. . ' .'. . . I". I . I l':"\| .'. t n _II_I' at?“ ' :l’u u ‘ .‘ ¢ ' o 1 * 'I..' *5? ”45;: *5 1, ‘ 1. I I 5: t .‘.I‘IJ’.‘ 3‘ pIMEW“ f y I .h‘} 9 ‘I‘ h d?” a. I N ' ' I' I'fl'} .1‘"“§[;:§IFI‘.%§E;5 IIII. 'W .. ‘15"II55‘l'."{." 15:. 5" I U k \I“ .l ‘5‘: 5'. . 91"“ I. 'I . :3 . g . . I I .. r ' I_IBIEI’:E?.'I:IJ=IIEII.$3.1IIéI‘III:':I I;'l‘.fI"1..|‘II't .' ' I. .-1. .1 . . IIIII. ;' ”45‘ I'MI:"I:1? ‘I'i‘IIc'flg . I. :3 IV I 9" . ' . I' .~&" 'II' I I. . .'5. .I . 2" I'I‘f‘" :5 9*" I III 11331.15 ... If». KIW‘J ' 'IW ‘|‘I::5Il I“. . ':g :h HIS? CW1 . . I- 1;..I’IZ‘I5'K .5 55911513555” ' II! ' 5 " {:0 It: An. «5'5“ :25: ”~51" 5 V"**‘I "55f" “35‘ 'L :i M 355* .2 .;. l351:5: .1 11* -* *: :‘I" Mun ‘I’I‘I .. In] A "51.5.1 mm? 322:5? 55.531“ III5'5'I'.I I'J'I' .-* ':.I5, I1- III'! III}? '5.”'” 'III'rI' WI.I“ {:I'I' III' 5:825“ 28?" ('1 IITQ I I."'-'“ -:_:.|:'3- U: (I 0. N5 ‘ ‘J. I. I‘:.1'.I. 5" ‘I?‘. d': .".. 63’? y... ' .'. II...‘:'E-I-'I5'r,v I I ’IIL' I :‘II'I IfI'IIII‘ “if?!“ II‘IE ':""I II'I'CQII ‘Ig‘I-II‘I'II \II'I "I' ‘2'?" .‘1‘JI H. 5'; 1. 5'51"" "If ‘51. "'1'“: 1' .; “I"? '1: ,1. - .513 51155355515 I'm, I M 'I In III .IS ‘5 I .‘. ‘I' . it"; :5 5151‘“; I. .35; ‘;_5'.‘5 I'M. 515:; I, ' ,I '5 .5. ~. .1 I w " " 1M“. 0- I ‘ II IIIIII'fiI'. .‘5""..'.’ - JhI “I".Ipr :3: '4‘? 3.". ("#1. . 'fl‘f‘bo . I'I' I. ‘I . 55“.” II _III '5' .I_II -‘-."'_I 5II' .'..{I‘I'dIIJ/Il. IH'I'I " III {I'q‘ III; {II ' ' ‘NI I11" I I;I_ " I- . - I o I L6. . IIr ..:'~1'-.0" I'L‘fI I I I '1'.I‘* -<'I trJ . P r'". "I' I' '?"'.. IO .51 .: *n * '*> 1. 1:55;:- 5.155.. .. I I I' II - .'II III *I_' Ii} I" II’I lI "IP | o l V' N I ' " I'A ' I'f'I .I :rII I- II III‘II 4.... O‘- I:?.':\.'d\$lk;.h"1€m .I 1" .'(x q, . ‘ "'1' ' i‘IS 'I" III fI'.L'I‘ .'. Ii.”'l..‘1-.“*1:".l 1" . . . .II' . _ :5. HI '5' J{II II I I1 I! I. ‘0 31:," 5‘ I “(H -3“ —.~ I. * H _. '0‘? I‘I‘ II.'I._,I. .. ".‘., .VE-‘I'-II' ..,.'. "'III. Il.’,'.5-‘ ."°'. ‘I :11 "::,II'._.". I I ‘ II.“ "II "I ,:' 5I}I 151nm} III’III’" ."‘."I ‘ 'RKN‘I'J I" 61%;?" 313' "z. - a:"%’¢i¥n:é":§: 'I I" :II’L'II": ' q"- I? -' I ‘ II .‘I" III II II'I I' II, ‘ I. 'I I'I ' " I ‘5 0:130“! I." II . ' II'I‘II'II II -I"I I?" LII. I;.‘I IIII I‘IIIfII-I' T‘ I.- r‘ - ".;‘II 3" I 1:5. . *1? , 5 .* 5.11.1315 -- I. - :- *II-F-Iw -* ' "-‘**:5::v-'II»..) It * I *.'I'*.'*I~+-.‘I *5:-.1. ... ‘5 Ian-*5 ' ‘1 I - 'I I 1 u 'l_ I YI'.A ‘0.- _I oI. r- J. ‘III': I I 5L K II LI .‘II 5 1' I 55 'II II. ”VI. ‘5 U ":‘IPI I.:'h-f:i:l‘1|::3"4 15” I?1.;k:0:\"7 IIIIf-‘r:::k:‘?" Icy.“ I‘It; ‘ l. ' ”:3... JI [in I. ‘ I . . .‘_ 5." '1 I“ 5.- ' Fug-t. -u5'5- -I.'I’ “5* II . SI: :IN'I‘I' .'1 u” '31 11,015.“ ”M IE»; I I‘QIIVI‘I‘II"; 4,", , "L" '55“... ”5‘3445151 "5' 1 I ' '. .'-"". I‘I "*'I I "I III ' 4' 'I'I "I :5 "I' ".1. I' ”“If'I1'hH' 'IM'II‘fiI". ‘III'M" I I'II'II‘ 19 y'I-III 'k ”III 1'." I“ I‘I‘I-II ‘VI' 4 IL I I I ' I ‘I II II .- I " I I I II II I-II . 0. *1. I ”('8‘ " . "I: I II‘II'II'I ' I" "f'I "‘ I. I'I‘I' ‘III'OI I I .‘Y I'I'I I, ‘ '0' I, I' u ' ' '° ”5". “'5 I." 5III 11.L.5‘:II' II I 5 5 I:' *0 .I 'I . II I I ' ‘9: II. OI" I'vHI I‘II 'ij .'I I'fi‘I J J .' 'YI'LQT‘q: g’fl.“ 1-1: ~I"I 1"I'I- :‘1‘I.I".:'-l| II .IIIIY’ I II-I‘tIri" (42' {III-3 ’IIII'I'I ' . ' ‘5'. “'1 I.iI l';4 .1 5‘ 5‘.. . . . ‘. IL... . . .. .‘. - I; q,I_. ”J. I “"3' -il r...g..lI'-~. I...I . ”I. 1'. 0| ..'q‘“ I I If" "1' "M *5“ 'I" .'*I I ' I'I‘I.' ' "3' ‘ 'I"I':"' I ' I'*I"‘ ‘1'" "I?" '* .‘4 3.1" " I‘II'L‘: 5’3" : .* Ya”? xi .*~'%:'.*:I: .-:-:1‘-'1:;-.z.1.§:F~.*.'.1‘:. .3 naval)" 31a. *. ~ I I' I " 1 II . III 'II II I1 ‘ r 'II'I'L I. I MN I 'II‘I'." IIIOTI ’ I .-' II "II'-I' ','I' I".' I I I t". RI: II‘"1-IIIIII"'I 'I‘IW 'I {-I-II-‘l ‘1". I “'I'I.°rJI.I' 5'.I':|II'.'U.I‘,'I I * '15 .’.”*i -‘r1nf'"n":i"'.""5 ‘ 5 II II" '*I- ‘ (”‘1‘ . 5 5 11'."5.-; 'I,"“'VII5II ; "51%.: .535.- 1 1.55.1511 5.5"“? 1*,1fi232-f‘i, 55¢;23.5.,351?,12551'9.£931.54???(‘1 .- 1 .1 3 J H” .4 r» In . “I. 'i ..*_"~-:T'-n*. 21*»: *"-‘ -l.*-1'- ‘ *I'I.*l*' ' " “'3 *. _*.r‘*'*"“*‘6-. 4:1”- ' " "' '- ' I‘M» ‘ "1.1 : ‘ ‘II I50 .11 .' I ~ 9" ‘ “I ' "$3. 12.4“} ‘- '. 3-"? '1‘1."'~. ? 31*“ '5' wad-5‘13“" 51' ..-I.’- My,” “' 55151595 :- "Sf: ' '. 1| III I 'I ' ' I ' '5': -" I ‘5 " - I‘"I" (35 "I"- 'I'J! '9. I‘5'""'- .I'I I..'*"*.‘I' I1 .' I'I‘I'I'Z'. I I. {r ”I“ I' 'I . . 5 I . ‘1":"\o 5; . '51.; IIIII;'5C:1I; ‘ “ 5'5 515.“ . ”I . ‘I.:"..‘HI.\5 I$I H“. 'I'II' 1'55," I “I V}I:I:'” ( Iab, .'. I“ '5‘. I1' ‘ II I ‘ I I I ' .. . ':I:' "II .I .I I . . l.'." I I"' -I"'I*" I. VIPI. II”. :5‘5VI'I '-I .fi5jI5: I‘IIIII‘iI‘I5fl5'III I {I'I'I‘I "II""" (2".5'I4 I I I}: ""IIII*HII1_‘ I'I' I.I.:.E'I 3).. Ilt‘JI II'III! 3 ’I I " 51:th II'II JI II‘IHI ‘I II . ' . II" -"T I“IV-I I'- ' .'I‘ I I I I I ‘51'IIJI'r .'I I I n 1' 5r . 'I; g ,1. 5115:! - ~ I I1 ;'Ib .II [‘5' .1. 1.1Iz,“.‘.I‘!II'I1'{I ‘pII ""50 ' ‘I I ‘t*'“ 'vII' 'I‘I'; "I"" .1'*.‘|‘"";‘ I} * (III I'l' If?“ 5} q'il'fiIIth'I . ' I' llll”WIUHlllllllllHlHllllllIlllllllllllllllllllllllllll ' " 31 93 10492 2186 u... ——- w—P-j‘my 2L!“ flit/1“ 1%. Y‘b‘ !."§i~.’.‘§.-fiif~n Stars? U m v CI'Sl [7 “ti 1'3. 11".? .'«v tw- w-~'0W3f -=. 5:111 5&1“? wane .mm' a '1 This is to certify that the thesis entitled IMPACT OF CERTAIN SELECTED TYPES OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ON PARTICIPANTS FOLLOWING AN INSERVICE PROGRAM presented by BARBARA TANNER ATKINS has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for Ph.D. degreein Vocational- Technical Education Major professor Date May 7. 1981 0-7639 . R ' 3\\\\ L ‘ . I ‘ n‘ e = in... . 'V \.t“"’,’ ”-1“ 'II’ OVERDUE FINES: 25¢ per day per item RETURNIE LIQRARY HATERMLS: Place in book return to move clam from circulation records IMPACT OF CERTAIN SELECTED TYPES OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ON PARTICIPANTS FOLLOWING AN INSERVICE PROGRAM By Barbara Tanner Atkins A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michi an State University in partial fuléillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY College of Education 1981 ABSTRACT IMPACT OF CERTAIN SELECTED TYPES OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ON PARTICIPANTS FOLLOWING AN INSERVICE PROGRAM By Barbara Tanner Atkins The problem in this study was to determine the impact of technical assistance on workshop participants following an inservice program. The activity of this study centered around an inser- vice program designed for home economics teachers to promote their local home economics program. The following research questions were set forth: 1. Is there a significant relationship between teacher attitudes toward promoting their home economics program by teachers who receive technical assistance and teachers who do not receive technical assistance? 2. Is there a significant relationship between teacher knowledge on how to promote their home economics program.by teachers who receive technical assistance and teachers who do not receive technical assistance? 3. Is there a significant relationship between teachers implementing a public relations campaign for their home economics program.by teachers who receive Barbara Tanner Atkins technical assistance and teachers who do not receive technical assistance? The purpose of this study was to determine the value of including technical assistance in the Consumer Home Economics inservice model. The review of the literature revealed that there has been virtually no assessment of the impact technical assistance has on teachers following an inservice workshop. It was determined that a group be given the treatment of technical assistance and be assessed. A control group did not receive the technical assistance and was also assessed. The population for this study was participants who taught and/or supervised home economics programs in the State of Michigan. The participants were educators who chose to participate in a public relations workshop during the 1980 fall regional inservices at either Grand Rapids or Troy, Michigan. The sample consisted of ninety-two home economics educators, all who chose to attend a public relations in- service at two different locations. One-half of the participants from each of the inservice sessions were randomly assigned to a treamment or control group using a table of random numbers. At the time of the inservice and during the following four months, the participants did not know that they had been assigned to a treatment or control group, or that either group existed. Barbara Tanner Atkins An assessment instrument was developed to determine the attitude, perceived knowledge and product implementation level of participants. The assessment instrument was ad- ministered four months after the inservice session during which time one-half of the participants received technical assistance. The assessment instrument was developed by the researcher and was checked fer content validity and reli- ability. Demographic data was collected which provided descriptive information about the group studied. The responses of the control group and treatment group were analyzed statistically. In addition, the responses of each group on the four Likert scale choices for each question were combined into positive or negative categories and the response direction was discussed but not°tested empirically. This study should be considered a pilot study. Inferential statistics were used to test the relationship between the treatment and control groups and not ibr the purpose of generalizing back to a larger group of teachers. Conclusions 1., Technical assistance did not significantly impact teacher attitudes toward promoting their home economics program; or their knowledge on how to Barbara Tanner Atkins promote their program; or the implementation of a public relations campaign. Technical assistance made a significant difference in the frequency of use of a series of promotional activities. Technical assistance impacted teachers attitudes on how comfortable they felt about designing and producting a poster. Technical assistance impacted teachers implementa- tion of a public relations campaign for identifying newsworthy accomplishments. The small number of responses for some items may have caused error. Teachers receiving technical assistance did tend to indicate a more positive direction when their responses were combined into positive and negative categories. This direction was much more positive for the attitude and implementation items than for the knowledge questions. It is important to note that this categorization was not empirically tested. The use of technical assistance following an in- service workshop may be most beneficial when frequency of use is a priority terminal objective for workshop participants. Technical assistance may have had an impact on the response rate of the participants. Of the 10. Barbara Tanner Atkins 82.6 percent response rate the treatment group had a return rate of 91 percent, whereas the control group's rate was 74 percent. It is interesting to note that when the teachers were asked if they felt they needed additional assistance to promote their home economics program, 76 percent of the control group answered either definitely or probably, and 79 percent of the treatment group answered the same. When asked if technical assistance should be provided after an inservice workshop, 81 percent of the control group answered either definitely or probably, and 95 percent of the treatment group responded the same. Possibly additional services provided to teachers is seen by them as better or possibly a needs assessment should be developed for-technical assistance similar to those completed for inservice. Teachers tended not to request individual technical assistance, but did request support materials. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to all of the individuals who helped make this study possible. I am very grateful to Dr. Lawrence Borosage, who served as chairman of the guidance committee. He has guided me throughout my doctoral program with professional advice and encouragement. Thank you for believing in me. A special thank you to Dr. Clifford Jump, who served as my dissertation director. I am truly appreciative of his support, encouragement, and for always being available when needed. Thank you for challenging me to reach for this personal and professional goal. For their guidance, time, and interest, I thank the committee members, Dr. Richard Gardner, Dr. Robert Muth, Dr. Billie Rader, and Dr. Jump. Special thoughts of gratitude go to my parents, Sylvia and Lucius Tanner, and my sister, Joyce McKenzie, for their encouragement and support as I pursued this degree. A very special thank you goes to my secretary Marilyn Peterson who worked closely with me in typing this dissertation and my supervisor, Barbara Gaylor, and Chief, Edwin St. John, for their continuous support. ii 1/ TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v Chapter I. THE PROBLEM . 1 Introduction. . 1 Statement of the Problem. 4 Purpose of the Study. 5 Need for the Study. . . 6 Limitations of the Study. 8 Basic Assumptions . 9 Definition of Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Procedures for the Study. . . . . . . . . . 12 Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Population. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Sampling Technique. . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Instrumentation . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Hypotheses to be Tested . . . . . . . . . 14 Analysis of Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE. . . . . . .’. . 16 Introduction. . . . . . . 16 Problems and Concerns of Inservice. Education . . . . . . . . . 17 Needs in Inservice Education. . . . . . 22 Technical Assistance as an Inservice Education Component . . . . . . 32 Public Relations as an Inservice Topic. . . 42 Implications of Prior Research. . . . . . . 48 III. RESEARCH PROCEDURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Population. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Sample. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Instrumentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Pilot Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Hypotheses to be Tested . . . . . . . . . . 56 Analysis of Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 IV. FINDINGS. Descriptive Information About Participants. . Data Analysis and Findings Relevant to the Research Hypotheses . . . Post Hoc Analysis . V. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS . The Problem . The Purpose . . Research Procedures Hypotheses. . . . Findings and Discussion . Conclusions Recommendations THE BIBLIOGRAPHY . APPENDICES- APPENDIX A Home Economics Public Relations Assessment Instrument . APPENDIX B Synopsis of Michigan' 3 Home Economics Inservice Model . . . . . . . APPENDIX C Technical Assistance Correspondence and Log . APPENDIX D Panel of Experts Correspondence . APPENDIX E Proportion of Responses for Attitude, Knowledge, and Implementation Items iv Page 58 58 62 74 80 80 81 81 82 83 86 88 91 96 103 104 . 