Showing papers in "Education 3-13 in 1996"

Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory and Contributions to the Development of Constructivist Curricula

Abstract: Introduction Vygotsky's (1930s) theoretical contributions to the development of curricula and teaching strategies are widely known among educational theorists. Vygotsky devised a sociocultural theory which subsequently influenced the development of the constructivist movement. Although Vygotsky's contributions to the field of education are apparent, what has not been specifically addressed is how the particulars of his theoretical framework helped shape the development of constructivist curricula. In short, how does his sociocultural theory connect with the schooling praxis of constructivism. Goals The purpose of this paper is to analyze Vygotsky's (1930s) sociocultural theory of learning with respect to how it relates to education. To do this, I deem it essential to examine how this theory of learning impacted the teaching strategies and curricula of the constructivist movement The conceptual content of this paper addresses the following primary educational query: With respect to the learning theory of constructivism how do students learn? To answer this query, I deem it essential to investigate how his approach was ultimately based on a theoretical framework because this phenomenon shapes the methodology of an educator's research and teaching. Objectives The objective is to describe how this approach was intrinsically shaped by a theoretical framework. This theoretical framework consists of the following interrelated procedural components: query, conceptual framework, philosophical assumptions, methodology, data, principles, techniques, and learning setting. That is, as a researcher of curricula and learning, Vygotsky ([1933] 1978) conceived these ideas and strained them through a procedure to form them, whereas practicing teachers tend to explicitly apply each educational theory's teaching implications to the classroom(1). Fortunately, Vygotsky taught in the classroom setting and conducted research, which probably gave him valuable insight as to how to connect educational research theory with practical application in the classroom. Teacher-Practitioner and Education Researcher Roles Although the teacher and researcher of learning both utilize theory, they do so in different ways. In general, the teacher, as a practitioner, primarily employs theory when constructing curricula and teaching strategies while the researcher primarily utilizes theory to test its efficacy in a student-learning setting, or to devise novel ones. Although these distinct roles exist, there is a general relationship between each theory of learning and the respective curricula and teaching strategies that distinct schools of educators employ. Those educators who adhere to behavioristic, cognitivistic, and positivistic theoretical frameworks tend to instruct their students in a teacher-centered mode, whereas those who adhere to constructivism, collectivistic, and thematic holistic theories tend to teach students in a collective learning environment. The teaching strategies and curricula that educators adopt implicitly reflect the learning theories which they advocate. Because teaching strategies and curricula are based on theories of learning, it is necessary to initially examine the explanation of Vygotsky and then, relate it to curricula instruction. Methodology of this Paper I interpreted Vygotsky's approach from the standpoint of an educational anthropologist. This perspective involves adopting the roles of an arm-chair researcher and a field-based classroom researcher. The duties of these roles comprise reviewing the literature, interpreting classroom lecture-notes, and employing past participant-observations of various classroom settings; that is, one who interprets student-teacher interactional-learning settings at the school site. Context of Limitations: Disclaimer My interpretation of Vygotsky's sociocultural theory is based on English translations of his work, and further upon the interpretations of his works by psychologists, such as Berk (1994), Tudge (1990), and Gallimore and Tharp (1990). …

Teacher Attitudes toward Inclusion of Students with Disabilities into Regular Classrooms

Abstract: Since the publication of A Nation at Risk (1983), which heightened public interest in educational reform, there has been a strong national movement to include all students in the regular neighborhood schools and classrooms (Stainback & Stainback, 1990). Inclusion is defined as educating all students in the mainstream for all of the day (Lusthaus & Forest, 1989). All students, regardless of disability, are educated in the integrated, general education class. Regular teachers are asked to provide experiences that are appropriate for all of their students. The special education teacher provides support in the regular classroom (Stainback & Stainback, 1992). The resource room is at least partially replaced with the special education teacher consulting from room to room. Inclusion originated in New Zealand, England, and Canada where it is currently being implemented (Gage, 1994). There are also a number of schools in Italy, Australia, and the United States that are successfully implementing inclusion (Berrigan, 1989; Blackman & Peterson, 1989; Buswell & Shaffer, 1990; Schattman, 1988; Stainback & Stainback, 1988). Inclusion differs from mainstreaming in that in the inclusive program the children with disabilities are the shared responsibility of the classroom teacher and other support professionals. In mainstreaming programs the children were seen as the primary responsibility of the resource teacher (Stainback & Stainback, 1988). Some groups such as the Association for Retarded Citizens, United Cerebral Palsy, and the Association for Persons With Severe Handicaps have been strong advocates for the inclusion movement. These groups want to eliminate segregated classrooms as well as pullout special educational programs. They hope to create a better social environment at school by bringing services for children with handicaps into the regular classroom (Gorman & Rose, 1994). Although opinions vary widely, one key advocate for the inclusion movement has been the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) which argues that current practices in special education have not been effective (Gorman & Rose, 1994). For example, Cartwright, Cartwright, and Ward (1985) reported that research showed students in special education classes did not achieve any better than their counterparts in regular education classes. In fact, children with mild handicaps made greater academic gains in the regular classroom than children with similar handicaps in segregated classrooms (Madden & Slavin, 1983). The NASBE also has called for the integration of general and special education into one system with flexible instruction on and curricula. The single system would offer student centered classrooms where a variety of professionals would meet the needs of all students (Gorman & Rose, 1994). Those in support of inclusion believe that inclusion provides more effective education for all students, not only those with handicapping conditions (Pearman, Huang, Barnhart, & Mellblom, 1992). As with any significant change there are also those who strongly hold differing opinions. Opponents of inclusion have argued that it does not save money and actually probably costs more to implement than old pull-out approach (Woelfel, 1994). The two most prominent opponents of inclusion, The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and the Learning Disabilities Association (LDA), have urged schools to keep service options available to students (Gorman & Rose, 1994). The LDA has also argued that inclusion is a violation of the 1990 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ("Position Paper," 1993). The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act mandated that a free and appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment based on the individual needs of the students be provided to individuals with disabilities. Inclusion may not be appropriate for all students. Other groups also have resisted inclusion. …

A Comparison of Teacher Efficacy for Pre and In-Service Teachers in Scotland and America

Abstract: Teaching is obviously not a simple or mechanical activity; in fact, Naring (1990) suggests that teaching is a complex process requiring skills and strategies such as: * preparing lesson and unit plans * motivating students to learn * creating a climate for teaching * using textbooks and curriculum guides effectively * using a variety of teaching skills * using media and technology * maintaining classroom discipline * diagnosing student difficulties and adapting instruction to meet individual needs Pre-service and in-service teacher education programs must certainly include preparation in these important areas, but should also include the development of confidence in ones ability to execute these teaching activities effectively. This latter concept has come to be known as teacher efficacy. Importance of Teacher Efficacy In terms of including the development of teacher efficacy in teacher education and in-service programs, "it is important to instill a sense of efficacy in those who are being prepared to ensure that they have the confidence to attempt to apply their knowledge when the appropriate time comes" (Gorrell and Capron, 1990, p. 15). Further, the extent to which teachers believe they can affect student learning may influence teacher/student interactions and teachers' success in facilitating gains in student achievement (Dembo and Gibson, 1985). The importance of teacher efficacy is corroborated by Morin and Welsh (1991) who state that "an educator with high teaching efficacy will engage in activities that promote the development of competencies, whereas teachers with low efficacy may avoid engaging in those activities" (pp. 3-4). It seems reasonable to conclude that the higher a teacher's sense of efficacy, the more successful that teacher will be in facilitating desirable student outcomes. The relationship between teacher efficacy and teacher effectiveness was explored by Gibson and Dembo (1984). They observed that teachers' beliefs in their own abilities to teach students may contribute to individual teacher differences in effectiveness. "One would predict that teachers who believe student learning can be influenced by effective teaching, and who also have confidence in their own teaching abilities, should persist longer, provide a greater academic focus in the classroom, and exhibit different types of feedback than teachers who have lower expectations concerning their ability to influence student learning" (p. 570). Few studies have been conducted which compare pre-service with in-service teachers on the variable of teacher efficacy. One such study was conducted by Pigge and Marso (1993) who compared a group of pre-service teachers projected to become outstanding teachers and a group of in-service teachers recognized to be outstanding who were at early, mid, and late stages of their careers. In this particular study, no significant differences on he variables of personal teaching efficacy and teacher efficacy were found. It is interesting to examine the self-rating strategies employed in most teacher efficacy studies especially when individuals' self-ratings can be compared with ratings provided by supervisors of those individuals. In a study by Walker (1992) student teachers tended to rate themselves highly while cooperating teachers were more realistic in their appraisals. "One of the obvious conclusions about this rating would be that student teachers are idealistic about their expectations of their performance in the classroom. It would be interesting to ask those who have full-time jobs...how the items on this survey have been fulfilled in the reality of the classroom world" (Walker, 1992, p. 29). The conclusion seems justified that more direct comparisons of the teacher efficacy of pre-service teachers and in-service teachers are needed. Would the exuberance, enthusiasm and perhaps even the naivete of pre-service teachers produce higher teacher efficacy scores than obtained by in-service teachers, or would the experience and maturity of in-service teachers produce the opposite result? …

