Teaching, Learning, Policy & Leadership Theses and Dissertations

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Adult Education in the Social Planning of a Civic Organization
(1934) Hostetler, Alice Watts; Cotterman, H.F.; Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
This study deals with adult education in the social planning of a civic organization. The problem is to determine the nature and extent of adult education which is the outgrowth of community planning. The study is made in order to assemble and present in usable form facts which may assist persons promoting adult education, program makers in adult organizations, and community leaders in one line or another of community betterment. More specifically, it is the purpose of the study to examine in detail the work of the Montgomery County Civic Federation of Montgomery County, Maryland, in order to discover the higher forms of adult education of informal types which accrue from the several activities of a single civic organization of recognized influence in a rural-suburban area, as these are manifest in the records of the federation and its member associations, and in changes and developments in this area. The activities of the federation, as recorded in the minutes over eight years of its existence, were examined in detail and classified under five major subjects, each having many minor topics. The major divisions are used as chapter titles and the findings, which include studies made by the federation and developments within the county, are presented under these subjects to reveal the amount and kind of adult education in social planning. The study begins with a description of the locale, Montgomery County, Maryland, which includes its location, history, governmental structure, and population. In Chapter II., the aims, history, structure, and functioning of the Montgomery County Civic Federation are described. The facts revealed by this survey of the eight-year program of the federation and of the area it influences are classified and presented as five chapters dealing with adult education in Public Welfare, County Projects, Public Schools, Government, and Outside the County. The study ends with a summary based on the findings.
History of Public Education in Baltimore from 1860-1890
(1943) Krausse, Harry W.; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
Several studies of public education have been made in Maryland and Baltimore; among them being "History of Education in Maryland," "Secondary Education in Maryland before 1800," "Public Educational Work in Baltimore," "Baltimore, 1870 to 1900: Studies in Social History." However, there is no detailed account of the development of the Baltimore City school system covering the period of the Civil War and the years following this war. During this time significant educational hlstory was made as events of great educational importance took place, which events were to affect the future of the Baltimore public schools as well as the future of children attending these schools.
Programs and Procedures of Desegregation Developed by the Board of Education, Montgomery County, Maryland
(1959) Dunn, Frederick Luther Jr.; Kurtz, John J.; Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
The purpose of this study is to identify the programs and procedures developed by the Board of Education and the professional staff of Montgomery County, Maryland, to comply with the Supreme Court rulings declaring unconstitutional the practice of segregated schools. A further purpose is to determine what guideposts were used in dealing with the factors and forces operating to help or hinder such a complex undertaking. The study is a detailed report of the interactions of the laymen and educators to effect this change. It is significant because the program and procedures have been judged successful by County leaders of proponents and opponents of school desegregation. The transition began in September, 1955, and the Board of Education plans for completion in September of 1961. The program enables Negro students to be transferred to schools nearer their homes when adequate classroom space and educational programs are available. A unique procedure provides for Negro students to be transferred to desegregated schools upon recommendation of the Superintendent without a prior request on behalf of the Negro student. The parents of these students were consulted prior to assignment. Students not recommended were permitted to make application on their own initiative. The data of this study reveal: (a) the arguments for and against desegregation as presented in the court cases; (b) procedures used to prepare the educators and laymen for the transition; (c) problems confronted by the Board of Education; (d) surveys and reports on various phases of the program; and (e) an analysis of the factors which contributed to a successful program. Analysis of reports and materials suggest feasible guideposts for an effective program of desegregation. These include: (1) The local board of education is primarily responsible for developing a desegregation program, according to the Supreme Court decisions. (2) Each phase of the desegregation program should be implemented by the local board only after a careful study has been made by the lay and/ or educators. (3) The local board should remain firm in the face of challenges to its decisions, provided, all facts were known at the time the decision was made. (4) The appointment of a professional committee or educator to coordinate the program assists extremists to identify the actual problems confronted in the desegregation process. (5) The local board should inform the laymen and educators as early as possib1e of its programs. (6) The loca1 board provides for a smooth transition when it encourages and facilitates lay and professional preparation. (7) Lay organizations, whether proponents or opponents, assist the local board in complying with the law when they obtain and disseminate accurate information. (8) The role of the educator in the desegregation process should be to assist his board to develop a successful program after the board has decided to proceed. (9) A successful desegregation program necessitates an intensive evaluation of the educational programs and building facilities to determine their adequacy, not for desegregation, but to provide an educational environment conducive to maximum learning for each student. (10) The local board must decide what its policy will be in regard to hiring its employees. The fact that the Board has continued to provide needed classroom facilities and educational programs for students with different learning abilities has led to a constant evaluation of the available educational programs for all students. The study showed that the Board of Education and its professional staff secured the assistance of proponents and opponents of desegregation; this was accomplished by directing their attention toward solving educational problems of the school as opposed to solving the emotional problems of society.