116 117 Table 10 11 LIST OF TABLES Respondents by Group . Profile of Assessment Instrument Respondents: Gender, Age, Level of Education . . . . . . Profile of Assessment Instrument Respondents: Experience, Content Level, Teaching Level. Profile of Assessment Instrument Respondents: Professional Organization Membership. Teachers Attitudes Toward Promoting Their Home Economics Program . Teachers Knowledge on How to Promote Their Home Economics Program . Teachers Implementation of a Public Relations Campaign for Their Home Economics Program. Frequency of Use Across a Series of Promotional Activities Comparison of Favorableness for 27 Attitude Items Comparison of Favorableness for 22 Knowledge Items. Comparison of Favorableness for 26 Implementation Items Page 59 60 61 62 68 7O 74 77 78 79 CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM Introduction Over the past several years there has been a growing awareness of the need for the continuing education of teachers on the part of: teachers who desire to be current in a time of rapidly changing information; parents who want to assure the quality of education that their children receive; administrators and boards of education who feel pressure to improve the quality of the schools while increasing efficiency in a time of accountability and economic retrenchment; and universities who are ques- tioning their reason for existence as the demand for new teachers dwindles. Inservice teacher education is recognized by many professionals as a key challenge to be addressed over the next decade. According to a study conducted by a Columbia University professor, ...teacher's performance increases during the first five years on the job...1evels off during the next fifteen years and steadily declines thereafter."1 1Michigan State University, "Training Teachers In Inservice is Key Education Challenge," Michigan State University News Bulletin, (May 8, 1975) p.F5. l 2 This not only represents a strong indictment of current inservice education and the need for improvement, but when combined with the current situation of more teachers than jobs and low turnover, a shift in emphasis from preservice and advanced degree education to inservice programs becomes essential. Thus far, according to Houston and Freiberg: Inservice programs lack a conceptual framework. Some are not programs at all but a series of disparate experiences. Local programs are too often based on a cafeteria approach. The school district organizes a wide array of one-time, two-hour, non-developmental inservice offerings with teachers selecting those that appeal to them. No systematic growth, no dir- ection, no designed sequence of experiences leading toward specific goals of improved performance are involved in such programs. Given the amount of time, effort and money expended in the name of "inservice" and the dissatisfaction with cur- rent programs, it is time for a re-examination of purpose and a reconceptualization based upon a new understanding. Although there has'been an increase in the number of studies on inservice education over the last few years, a major recommendation stemming from these studies seems to go virtually unnoticed. "Even when an inservice activity is meaningful, without follow-up, consequent constraints miti- gate against lasting effects."3 2W. Houston, and H. Freiberg, "Blindman's Bluff, and In-Service Education," Journal of Teacher Education 30, No. l (1979). pp. 7 - 9. 3Mary Louise Hulbert Holly, "A Conceptual Framework for Personal-Professional Growth: Implications for Inservice Education" (Ph.D. dissertation, Michigan State University, 1977). 209. 3 One of the major findings in the Holly study was teacher identification of "follOWrup" as a necessary com- ponent for improved inservice education programs which was second only to "teacher input". The 1979 Sutherby dissertation includes a recommen- dation "that there are strong indications that the present short-term (one-half day, one day) inservice programs with- out planned follow-up are of little value."4 Supporting the previous findings is the 1979 Peters' dissertation which identifies variables of major importance needed to facilitate institutionalization of innovative programs; two of those include a "great amount of assistance available to project participants and provision of a great deal of in- service training."5 For the purpose of this study, the terms follow-up, support system, and assistance are used to include a compo- net of inservice education identified as technical assistance. A great deal of inservicing of teachers has taken place in the past decade as noted by the tremendous amount of resources that have been channeled into develOpmental 4Ronald Sutherby, "Participant Reaction to an Inter-Institutional Approach to In—Service Education: Genesee County WOrksho ," (Ph.D. dissertation, Michigan State University, 1979 . 5Linda Sue Peters, "A Study to Identify the Variables Which Influence the Institutionalization of Incentive-Funded Innovative Projects in Vocational Education Related Areas in Michigan," (Ph.D. dissertation, Michigan State University, 1977), 4 projects requiring an inservice component as requested by the Michigan Department of Education, Vocational- Technical Education Service. Yet, effort is seldom made to include technical assistance as a component of inservice education and to determine whether there are any changes in workshop participants behavior after having received such assistance. Presently, the majority of inservice program evaluations are based on the immediate feedback from in- service participants and rarely are the participants provided technical assistance needed to transfer new know- ledge to their local school settings. Statement of the Problem The problem in this study was to determine the impact of technical assistance on workshop participants following an inservice program. The activity of this study centered around-an inser- vice program designed for home economics teachers to promote their local home economics program. The following research questions were set forth: 1. Is there a significant relationship between teacher attitudes toward promoting their home economics program by teachers who receive technical assistance and teachers who do not receive technical assistance? 2. Is there a significant relationship between teacher knowledge on how to promote their home economics program by teachers who receive technical assistance and teachers who do not receive technical assistance? 5 3. Is there a significant relationship between teachers implementing a public relations campaign for their home economics program by teachers who receive technical assistance and teachers who do not receive technical assistance? Purpose of the Study The purpose of this study was to determine the value of including technical assistance in the Consumer Home Economics Michigan inservice model. It was anticipated that this study would provide a basis for: 1. Determining the impact of technical assistance on teacher attitudes for promoting their home economics program. 2. Determining the impact of technical assistance on their teacher perceived knowledge for promoting their home economics program. 3. Determining the impact of technical assistance on teacher implementation of a public relations campaign for promoting their home economics program. Certain types of technical assistance were selected for this study due to the nature of the public relations topic. Those selected types of technical assistance included letter and tip sheet, letter to the teacher's administrator, brochures, poster, student stuffer, personal telephone call, slide/tape, post card and the availability of on-site assistance based on teacher request. Obviously, all types of technical assistance were not included in this study, nor would the types selected be necessarily appro- priate for every inservice topic. 6 Need for the Study "Piecemeal, patchwork, haphazard, and ineffective are the harsh words we have used more thus far in pressing our indictment of inservice education."6 Yet, few vehicles, offer as much promise for improving and expanding the professional development needs-of educators. During the past thirty years, volumes have been written which have provided guidelines for the improvement of inservice activities. Often these guidelines have been ignored, found to be valueless, misinterpreted, or if imple- mented, have never been conscientiously evaluated. During 1979-80, over three-fourths of a million dollars has been provided by the Michigan Department of Education, Vocational-Technical Education Service, for the purpose of inservice education for vocational educators. Yet, rarely will any of the objectives or activities for these inservices Specify a technical assistance component to help and support the participants as they take this new information back to their local setting for the purpose of helping them "do something better." In the Holly dissertation, over one hundred teachers were interviewed on their attitudes about inservice education. Respondents stated that follow-up was a necessary component for improved inservice education programs. Professional 6Roy A. Edelfelt and Gordon Lawrence, "Inservice Education:. The State of the Art," in Rethinking In-Service Education, ed. R. Edelfelt, M. Johnson, (Washington, D.C.: National Education Association, 1975), pp. 56-64. 7 development was an on-going process and if inservice education was to aid in this process, it would have to go beyond the confines of a "once in a while" special day. Several teachers said that if inservice education was important, then follow-up was necessary. A comment by one of the teachers interviewed sums up the problem very succinctly, "maybe that's the major factor in why people are saying they're (inservices) bad. There's very little follow-up to see if changes are implemented."7 Lack of follow-up signifies to teachers that inservice education is not really important. Various studies have indicated that educators want a support system/follow-up/technical assistance following inservice. Thus far it appears that this specific request is frequently being ignored. Technical assistance is not a new concept in and of itself. Trohanis provides the conceptual background of technical assistance from three major contributors: "Bennis (1960), in Planned Organizational Change, has described change as involving a change agent and client who collabora- tively try to apply knowledge to solve an identified problem ...Havelock (1973), in Dissemination and Diffusion of Innovations, has written about two roles: process helper and resource linker, which provide additional thoughts on 7Mary Louise Hulbert Holly, p. 188. 8 technical assistance programming...Knowles (1978), in Adult Learning and Continuing Education, advocates a process model...Knowles has cautioned against continuing education efforts that are fragmentary, lack continuity, and are one-time in nature."8 The question that still remains to be answered is: If technical assistance is provided as the follow-up component to inservice, will it make a difference with respect to the participants attitude, knowledge, and implementation of what they have learned? Limitations of the Study This study was completed with the following limitations: 1. Teachers participating in this study are only those teachers who volunteered to participate in a public relations inservice workshop. 2. Teachers receiving technical assistance needed to participate in a public relations inservice workshOp prior to receiving such assistance. 3. Teachers participating in this study are only those individuals who are teaching or are responsible for a home economics program. 8Pascal Louis Trohanis, "Technical Assistance: An Innovative Approach to Building New Partnerships in Continuing and Inservice Education," EducatiOnal Technology. August (1980), p. 30. 9 4. This study should be considered a pilot study. Inferential statistics were used to test the relationship between the treatment and control group and not to be generalized back to a larger group of teachers. 5. Teachers involved in this study may have been promoting their home economics program prior to receiving technical assistance. 6. Technical assistance is provided over a four- month period. Basic Assumptions The following assumptions were established for the purpose of this study: 1. That it will be possible to find enough teachers who choose to participate in a public relations workshop. 2. That all of the subjects who choose to partici- pate in the inservice training program are teaching during the next year. 3. The respondents will give frank and unbiased replies. Definition of Terms Inservice Education.--"planned activities for the instructional improvement of professional staff members."9 9Ben M. Harris and Wailand Bessent, In-Service Education (New Jersey, Prentice Hall, 1969), p. 2. 10 Professional Development.--"is the bringing out of capabilities and potentials; increasing competence pertaining to occupational responsibilities, including a strengthening of skills, conceptual understandings, and knowledge."10 Workshop.-—is a type of practical, hands-on activity in which participants take an active role in the instructional learning process. Home Economics Education.--includes the following content: "nutrition, clothing, child develoPment, consumer education, family living, housing and home furnishings, family health, home management, or any cluster of the aforementioned topics for the improvement of the individual and/or family unit."11 Home Economics Teachers.--those individuals who are responsible for and/or teach a home economics course(s). This may include junior high, senior high, adult, under- graduate, or graduate levels. Public Relations.--"is a planned effort to influence public opinion through socially responsible and acceptable performance, based on mutually satisfactory two—way 10Michigan Department of Education, State Plan for Vocational Education, (Lansing: Michigan Department of Education, 1980). 11Michigan Department of Education, Guidelines for State Approved Secondary Consumer Home Economics Vocational Education Programs, (Lansing: *Michigan'Department of Education, 1977). ll 0 O 2 communication."1 Follow-Up.--continual feedback and deve10pment of materials, training sessions, and other features necessary to overcome instructional staff problems used as a basis for support, revision and correction. Technical Assistance.--a component of inservice education. It is used as a support system for participants following an inservice training workshop, for the purpose of assisting them to transfer their new knowledge and skills to their local setting for implementation. "Techni- cal Assistance involves a transference of some type of content (e.g., knowledge, skills, technologies) via a continuous, responsive, and systematic approach which deploys its various resources to educational personnel."13 Only certain types of technical assistance were selected for this study; they include: letter and tip sheet, letter to the teacher's building administrator, brochures, poster, student stuffer, personal telephone call, slide/tape, post card, and the availability of on-site assistance based on teacher request. Module.—-a unit of instruction. It usually contains a review, overview, presentation, exercise, and summary. 12Public Relations Guide, 1977, (Procter and Gamble Company, Educational Services, Cincinnati). 13 Pascal Louis Trohanis, p. 31. 