MacKenzie, Donald G.

This study was undertaken in an effort to determine, through the study of six carefully chosen variables, whether the student obtaining a GED diploma was as well prepared for post-secondary educational experiences as the student who completed a regular high school program and received a diploma. Subjects for the study consisted of all GED entrants to Broward Community College (a public, fully accredited two-year community college located in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida) during the Fall term of 1980 and a randomly selected sample of high school diploma entrants for the same term who were matched to the GED entrants for age, sex and race. Subjects numbered 458 GED entrants and 458 high school diploma entrants, for a total of 916. The record for each subject was assessed for the three-year period beginning with the Fall term of 1980 and continuing through the Summer term of 1983, or a total of nine terms. Using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), statistics involving the variables were obtained with computer assistance. In all cases, GED entrants were compared to high school diploma entrants, with the confidence level being established at .05. The six variables studied were: (1) Incidence of enrollment in "remedial" courses; (2) Degree of success in "remedial" courses as evidenced by passing grade; (3) Overall grade point average; (4) Successful completion of programs as evidenced by degree or certificate awarded; (5) Enrollment pattern as evidenced by length of enrollment; (6) Indicated major area of study (academic as compared with technical) Results were supportive of the null hypotheses variables 2, 3, and 5; they were not supportive in connection with variables 1 and 6. Results concerning variable 4 were inconclusive due to the very small number of degrees or certificates awarded to either group. The overall conclusion reached was that GED entrants to post-secondary educational programs would probably need some remediation, especially in the area of mathematics. Mandatory assessment and placement for GED entrants was recommended, as were other revisions in College policy regarding grading practices and retention efforts.

The purpose of this study was to select from Office of Contract Compliance Program Affirmative Action those guidelines that were time and effort efficient toward achieving personnel integration. The research procedures included rank ordering the guidelines and identifying basic guidelines suitable for any organization's affirmative action plan, and determining consensus of behavior among respondents from diverse organizations regarding their guideline choices. Business respondents selected to participate were identified by members from the United States Commission on Civil Rights, The National Council of La Raza, and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. University respondents were arbitrarily limited to administrators and affirmative action officers from state, four-year and upper level, higher education institutions in Colorado and Florida. The response to the survey yielded a rank order of priority listing of affirmative action guidelines, ten basic affirmative action guidelines considered worthwhile for all organizations to include in their affirmative action plans, and a comparison of the behaviors of business and university administrators instituting personnel integration in their organizations.

This study investigated the perceptions of administrators, citizens, teachers, and teacher educators in three counties in Central Florida on selected current issues in public education. The research also compared the perceptions from the sample groups in three differing counties. Members of each of the groups, administrators, citizens, teachers, and teacher educators were to express their opinion to sixty selected statements on twelve current issues in public education. The groups were asked to rank the issues and grade the public schools in their community. The survey questionnaire was administered to 1,262 participants, selected randomly from the three counties. One hundred and seven administrators, 116 citizens representing lay advisory councils, 1,022 teachers, and 17 teacher educators responded to the survey. The questionnaire contained sixty statements on the following current issues in public education: discipline, administrative leadership in the schools, teacher salaries, paperwork for educators, teacher evaluation, "back to basics" movement, financing public education, class size, schools being the cure-all for societal problems, stress and burnout, staff development and inservice for educators, and interest of parents, students, and teachers in public schools. Using a Likert scale of "strongly agree", "agree", "undecided", "disagree", and "strongly disagree", respondents indicated their perception of the statements about the issues. The chi square test of independence was the statistical method used to determine significant differences in the study population. Conclusions drawn from the survey indicated significant differences of perceptions by administrators, citizens, teachers, and teacher educators on forty-nine of the sixty statements on selected current issues in public education. Significant differences occurred between Orange, Osceola, and Seminole counties on fifteen of the sixty statements on selected current issues in public education. Administrators, citizens, and teachers by level of position (elementary, middle/junior, high school, and district) responded with significant differences on forty-seven of the sixty statements on selected current issues in public education. Differences were indicated in ranking the most important issues by the groups. The groups graded the schools between a B or "good" and C or "average" on the quality of education.

The purpose of this study was to develop a set of considerations that administrators could use in placing nurses who dealt with dying patients. An attempt was made to determine whether nurses who reflected certain personal backgrounds would have an attitude about death and the dying patient that would subsequently predispose them to giving inadequate nursing care to these patients. To determine which items needed to be considered by nursing administrators in the placement of staff nurses, a questionnaire was completed by 248 senior medical-surgical nursing students at five college campuses in three counties in the State of Florida. It was shown that there was a significant relationship between the student nurses' attitudes toward death and dying (increased fear), their anticipated response patterns to death-related situations in the hospital work setting (inadequate care) and the thirteen background variables. More specifically, those student nurses with an increased fear of death and dying were more inclined to give inadequate care to the dying patient. Those student nurses with specific background characteristics were also more apt to give inadequate nursing care to their patients in such situations that dealt with suicide, abortion, euthansia or death in general.

