Wiegman, Robert R.

The purpose of the study was to examine the perceptions of students, parents, and teachers relative to a junior high school's most pressing discipline problems and to determine whether these three groups shared a common perception of the problems. The "most pressing discipline problems" were defined as the problems which needed the greatest and most immediate attention. A random sample of students and parents and all classroom teachers from one junior high school responded to a questionnaire. Participants were asked to review a list of student behaviors for which referrals to the administration were commonly made and to indicate whether they agreed or disagreed that the specified behavior warranted referral. They were then asked to go through the list a second time and to rank order the behaviors which they agreed warranted referral in terms of their perceptions of the school's most pressing problems. Participants were instructed to assign a "1" to the most pressing problem from their perspective, "2" to the next most pressing, and so on until all the behaviors which warranted referral to the administration had been assigned a rank. Based on the data collected and statistical analysis, the following conclusions were reached: (1) Students, parents, and teachers did not share a common perception about which behaviors warranted referral to the administration. Parents and teachers did share a common perception, but student responses indicated a different perception. (2) Students, parents, and teachers did not share a common perception of the school's most pressing discipline problem. Students and parents ranked drug or alcohol possession or use on school grounds as the most pressing problem; teachers ranked impertinence and discourtesy to teachers or administrators as "most pressing." (3) The problems which are perceived as representing the most pressing discipline problems in the school are not the same as those which are most frequently reflected on actual referrals to the administration. (4) Teachers within some subject areas have a common perception of which discipline problems are most pressing (specifically, physical education, science, and mathematics). Teachers within the other subject areas do not share a common perception. (5) Students who had been referred to the administration for disciplinary reasons and those who had not been referred shared a common perception of the school's most pressing problems. (6) Teachers from different subject areas did not refer, proportionately, the same number of students to the administration for disciplinary reasons. Physical education teachers referred a statistically significant greater number of students than did other teachers; social studies teachers referred a statistically significant smaller number than other teachers.

The purpose of this study was the development of a teacher
education center evaluation instrument. Items for the instrument
were drawn from the literature related to effective inservice education.
This item pool was refined and validated using two sequential
juries of experts consisting of Florida teacher education center directors,
university contact persons, Florida Department of Education
personnel and members of the State Council for Teacher Education
Centers. The evaluation instrument was designed using a four point
Likert type rating scale. The instrument was distributed to 500
school personnel in three Florida county school districts by the
On-Site Review of Master Inservice Plan Visiting Teams. The three
counties were selected to provide a cross section of teacher education
center counties in Florida. There were 335 respondents, or a
67 percent return. The following conclusions were based upon the analysis of
data:
1. The teacher education center evaluation instrument proved
to be reliable, the alpha coefficients for the field testing being
acceptable
2. The teacher education center evaluation instrument proved
to have construct validity, the components being easily interpreted
using the principal components evaluation
3. The teacher education center evaluation instrument proved
to have content validity, having a positive judgmental rating by the
respondents
4. The four major components of teacher education center
evaluation--decision-making, relationship to the program of the
school, commitment to teacher education, resources--proved to be
easily interpreted in each county of the field testing.
In summary, this study provided statistical data which indicated
that the teacher education center evaluation instrument
developed was reliable, as noted within the limitations of the study,
and that it had content and construct validity. Possibilities for
future research were outlined.

This dissertation has been an attempt to measure the
relative effectiveness of professional academic advisement
to full-time degree seeking students of Miami-Dade Community
College, North Campus. The independent variables were treatment
(advisement or self-advisement), sex (male or female),
and age (under 26 years or 26 years and older). The criterion
variables were grade point average, withdrawal rate
(within term), retention rate (term to term), graduation
rate, number of course drops, and frequency of schedule
changes. To summarize the major conclusions drawn by this
researcher:
1. Advised students, regardless of sex or age, drop
fewer courses than do self-advised students.
2. There is no difference between advised and self-advised
students in terms of the frequency of class schedule
changes.
3. Differences in sex or age do not interact
significantly with the academic advisement treatment in terms
of the student success criteria of grade point average,
withdrawal rate, retention rate, graduation rate, frequency of
course drops, or frequency of schedule changes.
4. The relationships between the academic advisement
treatment and the student success criteria of grade point
average, withdrawal rate, retention rate, and graduation rate
are inconclusive and merit further research.