12 Procedures for the Study The procedures for the study involved five areas: (1) method, (2) population, (3) selection of sample, (4) instrumentation, and (5) analysis of data. Method The review of the literature revealed that there has been virtually no assessment of the impact technical assistance has on teachers following an inservice workshop. It was determined that a group be given the treatment of technical assistance and be assessed. A control group did not receive the technical assistance and was also assessed. P0pulation The population for this study was participants who taught and/or supervised home economics programs in the State of Michigan. The participants were educators who chose to participate in a public relations workshop during the 1980 fall regional inservices at either Grand Rapids or Troy, Michigan. The population and the sample are the same group of educators. Sampling Technique The sample consisted of ninety-two home economics educators, all who chose to attend a public relations inservice at two different locations and participated in one of the two sessions delivered at each site. One-half 13 of the participants from each of the inservice sessions were randomly assigned to a treatment or control group using a table of random numbers. At the time of the inservice and during the following four months, the par- ticipants did not know that they had been assigned to a treatment or control group dr that either group existed. The treatment group was notified of their assignment after the completion of the study. Instrumentation An assessment instrument (Appendix A) was developed to determine the attitude, perceived knowledge and product implementation level of participants. The assessment instrument was administered four months after the inservice session during which time one-half of the participants received technical assistance. The assessment instrument was developed by the researcher and will be considered secondary to the main focus of the research being conducted. Four months was chosen as the follow-up time for two distinct reasons, (1) the promotional activities plan included activities that could be accomplished well within the four-month time period; if no activity had taken place during the first four months, there was a good chance that there was a problem and very little, if any activity would take place during the rest of the school year; and (2) if participants in the control group were not implementing their campaign by this time, they may need some technical l4 assistance; if this need was identified by March, there was tfime for project staff to contact the participants and provide the necessary support to implement their plan prior to the close of the school year. The assessment instrument was tested for validity by five experts in the field of inservice education and/or home economics education. Content validity was utilized to test the validity of the instrument. A pilot test was performed to test the reliability of the instrument. To determine the reliability, a test- re-test was administered to twenty teachers. These teachers were home economics teachers. Hypotheses to be Tested There were three primary hypotheses to be tested. The outcome was to answer the research questions regarding the impact of technical assistance on participants follow~ ing an inservice workshOp. The following hypotheses were formed and tested. Hypothesis 1: There is a significant relationship between teacher attitudes toward promoting their home economics program by teachers who receive technical assistance and teachers who do not receive technical assistance. Hypothesis 2: There is a significant relationship between teacher knowledge on how to promote their home economics program by teachers who receive technical assistance and teachers who do not receive technical assistance. 15 Hypothesis 3: There is a significant relationship between teachers implementing a public relations campaign for their home ’ economics program by teachers who receive technical assistance and teachers who do not receive technical assistance. Analysis of Data After a minimum.of four months had elapsed follow- ing the inservice session, during which time the partici~ pants were expected to implement what they had learned, the groups were reconvened and the assessment instrument was administered. The data was collected from the assess- ment instruments and key punched and formated on cards using the SPSS system. For Data Analysis the inferential statistic of chi square was performend on each item of the test for both the control and treatment group. Each item was tested for an alpha level of .05 significance. Demographic data was also collected and was used for a descriptive analysis. Summary This chapter has provided an overview of the intent of this study; that is, the impact of technical assistance on participants following an inservice workshOp. Chapter II will report on selected studies which have bearing upon this study. Chapter III will describe the research design used and Chapter IV will present the findings of this study. The final chapter will summarize the study, draw conclusions, and present recommendations for further research in the area of technical assistance. CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Introduction There has been much interest and equally, if not more concern in the broad area of inservice education. In general, the majority of experts in the field of edu- cation support the concept of inservice education, but they also believe there are many problems that must be resolved if inservice education is to become valuable to teachers. An extensive list of references can be found which in one way or another relate to the various aspects of inservice education. Therefore, the purpose of this chapter was to synthesize selected areas in the literature considered to have the most bearing upon this study. The following areas were identified: (1) problem and concerns of inservice education; (2) needs of inservice education; (3) technical assistance as a component of inservice edu- cation; and (4) public relations, a topic for inservice education and technical assistance. Literature and research findings in these areas provided the basis for this study. 16 17 Problems and Concerns of Inservice Education An increasing number of people are becoming aware that "Teachers must be more than technicians, must continue 1 to be learners." Technical facility does not equal teach- ing excellence2 nor does certification equip the teacher with all that he/she will demand of him or herself for the life of his/her teaching.3 Not only is there no specific time at which a person becomes a teacher, but there is no specific time at which a teacher stops becoming one. This is simply another way of saying that there is no such thing as the complete teacher.4 Inservice education as a vehicle through which teachers may continually learn has been severely criticized 5 as "impotent and a routine exercise in futility." Although 1Kathleen Devaney and Lorraine Thorn, Ex lorin Teacher Centers (San Francisco, California: Far West Laboratory for Educational Research and Development, 1975). p. 5. ' 2Vincent R. Rogers, "Why Teacher Centers in the U.S.?" Educational Leadership 33 (March 1976), pp. 406- 12. 33. Alden Vanderpool, "Relationships Between Certification and 'Inservice' Education" in Rethinking Inservice Education, ed. R. Edelfelt and M. Johnson, (Washington, D.C.: National Education Association, 1975), pp. 56-65. 4 Philip W. Jackson, "Old Dogs and New Tricks", in Improving In-Service Education, ed. Louis J. Rubin, (Boston: 'Allyn and’Bacon,‘l971), p. 27. SLouis J. Rubin, "Teacher Growth in Perspective,” in Improving In-Service Education, ed. Louis J. Rubin (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, l97l),p. 245. l8 problem ridden, inservice education is perceived as a necessary and potentially vital aspect of education.6 After reviewing the 1973 and 1974 ERIC entries on inservice education, which numbered 256 entries, Edelfelt wrote: Obviously, there are a multitude of concerns being treated in inservice education programs. That fact is a plus...on the other hand, the reports reflect disarray, a hodgepodge. In most programs, little attention is given to formulating a comprehensive concept of inservice education. Too often, objec- tives are narrow and unrelated to a larger purpose or rationale. The bulk of the programs are of short duration and attack a single topic. Most programs are either remedial...or they introduce neW’wrinkles... When a rationale is not specified, it is easy to adopt a hit or miss procedure where the recipients are occasionally satisfied with program results. "In the absence of a common, agreed upon program of teacher education, any effort...that has surface validity will be useful for some teachers and useless for others..:"8 Obviously there are many problems, issues, and concerns in the field of inservice education, hence the United States Office of Education, several state teacher 6Kathleen Devaney, "What's a Teacher's Center For?" Educational Leadership 33 (March 1976), pp. 413-16. 7Roy A. Edelfelt, "Inservice Teacher Education—-— Sources in the ERIC System,” Washington, D.C.: ERIC Clearinghouse on Teacher Education, 1975, pp. 2-3. 8Louis Fischer, "In-Service Education,’ in Improvigg In-Service Education, ed. Louis J. Rubin (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1971), p. 233. l9 associations, and the National Education Association, sponsored a workshop on inservice education in 1975 in Atlanta. 1. Its stated purposes were: To enhance understanding and capabilities by sharing experiences, knowledge, and ideas on inservice teacher education. To identify problems and issues in inservice teacher education. To re-examine and redefine the purposes of inservice teacher education. To examine the respective roles and responsi- bilities (including financing) of institutions, agencies and organizations involved in inservice teacher education. To identify promising new approaches to and models for inservice teacher education. To examine the requirements for and the structure, organization, and governance of inservice teacher education. To develop recommendations for the improvement of inservice teacher education.9 A visible product of the conference is the.book, Rethinking In-Service Education, edited by Edelfelt and Johnson. The work represents a compilation and extension of the major papers presented and discussion groups held at the workshop. Calling for a more comprehensive look at inservice education, Edelfelt and Lawrence suggest that: ...inservice education has been the weakest and most haphazard component of teacher education. Even the most charitable would have to admit that it has not been nearly as effective as it might 9 Atlanta Conference Materials, Workshop on Reconceptualizing In—Service Education, February, 1975, (Mimeographed). 20 have been, considering the expenditure of time, effort, and resources. However, to say that in-service education has been inadequate is not to say that teachers can or want to do without it...teachers want quality in-service education; they also recognize a significant discrepancy between what exists and what they would like. ...on a career-long continuum of in-service education, a conceptual framework will provide direction and a contex for individuals and groups...development.1 The following concepts are identified as having deep historical roots and pose a strong force with which leaders must contend if inservice education is to become responsive to current needs. 1. The primary role of the school is the giving and receiving of information. 2. Learning is the receiving of information to be stored and used later. 3. Curriculum.and teaching are relatively fixed elements in the school. 4. The main business of teacher education is the quest of mastery of some relatively stable subject matters and methods of teaching. 5. In-service education is training that is designed, planned, and conducted for the teacher by persons in authority. 6. The central purpose of in-service education is the remediation of teachers' deficiencies in subject matter. 7. Leadership is 'direction from above' and moti- vation is 'direction from outside'. 10Roy A. Edelfelt and Gordon Lawrence, "In-Service Education: The State of the Art," in Rethinking In-Service Education, eds. Roy A. Edelfelt and Margo Johnson (Washington, D.C.: National Education Association, 1975), pp. 16-17. 10. ll. 12. 21 Supervision is diagnosis, prescription, modeling, inspection, and rating. Teacher education in teacher preparation institu- tutions and teacher education in schools are separate and discontinuous processes. Intellectual leadership in goal setting and plan- ning for in-service appropriately comes from out- side the school. The teacher is a solo practitioner (rather than a group member involved in cooperative planning of common goals and related actions). Prescriptive legislation is an appropriate vehicle for improving the quality of teaching standards.11 Summarizing the recommendations of the 87 conference participants, Johnson lists several which are relevant: 7. ll. 13. 15. 17. 18. 19. In-service education should be recognized as an essential element of the educational process. In-service education should be based on personnel needs/school program needs/student needs. In-service education programs should be locally planned by the peOple to be affected. In-service education should be field based. In-service education should reflect the same principles that educators endorse for students --e.g., the individualized instruction and freedom to choose among alternatives. The changing role of the teacher should be recognized in designing in-service education. In reconceptualizing in-service education, attention should be given to research and development--e.g., validating existing pro- cedures and learning about change and renewal. 11 Edelfelt and Lawrence, p. 9. 22 27. A state support system should be developefzto promote and support in-service education. Needs in Inservice Education In a recent study entitled, "Teachers' Perceptions of Present Practices, Process-Needs, Alternative Delivery Systems and Priority of Inservice Education", Edwards suggests that, among other things, teachers and adminis- trators must cooperate in the planning, directing, and implementing of inservice education; and that an Open environment, one in which participants are encouraged to comment, question, and exchange ideas, must be established. This study addressed teachers' perceptions of past and present inservice education. The respondents were provided with a list of thirty-four "process need statements" for their desired process needs, and offered eighteen alter- native delivery systems, eight of which were identified by the respondents as desirable. In her concluding chapter, Edwards cautioned: Teacher perceptions of the existing parameters coupled with their past and present experiences in inservice education will continue to hinder the development of inservice education as a mgans of positive professional growth e} ztperiences. 12Margo Johnson, ”Looking Back at Thinking Ahead: 87 Educators in Session", in Rethinking In-Service Education, eds. Roy A. Edelfelt and Margo Johnson. (Washington, D.C.: National Education Association, 1975), p. 73. 13Patsy Edwards, "Teacher Perceptions of Present Practices, Process«Needs, Alternative Delivery Systems and Priority of Inservice Education," (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Michigan, 1975), p. 242. 23 Another study on teachers' perceptions was completed by Turner, who stated in his conclusions that: 1. There is no single format for inservice education that is effective for all teachers; however, there are elements which would be incorporated into all programs if teachers are to perceive them as effective. Objectives must be closely related to the reality of the classroom; topics should be limited to those which can be exten- sively studied during the workshop; skills and information presented should be those which teachers can use immediately in their classrooms; and workshops should be concerned with resolving the kinds of problems which teachers encounter daily. 2. The climate in which inservice is conducted is a major ingredient of teachers' perceptions of effective inservice education. It must be a relaxed, nonthreatening atmosphere in which they can question and express opinions, try new teaching behaviors, share ideas with others, change the direction of the activities when needed, and evaluate progress daily. 3. Teachers must be actively involved in the learn— ing process--not passive listeners. Bigelow conducted a survey of inservice education programs using administrator perceptions in six mid-western cities and found "Professional growth for teachers is enter- ing a new era and teacher involvement is becoming an impor- tant part of the professional growth pattern."15 14I. S. Turner, "A Study of Teachers’ Perceptions of an In-Service Program in Three Southern Maryland Counties," (Ph.D. dissertation, The George Washington University, 1970). 