Digital Commons Network^™

A Study To Determine The Relationship Between Perceived Communication Practices Of Leaders And Subordinate Response To Change, Catherine L. Chevalier

Dissertations

Organizational change continues to challenge leaders as they are charged with transforming their followers from a present state to a future state. This research examined the relationship between perceived communication practices of leaders and employee response to change in a natural setting. Randomly selected employees from the research and development division of a mid-size Fortune 500 company located in the Midwest comprised the sample (N. = 110). The study was executed upon completion of a large-scale change in policy which was formally communicated according to a protocol established by senior management. The participants completed three survey instruments: (1) Communication Environment …

The Level Of Management Support Behaviors And The Effect On Participation Rates In Corporate Fitness Programs, Diane Braatz

Dissertations

Survey methods were used to evaluate the relationship between the nature and degree of management support provided to corporate fitness programs and employees' participation rates in those programs. A questionnaire requesting information about demographics, participation rates, and supportive management practices in the areas of coaching, modeling, and reinforcing, was sent to representatives of 400 companies. Completed questionnaires representing 157 organizations were returned. Across all respondents, the mean reported level of employee participation in fitness programs was 20.7%; the range was 2 to 67%. The level of employee participation was positively related to the total level of management support (i.e., combined …

The Crisis Of Perception In Education: The Scientific And Historic Evolution Of Systemic Educational Reform, Cynthia C. Phillips

Masters Theses

This study presents a literature synthesis that pertains to the evolution of systemic reform. A hermeneutic and heuristic template illuminates the historical tapestry of educational reform. Examination of the antecedents of four waves of educational reform, indicates that an impending paradigmatic shift parallels and perhaps prompts the evolution of systemic reform. The learning organization metaphor builds the synthesis for the following supposition: the history and philosophy of science drive the construction and deconstruction of mental models held by society. The crisis of perception alludes to the possibility that current mental models, established under the Newtonian paradigm, serve to motivate dysfunctional …

Keepers Of The Flame: Contemporary Urban Superintendents, Theodore J. Kowalski

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

A wealth of qualitative data concerning urban districts and their school superintendents in the United States is contained in this book. Theodore J Kowalski examines the lives of 17 urban school superintendents focusing on their problems and aspirations. Of particular significance is the discussion of how factors such as community environment, organizational change and culture, and the person in the job combine to influence decision-making and administrative behaviour.

A Causal-Comparative Study Of The Relationship Of Mathematics, Science, Athletics And The Career Expectations Of Adolescent Women, Elwood Martin Bowers

Dissertations

The premise of this study is that high school women who complete course work in advanced mathematics and advanced science and participate in organized athletic programs will develop skills, knowledge, and attitudes that facilitate and encourage expanded options in their occupational expectations. It was hypothesized that such women would have occupational expectations that reflect a greater degree of gender integration or nontraditionality than women who do not participate in such activities. Other environmental or attribute variables such as parents' occupation, birth order, and constructs of self concept, were examined for intervening or modifying effects on the major premise.

Participants in …

An Exploration Of Students’ And Business Persons’ Ratings Of The Importance Of Writing Skills For Business Success, Miriam P. Coleman

Dissertations

The central question explored in this research was whether the perceptions of undergraduate students and business employers about the importance of writing skills for success in business differ from one another. Related questions were posed about the relationship of certain individual characteristics such as sex, student classification, and student institutional affiliation and their interactions to these perceptions.

Subjects were selected from both public and private institutions of higher education and 11 medium-sized businesses in western Michigan. Data collection was accomplished using two 30-item Likert-type Importance of Business Writing (IBW) questionnaires developed for obtaining information on the perceptions of subjects relative …

An Exploratory Study Of Sentient Evaluators: Communication, Ethics, And Relationships In The Evaluation Process, Mary Elizabeth Piontek

Dissertations

The purpose of this exploratory study was to develop hypotheses about the ways evaluators involve stakeholders, clients, and audiences in the evaluation process and communicate their findings to these groups. A sentient evaluator was defined as an evaluator who takes an active role in promoting the program that s/he is investigating and deliberately seeks to represent underrepresented stakeholders. This type of evaluator has her/his own ethical or moral agenda through which s/he views the program being evaluated and takes a formative perspective on program development and improvement.

Evaluators (n=12) believed to be sentient because they displayed certain characteristics were compared …

Faculty Development Programs And Evaluation In American Colleges And Universities, Antonio Nicolas Rubino

Dissertations

The purposes of this study were to determine (a) the importance and frequency of offering of personal, instructional, curriculum, research, academic advising, and organizational development programs in universities and colleges in the United States; and (b) the types and times of evaluation of faculty development practices. Types of evaluation studied included measuring participant satisfaction, participant learning, on the- job behavior, and organizational effects. Times of evaluation included during the implementation of the practice, evaluation immediately after the implementation, and evaluation a month or more after the implementation.

