The reliability, validity, and factor structure of the Charles F. Kettering Scale, an instrument for the development of personnel and programs in schools, were investigated. The 40-item General Climate Factors section of the scale, a measure of educational environment, was completed by 30 administrators and teachers, 78 ninth graders, 66 eighth…

The inter-subject/intra-subject subtest patterns (profiles) of the same sample of gifted children were examined based on factors found in a previous study of the Raven Coloured Progressive Matrices Test (CPM) that investigated structural properties with specific application to a sample of gifted children. The sample consisted of 166 children (78…

This paper extends the factor analytic research of C. W. Swartz and others (1990) on the North Carolina Teaching Performance Appraisal Instrument (NCTPAI), which contains 28 teaching practices grouped into 5 functions (management of instructional time, management of student behavior, instructional presentation, instructional monitoring, and…

Criteria that teachers include in grading and the weight given each were investigated in a sample of 827 elementary school and high school teachers from 18 school districts. A three-section survey was administered to the subjects. Underlying dimensions of grading criteria were studied, and the relationship between including a specific criterion…

The construct validity of the Attitudes of Professional Autonomy (APA) as a proxy measure of professional orientation was studied. The sample consisted of all teachers in 94 schools in 6 districts in Louisiana, closely representing the statewide distribution of all schools by level and socioeconomic status. Usable data were received from 1,921…

Researchers have been limited in their ability to examine multiple constructs simultaneously due to the constraints imposed by traditional statistical methods. The most notable limitations include the need for a relatively large sample size while restricting the variables to a relatively small number. The application of a newly discovered…

The factorial validity of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) was studied for 2,931 Canadian teachers (48.2% males and 51.8% females) as a single professional group and for subsamples of this group (1,159 elementary school teachers, 388 intermediate school teachers, and 1,384 secondary school teachers). Study participants were full-time teachers…

Evaluation of the Attitudes Toward Statistics Scale (ATS) of S. L. Wise (1985) was extended by examining scale responses in relation to: (1) the scale's factor structure; and (2) the correlation of ATS subscale scores with students' grades in statistics courses at several levels of graduate study, students' sex, and scores on measures of basic…

This study investigated factors that play a role in the fading effects of prekindergarten programs for economically disadvantaged children. The school adjustment of 1,284 low-income, minority children in prekindergarten and kindergarten programs funded by the government (i.e., Child Parent Center; Head Start) was traced through the third year of…

The advantages of applying confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) data are widely recognized. However, because CFA as traditionally applied to MTMM data incorporates single indicators of each scale (i.e., each trait/method combination), important weaknesses are the failure to: (1) correct appropriately for measurement…

The development of the Parent Attitudes toward School Effectiveness (PATSE) questionnaire was conducted in two phases. The pilot test form contained 47 items reflecting parents' attitudes toward 6 categories: (1) school and community relationships; (2) clear school mission; (3) high expectations; (4) safe and orderly environment; (5) instructional…

Items from two American instruments (Students' Evaluation of Educational Effectiveness, and the Endeavor instrument) designed to measure students' evaluations of teaching effectiveness were translated into Spanish and administered to a sample of Spanish university students. Most of the items were judged by the students to be appropriate; every…

The development and testing of an instrument for assessing dental students' attitudes toward the handicapped is presented. This instrument is easily administered (approximately 10 minutes) and scored, and possesses sound psychometric properties. Norms were derived from 826 students in 8 regionally-distributed dental schools. Content validity of…

The purpose of this study was to develop inventory items that measure the study habits and behaviors of adult students from a variety of college settings. There were two specific objectives: (1) to acquire as large and heterogeneous a sample as possible in order to factor out significant study behavior constructs for building a diagnostic and…

To ascertain the incidence of drug use in a rural area and to provide insight into the covariates of illegal drug use which might be useful in developing prevention programs, data were collected in the spring of 1981 from 2,060 or 83.2% of all students grades 8 through 12 in a southern Georgia county. Data were collected during regularly scheduled…