A Study of International Farm Youth Exchange Delegates Who Visited Latin America
(1960) Blum, Lee Ann Leet; Wiggin, Gladys A.; Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
A. Statement of Problem The problem of this thesis is to study the nature and prediction of adjustment to foreign culture of 24 American International Farm Youth Exchange delegates. Specifically, this thesis is designed to answer the following questions: 1. What was the nature of adjustment or the 24 subjects as determined through: a. An analysis of a questionnaire administered on return from the foreign visit. b. An analysis of correspondence during the foreign visit. 2. Could the nature or the adjustment have been predicted prior to the foreign visit by materials available in: a. Application form for foreign visits. b. Supplementary biographical data. A secondary purpose of this thesis is to review the literature relating to technical and/or student exchange programs of: 1. Foreign nationals in the United States. 2. Americans in other countries. B. Procedures 1. Selection of the Group from which Population Was Drawn A group of 1010 IFYE delegates who have visited a total of 59 different countries and Puerto Rico was the population from which the sample was drawn. Due to the variety of country cultures represented and the world coverage, it was decided to simplify and centralize the population. The 133 delegates who visited the 18 Latin American countries were selected to represent the group. Latin American countries were selected because of their similar cultural and religious background. Since information on file was to be used in the study, it was essential to select only those del egates with comparable data. Comparable data were available for delegate participants during the years 1955-57. As so limited, the group numbered 64. 2. Criterion for Selecting Population The next step was to determine whe ther the 64 subjects could be categorized at the outset into most and least adjusted to the foreign culture visited, on the basis of material available after return. The answer to question number 19 on the Individual Report Form was selected as the item to be used for categorizing. For categorizing question 19, eight individuals were asked to serve as raters. Four raters had only a slight knowledge of the IFYE program and four raters were past participants in the IFYE program. Each rater was given the group of 64 Individual Report Forms and asked to categorize question 19 in one of three categories. These categories were: (1) Least Adjusted, (2) Medially Adjusted, and (3) Most Adjusted. No criteria were given the rater to influence his placement. The categorizing was used as an attempt to see if a significant pattern could be recognized. For the purpose of this study, it was decided that the following method be used in classifying subjects: a. Each subject must appear in the least adjusted or in the most adjusted category a minimum of four times (which means that at least half of the raters thought that the subject was either least adjusted or most adjusted). b. The subject was not to appear in the least adjusted category if classified in the most adjusted category, and vice versa. c. The subject might appear in the medially adjusted category and still be used for the most or the least adjusted category if qualifications for step (a) listed here were fulfilled. After all raters had completed their categorizing, tabulations were made and it was found that 11 subjects in the least adjusted category and 13 subjects in the most adjusted category could be used in this study. Complete categorizing of the 64 subjects can be found in Appendix A. 3. Procedures for Analysis of Data a. Nature of Adjustment Question number 19 of the Individual Report Form was used to categorize the subjects into groups of most adjusted and least adjusted. The question reads as follows: "Of all things that were new and different to you, which were difficult or disagreeable to adjust to?" The Individual Report Form appears in Appendix B. The 24 subjects' responses to the question appear in Appendix G. Answers were available to all other questions on the report and an analysis will be made in this study of all questions relating to the nature of adjustment. Correspondence received from the delegates while visiting in the foreign country was available in individual files. An analysis of the correspondence indicated that delegates report a variety of news. The nature of news reported is available for study in relationship to the delegates' adjustment in the foreign culture. b. Prediction of Adjustment Adjustment while in the host country is of special interest to the officials of the IFYE program. To be able to predict adjustment of a delegate to his host country before actually participating in the program would be of great value to IFYE. This study is designed to investigate available pre-participation background information on each subject. The available information on file relates to: (1) Delegate Application Form (to be found in Appendix c) and (2) Delegate Biographical Form (to be found in Appendix D). The purposes of this study are to investigate the background information listed above and to test for significant relationship of nature of adjustment in the foreign country.
A History of the Maryland State Teachers' Association
(1964) Ebersole, Benjamin Paul; Wiggin, Gladys A.; Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
In 1865 Maryland became the twenty-seventh state to officially inaugurate a state teachers' association. The same law which, in 1865, provided for the first bona fide state educational system placed school officials under legal obligation to aid in organizing and supporting teachers’ association. The Maryland State Teachers’ Association was meant to be an integral part of the educational plan. Sharing the same chronological time span and the same general purposes, the Association and the state educational system were closely related in their development. During the early years the Association was both helped and hindered by school legislation. From 1866 to 1868 it had the benefit of a progressive school law and an active state superintendent. From 1869 to 1899 the inadequate school law and the lack of a full time state superintendent limited the growth of Maryland education and of the Association. Although educational conditions were reviewed and instructional topics discussed, there was little reform. Social and recreational activities were prominent at the annual meetings. During most of the first half of the twentieth century, the Association remained a part time organization, not yet prepared to assume a leadership role among the educational forces in the state. From 1900 to 1920 was a period of reawakening in Maryland education, but the Association did not grasp this opportunity for leadership. Between 1920 and 1941 the Association democratized its business procedures, displayed more interest in the economic welfare of teachers, and supported the advances directed by the state superintendent of schools. Between 1942 and 1951 the Association evolved from an organization with serious limitations to one with a continuing program, a full time staff, a permanent headquarters building, a monthly periodical, and large-scale annual meetings. During the ten years from 1952 to 1962 the MSTA dealt actively with state and national educational problems. It became a chief voice and agent for the state’s educational interests and fought vigorously for what it considered essential to the advancement of education. In 1962 the Association included thirty-six local associations, forty departments, twenty-two committees, six professional staff employees, and 21,425 members. During its history the MSTA had two major purposes: (1) the perpetuation of tax-supported public education and (2) the improvement of the professional and economic status of teachers. To realize these goals, the Association worked closely with other interested groups, especially the state department of education and the parent-teacher organization, in the promotion of legislation improving the welfare of teachers and increasing the state’s financial responsibility for the school system. It followed the lead of the National Education Association in the matters of federal aid, professional negotiations, and teachers’ ethics. Through committee investigations, department discussions, professional staff studies, local associations’ activities, and annual meetings, the Association worked to enhance teacher preparation, improve instructional methods and content, enlighten teachers about school policies and political realities, and in general raise the esprit de corps of both lay and professional people involved or interested in public education. During its history the MSTA has successes and failures. Precisely to what extent it has been instrumental in the advancement of Maryland education is not subject to completely factual evaluation, but it is certain that Maryland education has benefited from the endeavors of the Maryland State Teachers’ Association.