15E. B. Bigelow, "A Survey, Analysis, and PrOposed Program of In-Service Education in Selected School Districts in Six Midwestern States," (Ed.D. dissertation, University of South Dakota, 1969). 24 Jaquith compared perceptions of junior high/middle school teachers, principals, and university specialists. Some of his main findings were: (1) When teachers were involved in selecting objectives and organizing inservice education, they are more willing to participate in it; (2) Inservice education at the building level was the most preferred method of inservice education; and (3) Since university specialists seem to be reluctant to become involved with inservice education off campus, affective consultants might include experienced teachers, administrators, or specific competency area university specialists.l6 It has been suggested that since there may be over a quarter of a million persons in positions which are directly related to inservice education that practices could be relatively individualized, even "personalized". This is not often accomplished though, and "the diet prescribed or selected is highly questionable in many cases and often constrains against rather than enhances desired and expected teacher growth."l7 16Charles I. Jaquith, ”An Analysis of Perceptions of Junior High/Middle School Teachers, Principals, and University Specialists Concerning Inservice Education," (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Michigan, 1973). 17Kenneth R. Howey, "Putting Inservice Teacher Education Into Perspective," Journal of Teacher Education 27 (Summer 1976): pp. 101-5. 25 Several recent studies have concluded that if a teacher is involved actively in a personally meaningful inservice education activity, she or he will be committed to it. Two priority needs cited by teachers in Smith's study of inservice education in Huntsville, Alabama, were that "Provision for meeting the needs and interests of the participants,‘ and the "Provision for the participants affected by the inservice program to have an opportunity to participate in identifying objectives and planning activities."18 The latter is suggested in numerous other studies, for example, Brimm and Tollett}9 James,20 Jaquith,21 and Edwards.22 In a statewide investigation of inservice education in Tennessee, Brimm and Tollett reported that: 18John Carlton Smith, "An Assessment of the In- Service Education Program in Huntsville, Alabama Schools," (Ed.D. dissertation, University of Alabama, 1971). 19Jack L. Brimm and Daniel J. Tollett, "How Do Teachers Feel About In-Service Education?" Educational Leadership 31 (March 1974): 523 20H. J. James, "Evaluation of a Junior High School In-Service Program Designed to Help Teachers Provide for Pupils' Individual Differences in Reading Abilities," (Ed.D. dissertation, University of Miami, 1969). 21 Jaquith, "An Analysis of Perceptions." 22Edwards, "Teachers‘ Perceptions." 26 An overwhelming majority (93%) of the respondents stated that teachers need to be involved in the development of purposes, activities, and methods of evaluation for inservice programs. More than three~fourths of the teachers surveyed reported that such involvement would foster greater commit- ment on the part of gheir colleagues for inservice education programs.2 In a recent study conducted in Michigan, Edwards24 reported that 97.1 percent of the respondents indicated a desire to have input in the decision-making process of inservice education. Participation in planning as an aspect of personal- professional growth has been found to help ensure relevance of programs, and additionally, to increase participation in actual inservice education experiences. As a manifestation of the search for personal relevancy in inservice education, studies of teachers' perception often find practicality a highly valued characteristic. One such study was conducted by Ainsworth, who found: The five qualities mentioned by more teachers were: practicality (79.5%), support and encourage- “:s‘fgéi’?£22.:.zzztzrsiaggizaés:9?): She stresses that, "the term practical referred to an individual idea of what would be considered helpful to 23Brimm and Tollett, "How Do Teachers Feel," p. 524. 24Edwards, "Teachers' Perceptions." 25Barbara Ainsworth, "Teachers Talk About Inservice Education," Journal of Teacher Education 27 (Summer 1976): 108. 27 that particular teacher."26 Practical application is not necessarily of a tangible order, although often it is. It is of interest to note that one of the most influential persons on modern educational thought, John Dewey, long ago placed emphasis on the importance of applicability to learning. There was nothing inherently good in "learning" unless put into the context of something else, something to learn. To be worthwhile, learning had to be applicable, and applicable to the learner's experience. "I assume that amid all uncertainties there is one permanent frame of reference: namely, the organic connection between education and personal experience."27 The freedom to choose is, "something which exists within the individual, something phenomenological rather "28 than external... Rogers wrote, "I believe that this experience of freedom to choose is one of the deepest elements underlying change."2’9 In order for people to make intelligent choices, they must be aware of their responsibility for doing so. 26Ainsworth,"Teachers Talk." 27Dewey, Democracy and Education (New York: MacMillan, 1916). 28Carl Rogers, Freedom To Learn (Columbus, Ohio: Charles E. Merrill, 1969), p. 269. 29 Rogers, p. 268. 28 For Dewey, freedom.was "intelligent, effective choice." ‘With freedom came responsibility. He did not feel that freedom was opposed to authority, but he did feel that certain kinds of authority killed freedom. The question then was to find what types of authority fostered the development of freedom.and which forms retarded or restricted it. This appears to be a salient question for proponents of inservice education. In order for teachers to make responsible decisions, they must first be aware of their obligation to do so and then they must be in a position where there are viable alternatives from which they can select. The freedom to choose from among alternatives may be considered a burden if one is unaccustomed to making decisions, even though one is constantly making choices. When one allows one's self to be conditioned and manipu- lated by others, the responsibility for decision-making has been relinquished. In a review of research on inservice education pre- pared for the State Department of Education in Florida, Lawrence, et al., reported a number of characteristics which appear to be associated with effective programs, one of which is: Inservice education programs in which teachers share and provide mutual assistance to each other are more likely to accomplish their objectives 29 than are programs in which each teacher does separate work. Teacher-sharing as an important element in in- service education was spontaneously mentioned by 42.9 31 Turner percent of the teachers in Ainsworth's study. mentioned in a concluding statement that a non-threatening climate was desired, among other reasons, to allow teachers to "share ideas with others."32 With the exception of these studies, teacher-sharing was noticeably absent from most of the research reviewed. Even when sharing was implied in statements advocating "visitations, to see other teachers or programs, the intent was to gain ideas or techniques without mention of interaction or sharing. If inservice education is to contribute to personal- professional growth it must be ongoing. In order to release the potentialities of individuals, continuous Opportunities for development are necessary. Like other forms of growth, creativity is not easily harnessed. 30Gordon Lawrence, D. Baker, R. Elzie, and B. Hansen, "Patterns of Effective Inservice Education: A State of the Art Summary of Research on Materials and Procedures for Changing Teacher Behaviors in Inservice Education" (Report prepared for the State of Florida, Department of Education, December, 1974), p. 15. 31Ainsworth, "Stated Perceptions.” 32Turner, "A Study of Teachers' Perceptions." 30 The creative process is often not responsive to conscious efforts to initiate or control it. It does not proceed methodically or in programmatic fashion. It meanders. It is unpredictable, digressive, capricious. According to Gardner, "Creative minds are rarely "34 It is not known whether individuals can be tidy. helped to acquire creativity or not, but it is generally accepted that "much can be done to release the potential that is there."35 An environment that permits an individual to explore self-potentialities with the benefit of other persons who are also engaged actively in the same pursuit, will be an atmosphere that is hospitable to innovation. As Gardner implies, growing takes time and it is not readily manipulated. Experimentation with self and others, in order to be lasting and effective, requires time. "One-shot," "hit or miss" inservice education is unacceptable as a means of staff development. Such in- service education has little chance of providing a setting where teachers are able to derive much in the way of personal or collective meaning. Even when an activity is meaningful, without follow-up, or being a part of a general direction for development, consequent constraints mitigate against lasting effects. 33John W. Gardner, Self-Renewal (New York: Harper and Row, Publishers, 1963). P. 41. 34 Gardner. 35Gardner, p. 42. 31 If inservice education is to be taken seriously, and there is much evidence to support the opposite con- dition, then time must be made available on a continuous and flexible basis. If peOple are to grow together, pursuing common goals, expanding and guiding school efforts in unified directions, time for them to interact must be provided. Time is necessary for communication, where teachers are free to "express feelings and opinions, to ask questions, "36 This means time to offer comments, and to share ideas. for participation in activities and experiences in which they are personally involved by choice, because they are taking part in things that concern them. Just as it is within an interpersonal setting that one acquires most of the attitudes involved in one's view of oneself, so it is likely that only in an interpersonal setting can a person be helped to come to grips with some of the meanings of these attitudes.3 ' Time to be with others is time for discovery of resources within individuals who comprise the group. Un- touched talent may be tapped and developed. Outside sources will be identified and recommended when they are perceived as necessary. To be really helpful, time for collaboration should be available on: (1) an ongoing basis, and (2) at appropriate times, usually within the school day. ”The end 36Edwards, "Teachers' Perceptions" p. 214 37Jersild, When Teachers Face Themselves, p. 84. 32 of a full school day is not likely to be the most pro- ductive time for thoughtful work."38 Time for specified programs or purposes (consul- tation, workshops, speciality sessions) should be regularly. set aside, so that when programs are desired time will be available. When programs are planned from interest, and upon request, the chances that they will be effective are greatly increased. Inservice teacher education today bears a close resemblance to the concepts that have shaped it historic- ally. This deplorable situation exists today, probably not so much by design as by neglect. In sum, in-service education has been the weakest and most haphazard com onent of teacher education. Even the most charitab e would have to admit that it has not been nearly as effective as it might have been, considering the expenditure of time, effort, and resources. However, to say that in- service education has been inadequate is not to say that teachers can or want to do without it. ~During the 1974-75 school year, NEA conducted assessments of teacher needs in instruction and professional deve10pment... Inadequacy of or interest in in- service education was one of the three categories of concern to surface in every single district. The positive conclusion to be drawn from this information is that teachers want quality inservice education; they also recognize a significant discrep- ancy between what exists and what they would like.3 Technical Assistance as an Inservice Education Component The federal government has identified professional development as a priority for vocational educators and has 38Blackman, "Continual Improvement,” p. 4. 39Edelfelt and Lawrence, p. 16. 33 set aside funds for each state to use specifically for this purpose. The Vocational-Technical Education Service of the Michigan Department of Education spends over one million dollars a year for professional development in- service programs for its teachers. Since there is no model or plan designed in Michigan for how professional develop- ment should take place, the Home Economics Education Unit of the Vocational-Technical Education Service developed a Request for Proposal in 1978 to establish an inservice model and plan to meet the inservice needs of the home 40 A contract was granted economics teachers in Michigan. to a Michigan educational institution who, based on research, teacher input, and state staff direction, designed and imple- mented an inservice model. (Appendix B) A statewide needs assessment was responded to by over fifty percent of the teachers in the state for which inservice topics were devel- oped and delivered to teachers through a regional and local level delivery system. Research has shown that teacher input and involve- ment in planning and designing workshOps is a top priority for establishing effective inservice and this component of inservice education, identified in research studies to be of high priority, is follow-up or technical assistance. There is little literature describing the use of 40Michigan Department of Education, State Plan for Vocational Education, (Lansing, Michigan, Department of Education, 1980). 34 this component and virtually no research indicating a positive or negative impact on inservice participants, yet, numerous studies indicate that teachers continually identify follow-up as a need. The state department project sponsors felt that technical assistance could indeed be a valuable component for the inservice model and should be included as such, but only if technical assistance could be shown to be a useful component for teachers. According to Gary Meers in a very recent article, "Inservice Training: Planning the Programs": A well coordinated program of follow-up activities is important. Once teachers have received infor- mation they must plan to use their newly acquired knowledge. The units of the inservice effort must be broken down into areas that can be readily transferred back into the classroom. The inservice directors must follow up on these activities to see if the information they are providing is worthWhile and to see if the teachers are able to transfer the techniques and knowlidge to their own specific instructional settings. Dr. Meers also suggests that follow-up component could include such activities as discussion groups, mail or telephone surveys, or on-site visits. In a statewide research study in Tennessee, teachers' attitudes toward inservice education programs were ascer- tained through an opinion inventory. Results on two of the items on the opinionnaire are most appropriate for this study. 41Gary Meers, "Inservice Training: Planning the Programs," Journal of the American Vocational Association Voc Ed, April (1981), p. 36. 