musical concepts and skills; conducting active music making; classroom management; waiting or wasting time? 2. How can I change my rehearsal practice to spend more time engaging students in active musical learning, and less time on non-musical tasks, thus improving the effectiveness and efficiency of my middle years band rehearsals? 3. How do students perceive and respond to their band rehearsals? During a 10-week block, from January to March, 2006, specific teaching innovations, drawn from the research and pedagogical literatures, were implemented with an aim to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the band class. Music classes were video taped and later analyzed using rehearsal frames. Students responded to the instructional innovations by completing exit slips daily and attitudinal surveys at the beginning and completion of the research project. The teacher tracked her perceptions through daily journal entries and reflecting on the classes videotaped. Qualitative data were unitized and then sorted by thematic codes while quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Pre- and Post-survey mean scores were calculated and compared using T-tests. The following conclusions were drawn: 1) The majority of class time was spent in active music making followed by “waiting” and “instruction” time; 2) The innovations introduced were effective and improved the efficiency of the band classes; 3) Students strongly agreed that they were involved during band rehearsals conducted throughout the project; and 4) The overwhelming majority of students responded positively to all survey items related to band rehearsals.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Tulsa, 1977. / Bibliography: leaves 79-82.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Tulsa, 1975. / Bibliography: leaves 71-74.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Tulsa, 1975. / Bibliography: leaves 71-74.

Research paper (M.A.) -- Cardinal Stritch College -- Milwaukee, 1971. / A research paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Education (Reading Specialist). Includes bibliographical references (p. 34-36).

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Liberty University School of Education, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Title from title frame. Also available in printed format.