A History of the Maryland State Teachers' Association
(1964) Ebersole, Benjamin P.; Wiggin, Gladys A.; Teaching, Learning, Policy & Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
In 1865 Maryland became the twenty-seventh state to officially inaugurate a state teachers' association. The same law which, in 1865, provided for the first bona fide state educational system placed school officials under legal obligation to aid in organizing and supporting teachers' associations. The Maryland State Teachers' Association was meant to be an integral part of the educational plan. Sharing the same chronological time span and the same general purposes, the Association and the state educational system were closely related in their development. During the early years the Association was both helped and hindered by school legislation. From 1866 to 1868 it had the benefit of a progressive school law and an active state superintendent. From 1869 to 1899 the inadequate school law and the lack of a full time state superintendent limited the growth of Maryland education and of the Association. Although educational conditions were reviewed and instructional topics discussed, there was little reform. Social and recreational activities were prominent at the annual meetings. During most of the first half of the twentieth century, the Association remained a part time organization, not yet prepared to assume a leadership role among the educational forces in the state. From 1900 to 1920 was a period of re-awakening in Maryland education, but the Association did not grasp this opportunity for leadership. Between 1920 and 1941 the Association democratized its business procedures, displayed more interest in the economic welfare of teachers, and supported the advances directed by the state superintendent of schools. Between 1912 and 1951 the Association evolved from an organization with serious limitations to one with a continuing program, a full time staff, a permanent headquarters building, a monthly periodical, and large-scale annual meetings. During the ten years from 1952 to 1962 the MSTA dealt actively with state and national educational problems. It became a chief voice and agent for the state's educational interests and fought vigorously for what it considered essential to the advancement of education. In 1962 the Association included thirty-six local associations, forty departments, twenty-two committees, six professional staff employees, and 21,425 members. During its history the MSTA had two major purposes: (1) the perpetuation of tax-supported public education and (2) the improvement of the professional and economic status of teachers. To realize these goals, the Association worked closely with other interested groups, especially the state department of education and the parent-teacher organization, in the promotion of legislation improving the welfare of teachers and increasing the state's financial responsibility for the school system. It followed the lead of the National Education Association in the matters of federal aid, professional negotiations , and teachers' ethics. Through committee investigations, department discussions, professional staff studies, local associations' activities, and annual meetings, the Association worked to enhance teacher preparation, improve instructional methods and content , enlighten teachers about school policies and political realities, and in general raise the esprit de corps of both lay and professional people involved or interested in public education. During its history the MSTA had successes and failures. Precisely to what extent it has been instrumental in the advancement of Maryland education is not subject to completely factual evaluation, but it is certain that Maryland education has benefited from the endeavors of the Maryland State Teachers ' Association.
An Investigation of the Relationship Between Fifth-Grade Student and Teacher Performance on Selected Tasks Involving Nonmetric Geometry
(1968) Moody, William Braun; Walbesser, Henry H.; Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
Statement of the Problem: This study investigated the relationship between teacher and student performance on selected mathematical tasks. A measure of teacher effectiveness was obtained by comparing teacher and student performance on identical geometric tasks. Procedure: Teachers and their students from nineteen fifth-grade classes were designated as either control or experimental subjects. The six control treatment classes were presented topics in nonmetric geometry by means of self-instructional reading materials. The thirteen experimental treatment classes were presented the same topics by their teachers without the use of the reading materials. The duration of the instructional period consisted of four, fifty minute class periods. A criterion test, consisting of selected geometric tasks, was administered as a pre-test and post - test to the students of the control and experimental classes. The same test was administered to the teachers of the experimental classes at the conclusion of the instructional period. The hypothesis that students who read instructional materials in mathematics on their own will perform as well on selected tasks as those who have teachers explain and interpret the content for them was tested by comparing class mean scores. A second hypothesis questioned the relationship between the level of teacher performance on selected tasks and the level of performance exhibited by his students on these tasks. This hypothesis was examined by correlating the teacher scores on the criterion test with the mean scores of the classes in the experimental treatment. The relationship between teacher and student performance on individual tasks appearing on the criterion test was examined by comparing correct and incorrect item responses selected by teachers and students. A comparison of the proportion of student incorrect responses for classes whose teachers missed an item, with the proportion of student incorrect responses for classes whose teachers correctly responded to a particular item, was made by applying the chi square statistic to response frequencies. A similar procedure investigated the relationship between particular incorrect teacher response and student response. This aspect of the study investigated the effect of the teacher on student performance by comparing teacher and student behavior on individual tasks. Results: The reliability coefficient obtained for the criterion test was 0.72 as determined by the Kuder-Richardson formula 20. An estimate of item reliability was obtained and sixteen of the twenty-five test items exhibited acceptable reliability measures. The results of the analyses are summarized as follows: (1) An analysis of variance revealed that the mean score for the experimental classes was significantly higher than for the control classes at the 0.01 level; (2) there was a significant positive correlation between teacher test scores and class mean scores on the criterion test at the 0.02 level; (3) upon testing for independence of student and teacher selection of correct and incorrect responses to a particular item on the criterion test, ten of twenty-two items revealed a significant chi square at less than the 0.01 level. Items which exhibited a relationship between student and teacher performance either required a direct recall or application of a single definition presented in the materials; and (4) all but three of sixteen chi squares, which were not significant at less than the 0.10 level, supported the independence of teacher and student selection of a particular incorrect response to an item on the criterion test. Conclusions: It was concluded that:(l) There is no support for the hypothesis that students who read materials in mathematics on their own will perform as well on selected tasks as those who have teachers explain and interpret the content for them; (2) there is support for the hypothesis that if a teacher performs at a certain level of success on selected mathematical tasks, then his students, following instruction, will perform at the same level on these tasks; (3) there is a relationship between student and teacher correct and incorrect performance on selected tasks involving the direct identification and application of a single definition. No evidence was found of a relationship for tasks which require a combination of the application of two or more definitions; and (4) there is no relationship between teacher and student selection of a particular incorrect response to a task on the criterion test.