The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - Revised, Revisited

Abstract: Assessments are ongoing dilemmas in every facet of mankind. Doctors assess their patients both physically, mentally, and emotionally. Bosses assess their employers on job performance, attendance, and employee relations. Educators assess students cognitively as well as affectively. There are many problems created by assessments: who does the assessment, what credentials are necessary by the assessor to perform the assessment as accurately as possible, who should be assessed, what is being assessed, and what instrument should be used to measure the assessment. These issues were addressed in the article, "Standardized Assessments Used in American Public Schools are Invalid and Unreliable." Tables used by practitioners administering the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Revised found the practitioners overidentifying discrepancies of children with higher quotients. Examiners who were all instructed alike erred in scoring the Kaufman Assessment Battery for children with an average of 5.8 errors per examiner. The Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence was being administered to children in the wrong age bracket. This test also had problems with the hands-on material not connecting together properly. Testings were found to be market driven, with testing companies trying any and all means to sell their testings. One instrument for assessment, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale- Revised (WAIS-R), is utilized to measure an adult's intelligence opacity. The WAIS-R is one of the most taught means of IQ assessments to persons enrolled in graduate level psychology programs. The studies conducted found the certified and licensed assessment specialists erred in clerical and mathematical calculations while administering the WAIS-R. Frequently, the assessment specialists had difficulty in the scoring of the verbal responses. Incorrect raw scores and full scale IQ discrepancies added to the inaccuracy of the WAIS-R assessment. Since the assessment specialist is a primary source of accuracy to the interpretation of one's IQ assessment, it is imperative to seek out the most respected licensed professional to assess one's IQ. Knowing the importance of the assessment specialist's skills, I sought out the most renown licensed psychologist in the state to perform my own neuropsychological evaluation. The testings duration was approximately four and one half hours long. This is an enormous amount of time for one to maintain infinite attention and acute concentration. The assessment began with an assessment of grooming, as well as, punctuality for the appointment. Background information pertaining to my medical history, family history, and childhood were recorded along with my previous schooling and social life. The battery of testings attempts to assess a wide variety of higher and lower cerebral functional areas of the brain. There was the Full Scale IQ, Memory Scale, Verba, and Performance IQ. The Ammons QT measured the receptive vocabulary ability. The testings seemed endless and concluded with the Finger Tapping Test. During the testings, I found periods of loss of concentration. Two lengthy, successive paragraphs were read to me, the testings required me to reiterate these paragraphs with as much detail as possible. Mental arithmetic, word associations, block design, picture sequencing, spatial relationships, visual acuity ... I found ambiguity in several visual perception identification. The assessment specialist "threw these out." There were two personality testings given to me. In order to save time, I was given these to complete during my lunch break. My lunch break offered me not time to recover from the incessant barrage of testings: I found numerous questions on these personality assessments to be "double loaded". "I like to gamble for small stakes," was one question in particular. If I didn't answer this question, it could be inferred I like to gamble for large stakes. I also question the semantics of the word "gamble". …

Maintaining Teacher Motivation

Abstract: Thirteen years, kindergarten through twelfth grade, are spent by a student attaining a high school education. For thirteen years, five times a week, six hours a day - this enormous amount of time a student remains under the direction of a teacher. The teacher thusly, plays a significant role in the student's life. As one becomes a product of one's learnings, the student builds him/herself with the teachings of a teacher. The teacher's knowledge, along with the teacher's feelings, become integrated within the student's schemata. Should the teacher not like teaching, the student emerges from the classroom with a dislike for education. When the teacher loves his/her profession, the student learns to love education. What makes a person love his/her profession? There are many dynamics which coalesce into the person who loves his/her profession. The major dynamic: motivation. When one understands the components involved in the construct of motivation, one can better become and remain motivated. When a teacher remains motivated, loving the teaching profession, the students not only learn the content taught by the teacher, but the students are also motivated toward learning. One remains motivated in a profession when stress is kept at a minimum. The article, "A Study of the Relationships Among Teacher Efficacy, Locus of Control, and Stress," authorized by Forrest W. Parkay, Stephen Olenik, and Norman Proller, reported stress experienced by teachers in a study concerning teacher's stress in connection with locus of control, feelings of efficacy, and perceptions of stress. The authors defined locus of control as the belief that one's behavior determines the events of one's life. There were two different types of locus of control: internal and external, as reported in the article. The internal locus of control is a state of belief in which one feels in control of the situation. Conversely, the external locus of control is a state where one feels the events are beyond one's control. In this study, the researchers reported the teachers with an external locus of control construct responded to stress with "more anxiety, neurotic symptoms, and self-punitiveness" than those teachers with an internal locus of control construct. (13) The teachers with the later construct were found to experience less stress and received higher scores on standard teaching evaluations. The students of these teachers were reported to feel less school related stress and also scored higher on their own assessments. Teacher efficacy, as defined by the authors, means teachers believe their actions and beliefs directly affect students. The researchers, of this article, found a correlation between teacher efficacy and student performance; when teachers felt they could produce the desired outcome by students, students produced positive achievements. (14) The researchers, of this study, also found teachers of low stress schools developed "fewer physical symptoms of job-related stress and fewer psychological/emotional stress symptoms of stress." (20) Teachers in high-stress schools felt powerless to control events and responded to job-related stress dysfunc-tionally, employing "ineffective stress management skills." (20) After the findings of this study were reported, the researchers suggested more staff development activities which aggravate control beliefs and abate teacher perceived stress be initiated prior to the introduction of new curricular materials. (20) Also, the researchers suggested to prevent teacher burnout, stress management training and coping skills be taught to teachers. One such training suggested was the R.E.A.D. program, the acronym for deep relaxation, regular exercise, attitude and awareness, and diet. (21) Another study concerning teacher efficacy, but in conjunction with teachers' commitment to teaching, was reported by Theodore Coladarci in his article, "Teacher's Sense of Efficacy and Commitment to Teaching." In his article, Colardarci defined efficacy as referring to "one's beliefs rather than to observable behavior. …

Differences in Learning Styles of Low Socioeconomic Status for Low and High Achievers

Abstract: At present, estimates of the percentage of students who are at-risk of dropping out of school range from 15% in rural communities to 66% in some urban populations (Cairns, Cairns, & Neckerman, 1989). Since they have increased economic, legal and psychological problems, at-risk students who eventually drop out of school create numerous problems for society. This may be due, in part, to inadequate skills and limited earning potential (Steinberg, Blind, & Chan, 1984). Students from a low socioeconomic (SES) background constitute the largest population of individuals considered to be at-risk of not graduating from high school (Tuma, 1989; Hobbs, 1990). Through research, educators and cognitive psychologists are investigating ways to reduce the number of at-risk students. Students cite numerous reasons for dropping out of school. These reasons are frequently complex and involve several factors. Research (Dunn & Griggs, 1988) has grouped these factors into four general categories: familial factors, personal characteristics, socioeconomic factors, and educational achievement and school behaviors. Of these factors, educational achievement and school behaviors are the only factors that can be altered by educators. Other studies (Texas Education Agency, 1986; Hahn, 1987) reveal that lack of academic achievement is the single best predictor of dropping out of school. Thus, if dropout rates are to be significantly lowered, strategies to improve the academic achievement of at-risk students must be developed. Research (Hobbs, 1990) asserts that socioeconomic status (SES) is the single best predictor of academic achievement; low SES predicts low achievement. Programs such as Title I, which began in the 1960s, have attempted to remediate the problems associated with being economically disadvantaged. Studies (Hubbell, 1983; White, 1985) indicate that participation in these programs initially increases achievement, but that these academic gains fade over time. This suggests that the methods currently being used to remediate the educational deficits associated with being economically disadvantaged should be revised. The question then becomes, how should these methods or techniques be changed? A significant body of research (Dunn & Dunn, 1992; Dunn, Krimsky, Murray, & Quinn, 1985; Hodges, 1985; Lemmon, 1985; Pizzo, 1981) indicates that the achievement of all students could be improved by providing initial instruction in a manner consistent with each student's learning style. Based on studies (Johnson, 1984; Thraser, 1984; Gadwa & Griggs, 1985) using the Dunn and Dunn model of learning styles and the Learning Style Inventory (Dunn, Dunn & Price, 1989), many high school dropouts have learning styles that are mis-matched with the traditional instructional mode. While low SES is highly correlated with low achievement, some low SES students are academically successful. These differences in achievement may be associated with differences in learning styles. Since both low SES and learning styles incompatible with traditional instruction are highly associated with school dropouts (Dunn & Griggs, 1988), it would seem that the low SES, nontraditional learner is in double jeopardy of dropping out. This raises the question: Does the learning style of the low SES high achiever differ from the learning style of the low SES low achiever? The purpose of this study is to determine if there is a difference in the learning style of low SES high achievers and low SES low achievers, in math and reading. Method Subjects One hundred nineteen subjects, enrolled in two elementary schools in Texas, were drawn from a pool of 194 third and fourth grade students in eleven classes. Subjects were selected based on their participation in the free lunch program (Federal Regulation 7CFR245, Garner & Cole, 1986). Thus, the entire sample contained 119 students, of which there were 22 African-American males, 24 African-American females, 31 Caucasian males and 42 Caucasian females. …

Teacher attitudes toward inclusion: implications for teacher education in Schools 2000

Abstract: Inclusion Inclusion is a term used by the education reform movement to challenge schools to the philosophy that all students can learn, even those with disabilities. The terms used in the special education literature prior to the reform movement were Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) and mainstreaming. LRE is the language of the Education for the Handicapped Children Act (EHA) passed in 1975 by the U.S. Congress and states that all children with disabilities should be educated to the maximum extent possible with their nondisabled peers. From this evolved the term mainstreaming with its focus on placement of disabled students in general education classes. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 also focused attention on the inclusion of the disabled in schools and the work force in the private as well as public sector. Many researchers, including Will (1986), Wang and Walberg (1988), Lilly (1988), and Stainback and Stainback (1992), directed their efforts toward inclusion programming. Inclusion has become the buzz word across the United States. Since the passage of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (PL 94-142) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1990 (PL 101-476) there has been a mandate that eligible students with special needs be provided with an array of services at the site they would attend if they did not have special needs and that this must be in the least restrictive environment. In establishing programs for persons with special needs to participate in an inclusive setting, it has been suggested that several components should be included such as an atmosphere and culture for change, the provision of an opportunity to articulate a vision of inclusion, the planning and provision of appropriate resources, monitoring and documenting progress, and the provision of ongoing training for the staff and families. Ortiz and Garcia (1988) suggest that in providing an appropriate education, a pre-referral process should be employed to reduce the number of inappropriate referrals and ensure appropriate support services for the persons with special needs. As we move toward the education goals for the schools 2000, the current trend in the United States is to serve students with special needs in inclusive settings with persons who are not disabled as much as possible. The research reported by Slavin (1987, 1990) demonstrated that students with special needs improved their social interaction and academic performance in inclusive settings. West and Idol (1991) reported that students with special needs in the regular education settings required collaboration on the part of all persons who serve the students. Davis (1989) reported that if inclusion is to be implemented successfully, it must become integrated into the entire education system to meet the diverse needs of all students. For the implementation of the concept of full inclusion to take place, everyone, including the parents, teachers, administrators, and other related service staff must buy into the concept of full inclusion. Inclusion as it has been embraced by the special education field appears to have many meanings. To these authors, inclusion means providing a full continuum of service delivery options to all students with special needs. Students in inclusive schools work in flexible learning environments with the implementation of teaching strategies such as cooperative learning, peer mediated learning, collaborative and team teaching (Schragg & Burnette, 1993). The present study was designed to evaluate teacher attitudes toward inclusion in South Carolina. We hypothesized that greater support through teacher training, in-school services, and resources would be associated with a more positive attitude toward inclusion. Method Three hundred and sixty-four surveys were randomly distributed to teachers throughout South Carolina. Three hundred and forty-two surveys (94%) were returned. …