A sample of 195 faculty developers from research, doctorate-granting, and comprehensive universities, and …

Case Studies Of The Structure, Dynamics, And Outcomes Of Interdisciplinary Team Organization In Oregon Middle Schools, Gail Lyon

Dissertations and Theses

Middle school literature advocates interdisciplinary team organization as a structure that enhances student learning and teacher satisfaction. In an interdisciplinary team, teachers responsible for different content areas collaboratively plan the instructional program for a shared group of students. Yet, fewer than fifty percent of the nation's middle schools use an interdisciplinary team structure, and research indicates that teams are fragile and temporary. Few studies were found that described interdisciplinary team organization at the team or individual teacher level.

The purpose of this case study is to describe the structure, dynamics, and outcomes of interdisciplinary teams of teachers in middle schools. …

Contemporary School Administration: An Introduction, Theodore J. Kowalski

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Contemporary School Administration presents a pragmatic approach to school administration as a career choice, offering a broad, comprehensive overview of educational leadership in both public and private schools.

The initial chapters provide a foundation for understanding leadership and management, the primary components of administration. Common questions students ask regarding academic study, licensure, job opportunities, income, and career development are featured in the early chapters. The text is also unique in that it covers critical topics ignored in most other introductory books. Examples of these topics include private schools, women and minorities in administration, and communication. Content does not overlap with …

Factors Associated With Success In A Participative Decision Making Program For Supervisors, Managers, And Salaried Professionals, Eric Paul De Nijs

Dissertations

This study was designed to investigate the factors associated with success in a participative decision making program, based on the quality circle concept, involving teams of first-line supervisors, managers, and salaried professionals. The teams were formed to initiate and implement cost saving projects. A total of 35 subjects from six teams participated in the study conducted in a food processing company located in the Midwest. Cross-functional teams representing the main functional areas of a company were ranked on the basis of their success, defined as the proportion of the savings goal the team attained. From this ranking, the top three …

The Effect Of Leadership Styles On Hospital Labor Productivity, Anthony R. Tersigni

Dissertations

This research examined hospital management leadership style and its effects on hospital labor productivity . Information derived from this research will be useful in the education and training of future health care executives and in the continuing education of those responsible for the day-to-day operations of general acute hospitals.

The hypothesis that was researched in the study was that high consideration/high structure and high consideration/low structure leadership styles would increase productivity in hospital employees who are in the middle stages of organizational development. This was operationally defined in the alternate hypothesis as a relationship between productivity as measured by the …

A Comparison Of Junior High Schools To Middle Schools With Respect To Achievement And Attendance, Darrell Clay

Dissertations

During the past 30 years, the middle school movement has been a comprehensive effort to restructure middle level education. Literally thousands of school districts have chosen to change from junior high schools to middle schools for a variety of reasons. Research to support this massive reorganization of American schools has not been evident. The early research did not provide consistent evidence of improvement for middle school students. Most of this early research was based solely on the grade configuration of the schools being compared rather than the conceptual framework of the school.

The purpose of this study was to compare …

6. The Use Of The Computer In The Practice Of Industrial/ Organizational Psychology, Lyle F. Schoenfeldt, Jorge L. Mendoza

The Computer and the Decision-Making Process

The rapid proliferation of computer technology, in the form of mainframe computers, networks of interconnected machines, and stand-alone personal computers, is having a profound effect on many areas of life. As a result of the spread of computer equipment to offices, homes, and educational institutions; the variety of software applications has grown at an unprecedented rate. With this as background, it should be no surprise that computers have assumed an increasing role in professional practice, including applications in providing services in the area of industrial and organizational psychology.

Industrial-organizational psychologists function in a variety of settings, but primarily provide human …

Cedar River Mini-School, Judy Anne Rene

All Graduate Projects

A mini-school was set up in Cedar River Elementary School in Maple Valley, Washington. The mini-school will keep the same students and teachers together for a three-year period of time. There will be a fourth, fifth, and sixth grade classroom, each with its own teacher. Research suggests that students in small schools perceive a closer, warmer relationship with their teachers, fellow students and other adults and a stronger connection with the school. This project presents a justification for and a description of the mini-school. The only conclusions reached come from the development of the mini-school, not in an evaluation of …

Staff Development Guidelines For Effective Staff Development Programs, Glenn Spinnie

All Graduate Projects

The staff development programs recommended through literature and programs in actual practice in the state of Washington were studied. Thirty-two school districts responded to a questionnaire based on important findings in the literature. The results showed strengths and weaknesses in staff development programs. This study did indicate that staff development programs in the state of Washington had many of the elements of effective staff development as set forth in the literature.

An Investigation Of Elementary Teachers' Self-Perception Of Burnout While Participating In A Professional Development Change Process, Lana L. Callihan

Dissertations

Teachers are experiencing pressures from the demands of educational change required in their profession. The quality of education is reflected by the competency of the teacher. The research suggests that efforts should be directed toward identifying a process for change that will reduce the feelings of burnout which block the energy and enthusiasm needed for change.