The Effects of an Integrated Learning Sequence on the Acquisition and Retention of Mathematics and Science Behaviors in Grade Five
(1970) Gray, William Lee; Walbesser, Henry H.; Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
For many years, educators have used the relationship between mathematics and science in the teaching of both subjects. Science examples have been introduced into mathematics programs and often with the intention of facilitating the acquisition of mathematics behaviors. In other cases, mathematics behaviors assumed necessary for the acquisition of certain quantitative science behaviors are taught prior to the presentation of the quantitative science behaviors. There is some support for the notion that teaching the mathematics behaviors assumed necessary for the science behaviors facilitates the acquisition of the science behaviors. In this experiment, a comparison is made of the effectiveness of two l earning sequences in facilitating the acquisition and retention of certain mathematics and science behaviors. In one l earning sequence, the related mathematics and science behaviors are integrated; in the other sequence, they are not. It was hypothesized that the integrated sequence facilitates the acquisition and retention of the mathematics and science behaviors more than the non-integrated sequence. Three quantitative science behaviors were chosen as the final objectives of the learning sequence. By means of a task analysis procedure, twenty-two objectives were identified as prerequisite for the three terminal objectives. The twenty-five behaviors were then structured in a hierarchy. The three terminal objectives were placed at the top of the hierarchy. The subordinate behaviors were arranged below the terminal objectives in an order suggested by the analysis. This hierarchy was used as a guide in the construction of the two learning sequences. Each of the twelve lesson sequences was designed to promote the acquisition of the behaviors included in the hierarchy. A test was constructed which consisted of assessment items designed to test acquisition of each of the mathematics and science behaviors in the hierarchy. This test was administered on two occasions; once, on the day following completion of the learning sequence and, again, nine weeks later. Nine hundred students in thirty fifth-grade classes in the Baltimore County Public Schools completed all facets of the experiment. The classes were randomly assigned to one of the two sequences. An analysis of variance procedure was used on the class means to test the acquisition and retention of the mathematics and science behaviors. The following results were noted: The coefficient of stability for the criterion measure was 0.79; The coefficient of internal consistency was 0.81; The integrated sequence produced a significantly higher overall performance than the non-integrated sequence in acquisition of the mathematical behaviors although there were no significant differences in the effects of the sequence on the rate of forgetting; The two treatments had no differential effects on the overall performance or the rate of forgetting with regard to the science behaviors. It was concluded that the integrated learning sequence was generally superior to the non-integrated sequence in facilitating acquisition of the mathematical behaviors for the population defined in this study. It could not be established that the two sequences had differential effects on the rate of forgetting of the mathematics or science behaviors. The results and conclusions suggest that further consideration should be given to the use of integrated learning sequences as an instruction strategy.
Plans, Targets, and Trends in Ethiopian Education
(1970) Bjerkan, Ole-Christian; van Zwoll, James A.; Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
The purpose of this study was to trace the progressive recognition of educational needs as expressed in targets and objectives in educational and development plans in Ethiopia from 1944 to 1968, and to discover the relationship between the needs and the actual attainment of the goals and targets. A study was also made of the contribution of the non-government schools to the fulfillment of presentday educational needs. By reviewing the literature pertaining to the development of the educational system in Ethiopia, some of the forces which have and are influencing educational policies and plans were discussed. An analysis of the educational and development p lans revealed clues to the progressive identification of educational needs as expressed in the different plans. After crystallizing the educational needs as expressed in educational objectives and targets, an attempt was made to find to what extent these needs have been fulfilled. The needs in Ethiopia were found to be similar to those in many of the African nations in spite of a different cultural background and political history of the country. The differences in problems were rather in degree than in kind. The educational plans for Ethiopia have, with the exception of the Addis Ababa Plan of 1961, been made without any relation or comparison with other African nations. In most cases the targets and goals of the local plans were surpassed, but when related to educational "desired averages" for the African countries taking part in the Addis Ababa conference, the educational development in Ethiopia proved to be seriously lagging. compared with the "desired averages" of the Addis Ababa Plan, of an age-group population enrollment of 100 per cent for the first level, 23 per cent for the second level and 2 per cent for the third level to be reached within the year 1982, a projected enrollment in keeping with the historical trend for the last ten years in Ethiopia indicates that these targets would not be reached within the target date.
A STUDY TO DETERMINE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE DEGREE OF PROGRAM OPENNESS, THE ATTAINMENT OF ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES AND SELECTED DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES AS PERCEIVED BY TEACHERS IN SELECTED PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
(1975) Lyons, Kevin John; Goldman, Harvey; Teaching, Learning, Policy & Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
The problems of concern in this study were: (1) To investigate whether a relationship existed between teachers' perceptions of the attainment of organizational performance objectives and the degree of program openness exhibited by selected elementary schools; (2) to investigate whether a relationship existed between selected demographic variables and teachers' perceptions of program openness and the attainment of organizational performance objectives; and (3) to investigate whether organizational performance objective attainment could be predicted from the demographic variables and degree of program openness. The sample in this study was comprised of teachers representing sixty-four elementary schools. The schools were selected from twelve of the twenty-four school systems in the State of Maryland. Two instruments were utilized in this study. 1) The Dimensions of Schooling instrument (IV). This instrument was a thirty item questionnaire which was designed to measure the degree of openness exhibited by the educational program of a school. The instrument yields a score which describe s the program on a continuum of openness which ranges from one to thirty. 2) The Organizational Status Survey. This instrument was a sixty-three item questionnaire which was designed to measure perceptions about the quality of performance manifested by the public schools. The instrument yields scores on six performance objectives. Significant positive correlations were found between degree of program openness and the performance objectives Organizational Rational i ty and Individuality. Correlations between socio-economic status of the school and each of the performance objectives were not significant. A negative correlation was found between size of student enrollment and Individuality. In all cases, the correlations were linear in nature . The multiple correlation between the performance objective Organizational Rationality and the variables degree of program openness, socio-economic status, and size of student enrollment was found to be significant. Degree of program openness was found to be the best predictor of Organizational Rationality. Socio-economic status was also found to account for a significant amount of the variability, while size of student enrollment was not. The multiple correlation between the performance objective Individuality and the variables degree of program openness, socio-economic status, and size of student enrollment was also found to be significant. Size of student enrollment was found to be the best predictor of Individuality, while degree of openness was also found to account for a significant amount of variability. Socio-economic status was not found to be a significant predictor. Degree of program openness was found to have a significant positive correlation with socio-economic status, and a significant negative correlation with size of student enrollment. In both cases the relationship was linear in nature. Schools with open and mixed architectural designs were found to be significantly more "open" than schools with a traditional design. The results of this study represent an investigation of the attainment of specific performance objectives, as perceived by teachers in public elementary schools, in relation to degree of program openness and selected demographic variables. The results provide an indication of the way in which open education is associated with performance objective attainment and with certain demographic variables. They also provide an indication of some of the factors which may influence school effectiveness and open education .
