The problem addressed by this study was to determine the relationship between North Carolina secondary school principals' attitudes toward vocational education and the perception of those attitudes by North Carolina secondary vocational education teachers. Included in this study was an examination of the relationship between the principals' attitudes toward vocational education and certain demographic data. In addition the relationship between the vocational teachers' perceptions of principals' attitudes toward vocational education and certain demographic data was examined. / The State Department of Public Instruction in North Carolina provided a list of all secondary school principals and vocational teachers in the state. Three hundred sixty-eight vocational teachers and 190 principals were randomly selected to participate. Care was taken to insure that the entire state was represented as well as every vocational area. Each participant was mailed a Personal Data Form and the "Attitudes Toward Vocational Education" (ATVE) questionnaire. The vocational teachers were to complete the ATVE exactly as they felt their principal would. One hundred fifty-five principals responded along with 255 vocational teachers. After the data were received an analysis of variance, t-test, and Tukey multiple range analysis were utilized to determine the existence of significant relationships. Conclusions and recommendations considered the information gained from a thorough search of the literature. / It was found that principals in the State of North Carolina do not demonstrate a favorable attitude toward vocational education. It was also found that vocational teachers have an accurate perception of principals' attitudes. In addition, the study indicates that although principals did not have a favorable attitude toward vocational education, principals over 50 had significantly more favorable attitudes than their younger counterparts. The study also revealed that vocational teachers from rural school districts perceived the attitudes of principals as being more positive than did vocational teachers from either urban or suburban school districts. It was also found that vocational teachers with only two year degrees perceived principals' attitudes as being significantly more positive than those teachers with either four year degrees or master's degrees. / Based on the findings of the study, several recommendations were made. It was recommended that principals being hired be given the ATVE to determine their attitude toward vocational education. Another recommendation was that new principals be given extensive assistance in understanding the importance of vocational education. A third recommendation was that professional assistance be obtained to improve the image of vocational education. A fourth recommendation was that the attitudes of principals be assessed on the ATVE or identified with ineffective vocational education programs and as identified with effective vocational educational programs to determine possible influence of principals' attitudes upon the quality of vocational education programs. Lastly, it was recommended that the findings of this study be utilized by the State Department of Public Instruction in deciding how best to approach the problem of improving principals' attitudes toward vocational education. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 41-05, Section: A, page: 1859. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1980.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_74185 |
| Contributors | DOWELL, THOMAS MOORE., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 115 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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