Results of a survey at a small, private, liberal arts college indicate that the majority of faculty members perceived the student personnel division as a complex operation having no defined purpose and placing inordinate budgetary demands on the institution for "frills." (Author/HMV)

Article evaluated media courses as seen from the perspective of the humanities teacher, determined to keep traditional humanities courses intact. (RK)

A survey of the attitudes of 90 black high school students toward their school and its white counterpart points toward the significance of prior knowledge of black student experiences at the white high school as an explanatory variable for the failure of blacks, in substantial numbers, to choose to attend formerly all-white schools in…

This paper provides results of a national survey of 110 educators involved in American Indian education on their general attitudes toward such education; of the total sample; 60 responses were received. Lack of funding for American Indian education was the most important national issue identified, followed by need for qualified Indian…

Since its creation by federal legislation in 1917, vocational education in U.S. high schools has enjoyed a high level of public support. Recently, an increasing number of studies have begun to question the degree to which vocational education in the United States has had an economic payoff for its students. The fact that vocational education…

A study was conducted to develop an understanding of retraining from the perspective of those who have experienced it--to know more about how and why they decided to undertake the process of acquiring new or additional work skills, how they learned about the alternatives available to them, and what feelings accompanied this experience. Research…

The Higher Education Act of 1965 fulfilled a dream for President Lyndon Baines Johnson. To understand this president's deep interest in education, one must first understand the factors which were responsible for the development of Lyndon Johnson, the man. His family background had much to do with his veneration of education. Both his parents and…

Authority is legitimized by the willingness of those subject to it to accept it. Authoritarianism develops when those subject to authority must be coerced into accepting it. This paper argues that to maintain legitimate authority and avoid becoming authoritarian, educators, educational institutions, and educational systems must be willing to…

According to a national survey of 1,200 adults conducted between November 1984 and January 1985, Americans are solidly in favor of raising standards for graduation from junior and senior high schools, even if the changes result in the failure of their own children to graduate. The respondents were not willing to support these reforms if they were…

This inquiry was conducted to: (1) examine potential interactions among characteristics of survey subjects and incentives to enhance mail returns with the quality of subject responses assessed in terms of response patterns; and (2) obtain perceptions of former students on the emphasis to place on pedagogical concepts and principles in teacher…

The attitudes of 100 Alabama legislators toward higher education and about major issues facing higher education in the State were investigated. Surveys were returned by 79 house members (75 percent) and 21 senate members (60 percent). Attention was focused on legislators' views of the mission of higher education, how higher education should be…

The Educational Attitudes Scale (EAS), which covers four important aspects of a teacher's school life (children, discipline, methods, and administration), was completed by 80 experienced secondary school teachers. The EAS includes 20 Likert-type items with five response categories (I agree very much, I agree on the whole, Uncertain, I disagree on…

A questionnaire was mailed to 500 randomly selected households in a 15 square mile suburban area to assess the attitudes of adult community members regarding the use of computers in the schools. A response rate of 50% was achieved. It was found that respondents did not always have strong opinions regarding the use of computers in the schools;…

This nineteenth annual Gallup Poll of public attitudes toward public schools focuses on educational policies of the Reagan Administration, and continues to monitor trends and opinions on questions about schooling. Questions and responses are included for the following categories: (1) Perceived Improvements in Local Public Schools; (2) Perceived…

A study was conducted at Charles Stewart Mott Community College (MCC) to determine why many persons admitted to the college never complete any courses, to identify aspects of the college environment which might be changed to retain some of these potential students, and to learn how to channel recruitment resources toward applicants who are more…