The primary purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which Indiana alternative school administrators were knowledgeable of research-supported tenets of effective alternative education and the extent to which they personally supported these tenets. Other purposes included: (a) developing a demographic profile of the administrators, including total population and membership in an Alternative Career Group or Traditional Career Group, (b) testing for possible associations between the two study groups and selected demographic variables, (c) testing for possible differences in knowledge levels between the two study groups, and (d) testing for possible differences in support levels between the two study groups.The study population consisted of 118 licensed administrators employed in public alternative schools in Indiana serving students whose disruptive behavior resulted in the students' removal from traditional schools. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Ninety-one surveys were returned, yielding a 77% response rate.Major findings included:1. Administrators did not recognize all tenets that guide the policies of effective alternative schools or all practices that hinder success; the mean knowledge score was 78% of the possible score, indicating moderate knowledge level.2. Administrators' personal support level was slightly lower than the knowledge level; the mean support score was 74% of the possible score.3. Less than one-third of all administrators reported taking college courses pertaining to alternative education.4. Alternative Career Group members had a significantly higher knowledge level of the tenets than Traditional Career Group members; however, no significant difference existed between the groups regarding personal support.Results concerning knowledge and support suggested that some administrators were not guided by the tenets of alternative education espoused in the literature. Moreover, administrators who had a career orientation to this specialization were no more inclined to support the tenets than were administrators without this career orientation. The fact that a relatively low percentage of administrators had completed one or more college courses in alternative education raises questions regarding the degree to which these administrators are adequately prepared to lead their schools. Recommendations are made with respect to additional research and to revising licensing standards for alternative school administrators. / Department of Educational Leadership
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/179998 |
| Date | January 2002 |
| Creators | Reynolds, Sharon Marie |
| Contributors | Kowalski, Theodore J. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | x, 180 leaves ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
| Coverage | n-us-in |
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