Assessing Service Quality within the Educational Environment

Abstract: Introduction To measure the quality of services on a university campus is one thing; to measure the quality of manufactured goods is another matter. Fitzgerald (1988) takes this further and says that "a service ... cannot be objectively measured." Such frustration stems from the difference between services and goods. For example, educational services are intangible and cannot be packaged, displayed or inspected fully by prospective students. Services also have a perishability problem because they cannot be stored for future delivery: when students cut class, the professor's time is wasted. Unlike goods, services are difficult to separate from their provider: an academic course is as fascinating or as boring as the professor. There is also a lot of variability in services. For example, the mood of the professor could impinge on his or her tolerance for chatting in class. Services are difficult to standardize. Unlike manufactured goods, services are not as susceptible to strict quality control (Evans and Berman 1990). In spite of such difficulties, institutions of higher education should measure their service quality in order to function efficiently and effectively in a highly competitive environment. Service is a feature which differentiates many universities. The services package is essential to attract prospects and to bolster the satisfaction of current students. Unsatisfied students may transfer to other institutions and impart negative comments. Therefore, universities must generate a strategy that addresses student needs. An institution that delivers better quality education against the tuition it charges is more likely to acquire a competitive advantage (Barrett and Greene 1994). Zeithaml (1981) stresses the importance of measuring the students' perception because they usually participate in producing the service, thereby affecting the performance and quality of the final service. Since there is no concrete dimension to service quality, students may uphold nonexistent expectations. Therefore, expectations and perceptions must be measured for identification purposes. Such measurements may expose a gap of expected versus perceived quality Webster (1989) believes that measuring service quality is a prerequisite for devising action plans. Dodds and Monroe's (1985) model shows that consumers relate their own experience, memory, and beliefs to perceived quality, value and price. This illustrates the need for universities to measure how students perceive and relate services to their needs. Such a measurement is necessary despite complications due to divergent evaluation processes involved in the information search, the size and composition of the evoked set of alternatives, the perceived risk, and the adoption and attainment of loyalty (Zeithaml, 1988). What a measurement system should seek, among other things, is to reduce such complications into a workable model. Models There are a number of models which seek to measure service within an academic setting (Barrett and Greene 1994, Cadotte et al. 1983). However, these models tend to handle one encounter at a time. Such models are unrealistic to the extent that colleges tend to deliver several services simultaneously. Berry et al. (1988a, 1988b) went a step further and developed a gap analysis model which takes several service dimensions into account. In effect, their model provides an objective measurement of service quality by analyzing what consumers expect against what they perceive about current services. "In the service quality literature, expectations are viewed as desires or wants of consumers, i.e., what they feel a service provider should offer rather than would offer" (1988a, p. 17). To assess service quality, Parasuraman et al. (1985) use ten overlapping dimensions: responsiveness, reliability, tangibles, communication, competence, access, credibility, courtesy, understanding/knowing the customer, and security. …

The Relationships between Computer Usage and Computer-Related Attitudes and Behaviors

Abstract: The academic literature suggests that a positive relationship exists between the experience levels with computers and favorable attitudes toward computers College students with little or no experience with computers have more anxiety when required to take a computer literacy course than those students who have had previous computer experience To be competitive in nearly any business or profession in the future, computer literacy is likely to be one of the essential keys to finding success (Long, 1982; Wesley, Krockover & Hicks, 1985) So what seems to be needed are some strategies and/or insights that might link computer-related experiences with enhanced students' computer-related experiences with enhanced students' computer-related attitudes For instance, Arnez and Lee (1990), Chen (1986), Fann, Lynch and Maurranka (1989), and Loyd and Loyd (1989) reported that computer experience has been found to be positively related to attitudes toward, and interest in, computers From findings such as these, it seems that computer-related experience could be critically associated with various computer-related attitudes and behaviors To examine if this is the case, this study sought to determine whether having more computer experience is actually related to (1) less computer anxiety, (2) more computer confidence, (3) greater computer knowledge, and (4) a better liking for computers too To determine if these notions were correct, each of the variables cited above was correlated with other variables, such as amount of computer experience, as well as average number of hours of computer usage per week in order to determine how they are related to another Method A total of 157 undergraduate students (55 females & 102 males), in a required computer literacy class at a large midwestern university volunteered to participate in the study These subjects ranged from 18 to 33 years of age; 75 percent (n = 117) were classified as traditional students (less than 24 years of age), while 25 percent (n = 40) were classified as non-traditional students (over 23 years old) All participants completed the Computer Attitude Scale (CAS), developed by Loyd and gressard (1984) The CAS is a highly reliable (Loyd & Loyd, 1985; Pope-Davis & Twing, 1991) 30-item Likert-type instrument that assesses attitudes toward computers and computer usage The items on the CAS are descriptive of working with and/or learning about computers, and the alternatives associated with each of these items ranges from strongly agree to strongly disagree The CAS contains three subscales: The "confidence" (one's confidence in his/her ability to use or learn about computers), "anxiety" (anxiety &/or fear of computers), and "liking" (liking of computers or enjoying working with computers) The alpha reliability coefficient for computer anxiety, computer confidence, computer liking and total score were 90, 91, 92, and 95 respectively These estimates were closely related to those reported by Loyd & Loyd (1989), Pope-Davis & Twing (1991) and Koohlang (1998) In addition to these subscale scores, students also evaluated their overall knowledge of computers (on a five point scale ranging from "No Knowledge" to "Extremely Knowledgeable") They also indicated the time span of their computer experience (on a five point scale ranging from "No experience", to "Three plus years experience"), as well as the average number of hours they spend weekly using a computer Results A series of Pearson product-moment correlations were performed on these data A summary of these analysis is presented in Table 1 Discussion Analysis of the findings indicate that good things happen as students increase computer experience hours per week spent with a computer Notably, both of these variables were found to be significantly related with reduced computer anxiety, enhanced computer confidence, greater computer knowledge, and increased liking for computers …

Assessing the Computer Literacy of Undergraduate College Students

Abstract: For students and business persons alike, exposure to computers is nearly unavoidable (Larson & Smith, 1994). According to the U.S. Bureau of Census in 1989, seventy-five million Americans reported using a computer in some way, up considerably from the 47 million reported in 1984 (U.S. Department of Labor 1992-93). According to Griffin (1989), three of every four people in the U.S. workforce will be required to use the computer to handle new technology by year 2000. Computers play a key role in business, and the question of what constitutes computer literacy is more crucial than ever. At the same time, the rapid pace of technological advances in the computer industry has forced businesses to reorganize, to acquire the latest systems, and demand a computer-literate workforce (Porter & Miller, 1985). Computer literacy has been defined as "an understanding of computer characteristics, capabilities, and applications, as well as an ability to implement this knowledge in the skillful, productive use of computer applications suitable to individual roles in society" (Simonson, Mauere, Montag-Toradi, & Whitaker, 1987, p. 233). To use computers in applied settings, students need to master at least some level of computing literacy. Unfortunately, some students may possess a degree of computer anxiety (Maurer & Simonson, 1984) which could inhibit their attainment of computing literacy. Indeed, a student's perception of computers seems to be related to their willingness to attain computing literacy. Specifically, studies have suggested that computer experience is positively related to attitudes and interest in computers (Arnez & Lee, 1990; Chen, 1986; Loyd & Loyd, 1988). Furthermore, a number of studies have investigated the impact of demographic variables on gender, age, and computer experience. Regarding gender, a number of studies have investigated the relationship between gender and computer attitudes, and generally have reported that males have more positive attitudes toward computers (Anderson, 1987; Nickell & Pinto, 1986). The relationship between gender and computer attitudes is viewed by many as important since it has been proposed that failure to acquire computer literacy may become a barrier to women's advancement in certain careers (Miura & Hess, 1983). In regard to age, Anderson (1987) reported a significant relationship between the age of college students and computer attitudes. Finally, it has been demonstrated that computer experience may have a moderating effect on computer attitudes. Specifically, both Anderson (1987) and Arndt, Clevenger & Meiskey (1985) in their studies of college students showed a significant correlation between computer experience and weekly computer usage. Further, Siann and Durnell (1988) found that gender difference in computer literacy seemed to diminish with increased computer experience. Finally, Omar (1992) found a significant correlation between college students' computer experience and their attitudes toward computers. Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate college students' computer literacy levels and their attitudes toward computers based on specific demographic variables such as gender, age, computer experience, overall knowledge of computers, computer ownership, and weekly computer usage. Additionally, this research will replicate and extend the work of Kay (1993) who operationalized computing literacy according to reviews of the literature and current trends in computing technology. Method Subjects The subjects for this study were 316 undergraduate college students (172 males and 144 females) enrolled in business courses at a large midwestern university. Of the 316 subjects, 83% (n=261) were classifieded as traditional students (age [less than] 23) and 17% (n=55) were classified as traditional students (age [greater than]23). All participants voluntarily participated in this study and were assured that their responses would be anonymous and confidential. …

The Effects of Experience on Teachers' Attitudes toward Incorporating Special Students into the Regular Classroom