This study investigated the question, "Does involvement in a professional development process modify a teacher's perceived feelings of burnout?" The professional development models studied were the Collaborative Curriculum and Professional Development Process (CCPDP), Instructional Theory Into Practice (ITIP), and the Michigan School Improvement Process …

The Relationship Between School Principals' Self-Perceived Brain Hemispheric Processing Modes And Their Self-Perceived Leadership Styles, Barbara Mcswain Kean

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study was designed to examine the relationship between the self-perceived preferred brain hemispheric processing of West Virginia public school principals and their self-perceived leadership styles. Seventy-five respondents completed the Herrmann Brain Dominance Profile, the Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire, and a demographics sheet. Data were analyzed using the General Linear Model of the Statistical Analysis Systems (SAS). Chi Square analyses at the 0.05 alpha level were used to test two directional hypotheses that guided this study. Both hypotheses were confirmed.

Public school principals in West Virginia who perceived themselves as preferring mental processes that are predominantly left train hemispheric perceived …

Effectiveness Of Employee Participation Groups In A Manufacturing Company, John F. Blamy

Dissertations

This case study investigated the short term effectiveness of Quality of Work Life participation groups in a Midwest manufacturing division of a major worldwide automotive corporation. Six traditional procedural measures were used to evaluate performance. These measures of performance were: employee attendance, written grievances, scrap produced, quality audits, customer complaints, and productivity.

Six hypotheses were formulated for this study: (1) Employees in departments with employee participation groups will improve their attendance more than employees in departments that do not have employee participation groups. (2) Employees in departments with employee participation groups will decrease the number of formal grievances more than …

Faculty Development In Higher Education - A Literature Review, Patrick Allen

Faculty Publications - College of Education

Faculty development is a familiar term to even a fledgling academician. There is a faculty development program, committee, center, reading room, budget, or instructional developer on almost every campus.

Effects Of Training On Measures Of Productivity: A Meta-Analysis Of The Findings Of Forty-Eight Experiments, Alice Susan Leddick

Dissertations

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of training on three employee productivity measures: output, withdrawal, and disruption.

A meta-analysis of forty-eight field experiments published in the United States between 1971 and 1981, inclusive, was conducted to explore differences in training effectiveness associated with eight substantive training variables (five design variables and three contextual variables) and two study design variables.

Across all studies, training programs contributed to overall improvement of experimental groups over control groups of 0.67 standard deviation. Training interventions were most successful applied to disruption; however, a shortage of data cast doubt on the reliability …

A Study Of Four Bible Colleges Which Are Candidates For Accreditation With The Southern Association Of Colleges And Schools, Francis M. Nash

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the School of Education at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Educational Specialist by Francis M. Nash on August 31,1984.

Acer 1983-1984 Annual Report, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

ACER Annual Reports

No abstract provided.

The Quality Of Public Education In Boston: An Assessment And Some Recommendations, Karen Seashore Louis

Center for Survey Research Publications

Motivation, self-esteem, achievement and the development of tolerance and acceptance of others -- these are the goals that most, like Crain, et al., have come to accept as legitimate objectives of public schooling. Yet, there is substantial opinion that the public schools of Boston have been unable to achieve standards in these areas that are acceptable to the public, the students who occupy the schools, and the professionals who run them. For example, a recent survey of Boston residents' attitudes toward the schools indicates that approximately 3/4 of all respondents -- irrespective of race, or whether there were any school …

Rating Your Individualized Program, James Shymansky

Educator Preparation & Leadership Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Teachers' Growth/Development And The Organizational Climate Of Elementary Schools, Louise Birch

Dissertations

The purposes of the study were: (a) to determine the types of professional development in which elementary teachers voluntarily participated and the extent of that participation, and (b) to investigate the relationships between school climate and teachers' participation, enrollment size and teachers' participation, and enrollment size and school climate.

The survey included all of the 356 regular elementary school teachers in two southwestern Michigan school districts who each held a tenured position and was assigned to a building with the same principal for at least the 1980-81 and 1981-82 years. The number of schools was 15 in District A and …

A Follow-Up Study To Determine Selected Characteristics And Perceptions Regarding The Academic Preparation Of Master Degree Graduates Who Majored In School Administration: Central Washington University 1976-1981, Richard P. Lynch

All Graduate Projects

The purposes of this study were (1) to determine selected demographic characteristics of master degree graduates, who majored in school administration, and who graduated from the Graduate Division of Education since the 1976 Summer quarter through the 1981 Summer quarter; (2) to ascertain the extent to which these graduates perceived the courses of instruction in their academic preparationas being relevant to subsequent educational administration functions; and (3) to determine additional courses of instruction, not in the present curriculum, that these selected graduates perceived would be professionally relevant to current educational administrative functions.

Educational Futures I: Imaging And Inventing: Views Toward Imagineering Global Perspectives Of What Ought To Be In Education, Don E. Glines

Books

"First of a volume series on change in education, with volume I focusing on societal conditions and how they affect educators and school programs" from Don E. Glines (2023).

The Gatekeepers' Gazette - Vol. 1 No. 3 - January 1973, Nova University

The Gatekeepers' Gazette

No abstract provided.

The Interrelating Of Library And Basic Education Services For Disadvantaged Adults: A Demonstration Of Four Alternative Working Models, Ann Preston Hayes

Faculty Research at Morehead State University

A proposal for research submitted to the United States Commissioner of Education for support through authorization of the National Center for Educational Research and Development to support public libraries and basic adult education services for undereducated adults in Appalachia.