The purpose of this study was to determine if there were differences in perceptions and expectations of paraprofessionals and supervising professionals on how tasks and responsibilities are actually and ideally performed by paraprofessionals in working with low income rural residents in Florida. Role theory provided the basis from which the conceptual framework was developed. The population included professional staff and paraprofessionals employed by the Florida Cooperative Extension Service to implement special programs in food and nutrition for low income residents. / The duties and responsibilities (roles) used were those identified in the literature as the duties and responsibilities of paraprofessionals in working with low income rural residents in Florida. Data were collected using a questionnaire which was divided into five major sections providing descriptive information, general information, and data relevant to role expectations and perceptions of performance. / The objectives of the study were operationalized through six research questions. To answer the six questions, number and percentage distribution and the t-test were used to determine differences in perceptions and expectations of supervising agents and paraprofessionals on how proactive, reactive and administrative tasks are actually, and should ideally be performed by paraprofessionals. Data were collected on a total of 38 tasks. / The findings indicated that there were differences between perceptions and expectations of supervising professionals and paraprofessionals on two proactive, two reactive and four administrative actual tasks; and on two proactive, two reactive and seven administrative ideal tasks. Overall, there was more agreement than disagreement about actual and ideal task performance. It was therefore concluded that there was considerable consensus between the two groups on actual and ideal performance of proactive, reactive and administrative tasks. However, in those cases where differences were found, the researcher concluded that there was conflict between the two groups on how paraprofessionals should perform the tasks. The one area in which the largest number of role conflicts were found was ideal administrative tasks. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-03, Section: A, page: 0405. / Major Professor: Irwin R. Jahns. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1987.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_76222 |
| Contributors | Edwards, James Clay., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 177 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
Page generated in 0.0022 seconds