Abstract: Introduction Since 1975, Federal law has encouraged the incorporation of children with special needs into the regular classroom, under the supervision of regular classroom teachers (Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975). To better accommodate this Federal policy of "inclusion", the State of Georgia mandated in 1981 that all teachers certified to teach students from kindergarten through grade twelve must take an introductory special education course on the characteristics and behaviors of special students (Special Education Services Act). The latter law is enforced by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission for teachers who wish to become certified, reinstate expired certificates, add new teaching fields, or update certificates. The goals of the inclusion policy include: a) improving the socialization of special students, b) providing special students access to mainstream educational resources, and c) accomplishing these enhanced educational opportunities at a reasonable cost. Many decisions to include or exclude special students will depend upon the willingness of classroom teachers to accept and support those students. In order for inclusion policy to succeed, it is important that regular classroom teachers have realistic expectations of the special students and their ability to deal with those students. Further, it is highly desirable that teachers' expectations remain realistic with the passage of time and experience. In the two decades that the above mentioned Federal and Slate laws and their more recent permutations have been in effect, there have been no published reports in which teachers' long-term attitudes towards special students have been quantified. This issue was addressed by the present study. We tested the hypothesis that, in the years following the teachers' completion of the State-required introductory special education course, there would be an erosion of their willingness to manage special students. Willingness to include special students into the regular classroom was quantified using a survey form in which the teachers evaluated specific classroom scenarios. Methods The survey population was full-time, regular-classroom teachers who took the course "Identification and Education of Exceptional Students in the Regular Classroom" at Georgia Southern University between September 1987 and December 1991. The survey was originally administered to the teachers immediately after completing the class, and again after they had experienced a minimum of three years in teaching. The survey consisted of 60 classroom scenarios, representing varying degrees of challenge. An example of a scenario in which little difficulty would be anticipated is as follows: David squints through his eyeglasses, even when he sits at the front of the room. He cannot read the blackboard or his book quite as rapidly as many of the other children. An example of a scenario in which intermediate difficulty would be anticipated is as follows: Chuck doesn't seem to catch on to things as quickly as most students. He needs to have things explained over and over again. Eventually he appears to learn everything the others do, even though it has taken longer. An example of a scenario in which much difficulty would be anticipated is as follows: Flora has neither bladder nor bowel control and must be taken to the bathroom at frequent intervals. After reading each scenario, teachers were asked to assess their comfort in coping with the situation, using the 5-point scale on Table 1. The individual scores for each question were calculated for the respondent cohort. Additionally, the effect of classroom teaching experience on the response to each question was calculated using the following formula: Response change = final score - initial score. For example, if a respondent initially scored a scenario as 2, and the final score was 4, this would represent response change of +2 (i. …

The Multiple Roles of an Undergraduate's Academic Advisor

Abstract: College academic advisors perceive themselves and are seen by students in various ways. Advisor self perceptions stem from a variety of factors including: (1) how advisors interpret their advising role; (2) what training and/or guidance are provided to advisors; (3) what expectations administrators and colleagues have for advisors; and (4) what recognition or rewards are available for competent or exemplary advising. Student perceptions of advisors arise from perceptions of: (1) advisor interest in the advising task and in individual students; (2) advisor competence; (3) advisor availability, patience, and preparation; and (4) advisor personality. Advisors need training and guidance to do a competent job. Neither faculty nor staff advisors come to the task naturally able to advise competently. Advisors need to learn the content and procedure of their task; they need to acquire and refine their interpersonal skills; and they need to learn how their role fits into both the institution's mission and in students' lives. Such advisor preparation demands resources [ie: money, time, and patience]; trying to advise without adequate preparation portends nightmarish results for students. Students need and deserve competent advising. Not all faculty are suited temperamentally for advising. Such faculty and their students would both be well served by being alternately assigned to other duties. Advisor/advisee partnership can range from a formal impersonal, infrequent, uninspiring exercises to informal, friendly, frequent, rewarding and enjoyable relationships. The responsibility for the outcome is mutual between advisee and advisor. Neither party should allow the other to abrogate, truncate, or neglect good advising. Advisors need to firmly but tactfully demand that students enter the advising arena prepared, focused, and alert. Advisees must demand that their advisors be informed, available, prepared, focused, and alert. Advisors serve a multiplicity of functions, all of which are important to students' progress while attending college. Advisors are resource people. They are expected to know the school's rules, procedures, time tables, and policies. These need to be transmitted to students, when possible, before trouble occurs. Advisors need to be aware of program, policy, and procedure changes. They are expected to keep abreast of graduate school possibilities for interested students; advisors need to be aware of current employment demands, available positions, and job market trends. …

The Interactivity Component of Distance Learning Implemented in an Art Studio Course

Abstract: Introduction Interaction is the key issue facing distance education program designers as pointed out by numerous authors (Egan, Jones, Ferraris & Sabastian, 1993; Penn State, 1992). Lack of face-to-face contact between instructors and students is often cited as the major drawback to distance education. Indeed, for some faculty and administrators, absence of traditional contact, such as, three hours of lecture per week in the same classroom at an appointed hour, renders distance education programs unacceptable. For others, however, the traditional model of learning as a transmission of information from teacher to student is bankrupt (Amthor, 1992). Amthor points out that there is general agreement among researchers that people retain about twenty percent of what they hear, forty percent of what they see and hear, and seventy-five percent of what they see, hear and do (1992). On universities, formally structured opportunities for interaction are important and assumed to be available to all students. For distance education programs, interaction that incorporates seeing, hearing and doing is crucial and therefore it is essential that some means be provided to accommodate this need. In designing an interactive component of a faced with the dilemma of selecting an appropriate technology or rather a group of complementary technologies. There are number of low end and high end technologies that can be implemented to increase the opportunity for interaction. The low end interactive strategies include formal and informal student study groups, peer reviews, group viewing sessions of video material, and correspondence activities. These methods are relatively inexpensive, easy to organize, and can be highly effective. At the opposite end of the spectrum are any number of computer enhanced interactive possibilities including e-mail, computer conferencing, and utilization of electronic bulletin boards to post notices, assignments, and comments. Although more expensive than low end examples, computer interaction provides individuals with an exciting, memorable, and rewarding experience. During the instructional moment, a combination of the low end and high end technologies can be used as tools to ensure interaction between student to student and between student to instructor. Importance of Cognitive Speed Theory The need for interaction can be explained by the cognitive speed theory (Fulford, 1993). This theory is demonstrated in research on reading and compressed speech (Fulford & Zhang, 1993). Most Americans read as fast as 250 to 300 words per minute (Taylor, 1965), and the human ear can listen to average speech at the same rate (Carver, 1982). Learners have the cognitive capacity to process speech at twice the rate at which a lecturer speaks (Fulford & Zhang, 1993). If only half of students' capacity is needed to listen, the other half can be used to engage in internal conversation. While interested learners simulate their own involvement, others may begin to follow thought patterns and lose track of the discussed topic (Fulford & Zhang, 1993). If these learners are not engaged in a situation where interaction is required, their renegade thought patterns may dominate their cognitive activity. A way to ensure active attending behavior is to use technology that allows for two way interaction at a distance with a focus on seeing, hearing and doing. Importance of Interactivity Two way distance education systems which entice high levels of interactivity and user control have been found to best suit instructional needs (Ellis & Mathis, 1985; Hackman & Walker, 1990). Interactive systems where students are encouraged to comment during class have a positive impact on learning and learners' satisfaction. According to Hackman and Walker (1990), interactivity allows distant learners to engage in a form of personal involvement that is essential to effective mediated learning, Cheng, Leham, and Reynolds (1991) indicate that maintaining everyone's alert level in classroom or in a distance education setting appears to be a prime responsibility of the teacher. …

The Effects of Enriching Classroom Learning with the Systematic Employment of Multimedia

Abstract: K-12 schools and universities, as well as corporate America, are investing in approaches to deliver a variety of media, particularly visual media, to the classroom or workplace. This content may be delivered by means of live video conferencing, one-way video delivery, pre-recorded video tapes, laser disk, still photographs, xap shots, or graphics. The financial investment for this technology is being incurred more on an intuitive basis than as a result of solid evidence concerning the effects of deploying such technology. Interactive Educational Systems has analyzed educational technical research conducted in the late 1980s (Sevin-Kachula, 1990), and early 1990s (Sevin-Kachula, 1994). They have concluded that benefit to students is to be derived from computer based learning and the application of multimedia to classroom instruction. Further, O'Banion, 1993) has found comprehension level increase from employing class video instruction, Riel (1992a, 1992b) has found benefit from placing networks throughout and between school buildings. Smith (1992), has found a positive effect on student grades of employing on-line computer interactive learning. Kitz (1992), McWhirter (1991), Niedlman (1991), Bain (1992), Ziegler (1990), Johnson, and Woodruff (1990) have found a positive benefit from employing videodisk in the classroom. Stine (1993) has analyzed the positive effects of CD-ROM for reading instruction. Reed (1992) has found value in students creating hypermedia from Hypercard programming as part of a class exercise. Many studies of computer based instruction show improved learning benefits (Sevin-Kachula, 1990). But other than Smith's 1992 research showing grade improvement in a limited setting, most research results do not directly translate technology deployment technology deployment to grade improvement. Mindful of the difficulty of discerning grade point improvement with technology deployment, this research described by this paper employed a qualitative approach to studying two K-12 school systems which have placed school-system wide media distribution and display systems and assesses the qualitative effects that result from systematically employing such media. Information was gathered from teachers, students, technical support personnel, and school administrators. With recent emphasis on the Effective School and Outcomes Based Education, much concern is focused on grades as the target measure for educational effectiveness. While grades are easy to collect and the data is easily manipulated, grades alone don't reflect the indents of the classroom, particularly the longer term changes in behavior of the students and faculty and the associations that may be formed which create a mental structure for learning and relating future knowledge to the student's current base knowledge. Additionally, teachers tend to grade the members of a class as a unit. Each member is viewed as a member of the set. There is a distribution of the class performance from best to worst. One year's class and its members are not ranked against those of a previous year's class. Thus there is a tendency to create a distribution of grades that stays rather constant from year to year. For this reason, attempting to discern a group grade improvement a result of an action taken in teaching in one year over other years tends to be clouded by the performance and grading as an intra-class performance process which results in a common inter-year distribution of grades. In anticipation of this possibility, this study explored the complete range of effects discerned by teachers, students, technical personnel and administrators, beyond purely grades achieved, and elicits opinions as to the importance of these affected factors. The Investment Decision A small school system may invest $2 million, while an urban school system can invest up to $10-15 million in providing a comprehensive Video Information System to deliver a variety of media to the classroom to empower both teachers and students. …