The Relative Effects of General versus Descriptive Praise on a Card Sorting Task
(1976) Scheer, Robert Ryan; Pumroy, Donald K.; Psychology; Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
It has frequently been postulated that descriptive praise, which labels the behavior being praised, is superior to general praise, which delivers an accolade without specifying the behavior being praised. Research investigating this postulate is meager. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether in fact descriptive praise is superior to general praise. Fifty fifth- and sixth-grade students from the Lida Lee Tall Center in Towson, Maryland were randomly selected to serve as subjects. Twelve boys and eight girls were randomly assigned to each of two praise conditions (i.e. descriptive praise and general praise) and six boys and four girls were randomly assigned to a control condition. Subjects were seen individually and pretested to ensure they could perform the experimental task. The assigned task was to sort 108 cards by one of three possible sorting methods. The first 54 card sorts served as a baseline to determine the preferred sorting method for each subject. During the final 54 card sorts, subjects in the two praise conditions received either general praise (e.g. "Great") or descriptive praise (e.g. "Great. I like the way you are sorting by shape") on a FR3 schedule for sorting cards by a randomly selected sorting method. Baseline data were collected for the entire 108 card sorts in the control condition. Multivariate analyses of variance were carried out on the extent to which the three groups changed their sorting method from their baseline method and on the extent to which the two praise groups sorted by the method they were reinforced for. The results indicated that the descriptive praise group performed significantly better than both the general praise and control groups. No significant difference emerged between the general praise and control groups. The male and female subjects did not significantly differ in their response to the two praise conditions. These results support the position that descriptive praise is more effective than general praise. It was suggested that the labeling of the behavior being reinforced in descriptive praise increased the informative value of the reinforcer thereby giving subjects in this condition an advantage over the subjects receiving general praise who had to, in effect, guess what response on their part elicited the praise.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERCEPTION OF LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOR, EFFECTIVENESS, AND CREATIVITY OF SECONDARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS IN MARYLAND
(1978) Matthews, Earl T.; McClure, L. Morris; Teaching, Learning, Policy & Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
The broad purpose of this study is to contribute knowledge to the selection of school principals. Specifically, the purpose of the study is to examine the relationships among measures of the variables of creativity, views of leader behavior, and effectiveness of secondary principals to determine variables that can be used for the selection, placement, and evaluation of secondary principals. Selected for participation in this study were 50 schools from school districts in Maryland, All teachers within the identified sample were requested to complete the Check List for the Evaluation of Secondary Principals (CLESP). By random procedures teachers were identified to complete the Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire-XII (LBDQ-XII) which indicated their perceptions of their principal's leader behavior, Each principal was requested to complete the AC Test of Creative Ability, a paper-and-pencil test which can be administered to individuals or groups to estimate the creative potential of an individual. Findings: 1. The data provided evidence that at the .05 level creativity is not significantly related to perceptions of leader behavior of secondary principals. 2. The data provided evidence that at the .OS level creativity is not significantly related to effectiveness of secondary principals. 3. There was a significant (.05 level) relationship established between scores secondary principals receive relative to their perceived leader behavior and measures of their effectiveness. 4. No significant relationship at the .05 level was found between the interaction effect of creative ability of principals with measures of their perceived leader behavior and effectiveness. Conclusions: The findings of the study suggest that the following conclusions may be drawn. 1. The creative ability of secondary principals is not directly related to the leader behavior that they exhibit. 2. The effectiveness of secondary principals as measured in this study is not directly related to their creative ability. 3. Generally, the effectiveness of secondary principals is directly related to their exhibited and perceived leader behavior. Specifically, those principals who are effective are perceived by their teachers as individuals who can: handle conflicting demands; accept postponement and do not worry about outcomes of new procedures; have strong convictions and utilize arguments effectively; encourage initiative in their teachers and encourage teachers to use good judgement; are friendly and approachable; have things turn out right for them; build team work within their building; and are working to get to the top. On the other hand, the effectiveness of secondary principals is not related to their perceived ability to: act as a spokesman for teachers; let teachers know what is expected of them with regards to program balance; and, define his role as to his concern for his teachers as individuals. 4. There is no interaction of creativity, perceptions of leadership behavior with respect to effectiveness. However, for prediction purposes concerning administrative effectiveness the secondary principal's perceived ability: to pull together his teachers; work with his superiors; represent his staff; maintain a closely knit organization; and resolve internal conflict emerge as important.