35 Respondents (90%) indicated that one of the most important ways to judge the effectiveness of an inservice program is whether the teabher uses the results of the training in his classroom and only thirteen percent of the teachers surveyed stated that there is adequate follow-up to determine thfi effects of inservice activities in their system. 2 Generally, this study substantiates the notion that inservice programs are poorly planned, inadequately executed, and lacking in proper evaluation procedures. Too often, inservice programs suffer more from ignorance than from a lack of financial support or time. 43 Studies completed by Howey and Joyce and 44 Ainsworth substantiate the lack of follow-up activities in inservice education. Those surveyed in higher education shared a similar persPective with teachers; that is, they say job-embedded forms of inservice or follow-up activities in consort with other forms of staff development as most infrequent.45 Yet, the second quality to be included in inservice programs mentioned by more teachers was support and encour- agement which included such elements as time andmaterials.46 42Brimm and Tollett, p. 522. 43Kenneth Howey and Bruce Joyce, "A Data Base for Future Directions in Inservice Education," Theory Into Practice 17 (June, 1978). 44Barbara A. Ainsworth, "Teachers Talk About In-Service Education," Journal of Teacher Education 27 (Summer, 1976). 45 Howey and Joyce, p. 210. 46Ainsworth, p. 107. 36 If effective staff development is not an isolated workshop, or an evening extension course, what is it? Rand's study of federal programs supporting educational change looked closely at the local process of change and at the factors that support teacher growth.47 The Rand study examines staff development in the context of broader changes in schools associated with various types of federally funded projects. The study is rich in implications for in- service education since the study used outcome measures that correspond directly to the anticipated results of inservice education. "The Change Agent study identified four clusters of broad factors as crucial to the successful implementation and continuation of local change efforts. These clusters are: institutional motivation, project imple- mentation strategies, institutional leadership, and certain teacher characteristics."48 The cluster most significant relative to this study is project implementation strategies which included two elements: staff training activities and training support activities. One of the Rand study findings was particularly intriguing. Rand found that: 47Paul Berman, and Milbrey Wallin McLaughlin, Federal Programs Supporting Educational Change, Vol. VII: Factors AffectingEImplementation and Continuation,’Rand Corporation (Santa Monica, CalifOrnia, April 1977). 48Milbrey Wallin McLaughlin and David D. Marsh, "Staff Development and School Change," Teachers College Record 80 (September 1978) p. 71. 37 Skill-specific training alone influenced student gains and project implementation only in the . short run. This finding is puzzling at first glance. After all, if staff-training activities significantly and positively affected student performance during the period of project operation, why didn't this effect continue after special fund- ing was terminated? The Change Agent study results suggest a straight forward explanation for this apparent anomaly...Skill specific training, in short, can affect project implementation and student out- comes, but it does not affect the longer term project outcomes of teacher change and continuation. Staff- support activities are nezsssary to sustain the gains of how-to-do-it training. It was also found that of those federally funded projects that pursued a number of teacher support activities that these activities not only reinforced the impact of staff training, but also promoted teacher change and there- fore impacted project outcomes over the long run. Training is essentially an information transfer-- providing teachers with necessary techniques. But as the first phase of this study found, the process of implementation is a process of 'mutual adaption' in which teachers modify their practices to conform to project requirements and project technologies are adapted to the day-to-day realities of the school and classroom. Staff support activi- ties, in particular classroom assistance from resource personnel and project meetings, can provide the feedback project staff need to make these modi- fications.50 Certainly the cry for follow-up activities is loud and clear, but thusfar only the need for such an element in inservice education has been articulated. Information on follow-up activities has been very broad and vague in the 49McLaughlin and Marsh, p. 76. 50McLaughlin and March, p. 77. 38 literature. In fact, an explanation of illusive activities seems to constitute the total definition of this element. Therefore, it is suggested that technical assistance be considered as the support system that follows an inservice workshop where such follow-up assistance will be provided to teachers as they begin to transfer their knowledge and skills to their local setting. "Technical assistance may be defined as help from an outside agency designed to improve the competence of educational service delivery personnel by increasing their management, organizational or program skills, and/or their available information relative to their multiple tasks of educational service delivery to students."51 Expanding upon this basic definition is the work of Trohanis, "which suggests that technical assistance involves a trans- ference of some type of content (e.g. knowledge, skills, technologies) via a continuous, responsive, and systematic approach which deploys its various resources to educational personnel."52 ’ Although teachers have been crying out for this type 51James J. Gallagher, "Technical Assistance and the Nonsystem of American Education." In M. Reynolds (Ed.) National Technical Assistance Systems in Special Education (Minneapolis: University of—Minnesota,’l975). 52Pasca1 Louis Trohanis, "Technical Assistance Agency Activities and Media Improvement," Audiovisual Instruction, 20 (October, 1975) PP. 23-26. 39 of service following inservice, it is rare to find many inservice programs that provide this component and when it is included it is usually not evaluated as shown by the final evaluation report for the Incremental Improvement 53 of a Division-Wide Career Education Program or the final report for Personnel Development for Local Administrators 54 of Vocational Education. Technical assistance is not a new innovation. Other fields offer examples of technical assistance. The institute of psychotherapy is an organized and systematic attempt to provide technical assistance to citizens who have self identified problems. In agriculture an organized and involved system of technical assistance has emerged which includes widespread agricultural extension services, field or county agents, and major investments in dissemination efforts. Industry has been deeply concerned with organiza- tional improvements and has considered a number of outside. attempts to encourage organizational improvements. Also, the nationally federally funded Regional Resource Center program has been instituted to provide 53Steven B. Davis, "Incremental Improvement of a Division-Wide Career Education Program," Final Report, (Bedford County Public Schools, Bedford, Virginia, June, 1976). 54Robert E. Norton, "Personnel Development for Local Administrators of Vocational Education," Final Report, (National Center for Research in Vocational Education, Ohio State University, Columbus, December 1978). 40 technical assistance to special education state department personnel in such areas as child assessment strategies and Individual Education Plan (IEP) development. Others include the National Diffusion Network, Title I Evaluation Technical Assistance Programs, and the Technical Assistance Develop- ment System (TADS).SS Few people today would wish to rely upon university teacher-training programs, state departments of education...as the means to deliver new ideas and skills promptly or efficiently to the teachers and other educational personnel who provide services directly to the nation's fifty million students. Clearly we need to explore alternative strategies. One such alternative is the design and development of a set of practices referred to as technical assistance (TA). Technical assistance may be defined as help from an outside agency designed to improve the competence of educational service delivery personnel...relative to their multiple taggs of educational service delivery to students. According to Gallagher, technical assistance should include four key elements: needs assessment, a talent bank, a written contract, and an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect. Included in this concept is the use of a variety of alternative training models with stress placed on person- to-person relationships, and a variety of support systems for the many educational settings. "A technical assistance (TA) system is most prOperly viewed as a communication network. Members initiate and maintain communication around specific problems and about 55Pascal Louis Trohanis, "Technical Assistance: An Innovative Approach to Building New Partnerships in Continuing and Inservice Education," Educational Technology (August 1980) p. 31. 56Gallagher, p. 1. 41 "57 The Technical strategies to solve the problems. Assistance Development System (TADS) located at the University of North Carolina has provided technical assistance to personnel from locally based demonstration projects for preschool handicapped children. Several different methods have been used for the actual delivery of technical assistance services. They fall into three broad categories of assistance: (a) in-field, (b) in-house, and (c) in-print.58 In—field technical assistance includes workshops and group meetings staffed by consultants. In-house technical assistance includes training packet development and the delivery of individual technical assistance to projects. In-print technical assistance consists of docu- ments and materials prepared to meet the needs shared by all of the projects, i.e., brochures, flyers, and.news1etters. Trohanis has taken the TADS approach and adapted technical assistance as an innovative approach to inservice education. "The bottom-line belief is that a technical assistance process can build a collaborative and meaningful 57Donald J. Stedman, "The Technical Assistance System: A New Organizational Form For Improving Education." In M. Reynolds (Ed.), National Technical Assistance Systems in Special Education (MinneapOlis: University of'Minnesota’l975) p. 13. 58David L. Lillie and Talbot L. Black, "TADS-- A Systematic Support System.” In M. Reynolds (Ed.), National Technical Assistance Systems in Special Education (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota 1975) pp. 31-32. 42 link between the personnel and organizations of local elementary and secondary schools and nearby institutions of higher education....By having a conceptual backdrOp and workable definition, planners of a technical assistance} program should design and eventually follow an operational framework which can facilitate the efficient and effective deployment of assistance to clients."59 "Some of the recommendations to include in the design of a technical assistance framework are: technical assistance people should play the role of facilitators, linkers, and helpers, and not be perceived as program evaluators. The technical assistance program should use a qualitative mixture of service delivery strategies, e.g., one-to-one consultation, workshops, audiovisual and print materials and field visits."60 Certainly there are many resources to review whether technical assistance is the total inservice education 'delivery or a component to be used for providing follow-up and support services following an inservice workshop. Public Relations as an Inservice Topic Vocational education has become a prominent and complex part of the educational system. "During the past fifty years, the program has grown from.fewer than 200,000 59Trohanis, "TA: Innovative Approach," p. 30. 60Trohanis, p. 35. 43 students to an enrollment of more than 17 million."61 In keeping with this surge in enrollments, the numbers and responsibilities of vocational educators have expanded. Largely as a result of this phenomenal growth and change, elected officials and taxpayers are demanding greater accountability from vocational educators in the use of public funds. One problem.with this situation is that many of those inside and outside the educational system continue to have a fuzzy understanding of the pur- poses, operations, and unique characteristics of vocational education. For these reasons, promoting vocational edu- cation is more important now than ever before. "A.V.A. has consistently included public relations as one of the five major areas of emphasis in the annual Program of Work. One of A.V.A.'s goals for public relations in fiscal year 1978 was to improve the relation- ships of vocational education with the public at large."62 Various vocational educators have begun to develop materials to help administrators and teachers promote vocational education. "Vocational educators know that they have failed in creating public understandings of their 61American Vocational Association, Promotin Vocational Education: A Public Relations HandbooE for Vocational’Educators (Arlington, Virginia: AVA 1978) p. 5. 62American Vocational Association, p. 3. 44 programs. In the A.V.A. membership survey conducted last year (1979), members cited communicating information about vocational education to the public as their number one priority, both for A.V.A. advocacy and for their own n63 professional development. In 1978 Daniel Kobel developed the Public Relations Handbook for Vocational Education in Large Cities; the American Vocational Association prepared a publication in 1978 on Promoting Vocational Education; the West Virginia Department of Education develOped A Model Plan for Promoting Vocational-Technical Education; Gayle Soboleck developed a teacher training module on Promoting Vocational Education and Recruiting Eligible Students; and the National Center for Research in Vocational Education has developed PBTE modules on several tOpics related to public relations.64 Certainly a great deal has been done in generating materials for teachers to develop public relations skills, yet little has been done in the area of training them how to become proficient in this area. 63lone Phillips, "Telling Vocational Education's Story," Journal of the American Vocational Association, Voc Ed 55 (November/December, 1980): 9’p. 27. 64Juliet V. Miller, "Promoting Vocational Education Programs" Journal of the American Vocational Association, Voc Ed 55 (November/Decembér, l980):9 p. 13. 45 Home Economics Inservice Project In 1978, the Michigan Department of Education, Vocational-Technical Education Service, Home Economics Education Unit, granted funds to a Michigan Education Institution for the purpose of providing inservice eduCation and professional development activities for home economics teachers in Michigan. One of the first steps taken by the project staff was the development and implementation of a statewide needs assessment. Over seven hundred teachers responded to the needs assessment from which priorities were established on inservice topics to be developed and delivered to teachers on a regional and/or local inservice basis according to an Inservice Model established for the delivery of Inservice Education and Professional Development for Home Economics Teachers in Michigan. In January of 1980 a follow—up survey was conducted. One of the t0p priorities identified by teachers in this survey was the need for inservice training on how to pro— mote their home economics program. In May of 1980, an inservice planning committee, made up of twenty key home economics supervisors, junior and senior high school teachers, was convened in Lansing, Michigan, for the purpose of review- ing the follow-up survey results and helping plan the fall, 1980 regional inservices. The planning committee agreed that public relations training was definitely a high priority as an inservice topic. 