Qualitative Research Inquiry: Issues of Power and Ethics

Abstract: Researchers acknowledge the tremendous influence prior experiences have on the process of becoming a teacher (Zeichner & Gore, 1990; Kagan, 1990; Connelly & Clandinin, 1988; Butt, Raymond, McCue & Yamagashi, 1992; Goodson, 1992; Knowles, 1992). A whole field of investigation on the topic has grown recently and is characterized by the use of qualitative research inquiry (Connelly & Clandinin, 1988; Butt, Raymond, McCue & Yamagashi, 1992; Goodson, 1992: Knowles, 1992). This paper points out the many reasons qualitative research inquiry is particularly well suited to investigations of prior beliefs. Its attention and sensitivity to issues of access, context, collaboration and negotiation, flexibility, "singularity of values" (Lincoln, 1993), hierarchy and empowerment are raised. Potential Benefits There are two communities which stand to gain from the use of qualitative research inquiry. First, researchers benefit not only because of increased accessibility to preexisting beliefs and the contextually sensitive nature of methodologies such as life history, but also because qualitative research methodology helps researchers address the "singularity of values" (Lincoln, 1993) so prevalent in past research efforts and understand the nature of "intercontextual work" (Goodson, 1992, p. 243). A second community, the researched, benefit from qualitative research inquiry because the inquiry provides for more authentic texts and opportunities for personal empowerment and transformation (Lincoln, 1993). The Research Community Textual and intercontextual analysis This kind of inquiry involves both "textual and intercontextual construction" (Goodson, 1992, p. 244). It provides for a 'story of action within a theory of context' (p. 244). Qualitative research inquiry such as is used in life history research is at once, a story of a life but set within the historical contexts of that life and as such, "provides a new focus to develop our joint understandings of schooling" (p. 244). According to Goodson, "in the end, the teacher researcher can collaborate in investigating not only the stories of lives but the contexts of lives" (p. 244). Qualitative research inquiry is concerned with the broader context of stories, contexts which shape, locate, and ground stories so that insights into the meanings of stories are accessed. A wide range of data collection allows a "contextual background to be constructed" (Goodson, 1992, p. 243). According to Goodson, "the concern is to develop a wide intertextual and intercontextual mode of analysis" (p. 243). Goodson argues that qualitative research inquiry, particularly life history research efforts, provide opportunities to collect data at a variety of levels; life experiences and background, life style, life cycle, career stages, critical incidents, and the history at the time of these stories. Goodson claims that "it permits us to view the intersection of the life history of men with the history of society thereby enabling us to understand better the choices, contingencies and options open to the individual" (p. 244). The researcher gains a more complex view of a life. Because of such textual and intercontextual analysis the researcher is privy to a process which promotes the ethics of data collection. In the process of collaboratively collecting data, the data is continuously returned to the researched for appraisal and accuracy checks and decisions on dissemination of the data (Goodson, 1992). The collaborative nature of this kind of inquiry also safeguards the "singularity of values" (Lincoln, 1993) so much a part of the past research. "Singularity of values". Cole (1991) argues that teacher knowledge is a 'multiplicity of personal, social, cultural and political influences'. Research methods have thus shifted to reflect new conceptualizations. Inquiry into teaching focuses more on self-images and voices of teachers, rather than the single values of the researcher. …

The Effect on Student Teachers of the Teaching Behaviors of Cooperating Teachers

Abstract: Introduction Cooperating teachers play a significant role in the professional development and preparation of student teachers. When compared to class time, the student teacher spends more time with the cooperating teacher than any other individual instructor throughout the duration of the degree program. Roughly 1/3 (33%) of the student teacher's time of a teacher education program is spent with the cooperating teacher while the remaining 2/3 (67 %) is spent taking courses from twenty or more college professors who come from the different academic units prescribed for the undergraduate degree. Analyzed numerically, a student teacher spends eight hours a day, five days a week for sixteen weeks, which comes to a total of 1280 hours of student teaching experience. This overwhelming amount of time the student teacher spends under the tutelage of a cooperating teacher, makes the influence of the latter very critical. Besides the immense number of hours put into the experience, we also need to recognize the nature and quality of the work in which the student teacher is involved. Usually such work would include: 1. observing the cooperating teacher teaching, 2. helping the cooperating teacher to perform routine administrative duties, 3. learning classroom discipline and management strategies, and 4. learning to each lessons. The student teacher also spends a lot of time working with the cooperating teacher planning weekly schedules and lessons, and discussing and getting feedback on teaching performance. In fact, during this close working relationship with the student teacher, the cooperating teacher is able to shape and influence the student teacher's thought processes and pedagogical choices (Medley, 1977; Comb, 1965; Copeland, 1980). The student teacher completes the teaching assignment with a perception of teaching which is different from what she/he had at the onset of the assignment. They get to understand and appreciate the relationship between "theory" and "practice." Student teachers learn from the cooperating teacher, the teaching strategies and discipline techniques which work effectively in our contemporary schools. This learning process underscores the need for college supervisors and teacher educators to continue to study the classroom behaviors of cooperating teachers so as to improve not only teaching, but to understand the classroom behaviors of beginning teachers. The purpose of this study was to identify the behaviors and effective classroom practices that student teachers were learning from cooperating teachers. The author's decision to examine the issue from the perspectives of the student teacher was based on the fact that very few studies exist in the literature which try to link beginning or first year teachers' teaching styles with what they learned from cooperating teachers during student teaching. Moreover, it was the author's belief that student teachers could provide substantive information on effective behaviors of teachers. Student teachers' perceptions of effective practices and behaviors of cooperating teachers certainly will provide additional insights into the existing research findings on the qualities of effective teachers. It is therefore the objective of this study to identify the teaching behaviors and qualities of cooperating teachers that student teachers perceive as unique and which they believe would have a long-lasting impact on their own teaching. Research Method The data for this study was gathered from student teachers enrolled in the elementary and secondary education degree program in one of the state system universities in Pennsylvania from Fall 1992 through Spring 1994 (four semesters). The study sample consisted of fifty randomly selected student teachers. Of the fifty respondents, 60% were female (N=30) and 40% were male (N=20). The student teachers taught in classrooms which represented all grade levels (K-12). A questionnaire was distributed to the students by the researcher. …

An Examination of Cognitive Dissonance and Computer Attitudes

Abstract: Leon Festinger originally introduced the concept of "cognitive dissonance" in 1957. Basically, this term refers to when individuals take a position on some issue, be it through what they say or what they do. Either way, a personal commitment is made, and that commitment is thought to shape these individuals' future attitudes and/or actions regarding the issue or thing in question. Well, where computers are concerned, what actions can occur that can demonstrate individuals' endorsement of them and/or favorable position toward them? Some things that seem to fit into this domain are (1) voluntary choice to use them, and/or (2) ownership of them. With these potential indicants of cognitive dissonance in mind, the present study will seek to determine if those individuals who voluntarily use computers demonstrate more favorable attitudes toward computers than their nonvoluntary counterparts, and/or if those individuals who own or have owned a computer demonstrate more favorable attitudes than their non-owner counterparts. Besides these cognitive dissonance-related factors, students' attitudes toward computers will also be examined as a function of their gender and/or age. Method A total of 164 undergraduate students (i.e., 71 females and 93 males), enrolled in a computer literacy class at a large Midwestern university, voluntarily participated in the present study. These students completed the Computer Attitude Scale (CAS; developed by Loyd and Gessard, 1984). This scale consists of 30 items that are intended to assess the respondents' attitudes toward computers and computer usage. The CAS contains three subscales (i.e., the "anxiety," "confidence," and "liking" subscales). The Likert-type alternatives for each item ranged from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree." In addition to these subscale scores, students were also surveyed regarding the number of hours per week that they voluntarily use a computer, whether or not they own or have owned a computer, their gender, and their age. Results A series of analyses of covariance were used to examine the data. Each analysis considered a different subscale as the dependent variable, while all of the analyses considered all the independent variables, i.e., hours per week of voluntary use, whether or not they own or have owned a computer, their gender, and their age. Computer Anxiety While age (F[1/127] = 0.04, p [greater than] 0.05) and gender (F[1/127] = 3.64, p [greater than] 0.05) were not found to have any significant effect, the main effects of voluntary use (F[1/127] = 8.52, p [less than] 0.005) and ownership (F[1/127] = 9.48, p [less than] 0.005) were highly significant. Thus, those who had voluntarily used a computer were significantly less likely to experience computer anxiety than those who had not voluntarily used a computer, and those who owned or had owned a computer were also less likely to experience anxiety than those who had not owned a computer. …

Professional Development for the Teacher, of the Teacher, and by the Teacher

Abstract: In the old days, it was called in-service. In-service meetings were held during the first few days of the new school year before the students arrived. The meetings were usually conducted by an administrator or curriculum specialist from the district office, and the topics were generally picked by the administration. The intent was to update the teachers' skills, knowledge base, and to get everyone charged up for the new school year. Some teachers worked on entering names in their grade books; some cut out letters for their bulletin boards; some even slept, and occasionally someone benefitted. But the effect was usually closer to frustration at having lost valuable time which could have been spent getting ready for the students' arrival. No one seemed to ever ask the teachers what they wanted or needed to know about, and implement was expected to come from just being exposed to the information. Now days, it is called professional development. New name, old game. Meetings still take place at the beginning of the school year, held by an administrator or an outside consultant. And teachers still spend their time entering names in the grade book, cutting out bulletin board pieces, or sleeping. The intention of updating the teachers' skills is still the same, and the resulting frustration is still the same. Rarely does anyone ask the teachers what they want or need to know about, and they are still expected to implement the information after a cursory exposure to it. What happens between the intent of the professional development, which is certainly an honorable one, and the result of the professional development, which doesn't seem to accomplish the goals? The difficulty with professional development as it usually functions is that the people for whom the program is intended, the teachers, are left out of the loop. The professional development agenda is rarely the teachers agenda; the consultants come and go, but there is no support system to help the teachers work through the "bugs" that arise during the implementation. This article describes a program which was designed specifically to empower the teachers to make the changes in their own classrooms and in their schools which they think are appropriate. Change Since 1983 and the publishing of "A Nation at Risk", restructuring and reform have been part of the educational vocabulary. Change is inevitable and necessary. However, our educational practices have not kept pace with our increasingly complex society and that in many cases, we are still teaching in an early 1900's factory model of schooling. The consideration is how does a faculty begin and sustain the change effort. Restructuring, reform, or change of any kind in an institution as get in tradition and history such as schooling is difficult, and almost certainly involves the changing of rules, roles, and relationships. A necessary component to creating long-term, effective school change is to establish a common vision among the teachers and the administrators; a vision in which the teachers have a vested interest in supporting. If a common vision can be established, it will serve as a foundation for building school unity and a guide for the change. This vision should be one that the teachers and administrators have arrived at by agreement rather than one decreed from the top. Teachers are more committed to changes they have had a hand in designing. Teachers must become willing agents of change. Unfortunately, teachers may want change but lack the skills or knowledge with which to implement innovation, so that when change does come, it becomes a "top-down" administrative mandate. Workshops and traditional in-services with one-time consultants are usually "single shot" attempts at professional development. Without being based in the shared vision, and because there tends to be little or no follow up, there usually is lime or no substantive change. This type of professional development does not seem to provide support for professional growth. …

The Instructional Practices of Televised Distance Education at Northern Arizona University

