| Abstract: | The purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes of four groups of educators from small, medium and large districts in Texas toward a new legislative reform in staff development, Advanced Academic Training. Specifically this study investigated the degree of support for the reform among school board members, superintendents, principals and teachers. Further, it investigated whether the support was dependent upon the position held by the respondent. Also of interest in this study was the effect the district size of the respondent had on his or her support for the reform. The educator's attitudes were assessed using a five point Likert scale. Each district in the sample received 8 surveys. Intended distribution of surveys was one each for school board members and superintendents, and three each for principals and teachers from each level (elementary, middle/junior high, and high school). Two hundred thirty-five districts responded to the survey. The scores on the survey were submitted to a two-factor Chi Square analysis with position of the respondent and support for the reform as the factors analyzed. The contingency coefficient was also determined to give the degree of dependence between the two factors. Further, a Chi Square was used to determine if the size of the district affected support of the respondents. Results of the analysis indicated that there was widespread support among school board members, superintendents, and teachers toward advanced academic training. Respondents from small districts, however, indicated significantly lower support. School board members and principals in small districts showed low support for the reform as compared to those same educators in medium and large districts. Conclusions and implications from these findings for educational reform efforts and future research are discussed. |
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