46 As with the field of vocational education, home economics has an image problem. In 1974, a study was conducted for the American Home Economics Association to provide background information for establishing a planned public relations program. Personal and telephone inter— views were conducted with persons in business, education, communications, a media, and government. The study found that: there is a need for a public relations program; home economics must establish an identity and build an image.65 Michigan's consumer home economics teachers have been complaining for years that "people" think their program is just sewing and cooking, or stitchin' and stirin'. Rarely have these teachers identified a plan of action for communicating their program's purpose and successes. There seems to be two reasons that surface around this problem, (1) consumer home economics teachers do not know how to systematically plan a promotional program, and (2) they do not have the time to develop all of the resources needed to implement a promotional program. In addition to the above, there are four other important reasons why public relations is a priority topic for the inservice of home economics teachers. 65Daniel Yankelovich, Home Economics Image Study: A Qualitative Investigation, AmericanTHome Economics Association (Washington, D.C.: May 1974). 47 1. The researcher, having had an opportunity to review the program offerings provided by the majority of colleges and universities in Michigan for pre-service home economics majors, not one offered training in the area of public relations to help teachers promote their program. 2. The standards presently being developed for home economics nationally through a project funded by the U.S. Office of Education, includes a quality indicator for instructional staff which states that "the instructional staff has had educational preparation to promote vocational home economics education programs through public relations activi- ties." The criterion for judging this indicator includes education and work/training experience necessary to conduct such a program. 3. The researcher had the Opportunity in April of 1981 to ask seventy-five national home economics state supervisors and staff, teacher educators, and teachers, whether they had a public relations program.in their state. The response was zero. The second question asked was how many had received training in their graduate or undergraduate programs on this topic, and th; answer was four out of the seventy-five people.6 4. Phillip Runkel, State Superintendent of Public Instruction for Michigan, has identified as one of his major goals for 1980-81, "Project Outreach" which is a public relations program developed for educators to better communicate with the public their activities and successes. Certainly these four items, in addition to the teachers' request, validated the need for inservice training on the topic of public relations. 66Standards for Vocational Home Economics Education, WOrking Draft (United States Office of Education, WaShington, D.C.: September 1980). 67National Vocational Home Economics Education Conference, Louisville, Kentucky, April 6, 1981 (Sponsored by: Office of Vocational and Adult Education, USOE). 68Phillip Runkel, State Department of Education Staff Meeting, Lansing, Michigan (May 1980). 48 Implications of Prior Research The following conclusions can be drawn from the cited research findings. The majority of the literature reviewed suggested that there are specific components that need to be in- cluded in an inservice education model. Technical assistance included as a support com- ponent of an inservice workshop is frequently requested by teachers but rarely provided to them. Public relations has been cited as a high priority topic for inservice training at the national, state, and local level by all vocational educators. Therefore, one can conclude that an inservice workshop including a technical assistance component provided to home economics teachers on the topic of public relations, is beneficial; but the impact of technical assistance on workshop participants needs to be answered. V' CHAPTER III RESEARCH PROCEDURES The research procedures and methods utilized in conducting this study will be discussed in the following sections: (1) method, (2) population, (3) sample, (4) instrumentation, (5) pilot study, (6) data collection, (7) hypotheses to be tested, and (8) analysis of data. Method The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of technical assistance on teachers following an inservice workshop. Ninety-two home economics teachers and/or super- visors chose to participate in a fall regional home economics public relations inservice workshop for three and one-half hours. Participants were randomly assigned using a table of random numbers to a control or experimental group. Par- ticipants did not know that they had been assigned to any group, control or treatment. For four months following the inservice workshop, the treatment group received technical assistance at approximately two week intervals. The follow- ing are the descriptions of technical assistance that was provided to the treatment group. 49 (1) (2) (3) (4) (S) (6) (7) (8) Letter and Tip Sheet: (lst week) Letter: (2nd week) Brochures and Poster: (4th week) Student Stuffer: (flyer) (6th week) Telephone call: (8th week) Slide/Tape: (lOth‘week) Post Card: (12th week) Individual Assistance: 50 Sent to the inservice workshop participants (treatment group). The content outlined the availability and types of technical assistance that would be provided and encouraged them to implement their plan. An enclosure of a management plan technique to help them organize their public relations campaign was also included. Sent to the participants building administrator. The content complimented their staff persons participation in the public relations work and asked that they support that person's effort. Copies of two professionally developed brochures were sent to participants as an additional resource for their use. Professionally developed student stuffers were sent to the teachers. One phone call was made to each participant to identify any problems or individual assistance on which they needed help. A professionally developed slide/ tape promoting the expanded image of home economics was made avail- able to the treatment group. Mailed to each participant with a note of encouragement. On an individual request basis an on-site visit or telephone consul- tation was made available. All of the participants received the identical assistance, other than when they identified an individual problem or made a personal request for specific help. 51 Technical assistance was provided by project staff and/or resource people they deemed necessary to pro- vide such assistance. Cover letters for the technical assistance, as well . as a log of individual requests for assistance, is provided in Appendix C. An assessment instrument was developed to determine the attitude, perceived knowledge and product implemen- tation level of participants. The assessment instrument was administered four months after the inservice session during which time one-half of the participants received technical assistance. The assessment instrument was developed by the researcher and is considered secondary to the main focus of the research being conducted. The instrument was tested for content validity by a panel of five experts and pilot study was conducted with twenty consumer home economics graduate students using test- re-test procedures to test the reliability of the instrument. Four months was chosen as the follow-up time for two distinct reasons, (1) the promotional activities plan inclu- ded activities that could be accomplished well within a four month time period; if no activity had taken place during the first four months, there is a good chance that there was a problem and very little, if any activity would take place during the rest of the school year; and (2) if participants in the control group were not implementing their campaign by this time, they may need some technical 52 assistance; if this need was identified by March, there was time for project staff to contact the participants and provide the necessary support to implement and plan prior to the close of the school year. The assessment instrument was administered at follow—up workshops scheduled four months following the initial workshops, at three different locations, Grand Rapids, Lansing, and Troy. For participants that could not attend any one of the inservice workshops, a cover letter and assessment instrument were mailed to the respon- dents and an immediate response requested. The data was key punched for the computer operations and the hypotheses were tested and additional descriptive data were used to describe the characteristics of partici- pants. Population The population for this study consisted of educators who taught and/or supervised home economics programs in the State of Michigan. The participants are educators who chose to participate in a public relations workshop during the 1980 fall regional home economics education inservices at either Grand Rapids or Troy, Michigan. Descriptive data was collected on the workshop participants in the following categories: gender, age, years of teaching experience, education level, jdb title, job level, and professional organization memberships. 53 Sample The sample consisted of ninety-two home economics educators, all who chose to participate in a public relations workshop at Grand Rapids or Troy, Michigan. One-half of the participants from each of the inservice workshops were randomly assigned to a treatment or control group using a table of random numbers. At the time of the inservice and during the following four months, the participants did not know that they had been assigned to a treatment or control group, or that either group existed. The treatment and control groups were notified of their assignment after the completion of the study. Instrumentation An assessment instrument was used to collect the data for this study. The instrument was used to gather information about teacher attitudes, perceived knowledge and product implementation on promoting their home econom- ics program and to get demographic data about the partici- pants involved in the sample. The public relations module used to inservice the participants and a review of the literature provided the basis for selecting the questions included in the assess- ment instrument. The instructional module was written by project consultants as part of the Michigan State University Home Economics Teacher Professional Deve10pment 54 and Inservice Project. The module contains a mission, goals, objectives, and tasks that the teachers completed in inservice workshops. After reviewing the module and literature, a list of potential questions on attitudes, perceived knowledge and product implementation was constructed. The questions were sent to a panel of experts who had experience in inservice education and/or home economics education to critique the instrument for content validity. The panel included a consultant from Step-Up Incorporated, Carkhuff Associates, Instructional Development Evaluation Associates, Job Corp, and Wayne State University. Each expert was asked to read each question and identify whether it measured the participants attitude, perceived knowledge or implementation of knowledge or a product. The placement of an item in one of the three categories was based on the agreement of a majority of the experts; if there was not a majority for any one ques- tion, the item was eliminated or rewritten. In addition to validating the content of the questions, the experts also made suggestions which resulted in a greater clarity of items. The majority of questions were constructed using a Likert scale. Ten items on the instrument required a yes/no answer and ten items required a quantitative answer. A copy of the "Home Economics Public Relations Assessment Instrument" is in Appendix A. 55 Pilot Study A pilot study was conducted to determine the reliability of the assessment instrument. A test-re-test was administered to twenty home economics teachers taking a graduate course at Eastern Michigan University. The graduate students were given the initial instrument and it was re-administered to the pilot group three weeks later. A Pearson product-moment correlation was computed to analyze the paired responses of the participants to the two tests which resulted in a .747 reliability coefficient. Data Collection Three follow-up inservice workshops were held after the four—month technical assistance period. Grand Rapids, Lansing, and Troy, Michigan.were the three locations chosen to keep the travel to a minimum for the teachers. Two weeks prior to the workshop all of the participants (control and treatment groups) were sent a letter and assigned to a specific location. At the beginning of the workshop all participants were given an assessment instrument and a cover letter and were asked to complete the instrument at that time. After all of the instruments had been returned the participants were given an explanation of the purpose of the study. The participants then continued with the workshop, viewing newly developed materials and sharing the materials and promotional activities that they had developed during the past four months. 56 For teachers who could not attend any of the three workshop sessions, the instrument, cover letter and return envelope were mailed to each of these respondents. Seventy- six useable responses were returned (82.6%). Copies of the cover letter are provided in Appendix C. Hypotheses to be Tested There were three primary hypotheses to be tested. The outcome was to answer the research questions regarding the impact of technical assistance on participants following an inservice workshop. The following hypotheses were formed and tested. Hypothesis 1: There is a significant relationship between teacher attitudes toward promoting their home economics program by teachers who receive technical assistance and teachers who do not receive technical assistance. Hypothesis 2: There is a significant relationship between teacher knowledge on how to promote their home economics program by teachers who receive technical assistance and teachers who do not receive technical assistance. Hypothesis 3: There is a significant relationship between teachers implementing a public relations campaign for their home economics program by teachers who receive technical assistance and teachers who do not receive technical assistance. Analysis of Data The data received from the respondents were key- punched and formated on cards using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) system. For data analysis the inferential statistic of chi square was used for each 57 item on the instrument for both the control and treatment groups, except for the eleven items which established continuous scores. An independent two-tailed t test was the statistic used to test the frequency of use across a series of promotional activities. Each item was tested for an alpha level of .05 significance. Frequency was the sub-program.of the SPSS system used to provide descriptive information for the demographic data given on the assess- ment instrument. Summarz The study's research design was presented in this chapter. Through the execution of this design, the research hypotheses were tested, data analyzed and interpreted, and conclusions and recommendations ultimately formulated. The chapter was divided into eight sections. Des- cribed in section one was methodology of the study. Section two included the population selected for the study while- section three contained the sampling process. In section four the development of the study's assessment instrument was presented. The pilot study used in the research was discussed in the fifth section. The administration of the assessment instrument was presented in the sixth section, and the hypotheses were stated in section seven. The concluding section contained the explanation of the data analysis. CHAPTER IV FINDINGS The data analyzed in Chapter IV represents the responses from the participants to the Home Economics Public Relations Assessment Instrument. The analysis is divided into two sections. The first section provides descriptive data pertaining to the sample representing the population. The second section contains the data analysis and find- ings relevant to each hypothesis. The hypotheses are presented in the order in which they appear in Chapter III. Descriptive Information About Participants The data summarized in this study were compiled from the responses of seventy—six home economics educators and/or supervisors (82.6%) who returned the assessment instrument. The largest rate of return was from.the treatment group. Table 1 summarizes the response rate of the control and treatment group. 