Abstract: As universities search for ways to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse student population, technology, and in particular, instructional television (ITV) is playing a growing role in the way university courses are offered to students. In order to better understand the pedagogical implications of television as a medium for instruction, it is important that we examine current instructional practices and elicit the perspectives of the participants in ITV courses. From the experiences and perspectives of ITV participants, the foundation for developing effective and meaningful ITV courses will emerge. This study examines current instructional practices of ITV courses from the perspectives of the students, technical personnel, and professors; three key groups of people necessary for ITV courses to take place. Ten representatives from each of these groups were interviewed about their experiences with ITV courses. Those interviewed represented a broad cross-section of colleges and content fields, as well as a wide range of experience with this instructional medium. In the interviews, participants were asked to relate what they perceive to be the strengths and weakness of the ITV courses as they experienced them. In addition, participants were asked to suggest ways that instruction through ITV could be improved. All interviews were tape recorded, transcribed, coded, and analyzed through the use of a computer software program specifically designed to group responses by each of the categories listed above. This paper discusses the findings from the interviews and then relates those findings to the current literature on ITV instruction. Introduction Instructional television allows the walls of the classroom to expand to encompass the world. The traditional classroom with an instructor and students in the same physical space need no longer be a requisite for learning. Dooley (1995) believes that with the technology now available education is entering the most creative period it has ever seen. Mecklenburger (1990) indicates that instruction that utilizes electronic media for teaching and learning is the foundation of pedagogy for the future. Already, instructional television has become a vital resource for making knowledge accessible. More people than ever before have a myriad of information sources to work with. In Being Digital, Negroponte states, however, that while the technology necessary for information to become universally accessible is in place, the use of any new technology requires the mastery of new skills. Because ITV courses are just now emerging as a technology for teaching and learning, what new skills are necessary for participants in these courses to use the medium successfully? More needs to be known about the implications for using ITV as a medium for teaching and learning. There is a need to provide distance educators with systematic guidelines for selecting instructional strategies (Dooley, 1995). One place to begin building an understanding of the skills necessary for both teachers and students to be successful users of ITV are the people that have already participated in ITV course. As James Gardner (1990) has astutely pointed out, it is the people who work on the front lines and wrestle with problems everyday that are the most knowledgeable about using new technologies. It is to these people on the front lines that we turn for insights and knowledge about instructional television. Findings of the Study In this section, findings from the interviews are presented. Because each of the groups that participated in this study represent a unique perspective, the findings from the interviews of each group will be described separately. Within each discussion, strengths will be presented first, followed by a section on weaknesses, and concluding with the suggestions each group feels might improve the quality ITV classes. The Student Perspective Strengths of ITV Courses The biggest advantage of instructional television for the students was the ability to take classes without having to live on campus. …

Technology-Assisted Instruction and Instructor Cyberphobia: Recognizing the Ways to Effect Change

Abstract: Ansoff & McDonnell (1990) noted that resistance to change occurs when there is a departure from the historic behavior, culture and power structure. Resistance will manifest as behavioral resistance and systemic resistance. Behavioral resistance occurs as active opposition to change, while systemic resistance arises out of passive incompetence to change. The technology-assisted instruction drive should account for the two types of resistance, both allaying fears of instructors and educating them to use technology effectively. This paper draws on a typology of personal roles in relating to technological change and advocates change strategies that would help overcome instructor anxiety and fear of new technology. Literature The new information revolution in the classroom is now in a unique situation where it can permanently alter the method of instruction. Several authors (Dede, 1987, 1993; Issing, 1994; Large et al., 1995; Melmed, 1994 Park and Hannafin, 1993; Sammons, 1995; Ward; 1994: Zack, 1995) have stressed the importance of technology-assisted instruction by means of electronic messaging, hypermedia and multimedia presentations. The change to the 'new system' is highly dependent on perceptions of people and will elicit different reactions, some of which will be positive and some negative. The modem age has seen technological change and its eventual acceptance. However, when we ask instructors to change their method of instruction which they have been practicing for a long time we are more likely to face immediate rejection than passive acceptance. Technology aversion is not an uncommon problem. A survey by Dell Computer Corporation revealed 55% of the population harbors fear of some form of technology (Hogan, 1994). Another survey found that 36% of people who use computers at their office feel that their skill levels are inadequate (Donoho, 1994). Do these numbers reflect phobia of faculty? Maybe not, but we have to realize and recognize that instructors may harbor some form of fear or anxiety to use technology in their classrooms where they are focus of the student's attention. Harris (1985) coined the term cyberphobia, an aversion or anxiety caused by technology. Attention to the phenomenon has led to several descriptions. Applebaum (1990) concluded that perhaps the principal common denominator of computer anxious people was that they were over thirty years old. Cyberphobics in Gardner's (1985) study were principally over 50, and female, though either of these findings may well have changed, or will change, with time and acculturation (Watson & Barker, 1984; Lehman & Kramer, 1990; Hapens & Rasmussen, 1991). Research shows that opposition to attitudinal change can gradually give way to acceptance with the passage of time (Coch & French, 1966; Tesser, 1978; Tesser & Shaffer;, 1990). Attitudinal change towards acceptance may be a slow and even tedious experience for some teachers. Classifying and Recognizing Phobic Behaviors Sleeth, Pearce and George (1995) suggested Phobia as anxiety produces reactions involving avoidance of public scrutiny. A natural response to anxiety would be to seek comfort in isolation_a private response of avoiding others. Computer anxiety is a person's tendency to experience a level of uneasiness over his or her impending use of technology that is disproportionate to the threat the technology presents. The response modes to aversion of technology (cyberphobia) may appear as a general anxiety to use technology (cyberanxiety). The cyberanxious person who seeks isolation from the group is not rejecting the learning or even the technology, but probably is avoiding the public scrutiny. Given this discussion, a procedure for coping with cyberphobia is to recognize the change strategies possible for each. First, however, we note five symptoms or failure modes which can signal resistance and thus alert us to investigate for any cyberphobia. …

An Attitudinal Comparison toward Computers between Underclassmen and Graduating Seniors

Abstract: Introduction Due to the increased use of personal computers in class work at university campuses, many students are faced with mastering a tool that may appear threatening to them. Some surveys show that many individuals are optimistic about the potential benefits of computers in promoting a new era of faster and more efficient performance and improved productivity (Lee, 1970). On the other hand, other research focuses on the concerns and problems that come with computer use. Such problems may include computer phobia, technostress, loss of privacy, depersonalization, and fear (Meier, 1985). Consequently, there is a growing concern that negative attitudes toward computers might affect individual motivation and performance (Eason & Damodaran, 1981; Shneiderman, 1979). Purpose of Study The purpose of this study is to statistically test the effectiveness of the 24 item Attitude Toward computer Scale (ATCS) developed by Francis (1993) for measuring college students attitudes toward computers. The tests students are divided into the following two groups: 1) underclassmen and 2) graduating seniors. For these two groups their attitudes toward computers are compared as affected by several student demographic factors. These factors include a) group (underclassmen verses seniors), b) gender, c) number of university computer courses completed, d) number of high school computer courses completed, e) years of computer experience, f) students' grade point average, g) overall knowledge of computer, and h) ownership of a computer. Background The issue of negative attitudes toward computers becomes especially important if found to be concentrated among certain categories of individuals having particular background characteristics. There is a risk that such negative attitudes may prevent these groups from gaining access to or effectively using computers in their work places and may even limit their chances of getting and holding employment. The importance of these likely outcomes becomes even clearer now that generally accepted work force predictions suggest that society is moving toward requiring more information intensive types of jobs utilizing computers (Omar, 1992). Francis (1993) developed a new measure of attitude toward computer scale (ATCS) to measure students' attitudes toward computers for use among undergraduate students which operationalizes the affective attitudinal domain. Item selection, the internal structure of the scale and content validity were established using a sample of 378 first year undergraduate students in Wales. The process of determining the 24 item scale involved a factor analysis condensation of five other scales totaling 97 items. The strongest factor pertained to the affective attitudinal domain which explained a very large portion of the attitude measure's variance. Some previous empirical studies have shown a positive association among various student demographic variables and students' attitudes toward computers. Clement (1981) found that college students have positive attitudes toward computers in general. For these students, learning how to use computers is a rewarding and pleasant experience. Koohang (1987) reported that the students' grade level significantly affected their attitudes toward computers. Omar (1992) found that students in upper-level classes have more positive attitudes toward computers than do students in lower level classes. Of course by that time, these students would have had more experiences to learn how a computer can benefit them. Some researchers have found the relationship of student gender to computer attitude to be statistically significant, with female students exhibiting more positive attitudes toward the computer than male students (Loyd & Gressard, 1984). Miura & Hess (1983) suggest that the relationship between gender and students' computer attitudes is especially important because failure to acquire computer literacy may become a barrier to women's advancement in certain careers. …

The interactive effects of social support and test anxiety on student academic performance

Abstract: It is well established that the examination performance of students is affected not just by academic ability and knowledge, but also by how well they think they are capable of doing in their examinations, their academic self confidence (Hembree, 1990). Such self confidence can be raised considerably by the receipt of support from friends and family and their peers, fellow students in the classroom (Sarason and Sarason, 1994). However, as made clear by House (1991), social support from such different sources is not equally helpful in improving academic performance through its effect on confidence. Because students typically do not have the same kind of relations with persons outside and inside the classroom, he argues that support from these two sources should have different effects on confidence and hence on academic performance. This argument provides the impetus for the present study, which examines the extent to which support from family or friends and from fellow students moderates the relationship between examination performance mid test anxiety, conceived as the opposite of academic self confidence; i.e., the extent to which peer support and outside support respectively interact with test anxiety to determine differences in academic performance. The subjects of the study were 121 first year management students at a college of higher education, all of whom were living at home and thus potentially capable of receiving support from family and friends in their studies. Subjects indicated all peers and family and friends who provided them with "help and assistance in of any kind in dealing with the upcoming examination". For each person nominated, subjects indicated (a) how supportive they were - from very little (1) to very often (7) - and (b) how frequently they provided support - from very seldom (1) to very often (7). Following the suggestion of Cutrona and Russell (1990), these two ratings were multiplied for each supporter and then summed separately across nominated peers and nominated family and friends, to yield total scores indicating perceived peer support and perceived outside support respectively. Test anxiety was measured by a 10 item version of the Test Anxiety Scale of Sarason and Sarason (1978), whilst academic performance was given by the average percentage marks obtained in their final examination for the four courses taken by all the subjects. The mean scores (and standard deviations) of the sample were for peer support 10.66 (2.45), outside support 39.42 (7.16), test anxiety 29.43 (6.33) and academic performance 58.99 (11.83). Hierarchical regression was used to test for possible moderator effects, with the interaction term entered after the main effects had been calculated (Cohen and Cohen, 1983). …