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to find out if attending an adult education course at the local high school had an effect on adults' opinion of the day-time operations in the same building. Procedure. A sample of 233 adults rated the local secondary school on a scale of 1 to 7. After they attended various ten-week adult education interest courses, 68 of the pretest sample were retested. The mean opinions of several demographic sub-groups of the pretest sample by age, sex, type of dwelling (a socioeconomic indicator), length of residency, and education were compared. Findings. I. The ex post facto pretest revealed: (1) Night school clients rated the day school higher than non--participants. (p < .01) (2) Parents of high school student rated the school higher than non-parents. (p < .01) (3) Clients who had taken evening courses previously rated the day school higher than new clients. (p < .01) (4) New night school clients initially rated the day school no higher than non-clients. (5) Older adults rated the school higher than adults 28 and under. (p < .001) (6) There was no difference between male and female ratings. (7) Those living in separate homes rated the school higher than those from townhouses and apartments. (p < .05) (8) Those who lived five years or longer in the community rated the school higher than those who arrived more recently. (p < .001) (9) The level of education showed no effect on the rating. II. The test-retest analysis of variance revealed: (1) New clients showed a significant gain in their opinion of the day school at the end of their first night school course. (2) Those who had attended evening courses previously showed no gain in their rating after the course. III. Other findings included: (1) The night school itself was rated high, social advantages and instruction getting the most positive reaction. (2) The high school's programs, facilities and extramural activities received the most praise and discipline the most criticism. (3) Non-parent night school clients who rated the day school lowest on the pretest, rated it highest on the posttest. Recommendations. (1) Since evening school has a positive effect on participants' opinion of the day school, it is in the day school's best interests to promote adult education in the school. Community education should continue to be expanded and developed. (2) Night school is a low-risk opportunity for citizens to get involved with the local high school. Some may continue to get more involved into decision-making organizations like the school board, PTA and advisory councils. Future research could explore ways to get adults more involved to help bridge the widening gap between parents and their children who are in large school operations. (3) The local high school should make a continuous effort to communicate with all community citizens. Non-parents who receive much of their information via the media need more direct interaction with the school so they become aware of the positive things happening there.

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to develop a model administration system for a primary reading program. The development of this model was based on identified practices common to successful primary school reading programs. Procedure. The school community included four elementary principals, twenty-six primary teachers, six elementary reading consultants, and two directors of reading. The instrument used in collecting the data for this study was a questionnaire composed of thirty-six items measuring distinct and basic concepts of organizational structure of design, namely, decision making/leadership, evaluation, communication, conflict, problem solving, motivation, and control. Also, information was gathered on the size and composition of an instructional reading group, hours of reading instruction per week, source(s) of reading instruction, parent involvement, and experience of primary reading teachers. In addition to the questionnaire, observations and interviews were made in order to gather more in-depth research and confirm that data received by the questionnaire to be reasonably accurate. The study was conducted in four Connecticut towns, cities, and/or individual schools where a reading program was said to be effective according to Right to Read, Educational Programs That Work, Connecticut Association of Reading Research, and/or the International Reading Association. The data were collected, collated, and converted into percentages for and against a process or program idea in order to develop the organizational model. Frequencies of responses dictated whether or not the process or program idea was included in the model. More than a 50 percent response was accepted as significant. The organizational design of effective reading programs was made and the organizational model was built on the significant responses, a review of the related literature, observations, and interviews.

The Problem. The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not an eye-pleasing, carpeted, well-lighted, thermally controlled physical environment would have a positive impact upon the productivity of kindergarten children at Fairlawn Elementary School during the 1978-79 academic year. Summary. As each kindergarten child entered school at Fairlawn Elementary the child was randomly assigned, while considering race and sex constraints, to one of the two following physical environments: Traditional environment--three classrooms constructed in 1949 in which the physical environment consists of asphalt tile floors, incandescent lighting, no means for control of the thermal environment other than heating, a color scheme consisting of brown and tan, and with an area of 739 square feet per classroom or 30 square feet per child. Non-traditional environment--four classrooms constructed in 1974 in which the physical environment consists of wall-to-wall carpeting, indirect fluorescent lighting, a system through which the thermal environment is controlled and maintained at 72(DEGREES)F (+ or - 2(DEGREES)F) and between 40 per cent and 60 percent relative humidity, a color scheme of blue, green, and yellow, and with an area of 1,225 square feet per classroom or 49 square feet per child. The productivity of the kindergarten students assigned to the two environments was determined by analyzing the pre-test and post test scores on the Clymer Barrett Pre-Reading Battery. The pre-test was administered in September of 1978 and the post test was administered in May of 1979. A review of the literature showed that many factors contributed to the productivity of students. Among the many factors was the physical environment of the classroom. Procedure. The null hypothesis that was tested was stated: H(DEGREES): There is no significant difference between the productivity of students in a traditional classroom environment and those in a non-traditional classroom environment. In testing the hypothesis dealing with productivity of students, an analysis of variance was utilized. An additional analysis was completed to determine if the difference was due to individual teacher difference or due to the physical environmental condition of the classroom. The design used for this experiment was a one-factor hierarchial design analysis of variance. Conclusions. (1) There was a significant difference at the .10 level of confidence between those students in the traditional environment and those students in the non-traditional environment. The obtained difference was not significant, however, at the .05 level of confidence. (2) There was no significant difference at the .10 level of confidence among the individual teachers within the two environments studied in terms of the mean gain per classroom.