The Development of an Instrument to Differentiate Among Public School Teachers on the Basis of Attitudes Toward Professionalism
(1978) Uhlan, Eugene Arthur; Goldman, Harvey; Administration, Supervision and Curriculum; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument which would measure the level of professionalism attained by public school teachers. The development of such an instrument is based upon the assumption that there are degrees of professionalism rather than a simple dichotomy between the professional and the nonprofessional. Procedures: A review of the literature revealed that the characteristics of a profession are of two basic types. First are those characteristics which are part of the structure of the occupation including such things as formal education and entrance requirements, the formation of a professional organization and the adopting of a code of ethics. The second type is attitudinal. These attributes of professionalism reflect the way in which the practitioners view their work. If the occupation has met the structural prerequisites of a profession, the approach taken in practice determines the level of professionalism reached. In order to determine the extent to which the approach taken by public school teachers toward their work approximates the professional model, the researcher developed an initial pool of 104 items for a Teacher Attitude Scale based upon the following six attitudinal attributes of a profession: 1. The use of the professional organization as a major reference. 2 . Involvement of the individual in the professional culture. 3. A belief in service to the public . 4 . A belief in the right to self -regulation. 5. A sense of calling to the field. 6. A belief in autonomy. The initial pool of items was submitted to three professionally trained teachers who were provided full definitions of each attribute above and were asked to match each item with the attribute it was intended to measure. The work of this group indicated that the six attributes should be collapsed into three. Thus, use of the professional organization as a major reference and involvement in the professional culture were combine . A belief in service to the public and a sense of calling to the field were combined and autonomy was combined with a belief in the right to self-regulation. A second panel examined the items for clarity and unnecessary duplication. This process resulted in the selection of sixty (60) items, twenty designed to measure each of the three combined attributes. The sixty item Teacher Attitude Scale was then sent to a total of 500 randomly selected teachers in eight different county school systems in Maryland. The statistical analysis was based upon 408 usable responses or just over an eighty percent return. Twenty-two items were selected for use on a field test version of the Teacher Attitude Scale. Responses from 100 randomly selected teachers in Cecil County, Maryland, resulted in the selection of nineteen items for the final instrument. Findings: The research indicates that there are two factors contributing to the professionalism of public school teachers which can be measured through the use of a self-report instrument. These factors relate to the use of the professional organization as a major reference and a belief in commitment to the profession including a sense of calling to the field. Implications: The score a subject obtains on the instrument developed through this study should be considered an attitude score . In general, the interpretation of an attitude score on a summated- rating scale cannot be made independently of the distribution of scores of some defined group. This should present no problem since the purpose of using the instrument is to place the attitude of each subject in relation to the attitudes of other subjects. Scores on summated rating scales can be interpreted in this relative sense . In terms of further research, the purpose will be to compare the mean change in attitude scores as a result of introducing some experimental variable. A study of the teachers exhibiting the more professional attitudes, according to the instrument, may reveal training and/or organizational differences which relate to this professionalism. Administrators and teacher educators could then encourage the use of those training techniques which enhance professionalism.
INTENDED AND INCIDENTAL LEARNING OUTCOMES RESULTING FROM THE USE OF LEARNING OBJECTIVES WITH A SELECTED AUDIOVISUAL PRESENTATION
(1978) Main, Robert Gail; Berman, Louise M.; Administration, Supervision, and Curriculum; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
Problem: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the use of learning objectives with an audiovisual presentation on the intended (objective relevant) and incidental (non-objective relevant) learning outcomes. This study was conducted to provide evidence regarding the facilitative effects of using learning objectives as an organizer with a fixed-pace, fixed-format, non-print medium. The investigation was based on one phase of David P. Ausubel's theory of meaningful verbal learning: the advance organizer, Ausubel hypothesized that organizers facilitate learning when presented to students in advance of a learning passage. In this investigation, the organizer consisted of the learning objectives for the students, and the curriculum material was an audiovisual slide-tape presentation. The organizer was presented prior to the presentation, following the presentation, and interspersed within the presentation immediately preceding the objective relevant content. Procedure : An experiment was conducted to determine the effect and interaction of five independent variables with an audiovisual slidetape program: presence of learning objectives, location of learning objectives, type of knowledge, sex of learner, and retention of learning. A factorial design replicated for retention of learning was selected for the analysis. Student learning of intended knowledge and incidental knowledge, as measured by paper and pencil tests, were the dependent variables. A commercially produced educational slide-tape presentation concerning advances in communication technology was used as the stimulus. The participants were 108 college students enrolled in an introductory mass communications course at a California State University. Students in the class were stratified by sex and randomly assigned to four groups. Each experimental group viewed the slide-tape presentation either without learning objectives (control group), with learning objectives grouped at the beginning of the presentation (advance organizers), grouped at the end of the presentation (post organizers), or located throughout the presentation immediately preceding the relevant content (adjunct organizers ). Viewing and listening factors were carefully controlled for each of the four groups. Students completed an immediate posttest measuring intended and incidental knowledge as well as their feelings toward the subject and the manner of presentation. They were tested again two weeks later for intended and incidental knowledge only. The data were subjected to analysis of variance and other selected statistical procedures for testing differences between the experimental groups. Results : Although all three treatment groups had higher intended learning scores, only the performance of the group receiving the learning objectives before the slide-tape presentation achieved significance at the .05 level. The comparison of the immediate and delayed posttest analyses indicated that the relative effects of the experimental treatment did not change over time for the intended learning. No significant differences were found between experimental groups in the learning outcomes of incidental knowledge. No interactions were found between treatment and the grade point average or sex of the student. Significant differences did occur in the participants' evaluation of the slide-tape presentation. While there was no significant difference between the treatment groups and the control group, the group receiving the learning objectives before the presentation gave a significantly higher evaluation rating to the slide-tape program than did the group where the learning objectives were interspersed during the presentation. Conclusions: As a result of this experiment, the author concluded that the use of learning objectives facilitated the learning of objective relevant knowledge from a slide-tape presentation when the learning objectives were presented at the beginning of the program. Learning objectives used in this manner as "advance organizers" do not inhibit the acquisition of incidental (non-objective relevant) information contained in the instructional program. Furthermore, the use of learning objectives with a slide-tape instructional program does not detract from the students' evaluation of the program. Recommendation : Learning objectives can be developed by instructors for the audiovisual materials they use. The insertion of the learning objectives prior to the presentation of the audiovisual program can be accomplished rather easily. If the primary concern of the user of audiovisual materials is to increase intended learning, the insertion of learning objectives prior to the presentation is recommended.