The Accelerated Schools Inquiry Process: Teacher Empowerment through Action Research

Abstract: Introduction Parents and teachers reached an easy consensus: school discipline needed improvement. The school's teachers and parents had formed several sub-groups, or cadres, to examine this and other identified areas of concern. The "discipline cadre" agreed that discipline problems were rampant in the school and that some drastic action needed to be taken. The facilitator of the group had to remind the participants of their charge: to gather information about existing conditions, not to throw solutions at perceived problems. The group went about this task reluctantly. "We already know what the problems are. Why can't we just work on solutions?" However, they divided up the fact-finding tasks and agreed to meet back the following week. At this meeting, two teachers reported that they had looked at discipline referral records in the office and that there were over three hundred referrals to the office for first semester alone. All agreed that this information validated the initial impression that things were out of control. Others reported on a survey they had administered to all teachers. Results showed that while teachers thought that other teachers had problems with discipline, they themselves felt that their classrooms were well managed. Still another survey administered to parents reported that parents thought discipline was satisfactory at the school and that their children and they knew and supported the school rules. The data pieces didn't fit. After much discussion, someone suggested that the teachers go back to the school records and find out how many students had actually been referred to the office first semester and how often they had been referred. The following week, the new information was reported - slightly over thirty children accounted for more than 80% of all discipline referrals. This information created quite a stir. Someone suggested, "Why don't we go back and look at which teachers are referring students to the office? Maybe we will see a pattern emerging here as well." The teachers and parents in this school were participants in the Accelerated Schools Project and were engaging in an inquiry process called "taking stock," a form of action research designed to empower members of the school community to gather data about the school and use it to make collaborative decisions for change. This article will describe the inquiry process and how it is being implemented in one Accelerated Schools Satellite Center at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. Overview of the Accelerated Schools Project The Accelerated Schools Project is a comprehensive approach to school change designed to improve schooling for students in at-risk situations so that they may enter the educational mainstream. Accelerated schools are designed to structure schools which build on the strengths of all children and to accelerate their learning by making changes in curriculum, instruction and organization which will facilitate academic and social progress. (For a more complete description of the Accelerated Schools Process, see Levin, 1986, 1987, 1988 a, b & c, and Hopfenberg, Levin, Meister, & Rogers, 1990, Hopfenberg, Levin, & Associates, 1993.) Collaborative Action Research Collaborative action research has come to be viewed as a tool for staff development and an opportunity for teachers and university researchers to work together to investigate and solve school and classroom challenges (Lieberman, 1986). Finnan (1992) states that interventions can succeed if they axe designed to help members of the school community (culture) make the changes they have identified as important. Sirotnik & Clark (1988) also believe that schools must become centers of inquiry where the personal nature of knowledge is recognized and practitioners are actively engaged in the process. Oakes, Hare & Sirotnik (1986) discuss the nature of collaboration between university and school as a vehicle which has the power to change the nature of research and development based on the input of the practitioner. …

Incorporating Language Arts into the Mathematics Curriculum: A Literature Survey

Abstract: Recent educational philosophy has supported the whole language and integrated curriculum approaches. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) has recommended that the mathematics curriculum include development of language and symbolism to communicate mathematical ideas and relationships (Grossman, Smith, & Miller, 1993). In order to bring language skills and mathematics closer together, educators have been searching for effective teaching methods and strategies to incorporate reading, writing, and oral language into mathematics. The purpose of this article was to evaluate methods and strategies being implemented to incorporate reading, writing, and oral language into mathematics lessons. Many educators today describe themselves as whole language teachers. According to Reutzel and Cooter (1992), whole language teachers are those who believe in reading literature in the classroom and who attempt to integrate listening, speaking, reading, and writing across the curriculum. Literature and language skills, however, are often neglected in the mathematics area of the curriculum. Educators are now discovering ways to incorporate reading into mathematics through the use of children's literature. Stories Provide Meaningful Contexts Books are advantageous because they help students explore mathematical ideas in natural, familiar, and meaningful contexts (Griffiths & Clyne, 1991; Whitin, 1994). Literature can spark students' interest in a math lesson, if the story is first read and enjoyed for its literary content (Whitin & Gary, 1994). If students can relate to and enjoy the plot, setting, and characters of a story, the new math skill will be associated with the meaningful contexts. Several educators refer to the picture book, The Doorbell Rang, by Pat Hutchins (1986) as a valuable resource for math teachers (Conaway & Midkiff, 1994; Hopkins & Dorsey, 1992; Nichols, 1993; Thrailkill, 1994). This story puts the mathematical concept of division into the familiar context of sharing. Two children are preparing to share a dozen cookies when the doorbell rings and two more children enter the house. As soon as the four children decide how many cookies each person will get, the doorbell rings once more, and the cookies have to be divided again. The pattern continues until the book's surprise ending. Thus, the book introduces students to the mathematics concept of division in the familiar context of sharing and eating cookies. After hearing the story, students can practice division in similar situations. The Doorbell Rang is one example of how picture books can be useful for putting mathematical concepts into a meaningful context for students. Stories Model Mathematical Ideas Griffiths and Clyne (1991) suggested that children can take math ideas from stories and use them in their own situations, and that stories pose problems that children are intrinsically interested in solving. One example given by Conaway and Midkiff (1994) demonstrates how picture books can be effective in modeling fractional concepts. Children are attracted to the pictures in the book Eating Fractions, by Bruce McMillan (1991), because there are photographs of children eating fractional parts of foods, such as halves of a banana and fourths of a pizza. Simple recipes for the foods shown in the pictures are located in the back of the book. Therefore teachers can help students model fractions in a fun and enjoyable way, using the same portions of foods mentioned by the children in the book (Conaway & Midkiff). Stories can provide a literature link to math by modeling concepts in ways that can be recreated using objects or manipulatives shown in books. In addition to modeling math ideas, Eating Fractions also puts the fraction concept into a meaningful context. Stories Challenge Students Ohanian (1989) asserted that A Grain of Rice by Helena Clare (1992) is a story that develops a meanful concept. …

Social Networks among Inner-City Minority Women

Abstract: Few researchers have empirically addressed problems faced by low socioeconomic status, minority single mothers (Tolan, Keys, Chertok, & Jason, 1990). Furthermore, the paucity of research in this area appears to parallel the poverty-stricken environments in which these women reside. However, researchers actively assessing the needs and strengths of this population consistently identify one of numerous threats to their socioeconomic, physical and mental well being - that is, the rate of pregnancy to out-of-wedlock mothers. In doing so, these researchers confront statistics depicting the epidemic rate of pregnancy among black women indicating that eighty-five percent of single black mothers, less than 25 years of age, live below the poverty line (Children's Defense Fund, 1985). Additionally, it is estimated that 75 percent of the above group will remain in poverty and subsequently impact the lives of up to three generations of offspring. Further, minority single mothers living in low income areas are subject to stressful living conditions, which significantly heighten their vulnerability to stress-related illnesses. The disadvantaged status of minority single mothers is further evidenced by research studies revealing higher reports of life stress by minority persons (Brown & Harris, 1978). Furthermore, the high divorce rate among inner-city minorities (Murray & Harrison, 1981) suggests many may be "singularly" responsible for the emotional, physical, and socioeconomic support of their families. Consequently, pressures associated with assuming multiple roles and limited advancement opportunities increase the risk of stress-related illness among members of this population. There are increased rates of psychological disorders among single and widowed persons (Kaplan, Cassel, & Gore, 1977), and low SES populations are more vulnerable to life stressors (Kessler, 1979; La Gory & Fitzpatrick, 1992). And while lower SES minorities are more dependent on family members for social support, higher SES non-minorities more often seek social support through friend networks, and the use of professional counseling (Stewart & Vaux, 1986; Ostrow et al., 1986). Linked with literature viewing support groups as instrumental in aiding persons through periods of disorganization (Vega et al, 1991) and related literature questioning the adequacy of support systems among low SES groups (Liem & Liem, 1978; Griffith, 1985), there is a clear need to develop more support for lower SES, inner-city, single residents (Bogat, Sullivan & Grober, 1993). The present study attempted to evaluate the relationships between support, stress, symptoms, and health status among a group of low income minority women. This exploratory, correlational study was intended to help provide a better glimpse of the social networks among inner-city women living in low income areas. Method Participants Single mothers were recruited for the present study. Twelve were black and 12 were Hispanic. Many of them resided in the Cabrini Green Housing Project, while others maintained residence in a nearby low-income community. Participants filled out the questionnaires at a community service center. Staff at the center dispensed the forms to the women and collected the completed forms. Participants were unemployed, economically dependent on government assistance programs, and single parents heading households. They ranged in age from sixteen to thirty-two years and their level of education varied, ranging from 9 to 15 years of formal or vocational schooling. Finally, the number of children comprising participants' families ranged from one to five, infants through adolescents. System Checklist 90 - Revised (SCL-90-R) The SCL-90-R (Derogatis, Limpman, Rickels, Unlenhuth & Covi, 1974) is a self-report inventory of psychological symptoms. Respondents are asked to rate 90 symptoms on a five-point Likert-type scale. …

