Gray, Mary B.

The purpose of this research study was to explore the academic effectiveness of a dropout prevention science course code modification (Environmental Earth Science) when compared with the regular dropout prevention course (Fundamental Earth/Space Science). Academic achievement of at-risk students enrolled in both the regular and the course modification class was measured by their performance on two subscales (process and recall skills) of the district's achievement test in Fundamental Earth/Space and Fundamental Environmental Science. The modified curriculum integrated the curriculum frameworks and performance standards of Fundamental Earth/Space Science and those of Fundamental Environmental Science to produce an interdisciplinary unit of instruction that enabled students to earn two credits (Earth/Space and Environmental Science) in one year of study. The course featured an integrated approach to instruction with emphasis on hands-on and process skills. The 274 subjects of this study represented the entire population of dropout prevention students in the Broward County School System enrolled in both dropout prevention Fundamental Earth/Space Science and Fundamental Environmental Earth Science for the 1990-91 school year. A 3 x 2 x 2 factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) design was used to examine main effects due to type of curriculum, gender, and race as well as all possible interactions among these independent variables. Analyses revealed that there was a significant difference in student academic performance for each of the independent variables that was not moderated by the interactions of these variables. Students in the course modification curriculum of either gender and of all race/ethnicity groups performed significantly better (p <.05) on both subscales (process and recall) of the district's achievement examinations than students in the regular dropout prevention curriculum.

This study examined factors related to attrition of public school teachers. Two hundred fifty-six Palm Beach County, Florida, public school teachers responded to a questionnaire that solicited information concerning demographics, satisfaction with aspects of teaching, attitudes toward teaching and suggestions for increasing retention. The respondents were divided into three groups: those planning to leave teaching in the Palm Beach County schools within 5 years (departers--16.4%), those undecided about leaving (undecideds--37.0%), and those planning to remain (remainers--46.6%). Significance of differences among the three groups was tested using chi-squared and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). There were significant differences (p <.05) among the three groups with respect to having previously considered leaving teaching and being dissatisfied with teaching as a career. There were also significant differences (p <.05) among the three groups concerning the following: satisfaction with general working conditions, school learning environment, intellectual challenge of the job, support received from administration, opportunities for advancement, influence over school policies and practices, student motivation, parental support, student discipline/behavior, extent of department chairperson's help, determining the content of inservice programs, setting policy on grouping students by ability, establishing curriculum, and amount of administrative assistance provided to improve instructional effectiveness and/or classroom management. The departers were significantly different (p <.05) from the undecideds and/or remainers regarding the above factors, and expressed the most dissatisfaction with them. The undecideds differed significantly (p <.05) from the remainers only on topics of parental support, extent of department chairperson's help, and amount of influence they had in establishing curriculum. The remainers were more satisfied with all of the questionnaire items related to attrition than were the other groups. Increasing salaries and pay incentives, giving teachers more authority/support in the classroom, and improving general working conditions were suggested by respondents as the most effective steps for decreasing attrition. There were significant differences (p <.05) among the three groups of respondents regarding their first, second and third most important suggestions. Although a formal, predictive model for hiring does not exist, data from this study could be used as a beginning or such a model.

Although legislation regarding women's rights has been passed in recent years, it has had little effect on the number of women in educational administration. This dissertation was undertaken to compare the attitudes of male and female school board members toward women in administrative positions in the state of Florida. The test instrument was the Women as Managers Scale (WAMS) developed by Peters, Terborg, and Taynor in 1974 for the purpose of detecting biased attitudes toward women in various organizations. This was a self-administered questionnaire sent to 100 percent of the school board members in the state of Florida for 1982-83 as listed in the Florida Education Directory. Seventy-three percent of the board members returned the questionnaire, with 65 percent returning full information. There were 160 males and 61 females included in the study. Responses came from 65 of the 67 counties. Information was obtained regarding age, sex, size of school district, and level of education in addition to the twenty questions of the questionnaire which covered four different attitude factors. Using the SPSS formula for analysis of variance, each dependent variable was used in an analysis with each independent variable to determine if any specific factor could be a possible cause of the attitudes reported. The null hypotheses stated that there would be no significant change in the attitudes of male and female school board members toward women in administration regardless of age or level of education. The results of the survey showed that there was a difference between male and female board members' attitudes; however, the results of the analysis of variance tests for interactions of age, sex, and educational level were not significant at the .05 Alpha level. Sex was the only significant variable, but since sex differences in attitudes among Florida school board members were not significantly dependent upon age or educational level, the null hypotheses could not be rejected. Males were consistently more negative than females in their perceptions of women as managers across the age and educational level intervals used in the study.

The purpose of this study was to determine the differences among elementary, middle, and high school principals in the hiring practices, initial screening, and final selection of teachers. Issues involved in the study included items such as (1) willingness to transfer teachers during the school year, (2) willingness to transfer teachers at the end of the school year, (3) importance of college transcript, and (4) personality of candidate. The multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) program implemented in SPSS('x), Release 2.0, was used to perform the statistical operations from the surveyed population, ninety-seven elementary, twenty-seven middle, and twenty-two high school principals in Broward County, Florida, School District. Each set of twelve items associated with the three hiring areas from the survey was subjected to a separate MANOVA Analysis. The Wilks Lambda statistic was used to determine the significance of the multivariate tests. The differences between male and female principals in perceptions about the thirty-six components in the hiring and selection practices of teachers were not significant. Level differences among the three groups of elementary, middle, and high school principals, however, did exist. The emphasis upon transcripts, use of community support teams, and the need to seek certification waivers were some of the items of contrasts.