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The purpose of this study was to provide data that could be used to improve staff development in Virginia's Regional Alternative Education Centers. Characteristics of participants and of centers were identified as factors to investigate. The personal characteristics of the participants were age, gender, position, attitude toward staff development, and total years of experience in education. The center characteristics were location, age of center, grade levels served, number of staff employed, number of students served, number of special education students served, budget for staff development, pooling of resources, center leadership, number of certified general education teachers, and number of certified special education teachers. Quality of staff development was measured on the following dimensions: learning environment, time for learning, planning, evaluation, materials, techniques, funding, content, rewards for participation, use of adult learning principles, and transfer of learning. The design was both quantitative and qualitative. A questionnaire was mailed to 99 administrative coordinators, teachers, and counselors in 26 participating regional centers. Quantitative responses were analyzed with descriptive statistics, ANOVA, and multiple regression. The qualitative phase involved three focus groups with four participants in each group " one administrative coordinator, one counselor, and two teachers. Three centers were chosen at random from three different geographic regions in Virginia " urban, suburban, and rural. Nominal group techniques were used to create a prioritized list of recommendations for staff development at the centers. Factors that best predicted the quality of staff development were the quality of center leadership, attitude toward staff development, and grade levels served. The prioritized lists of strategies from the focus groups included funding for inservice travel, providing training during workday, using teambuilding techniques, working with stakeholders, increasing number of staff employed, and having stakeholders provide timely services. A major implication of the study was that one theory with independent predictor variables did not relate to the quality factors. A more accurate description evolved"a family of theories. The family consists of three separate theories, with each theory identified by the predictor variables that were found to be associated with specific quality variables. / Ed. D.

The prevailing purpose of this dissertation is the preparation of an historical account of public schools in Roanoke County from 1870 to 1920. The primary focus rests with the cultural, economic, political, and geographic factors that affected the evolvement of public schools in Virginia relative to Roanoke County Public Schools, a system in southwest Virginia. Within this framework the system is described as part of a valley-wide setting, where citizens, educators, events, funding, curriculum, and other components played an integral part in the shaping of the current system. The methodology employed in this study is qualitative in approach and utilizes recognized historical and ethnographic techniques. The Guba model, which allows for periods of discovery followed by refinement and verification, is suited to the nature of this study. The researcher initially conducts inquiry designed to discover data and generate ideas. After the initial inquiry period, the researcher refines and corroborates data. The cycle of broad inquiry followed by more critical analyses of specific occurrences can repeat itself several times. Verification is accomplished through the validation of sources based on triangulation, a method of cross-checking in which three or more sources are used to corroborate findings. Data is collected in an eclectic fashion, using the nature of the research questions to determine appropriate techniques. Primary sources are used when available, supplemented by secondary sources. Outcomes have not been predetermined but evolved as the research progressed. General interview guidelines have been used, but remained felxible enough to allow for probing and expansion of relevant topics. It is anticipated that the history of Roanoke County Public School from 1870- 1920 will -provide an accounting of historical developments within this time frame; -enrich the legacy it leaves to future generations; -develop an appreciation for the obstacles and trials that people overcame; -create as accurate an interpretation as possible from available data; -develop a sense of the past as a precursor to the present; -provide an avenue for practical use of this knowledge in developing a better future plan; -provide an historical account of public school education in Roanoke County that has heretofore been meager; -contribute to a broader body of historical information on Roanoke County / Ed. D.

The purpose of the study is to determine what selected school districts throughout the state of Texas are doing to meet the Texas Gifted and Talented mandate at the high school level, grades 9-12. The study is also to help determine if more guidelines from the state are needed, or if schools are able to meet student needs and mandate requirements as they currently exist.

A study of methods, organization and subject matter in the Laboratory of Industries plan in seventy-five public schools of Texas.

The problem involved in this study is to determine a satisfactory way in which public schools can adequately revise their scientific evaluation system in order to develop a more effective method of marking and reporting of pupil progress to parents.

The purpose of this study is to determine an adequate and justifiable report to the parents regarding the progress of students in the public schools of the Colbert community, Colbert, Oklahoma.

The purpose of this study is to report a survey which the writer made of the public school system of Denton, Texas, dealing with the financial status, the school plants, the teaching personnel, the pupil personnel, and the libraries. The goal was to evaluate the schools in light of accepted standards for the factors considered, and to make certain recommendations regarding improvements.

The purpose of the study is to compare the Graham School System with other school systems in the same area; to evaluate the Graham School System with accepted standards, on the phases of school activities studied; and to make constructive recommendations and suggestions for needed improvements as shown by the data collected.

The purpose of this study has three aspects. These are, (1) to determine what constitutes sound public-relations practices as recommended by recognized authorities in this field; (2) to determine the extent to which certain public-relations practices are employed by one hundred Texas public school systems; and (3) to determine whether the public-relations programs of one hundred Texas public-school systems meet the requirements of a sound public-relations program.