A Comparison of Individual and Team Learning
(1980) Oickle, Eileen M.; McClure, L. Morris; Education, Policy, Planning and Administration; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
The major purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of individual and team learning utilizing competitive and cooperative reward structures in terms of cognitive and affective outcomes. The research hypotheses were: 1. Students who work in learning teams and whose quiz scores are formed into team scores will exhibit greater academic achievement, percentage of time on task, percentage of time spent peer tutoring, and more positive attitudes toward school, self, and others, and will be more motivated and less anxious than will students who work individually and receive individual scores only. 2. Students who are rewarded based on the difference between their quiz scores and an individually prescribed expected score will show greater academic achievement, positive self-concept, and motivation than will control students who receive traditional competitively assigned grades.
Undergraduate Moral Development and Academic Dishonesty
(1981) Nuss, Elizabeth Mulvey; Carbone, Robert F.; Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
The study was designed to respond to the continuing concern for ethical conduct and to increase our understandings of the moral development of college students and of the extent and scope of academic dishonesty on campus. Kohlberg and other cognitive-developmental theorists base their theories on several assumptions. They are: (a) that structural organizations exist; (b) that these organizations are hierarchical and sequential, and (c) that development is motivated by an individual's interaction with the environment. Moral developmental research describes six stages of development that represent the logical organization or structure of thought, which underlies the manifestation of moral judgments. As people mature and develop, they progress through the stages and view moral dilemmas differently. It was hypothesized that there is a positive relationship between college students' stage of moral development and the degree of seriousness with which they view academic dishonesty; that there is an inverse relationship between college students' stage of moral development and their participation in forms of academic dishonesty; and that there is an inverse relationship between the degree of seriousness with which college students view academic dishonesty and their participation in forms of dishonesty. Several ancillary issues were also explored, but no hypotheses were formulated for these issues. Two instruments were used to collect data for this study. The Defining Issues Test, designed and tested by James Rest at the University of Minnesota, was used to assess moral development. The second instrument, the Survey of Academic Dishonesty, was developed specifically for use in this study. Three groups of items in the Survey were used to calculate subscores to assess the attitudes about the seriousness of forms of academic dishonesty, the amount of personal participation in academic dishonesty, and the amount of observed participation by other students in dishonesty. Both instruments were administered to a sample of 146 undergraduate students at the University of Maryland. Pearson Correlation Coefficients were computed to determine the relationship between moral development, using the P-score, and the "serious score" as a measure of the degree of seriousness with which students view academic dishonesty and the ''personal participation score'' used as a measure of participation. A Pearson Correlation Coefficient was also computed to determine the relationship between attitude and personal participation. Descriptive statistics and chi-square analyses were used to analyze student characteristics and responses to individual items. Two of the three hypotheses were statistically significant beyond the .05 level. There was a slight relationship between college students' stage of moral development and the degree of seriousness with which they view academic dishonesty and there was an inverse relationship between the degree of seriousness with which students view dishonesty and their participation in forms of academic dishonesty. The results failed to demonstrate a relationship between stage of moral development and personal participation. Other findings included: the modal stage of moral development was stage 4, conventional thinking; older students and students living off campus were more mature in their moral reasoning than were younger students or students living on campus; cheating associated with examinations was considered to be more serious than cheating on homework or term papers; active forms of cheating was considered to be more serious than the more passive forms; the majority of students would not report incidents of cheating to the appropriate authorities; the majority of students cheat to avoid failure; and older students consider academic dishonesty to be more serious and reported less personal and observed participation in academic dishonesty than did younger students.
PREDICTIVE ACCURACY OF THIRD AND FIFTH GRADERS ON LINGUISTIC AND NON-LINGUISTIC COMPREHENSION MEASURES: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERFORMANCE ON GRADUATED PASSAGE QUESTIONS UNDER LISTENING AND READING CONDITIONS AND THE STANDARD PROGRESSIVE MATRICES
(1981) Alexander, Patricia; Garner, Ruth; Teaching, Learning, Policy & Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
This study, as an investigation of predictive accuracy, examined the relationship of subjects' performance on a non-linguistic measure of comprehension, the Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices, to their performance on linguistic measures of comprehension, graduated passages and questions from the Barnell-Loft Specific Skills Drawing Conclusions Series. These linguistic passages and questions were presented under silent reading and listening conditions. All third graders and fifth graders at a suburban Maryland parochial school served as the study population from which twenty subjects at each grade level were randomly selected. This sample was comprised of eighteen males and twenty-two females. All subjects received all treatment levels which consisted of four tasks administered in two sessions. Session I included the administration of the Raven's, with the added verbalization of item C-9, and passages and questions presented in a silent reading mode. In Session II all subjects completed passages and questions presented in a listening mode and the Slosson Intelligence Test. The graduated passages and question were contained in Comprehension Inventory I and II which were administered in counterbalanced format. Half of the subjects received Inventory I as the listening task and II as the silent reading task, while half received Inventory I as the silent reading task and II as the listening task. The first question under research in this study was whether there was a relationship between linguistic and non-linguistic predictive accuracy. A multiple correlation technique was used to ascertain the relationship between the Raven's and the listening and silent reading linguistic comprehension measures. A correlation coefficient significantly different from zero was achieved in the comparison of subjects' performance data for these tasks. The second question addressed by this study was whether the relationship between the non-linguistic and the listening linguistic measure of predictive accuracy would be stronger than the relationship between the non-linguistic and the reading linguistic measure of predictive accuracy. Through the use of a partial correlation technique it was determined that the relationship between the Raven's and the listening task was not statistically stronger than the relationship between the Raven's and the silent reading task. Both partial correlations, however, were determined to be significantly different from zero. The third question investigated by this study was whether there was a significant relationship between the Raven's, as a non-linguistic measure of predictive accuracy, and the Slosson, as a linguistic measure of intellig ence. The coefficient produced by the Pearson Product-Moment technique was assessed to be significantly different from zero. Finally, the study sought to ascertain if there were developmental differences in predictive accuracy. At test for related samples produced significant differences for all outcome measures in the direction of the fifth-grade subjects. These findings confirmed the hypothesis that older students would perform the specified tasks at a higher level of predictive accuracy than younger students. Possible explanations of the outcomes of this investigation, and their relationship to research in the areas of language/thought, analogous reasoning, intelligence/cognition, reading/listening and comprehension/prediction were discussed, along with implications for theory, research, classroom and diagnostic practices.
