Counseling, Higher Education & Special Education Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2757
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Item Merit Pay Incentive Plans and Faculty Motivation at Liberal Arts Colleges(1993) Nelson, Karen K.; Chait, Richard; Counseling, Higher Education & Special Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)This study examined faculty behavior under merit pay Plans at four liberal arts colleges to determine whether there was a relationship between faculty motivation (effort) and the degree to which institutional pay plans and individual expectancies conformed to Lawler's theory of the conditions necessary for an effective monetary incentive structure (Lawler 1971, 1981, 1990). These conditions are: 1) A perception that performance and merit awards are linked; 2) Monetary rewards are highly valued; 3) Award size is large enough to make an impact; and 4) Information about rewards are publicly disclosed. The study proposed the question: Is there an association between motivation levels among faculty subject to merit pay plans and the presence of the theory conditions, or do other factors relate to faculty motivation? Using questionnaires to faculty, statistical correlation techniques tested for associations between reported faculty behavior and Lawler's four theory conditions. Lawler's theory did not apply to this group of faculty. The reward size condition showed the expected positive association, however, contrary to theory hypothesis, the perception of the pay-performance link was negatively related. Of the faculty characteristics examined, faculty with higher salaries and those with tenure reported less willingness to give additional effort to most activities. The faculty had highly inaccurate perceptions of the actual merit payments awarded to others at their institutions. The perception of the strength of the pay-performance link indicated that faculty believe the determination of reward recipients is unpredictable with respect to one's performance. These faculty members valued monetary rewards, yet responses to merit pay in the form of greater effort was weak. The stronger response to merit pay by the faculty at the non-merit pay institution suggests that familiarity with a merit pay system in practice breeds a more skeptical attitude because it has not proven as equitable or fruitful in operation as the faculty expect in the abstract. The findings suggest a need to look more closely at the role of intrinsic rewards, the perceived pay-performance relationship factor, and the process of determining rewards.Item TRANSITION OF STUDENTS FROM A SPECIAL CENTER TO SELF-CONTAINED CLASSES IN GENERAL EDUCATION SCHOOLS: PARTICIPANTS' EXPERIENCES(1996) Bachman, Colleen McCleary; Strein, William; Counseling, Higher Education & Special Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)The process of transferring disabled students from a special center to self-contained classes in regular schools was investigated through case study research. The purpose of the study was to determine how different participants experienced the transitions and how their roles affected their experiences. The experiences and perceptions of participants, specifically parents, teachers, and administrators were explored through qualitative methodology. The transitions of six students served as the focus of the case studies. Data was collected through three techniques, semi-structured interviews, participant observations, and review of archival information. All participants reported that the opportunity to model appropriate social skills and behaviors were a benefit of the transition. Parental anxiety was reported to be a major barrier by school staff and parents. Parents perceived their role as the "decision maker" in the process. They were concerned about safety, ridicule by other students, and loss of a community of supportive parents. Having the child attend his or her home school was important to school personnel but not to parents. Teachers at the special center based their decision to transfer a child on a match between the child's skills and the regular school's preparation and willingness to work with the child. Teachers at the receiving schools were concerned about their lack of skills to teach severely disabled students and lack of resources. Administrators perceived their role as one of leadership and setting the tone. They are not directly involved in the transition process unless difficulties arise. The primary barrier in the transition process is the lack of a shared conceptualization regarding how best to deliver educational services. The factor expressed by all participants as most facilitative of the process was open, honest, and frequent communications amongst participants. The transitions were reported as successful by the participants based on their subjective impressions. Success of the transitions was not evaluated or measured through traditional objective criteria because such measures were not available.Item Attachment Style, Parental Caregiving and Perceived Image of God(1999) Oler, Israel David; Birk, Janice M.; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)Is adult perceived image of god related to attachment style, and if so, is it parallel to or compensatory for early or adult attachment style, and does early image of god influence adult attachment? One hundred and thirty-one undergraduates completed measures of their present adult attachment styles (Relationship Questionnaire, Bartholomew and Horowitz, 1991; Relationship Scales Questionnaire, Griffin and Bartholomew, 1994), parental caregiving styles experienced in growing up (retrospective early attachment), (Parental Caregiving Style, Hazan and Shaver, 1986} as well as of their adult and early (retrospective) perceived image of god (Wrathfulness Scale, Gorsuch, 1968) for the purpose of exploring the relationships between these variables. Adult attachment style was not shown to be related to adult perceived image of god except in terms of a positive relationship between the secure style (as measured by the Relationship Questionnaire) and perceived image of god. The more warm the parental caregiving style experienced, the more positive both the early and adult image of god; the colder the parental caregiving style, the more negative both the early and adult perceived image of god. No evidence was found for a relationship between early image of god and adult attachment style. As number of counseling sessions increased so did the incidence of the fearful attachment dimension and of a more negative perceived image of god while incidence of the secure attachment dimension diminished. The experience of romantic relationships was unrelated to adult attachment dimensions and to adult perceived image of god. Caucasians demonstrated a more negative adult perceived image of god than did African Americans. Adult perceived image of god appears to parallel parental caregiving style experienced and to a more limited extent adult attachment style. Both parents' caregiving styles parallel perceived image of god consistent with attachment theory. Suggestions are made for developing an enhanced perceived image of god measure that will enable further study of the relationship between perceived image of god and parental caregiving. It is also proposed that using adult attachment measures that delete reference to romance may yield an enhanced relationship with perceived image of god.