The purpose of this study was to compare the locus of
control orientation between regular class and selfcontained
emotionally handicapped students within the
elementary, middle and high school settings. Two samples
of students were selected from the third through eleventh
grades of the Seminole County school system using a
randomized block design . One group consisted of sixty
students enrolled within the self- contained program for
the emotionally handicapped from elementary, middle and
high school classes. A second group of sixty regular
class students were selected from the same schools. The
Nowicki- Strickland Locus of Control Scale was administered
to small groups of subjects, out of the classroom, but within the school setting . The mean scores for each
group were analyzed using a 2x3 analysis of variance with
the effects tested at the .05 level of significance across
all levels.
The emotionally handicapped students were found
to be significantly more external than the regular class
students. In addition, both groups exhibited a shift in
locus of control orientation, becoming significantly more
internal as they progressed from elementary to high school.
No significant interaction was found to exist between
regular class and emotionally handicapped students in
elementary, middle and high school. It was concluded
that although the emotionally handicapped students
maintained a more external orientation than the regular
class students, as both groups approached adolescence and
experienced an increased mastery of the environment, there
was a shift towards a more internal locus of control.
However, regardless of the school level involved, the
emotionally handicapped students maintained a more external
orientation.
Since behavior modification procedures have been
shown to foster an internal locus of control orientation,
it was concluded that behavioral techniques would be
effective in the education and treatment of self-contained
emotionally handicapped students. It was further concluded
that the locus of control construct could provide
both teachers and administrators of programs for the emotionally handicapped with valuable information and
insight into the dynamics of the disability. This
knowledge combined with an understanding of behavior
modification principles could prove to be a viable means
of altering unacceptable behavioral patterns, improving
academic performance levels and ultimately result in a
more productive life style for their students.

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.

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which
selected Florida Secondary School Principals, Minority Educators and
Community Leaders, and Members of the Legislative Education Committees,
agree on what should constitute minimum basic and functional skills
required for secondary school graduation.
Questions to be answered and explored in this study were:
1. What minimum basic and functional skills should constitute
the graduation requirement for all students graduating from
public secondary schools?
2. Does or should the curriculum of the public secondary school
provide for the transference of basic skills in mathematics
and language to their practical application as a functional
skill? 3. What readability level should be required of all students
graduating from public secondary schools?
4. Are there or should there be remediation programs included
in the curriculum of public secondary schools for those
students who have been unable to achieve satisfactory progress?
5. How are or should existing or proposed basic skills and
functional skills instructional programs be evaluated?
6. Are current Florida Secondary School Graduation Standards
as outlined in Section 232.245 of the Florida Statute, titled
"Pupil Progression," adequate?

The purpose of this study was to determine if a compensatory
reading program based on the language experience approach could raise
the reading level o f underachieving disadvantaged students in the
community junior colleges to a level commensurate with their ability
and high enough for subsequent success in college level academic
courses.
The literature indicates that this student has special needs
which must be met if he is to succeed in college level work. Programs
which meet these needs must be developed to implement the open door
policy and the concept of universal higher education. The community
colleges actively recruit students who would not attend college if such
programs were not promised. Statistics indicate, however, that only a
small percentage of these students succeed in college level courses.
It is suggested by this fact that the programs offered arc inadequate.
The failure of these students imposes a great burden on the students and on the colleges. The program which is the subject of this study was implemented
during the fall quarter, 1974, at Broward Community College, Broward
County, Florida, as part of its Special Services Program. Ninety four
entering freshmen needed compensatory reading instruction. Forty two
of these were enrolled in the Special Services Reading Component,
SRD 999. Fifty two were enrolled in the experimental program. All Ss
were administered the Nelson Denny Reading Test, form A, during the
first week of the quarter. They were also administered the Revised
Beta Examination and produced a projective drawing of a person. The
potential reading level of each student was calculated from the IQ
score of the Beta Examination. The drawings were evaluated on five
criteria as a measure of self concept. During the final week of the
quarter the students produced a second drawing and were administered
the Nelson Denny Reading Test, form B. Thirty six of the experimental
group and twenty six of the control group remained to complete the
post tests and earn a grade. An analysis of covariance showed there was no statistically
significant difference between the groups for the vocabulary subtest
of the Nelson Denny Reading Test. There was statistically significant
difference, at the .5% level of confidence, for both paragraph comprehension
and total reading.
Difference in persistence between the groups was tested by the
z-test of correlated proportions. It was not statistically significant.
The test of chi square, corrected for continuity, was applied to the
changes in self concept as measured by the projective drawings. There was statistically significant difference between the groups for
only one of five criteria.
The study was limited both in number of subjects and in time
allowed. The fifteen week quarter was further shortened by the
necessity of administering pre and post tests. Two weeks at the
beginning of the quarter and one week at the end of the quarter were
used for testing. The students met for threa hours a week. It was
concluded that replication of the study for a longer period of time
would be worthwhile. The students enrolled in the experimental program
were also enrolled in at least one other compensatory course and in
some cases in college level courses. Success in academic courses,
however, depends largely upon reading ability. It is suggested that
this program be implemented as a pre-college enrollment course.