The Effects of Training and Practice in the Use of a Self-Monitoring Technique to Enhance the Reading Comprehension of Intermediate-Grade Students
(1982) Porter, Sarah Manvel; Davey, Beth; Secondary Education; University of Maryland (College Park, Md); Digital Repository at the University of Maryland
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of training and practice in using a self-monitoring technique to enhance the comprehension of intermediate-grade poor comprehenders. Subjects were 129 sixth grade low-average comprehenders from three middle schools, who scored from stanine three to stanine six on the reading comprehension subtest of the California Achievement Test. Subjects' treatment was based on the school they attended. Three comparable middle schools were randomly elected and assigned one of the following treatments: (1) training with practice, (2) training, or (3) neither training nor practice. Training in rating and hypothesis formation was conducted by the investigator over a three- day period. Materials used in training ranged from sentences to passages three to four paragraphs in length. Students were taught to rate pass ages on a 1-2-3 rating scale and to use hypothesis formation to enhance comprehension. Following training, the training with practice group used rating and hypothesis formation for three weeks during their regular reading lessons, under the guidance of the classroom reading teacher. After training and practice, all three groups were tested in two sessions. Three measures were used to test for differences among groups. These were a "global" comprehension test, a rating-with-response test requiring a match between perceived knowledge and demonstrated knowledge, and a test requiring the detection of embedded errors. Data were analyzed using a multivariate analysis of covariance. Scores were adjusted using a covariate of reading ability. No significant differences were found among groups. Implications for research and instruction included: training studies such as this may be most effective if done over an extended period of time in an ecologically valid setting; further study is needed to determine whether the Rating-with-Response and Embedded Error measures employed here give useful information about comprehension processing.
A Comparison of Reading Comprehension Skills Taught in Five Elementary School Reading Series and Teacher Preparation to Teach Reading: Implications for Program Planners for the Hearing Impaired
(1983) Clack, James Leland; Splaine, John E.; Education Policy, Planning and Administration; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
This researcher has studied the problems that teachers and program planners have in selecting basic, supplementary and remedial reading comprehension materials for hearing impaired students from commercially produced materials. The first phase was a systematic analysis of the teacher's manuals of five current editions of K-6 reading series used in regular public schools and residential schools and classes for the deaf. The reading comprehension objectives in each series were compiled and classified into twelve categories using Bloom’s Cognitive Development Levels. The objectives were analyzed and compared relative to scope, format and timing. Tables and charts were used to organize the objectives in each category from all five series. The second phase was the teacher interviews. Two groups of five teachers each were selected to be interviewed based on availability. The first group was five elementary school teachers with hearing impaired students in their classes. The second group was five residential school for the deaf teachers. Each interview was conducted and completed at the respective teacher's school. They were asked to describe their training to teach reading, procedures and criteria used to select reading materials and concepts of transformational grammar. A questionnaire was developed and used to conduct the interviews. The data was categorized and the responses were studied for significance. The textbook analysis revealed significant variations in scope, format and timing of their objective statements. Only one series clearly differentiated its mastery levels. The public school teachers had an average of 16.2 credit hours training to teach reading while the residential school teachers had an average of 7.2 credit hours. Neither group had more than a minimum introduction to cognitive and child development theories. Only one public and one residential teacher had significant training in transformational grammar. The public school teachers had little knowledge of the educational needs of the hearing impaired. Using the results of this project, an inservice program was described including cognitive and child development theories, transformational grammar and educational technology skills to help teachers improve their ability to apply criterion-reference objectives to select instructional materials for hearing impaired children.
Role Expectations and Role Performance of Nursing Faculty in Research Universities
(1983) Venn, Mary Regina; Carbone, Robert F.; Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
This study sought to clarify the role expectations and role performance of nursing faculty in research universities and related these data to institutional expectations for nursing faculty. The following questions were addressed: 1) Are there differences between institutional role expectations for nursing faculty in research universities and the role expectations that nursing faculty hold for themselves? 2) Are there differences between institutional role expectations for nursing faculty and their role performance? 3) Are there differences between role expectations held by the nursing faculty and their role performance? The population included administrators and nursing faculty in public higher education institutions designated by the Carnegie Council on Policy Studies in Higher Education as Research Universities I which offered undergraduate and graduate nursing degree programs accredited by the National League for Nursing. Nine of the 19 institutions meeting the criteria agreed to participate. The sample included all administrators who held a line relationship to the nursing program or to the nursing faculty. Also included were 50 percent of the non-administrative nursing faculty appointed at the rank of assistant professor or above who had at least one academic degree in nursing and who had held their appointment for a minimum of one year. In all, 17 4 nursing faculty and 53 administrators were selected. Responses were received from 115 faculty members and 38 administrators, yielding a response rate of 67 percent. Two instruments were developed that yielded data on institutional administrators' role expectations for nursing faculty, nursing faculty role expectations, and actual nursing faculty role performance. Data were described and analyzed using measures of central tendency, median tests, correlation analyses, repeated measures analyses of variance, and t tests. The findings suggest a high degree of congruence between perceptions of role expectations held by administrators and by nursing faculty. The role performance of nursing faculty met administrative expectations as well as their own. Nursing faculty in university settings appeared to be investing more time in scholarly work and less in teaching, but exceeding expectations for institutional service. The findings suggest that nursing faculty do contribute to the achievement of the three university goals and that more nursing faculty are acquiring doctoral preparation.

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