This study addressed the problem of identifying
competencies needed by educational administrators in order
to assess the learning needs of adults in a community.
The study identified thirty-two competencies which may be
appropriate for inclusion in professional development programs
or literature for educational administrators.
Educational administrators who were known to design
and implement adult education programs based on assessed
learning needs of adults in their communities were selected
to provide data for this study . Eighty-eight of Florida's
educational administrators were invited to participate by
completing two questionnaires mailed to them on two occasions.
They were selected by thirty educators who were
knowledgeable of these programs from a regional or state-
wide perspective. Two conclusions were drawn from the results of this
study. It was concluded that competencies needed by
educational administrators to assess the learning needs
of adults in a community were identified. This conclusion
was drawn and evidenced by the list of competencies
developed through the application of the proposed research
method.
Secondly, it was concluded there was consensus
regarding the competencies among the group of educational
administrators participating in this study.

This study began with an investigation of Mexican American
adult literacy rates and socioeconomic status in the U. S. A
review of the literature revealed the Mexican American ethnic
minority, in comparison with other ethnic minorities in the U. S.,
to have the lowest levels of educational attainment, socioeconomic
status, health and nutrition rates, and political participation.
Mexican American immigration and U. S. residency rates were shown
to be higher than other immigrant groups, but their U. S. naturalization
rates were disproportionately low. Mexican American
participation rates in U. S. Adult Education literacy training programs
were also lower than other ethnic groups. Based on these findings, the author assumed that there were
special competencies for teaching English to Mexican American
adults. In an attempt to identify these assumed competencies, the
opinions of teachers actively involved in teaching English to Mexican American adults were sought. The Delphi survey technique was the main tool used in gathering data. The study was limited to
Florida because of evidence of increasing Mexican American immigration
in this state and the author's accessibility to the school
system. The implications of the study were that personal concern is
an important competency for teaching English to Mexican American
adults, there is a lack of awareness of the Mexican influx into the
U. S., and there is a need for more emphasis on cultural and
linguistic pluralism in American education.

The purpose of this study was to develop and test a
practical, low cost approach to the needs assessment process,
that would produce data to assist in planning programs and
services for adults living in a newly established service area
of a community college.
Designed to encourage agency participation, the
assessment was conducted in cooperation with Broward County's
community college, and public school system. Methodology: A trained team of 25 community college and public
school employees, and volunteers from the community completed
the survey process within a two-week period. Respondents
were interviewed by telephone, through the use of a questionnaire
form designed to enable interviewers to: (1) read
questions and record responses with speed and ease, and (2)
code directly for data processing.
Supportive materials were developed to assist the
survey team. Results: The 385 survey interviews were most often conducted
on weekdays, 5 P.M. to 9 P.M., with half (50.9 percent) of
the respondents indicating educational interests and preferences. Selected data were presented by frequency distribution
percentages, and cross-tabulations, according to five
required information areas:
1. Personal Background Information.
The sex and race of respondents were pre-determined according
to quota sampling criteria. The age composition was comparable
to data from 1970 U.S. Census Bureau reports, with the exception
of the 60 and over age category which represented a 10
percent increase, or 36.9 percent of all respondents.
2. Current Occupational and Educational Status.
Of those persons employed (46.5 percent), the services and retail
trade areas were most evident. Over half the adults (53.5
percent), were not employed, and consisted primarily of retired
persons and housewives.
3. Educational Program Interest and Goals.
Interest centered in the non-credit, continuing education program
area (29.6 percent), with emphasis on cultural enrichment,
recreation and leisure time, or two-year college transfer program
(10.9 percent) in the areas of liberal arts, law, art, and
engineering.
4. Preferred Conditions for Learning.
Respondents preferred programs and services that employed a
lecture or group discussion method held in the morning, 9 A.M.
to noon, or evening, 5 P.M. to 9 P.M., for two hours, twice
a week, for eight weeks, at a community college, or an adult
or vocational center. 5. Perceived Barriers to Programs and Services.
Nearly four out of ten adults reported barriers. The most
significant problems expressed were job responsibilities,
lack of time, child care, poor health, and lack of transportation.