58 59 Table l RESPONDENTS BY GROUP Percent *No Total Group Responses Return Responses Percent Sample Control 34 73.9 12 26.1 46 Treatment 42 91.3 4 8.7 46 Total 76 16 92 Percent 82.6 17.4 100.0 Tables 2, 3, and 4 report the frequency and per— centage of responses for the data collected from the demographic section of the assessment. Table 2 shows the gender, age, and level of education of the participants. All of the educators are female, more than fifty percént (50%) are forty years of age or under, and over sixty percent (60%) have their masters degree. Table 3 shows the experience, content, and teaching level of the respondents. Over sixty percent (60%) have up to sixteen years of teaching experience, over sixty-nine percent (69%) teach consumer home economics at the senior high school level. 60 Table 2 PROFILE OF ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENT RESPONDENTS: GENDER, AGE, LEVEL OF EDUCATION (n=76) Item Frequency Percent Gender Male 0 0.0 Female 76 100.0 TOTAL 76 100.0 Age (years) 24 or less 4 5.3 25-30 8 1015 31-35 17 22.4 36-40 11 14.5 41-45 12 15.8 46-50 12 15.8 51-55 9 11.8 56-60 2 2.6 Over 60 l 1.3 TOTAL 76 100.0 Level Of Education Associate's 0 0.0 Bachelors 25 32.9 Masters 46 60.5 Specialist 2 2.6 Ph.D./Ed.D. 3 4 0 TOTAL ‘76‘ IOU—6‘: 61 Table 3 PROFILE OF ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENT RESPONDENTS: EXPERIENCE, CONTENT LEVEL, TEACHING LEVEL (n=76) Item Frequency Percent Time in Teaching 5 years or less 11 14.5 6-10 years 16 21.1 11-15 years 20 26.3 16-20 years 21 27.6 21-25 years 6 7.9 Over 25 years 2 2.6 TOTAL - 76 I00.0 Program Content Level Wage earning home economics 2 2.6 Consumer home economics 53 69.7 Both 10 13.2 Administrator Of home economics 7 9.2 Teacher educator/ ' home economics 3 4.0 NO response 1 l 3 TOTAL “7'6" ' I'O'O'T: Teaching Level (all) Junior high 15 19.7 Senior high 56 73.5 Vocational Center 5 6.6 College/University 3 3.9 62 Table 4 reports the participants membership in professional organizations. Over sixty percent belong to the Michigan Education Association and the National Education Association respectively. Table 4 PROFILE OF ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENT RESPONDENTS: PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION MEMBERSHIP (n=76) Item Frequency Percent Membership American Vocational Association 19 25.0 American Home Economics Association 28 36.8 National Education Association 48 63.2 Michigan Education Association 50 65.8 American Federation Of Teachers 3 3.9 Michigan Home Economics Association 26 34.2 Michigan Home Economics Educators 28 36.8 Michigan Occupational Education Association 28 .36.8 Data Analysis and Findings Relevant to the Research Hypofheses There were eighty-seven items on the Home Economics Public Relations Assessment Instrument pertaining to the three research hypotheses. This study is concerned with the impact Of technical assistance on participants attitude, perceived knowledge, and implementation of knowledge and skills following an inservice workshop. Five experts vali- dated the content Of the assessment instrument by identify- ing and placing each question in one Of the three categories. 63 The following are the categorized questions. Attitude: 1. DO you feel that you have enough information about public relations to promote your consumer home economics program? 2. Overall, do you feel prepared to develop promotional activities to promote your consumer home economics program? 3. DO you feel prepared to disseminate promotional materials tO promote your consumer home economics program? 4. Overall, do you feel prepared to conduct a public relations campaign? 7. DO you feel you need additional assistance to promote your consumer home economics program? 8. DO you feel that technical assistance (follow-up) should be provided after the inservice workshop? How do you feel about planning, designing, and producing a: 11. News Release 12. Newsletter 13. Letter 14. Brochure 15. Flyer/Stuffer l6. Pamphlet 17. Poster 18. Bulletin Board 19. Exhibit/Display 20. Slide/Tape 21. Public Relations Campaign If you have used the following promotional activities during the past four months, how effective do you feel they were? 64 48. News Release 52. Newsletter 56. Letter 60. Brochure 64. Flyer/Stuffer 68. Pamphlet 72. Poster 76. Bulletin Board 80. Exhibit/Display 84. Slide/Tape Knowledge: 5. Overall, I would rate my current knowledge Of promotional activities as: Excellent, good, fair, or poor. HOW‘Well can you plan, design, and produce a: 22. News Release 23. Newsletter 24. Letter 25. Brochure 26. Flyer 27. Pamphlet 28. Poster 29. Bulletin Board 30. Exhibit/Display 31. Slide/Tape 32. Public Relations Campaign How well prepared are you to use: 49. News Release 53. Newsletter 65 57. Letter 61. Brochure 65. Flyer/Stuffer 69. Pamphlet 73. Poster 77. Bulletin Board 81. Exhibit/Display 85. Slide/Tape Implementation: 6. How WOUld you rate your current use Of promotional activities to promote your home economics program? 9. How many promotional activities have you used to promote your consumer home economics program since November 1, 1980? How Often do you use the following steps when planning and developing a promotional activity for your program? 33. Identify the Objective 34. Identify the audience 35. Match media to audience 36. ‘Match content to audience 37. 'Match content to media 38. ‘Match media to size Of audience 39. Select promotional activity most appropriate to goal and audience 40. Identify newsworthy accomplishments 41. Write concrete facts 42. Write convincing statements 43. Organize information according to media, content, and audience 44. Prepare promotional activities according to guidelines 66 45. Assess promotional activities with a criterion checklist Have you used the following promotional activities during the past four months: 46. News Release 50. Newsletter 54. Letter 58. Brochure 62. Flyer/Stuffer 66. Pamphlet 70. Poster 74. Bulletin Board 78. Exhibit/Display 82. Slide/Tape 86. Other There are twenty-seven attitude items, twenty-two knowledge items, and thirty-eight implementation‘items. The additional seventeen questions on the assessment instrument provided descriptive data. This study should be considered a pilot study. Inferential statistics were used to test the relationship between the treatment and control groups and not for the purpose Of generalizing back to a larger group of teachers. Three tables were used to illustrate the response profiles for each group and the significant relationships between groups relative to the research hypotheses. 67 Presented below are the research hypotheses and findings upon.which this investigation is focused. Hypothesis 1 was formulated to determine the impact of technical assistance on teacher attitudes. H01: There is no significant relationship between teacher attitudes toward promoting their home economics program by teachers who receive technical assistance and teachers who do not receive technical assistance. H 1: There is a significant relationship between teacher attitudes toward promoting their home economics program by teachers who receive technical assistance and teachers who do not receive technical assistance. The chi square values for all Of the items in Table 5 except for item 17 were not significant at the .05 probability level. Item 17 had a chi square value of 8.53 ‘with three degrees Of freedom and therefore the probability was less than .05 for this one item. This data indicates that the control group felt less comfortable planning, designing and producing a poster than did the treatment group. Since only one item.of all the attitude questions was found to have a statistically significant relationship, the null hypothesis failed to be rejected. Table 5 shows the chi square values for each teacher attitude item for the treatment and control group. The second hypOthesis examined the impact of technical assistance on teacher knowledge on how to promote their home economics program. 68 Table 5 TEACHER ATTITUDES TOWARDS PROMOTING THEIR HOME ECONOMICS PROGRAM Control Treatment Degrees Item Number Group Group x2 Of n " n Freedom 1 33 42 O. 649 2 2 34 42 7.471 3 3 33 42 4.835 2 4 33 42 3.999 2 7 33 42 0.114 2 3 31 40 3.623 2 11 34 41 9.193 2 12 34 39 7 549 3 13 34 40 0.226 2 14 34 40 3.455 3 15 34 38 2.471 3 16 34 38 2.873 3 17 34 41 8.526 3* 18 34 42 7.785 3 19 34 39 5.743 2 20 34 38 8.501 3 21 34 41 1.554 3 48 13 16 2-107 2 52 4 9 4.952 3 56 12 18 1.172 1 60 4 7 0.505 1 55 4 9 2.568 2 68 l 8 2.250 2 72 13 28 l. 335 2 76 22 34 0.353 2 so 17 21 2.135 3 84 4 9 2.568 2 69 H02: There is no significant relationship between teacher knowledge on how to promote their home economics program by teachers who receive technical assistance and teachers who do not receive technical assistance. 2: There is a significant relationship between teacher knowledge on how to promote their home economics program by teachers who receive technical assistance and teachers who do not receive technical assistance. All of the items related to teacher knowledge had chi square values that were not significant at the .05 probability level, therefore, the null hypothesis failed to be rejected. Technical assistance had no significant impact on teachers knowledge for how tO promote their home economics program. Table 6 reports the chi square values for each teacher knowledge question for both the treatment and control group. Hypothesis 3 was tested to determine the impact Of technical assistance on teacher implementation Of a public relations campaign. H03: There is no significant relationship between teachers implementing a public relations campaign for their home economics program by teachers who receive technical assistance and teachers who do not receive technical assistance. H 3:._There is a significant relationship between teachers implementing a public relations campaign for their home economics program by teachers who receive technical assistance and teachers who do not receive technical assistance. 70 Table 6 TEACHER KNOWLEDGE ON HOW TO PROMOTE THEIR HOME ECONOMICS PROGRAM Control Treatment Degrees Item Numb er Group Group x 2 of n n Freedom 5 34 42 7.462 3 22 34 40 1.565 3 23 34 39 1.676 3 24 34 41 0.188 2 25 34 40 2.642 3 26 34 40 3.177 3 27 . 34 39 1.732 3 28 34 40 4.411 2 29 34 42 2.308 2 30 34 41 2.110 3 31 34 40 3.306 3 32 34 42 4.718 3 49 20 19 4.664 3 53 12 11 2.695 3 57 18 21 1.586 3 61 13 11 1.443 3 65 13 13 4.209 3 69 9 11 2.173 3 73 17 28 4.923 2 77 22 33 2.022 2 81 20 21 1.286 2 85 13 13 3.010 3 71 The chi square values for the items relating to teacher implementation Of a public relations campaign except for item.40, resulted in a probability level which was less than the alpha level that had been set (p<.05). Therefore, the null hypothesis failed to be rejected. Item 40 had a chi square value of 6.68 with two degrees of freedom and therefore the probability was less than the .05 alpha level. The data indicates that the treat- ment group scored significantly more Often in the upper level while the control group scored significantly more Often at the third level. The treatment group tended to identify newsworthy accomplishments more Often than did the control group. Since only one item.was found to show a significant relationship, it can be stated that technical assistance has no impact on teachers implementing a public relations campaign for their home economics program. Table 7 shows the chi square values for each teacher implementation item for the treatment group and control group. Question 10 was not included in the attitude table since it was dependent on question 9. Item 9 asks the participants for the number of promotional activities they have used in the past four months. If the answer chosen was none, question 10 asks the respondents for the reason. Only five teachers circled one Of the four choices, but all Of the five chose the answer, "Not Enough Time". However, TEACHERS IMPLEMENTATION OF A PUBLIC RELATIONS CAMPAIGN FOR THEIR 72 Table 7 HOME ECONOMICS PROGRAM Control‘ Treatment Degrees Item.Number Group Group X2 Of n n Freedom 6 33 42 1.093 3 9 33 42 2.302 3 33 32 42 0.356 2 34 32 41 0.135 2 35 32 41 4.325 3 36 32 41 4.642 3 37 32 39 6.401 3 38 32 41 5.968 3 39 32 40 1.459 3 40 32 41 6.678 2* 41 32 42 1.492 3 42 32 41 4.541 3 43 32 41 3.447 3 44 31 42 5.424 3 45 32 42 2.804 3 46 27 39 0.777 2 50 26 36 0.082 , l 54 24 38 0.272 1 58 24 38 0.031 1 62 25 38 1.620 2 66 25 39 4.252 2 70 26 40 5.068 3 74 29 39 0.899 1 78 26 38 0.656 1 82 24 37 0.226 1 86 15 27 0.138 1 *p<.05 73 fourteen educators did write comments. The summary of those comments still identified time as the primary reason for not completing promotional activities and budgetary constraints as the secondary reason. Question numbers 47, 51, 55, 59, 63, 67, 71, 75, 79, 83, and 87 were not included in the implementation table since they were all continuous scores and dependent upon the questions asked previous to each item. Partici- pants were asked if they had used eleven different types of promotional activities; if the response was positive for a particular activity they were requested to identify the number of times each activity had been used. An inde- pendent two-tailed t test was the statistic used to test the frequency of use across a series of promotional strate- gies. The t test resulted in a mean score of 4.94 with a standard deviation of 4.05 for the control group and a mean score of 7.17 and a standard deviation of 5.06 for the treatment group. The t value was 2.08. Based upon the results of the t test, the researcher concludes that there is a significant difference between the frequency of imple- menting promotional activities between the treatment and the control groups. The treatment group who received technical assistance used promotional activities signifi- cantly more often than did the group who did not receive any technical assistance. Therefore, the hypothesis has failed to be accepted for frequency in using promotional strategies. 