From the Importance of Education in the 80's to Accountability in the 90's

Abstract: In the November, 1991, issue of the Kappan, Denis Doyle noted that "no doubt future historians will view the 1980s as the education decade - not a decade in which specific education problems were solved, but a decade in which the problems of education as a whole achieved national significance." (p. 185). If that is true, then the decade of the 1990s may well be known by historians as the decade in which national pressure was brought by non educators to cause educators to change practice and theory. The 1990s will be known as the decade of accountability. This will be the case not because of the imposition of standards but because of the process and practice of assessment which increasingly has become the focus; of legislators, politicians and the public during the past five to ten years. The focus on assessment has the potential to force k-12 and higher educators to reexamine educational practice in a manner and in depth which has seldom been the case within either our lifetimes or the history of American education. When we speak of assessment, we are identifying that type of evaluation which in educational practice is termed summative. While the intent of the criticisms directed at education in the 1980s may have been to bring about improvement, the intent of this assessment clearly is accountability. Educational discussion in the 1980s may have been framed by formative evaluation, however, educational evaluation concerns today are overwhelmingly summative. In light of this situation, we would do well examine those ways in which professional practice will be impacted by the new educational standards emanating from America 2000 and the derivative instruments which will be used to measure what we are accomplishing as educators. As higher educators it behooves us to watch closely the events which unfold in k-12 education and to learn from the experiences of our k-12 colleagues in this and other states. For purposes of this article, the state of Arkansas will be used as an example of the state mandated changes in standards which frame the assessment issue and are reflective of some emerging federal legislation. In the 1980s, Arkansas was on the cutting edge in relation to standards and educational reform. State gubernatorial and legislative actions brought the adoption of standards for practice in k-12 education. From this start, a set of curriculum guides was written which teachers and districts were to consult in the development and adoption of curriculum. Finally, a standardized examination, the Arkansas Minimum Performance Test, was adopted to be administered to students in several grades. This examination would measure student progress in mastery of concepts defined as crucial to an appropriate education for Arkansas students. Accompanying these activities was a prescribed test for teachers, administered only once since it was unpopular with teachers and therefore politically uncomfortable for the state's elected leaders. As these components of 1980s reform in Arkansas have been implemented over the past decade, only the minimum performance test has a real accountability component attached to it. Eighth graders who fail the test three times must be retained in that grade. Teachers who failed the teacher test could retake it, take six additional continuing education hours in their field or retire/resign when their certifications expired. The curriculum guides suffered the fate of many curriculum guides. They were generally not used or used very little by classroom teachers. Subsequently, school district which failed to meet class size standards, certification standards or other requirements have been placed on probation or have lost their accreditation. Still, little real accountability has been demanded and educational outcomes have been uneven across the state from district to district. Questions still remain as to what can be done to improve educational quality for all students. Of late, the State Board of Education has been looking at certification/licensure issues as a means for attempting to address these issues. …

Teacher Professionalism and School Leadership: An Antithesis?

Abstract: Introduction It is becoming increasingly evident that traditional leadership definitions are inadequate. There appears to be an on-going straggle to continually define and re-define the meaning of leadership. Two articles by Sergiovanni in Educational Leadership (Feb/92) outlined his reflections on this very topic. He suggested that improving schools is difficult because we focus on leadership as something forceful, direct and interpersonal rather than examining alternatives to/or substitutes for it. The purpose of a study conducted by Peter David Prieur (one of the writers) was to test the emerging hypothesis by Thomas J. Sergiovanni that leadership and professionalism are probably antithetical concepts. Before outlining the study a brief review of literature relating to teacher professionalism and. school leadership are provided. Teacher Professionalism Professionalism can be broadly defined as accepting responsibility for one's own professional development and growth. Specifically, it refers to exemplary practice, and being aware of and experimenting with new developments in the field. Darling-Hammond defines professional practice as the incorporation of "specialized knowledge, self regulation, special attention to the unique needs of clients, autonomous performance and responsibility for client welfare" (p. 20). She suggests that the concept of professionalism is associated with a common set of beliefs, values and behaviors that include: * professionals relying on a codified body of knowledge, not applied routinely but according to individual needs, * entry into the profession being strictly controlled by members of the profession through internally structured mechanisms, and * professionals owing their primary responsibility to the client (student). In addition, Sergiovanni (1992) suggests that teacher professionalism implies a sense of stewardship, of caring and doing everything possible to meet the needs of the students. This perspective of professionalism involves values such as honesty, fairness and integrity. By stressing professionalism and thus empowering teachers, a new reciprocity is required in schools. Teachers must assume the responsibility to carry out their mandate without direct supervision. Historically, teachers have always been occupationally bound and morally accountable to a higher authority (Lortie, 1975). This supervisor-subordinate relationship has survived, almost intact, to the present day. Respondents in this study clearly indicated the desire to embrace more professionalism and thus responsibility. However, can teachers act as true professionals in a situation where they have not been empowered and still remain under bureaucratic control? Before answering this question, the area of leadership in schools needs to be addressed. Leadership In Schools School principals have been traditionally viewed as leaders because of the formal authority vested in their position. Early leadership research attempted to identify: which personality traits made a person a leader (Vokes, 1992); the value of using different leadership strategies with people at differing levels of willingness and readiness (Hersey and Blanchard, 1969); the leader's emphasis on tasks versus relationships (Fiedler as cited in Vokes 1992); and the extent to which subordinates should be utilized in the decision-making process (Vroom & Yetton as cited in Vokes 1992). The majority of these theories were based on the traditional view of a leader in relation to his/her followers. Little if any attention was devoted to reviewing the leader/follower format and exploring a more equitable relationship. Top down power or the power to control subordinates seemed to be the focus. This focus seems to reflect a particularly Western mode of thought. Leadership is not so much an epistemological framework but rather a dynamic social process that involves key cognitive, interpersonal and cultural dynamics. …

Internet, Computers, Distance Education and People Failure: Research on Technology

Abstract: The Internet computer system is estimated to have over 20 million users world-wide and a growth of one million per month. Internet can also improve communications around the world (Eddy, 1994). Millions of persons are taking distance education television courses - no accurate number is known. Computer programs help find valuable funding sources (Eddy, Nicklas and McLeod, 1995). Having computers in schools and in homes can be a real asset for students (Spaulding and Eddy, 1996). The authors are not against this technology but support its use as we have Internet and have presented on television for years, but there are some basic problems. These difficulties range from psychological addiction to unethical behavior and inappropriate actions of technology producers and users. Internet Issues Research on Internet issues (Arden-Smith, October, 1995) may be summarized as follows: 1) Some persons are so addicted to its use to the extent they have actually flunked out of college, lost their marriage partners, become mentally sick, given up their jobs, and decreased their human contacts. 2) Some persons have become psychologically stressed and ill trying to handle 40 to over 100 random E-Mail messages a day. 3) Some persons avoid personal contacts by overusing Internet so to decrease their personal communications with persons. 4) Some persons have gone into Internet seclusion, while still taking care of daily routines, so failing to learn to work and deal with people. Some persons misuse Internet as a kind of opportunity to do the following: 1) Tell jokes better not told; 2) Advertise everything from old furniture for sale to tickets to buy for various affairs. 3) Unload their "ego games" on the world as a confessional catharsis; 4) Giving advice on everything from how to attend sporting events to office parties; and 5) Unethical behavior from reading private messages to spreading rumors. Other persons mess up their use of Internet by giving a message one minute and then come back in a minute later with the rest of the message. They sound like the old radio show star, Paul Harvey, who said, "Now for the rest of the story." This reveals how they haven't thought through their message and want the message receiver to bear with their composition confusions. Other persons are so in love with their computers that when you come to visit them at their office, this happens: 1) They give you the impression you are invading their territory, turf and time when they are into their love affair with their computer. 2) You are secondary to their "machine god" that they daily worship. 3) You are to go away as soon a possible so they can return to their "worship altar key board and screen" to do what they feel is more important than you. 4) You are less than adequate if you are not addictive to the computer and do not have the splendid skills they pretend to possess to have on the computer. Other troublesome issues with "computer freaks" are: 1) Some are always angry at their computers and this bad attitude transcends to persons around them in "psychological projections." 2) Some seem "stressed out" because they work so many hours at a computer without taking breaks or doing exercises. 3) Some convey a superiority complex against less interested computer buffs. Distance Education Issues Research into distance education television (Bangpipob, 1995) reveals some interesting problems such as: 1) Students in college credit computer classes doing homework for other classes or other things on their computers during the actual class time. …

Instructional Support and Demands: Helping Teachers Help Students Meet Increasing Academic Standards

Abstract: Increasingly, teachers are being asked to enhance the academic standards of their classes by requiring students to do more homework, read and study more challenging texts, apply higher order thinking skills to the material they learn, and take and pass more rigorous tests. Efforts to move education in these directions have derived in recent years from pressure placed on schools by local, state and national commissions and tasks forces charged with interpreting the perceived shortcomings of American education (e.g., Goals 2000, 1994). Recommendations emanating from these commissions and task forces most often are framed in terms of policies which, at least on the surface, appear to make good sense. If students graduate from high school with skills that fall below international standards and with weaknesses in the kinds of knowledge and skills that employers seek, then it would appear quite sensible to "require" schools to provide the kinds of educational experiences students need to reach higher levels of educational achievement. Too often, however, such policy recommendations assume that additional effort and attention on the part of students are alone sufficient to promote the goals of such educational reform. Yet research has demonstrated that it is not enough to "demand" higher levels of achievement on the part of teachers and students. At a minimum, it will be necessary to provide a set of workable strategies to help teachers and students meet these demands. In this paper, we suggest a framework for pre-service and in-service teachers, to help them think about the constellation of demands new policy initiatives would impose on students, and the kinds of instructional supports they might develop within the context of their on-going instructional programs to help students meet those demands successfully. To illustrate our points, we have drawn on two research projects and one intervention study that we have been involved in. The first research project represented an effort to understand the relationships among student characteristics, the types of study activities students engaged in, and their learning outcomes. The intervention study sought to apply some of our basic research findings in a series of high school classes where teachers wanted to improve the study skills of their students. The second research study is an on-going investigation of the determinants and consequences of teachers' perceptions of the intellectual climate in their schools. At first blush, these areas of inquiry might seem to have little in common, inasmuch as the first research study and it's intervention focuses primarily on teachers. However, if one takes, as we do, a more inter-actionist view of the classroom, and indeed of the school as a whole, one then is led to envision how efforts to spur students on to greater levels of competence and efforts to enhance teachers' commitment to on-going professional development can well be launched together. A Framework for Assessing Instructional Demands, Supports and Compensations. In our work in middle school and high school History classrooms, we found repeatedly that (1) students' study behavior was directly related to characteristics of the courses they were enrolled in, and (2) what students appeared to learn from those courses was directly linked to how they had studied (Curley, Rohwer & Thomas, 1987; Strage, Tyler, Rohwer & Thomas, 1987). Thus, for example, in classes where students were given large quantities of reading to summarize and integrate, students' demonstrated increasingly effective note-taking strategies, and were able to write integrative essays on their exams. In contrast, in classes where teachers spent most of their time giving lecture-style linear presentation of factual material, students tended to refine their rote-memorization skills, and tended to do much better on factual definition test items than on concept-application items. There were, however, several cases where students failed to engage in the higher order sorts of learning activities one might have expected of them, given the apparent demands they seemed to be expected to rise to on a routine basis. …