74 Table 8 reports the mean score, standard deviation, and t value for the treatment and control groups computed for the frequency of using a series of promotional activities. Table 8 FREQUENCY OF USE ACROSS A SERIES OF PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIES Mean Standard Group ' N Score ' Deviation t-value Control 34 4.94 4.05 Treatment 42 7.17 ' 5.06 2.08* *p<.05 Post Hoc Analysis In reviewing the proportion of responses for each group it did appear that if the top two Likert scale choices for each item were combined, the treatment group was answer- ing the items more favorably than was the control group. Therefore, the proportions for each group were summed for the first two choices on each item. The groups were then compared on each item and assigned a positive (+) or negative (-) score, depending which group answered the item more favorably. 75 After combining the responses into positive or negative categories for each group it was found that of the twenty-seven attitude items the treatment group had twenty positive (+) items, five negative (-) items, and two ties (0). Therefore, the treatment group tended to respond to the attitude assessment questions more posi- tively than did the control group. In fact, seventy-four percent (74%) of the twenty-seven items were answered more favorably by the treatment group when compared to the control group. For the assessment items on knowledge, of the twenty-two items the treatment group had twelve positive (+) categories and ten negative (-) categories. The treat- ment and the control group were almost equal on the know- ledge items, fifty-four percent (54%) positive compared to forty-six percent (46%) positive for the control group. There were twenty-six implementation items and the treatment group had twenty-one positive (+) categories and five negative (-) categories reflecting an eighty-one percent (81%) more favorable response versus nineteen percent (19%) for the control group. Although this information is not based on an empirical test, the assessment items are answered in a more positive direction by the treatment group than by the control group, particularly for the attitude and implementation questions. 76 Tables 9, 10, and 11 show the positive and negative items for the treatment and control groups in the areas of attitude, knowledge and implementation. Appendix E con- tains a summary of the control group and treatment group responses by item. 77 TABLE 9 COMPARISON OF FAVORABLENESS FOR 27 ATTITUDE ITEMS Proportion Proportion Combined Responses Item of Control of Treatment Control Treatment Number Group Group Group Group 1 90.9 95.3 - + 2 85.3 95.2 - + 3 72.7 83.3 - + 4 67.6 83.3 - + 7 75.8 78.6 - + 8 80.6 95.0 - + 11 79.4 82.9 - + 12 64.7 84.6 - + 13 91.2 92.5 - + 14 58.8 60.0 - + 15 79.4 73.7 + - 16 61.8 55.3 + - 17 79.4 97.5 - + 18 94.1 100.0 - + 19 88.3 94.9 - + 20 29.4 60.5 - + 21 58.8 60.9 - + 48 100.0 93.8 + - 52 75.0 88.8 - + 56 100.0 100.0 0 0 60 100.0 100.0 0 . 0 64 88.9 100.0 - + 68 100.0 87.5 + - 72 92.3 96.5 - + 76 90.9 91:2 - + 80 94.2 95.3 - + 84 100.0 88.9 + - (+) 8 positive (-) 8 negative (0) - tie 78 TABLE 10 COMPARISON OF FAVORABLENESS FOR 22 KNOWLEDGE ITEMS Proportion Proportion Combined Responses Item of Control of Treatment Control Treatment Number Group Group Group Group 5 67.6 83.3 - + 22 79.4 80.0 - + 23 76.4 87.2 - + 24 97.0 95.1 + - 25 70.5 57.5 + - 26 76.4 72.5 + - 27 64.7 61.5 + - 28 91.2 90.0 + - 29 94.2 95.3 - + 30 91.1 87.6 + - 31 29.4 47.5 - + 32 45.8 69.0 - + 49 85.0 84.2 + - 53 83.4 63.7 + - 57 88.8 90.5 - + 61 61.6 63.7 - + 65 84.6 69.3 + - 69 77.7 81.8 - + 73 94.1 100.0 - -+ 77 95.4 100.0 + - 81 90.0 95.2 - + 85 38.5 61.6 - + (+) = positive (-) - negative 79 TABLE 11 COMPARISON OF FAVORABLENESS FOR 26 IMPLEMENTATION ITEMS Proportion Proportion 7Combined Responses Item of Control of Treatment Control Treatment Number Group Group Group Group 6 42.5 47.6 - + 9 78.8 90.5 - + 33 95.3 93.8 + - 34 96.9 97.6 - + 35 84.4 90.2 - + 36 87.5 95.1 - + 37 90.6 87.2 + - 38 81.2 85.4 - + 39 81.3 87.5 - + 40 65.7 90.3 - + 41 87.5 92.9 - + 42 78.1 80.5 - + 43 75.0 87.8 - + 44 61.3 78.6 - + 45 90.6 45.9 + -- 46 48.1 43.6 - + '50 19.2 22.2 - + 54 45.8 52.6 - + 58 16.7. 18.4 - .+ 62 12.0 21.1 - + 66 4.0 20.5 - + 70 46.2 67.5 - + 74 72.4 82.1 - + 78 65.4 55.3 + - 82 16.7 21.6 - + 86 46.7 40.7 + - (+) = positive (-) 8 negative CHAPTER V SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS The purpose of this chapter is to review the nature of the study, present a recapitulation of the results and findings, draw conclusions, and make recommendations based on the study. The Problem The problem of this study centered around the fact that a great deal of inservicing of teachers has taken place in the past decade. Yet, effort is seldom made to include technical assistance as a component of inservice education and to determine whether there are any changes in workshop participants behavior after having received such assistance. Presently, the majority of inservice program evaluations are based on the immediate feedback from inservice partici- pants and rarely are the educators provided technical assis- tance to transfer new knowledge to their local school set- tings. Various studies have indicated that educators want a support system/follow-up/technica1 assistance as part of an inservice program. Thus far it appears that this request has frequently been ignored. 80 81 The problem in this study was to determine the impact of technical assistance on workshop participants following an inservice program. The activity of this study centered around an inservice program designed for home economics teachers to promote their local home economics program. The Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine the value of including technical assistance in the Consumer Home Economics Michigan Inservice Model. It was antici- pated that this study would provide a basis for: 1. Determining the impact of technical assistance on teacher attitudes for promoting their home economics program. 2. Determining the impact of technical assistance on teacher perceived knowledge for promoting their home economics program. 3. Determining the impact of technical assistance on teacher implementation of a public relations campaign for promoting their home economics program. Research Procedures The population for this study was composed of participants who taught and/or supervised home economics programs in the State of Michigan. The sample consisted of ninety-two home economics educators who chose to participate in a public relations inservice workshop at two different locations in Michigan. One-half of the participants were assigned a treatment or control group. 82 The treatment group received technical assistance over a four month time period and the control group received no assistance during this time. An assessment instrument was used to collect data on the educators attitude, perceived knowledge, and product implementation. The assessment instrument was administered four months after the initial inservice workshop. Hypotheses There were three primary hypotheses to be tested. The outcome was to answer the research questions regard- ing the impact of technical assistance on participants following an inservice workshop. Hypothesis 1: There is a significant relationship between teacher attitudes toward pro- moting their home economics program by teachers who receive technical assistance and teachers who do not receive technical assistance. Hypothesis 2: There is a significant relationship between teacher knowledge on how to promote their home economics program by teachers who receive technical assistance and teachers who do not receive technical assistance. Hypothesis 3: There is a significant relationship between teachers implementing a public relations campaign for their home econ- omics program by teachers who receive technical assistance and teachers who do not receive technical assistance. 83 Findings and Discussion The data presented in this study were compiled from the responses of the 76 home economics educators (82.6% response) who returned the assessment instrument. The findings of the study are based primarily on the acceptance or rejection of the previously stated hypotheses. Question 1: Is there a significant relationship between teacher attitudes toward promoting their home economics program by teachers who receive technical assistance and teachers who do not receive technical assistance? Findings There was found no significant relationship between technical assistance and teacher attitudes toward promoting their home economics program. 0f the twenty-two attitude items, only one item (17) was found to be significant. Item 17 had a chi square value of 8.53 with three degrees of freedom and therefore was significant at the .05 alpha level. Discussion It is apparent that technical assistance provided to participants following an inservice workshop does not signifi- cantly impact teacher attitudes except in the case of design- ing and producing a poster. However, when the top two choices of responses were combined into positive and negative categories, the treatment group did tend to answer the attitude items more positively than did the control group. In fact, the treatment group 84 answered seventy-four percent of the attitude items more favorably than did the control group. Question 2: Is there a significant relationship between teacher knowledge on how to promote their home economics program by teachers who receive technical assistance and teachers who do not receive technical assistance? Findings The chi square test supported the null hypothesis that there was no significant relationship between techni- cal assistance and teachers perceived knowledge on how to promote their home economics program. Discussion It is apparent that teachers in both groups perceive their knowledge on how to promote their program as about the same whether they receive technical assistance or not. Since only perceived knowledge was measured, it is possible that teachers think they know how to promote their program, but if they have not tried to apply their knowledge they may not know as much as they perceive they do. At the follow-up workshOp teachers who had tried to develop promotional strategies verbally shared how difficult and time consuming some of the promotional activities were to complete. However, when the top two choices of responses were combined into two categories for the treatment and control group, both groups tended to answer the twenty-two knowledge items about equally. Question 3: Is there a significant re1ationship between teachers implementing a public relations campaign for their home economics program by teachers who receive technical assistance and teachers who do not receive technical assistance? 85 Findings The chi square test performed on twenty-six of the implementation items showed that there was no significant relationship between teachers who received technical assistance and teachers who did not receive technical assistance except for item 40. Item 40 had a chi square value of 6.68 with two degrees of freedom and therefore was significant at the .05 alpha level. Eleven of the implementation items were quantitative in nature and were dependent upon a positive response given to a question asked previous to each item. A two-tailed t test was performend on the frequency of use across a series of promotional strategies. Based upon the results of the t test there is a significant difference in the frequency of implementing promotional activities between the treatment and control group (p<.05). The t-value was 2.08 and significant at the .05 alpha level, therefore, the null hypothesis failed to belaccepted for the frequency of implementing promotional activities. Discussion Technical assistance did not have an impact on whether or not teachers implemented a public relations campaign for their home economics program. Teachers who did receive technical assistance did identify significantly more newsworthy accomplishments than did teachers who did not receive technical assistance. How- ever, when asked how many times promotional strategies were 86 used the treatment group did implement significantly more (almost double) promotional activities than did the control group. These results suggest that technical assistance does impact the frequency of activities implemented by teachers. When both groups of teachers implemented a campaign the group given technical assistance did signifi- cantly more than the group that received no such assistance. In addition, when the response categories were com- bined for the treatment and the control group, the teachers receiving technical assistance had responded to the twenty- six implementation items more favorably than the group not receiving technical assistance. In fact, the treatment group answered eighty-one percent of the implementation items more positively than did the control group. It is interesting to note that the treatment group tended to answer many more of the attitude and implementation items favorably than did the control group. CONCLUSIONS 1. Technical assistance did not significantly impact teacher attitudes toward promoting their home economics program; or their knowledge on how to promote their program; or the implementation of a public relations campaign. 2. Technical assistance made a significant difference in the frequency of use of a series of promotional activities. 87 Technical assistance impacted teachers attitudes on how comfortable they felt about designing and producing a poster. Technical assistance impacted teachers implemen- tation of a public relations campaign for identify- ing newsworthy accomplishments. The small number of responses for some items may have caused error. Teachers receiving technical assistance did tend to indicate a more positive direction when their responses were combined into positive and negative categories. This direction was much more positive for the attitude and implementation items than for the knowledge questions. It is important to note that this categorization was not empirically tested. The use of technical assistance following an in- ’service workshop may be most beneficial when frequency of use isla priority terminal objective for workshop participants. Technical assistance may have had an impact on the response rate of the participants. Of the 82.6 percent response rate the treatment group had a return rate of 91 percent, whereas the control group's rate was 74 percent. It is interesting to note that when the teachers were asked if they felt they needed additional assistance to promote their home economics program, 88 76 percent of the control group answered either definitely or probably, and 79 percent of the treatment group answered the same. When asked if technical assistance should be provided after an inservice workshop, 81 percent of the control group answered either definitely or probably, and 95 percent of the treatment group responded the same. Possibly additional services provided to teachers is seen by them as better or possibly a needs assessment should be developed for technical assistance similar to those completed for inservice. 10. Teachers tended not to request individual technical assistance, but did request support materials. RECOMMENDATIONS The following recommendations are made which relate to the purposes of the study: --That agencies, institutions, or individuals who provide inservice opportunities be aware of the tendency of teachers to request technical assis- tance and the lack of significant results found in this study. “*Examination of the reasons for which teachers are identifying technical assistance as a high priority need. 89 --If frequency of use and/or implementation is a terminal objective for an inservice workshop, technical assistance should be provided to partici- pants following the workshop. --Consider using a trained evaluator to assess the knowledge a person has in‘a specific area. For example, have an evaluator assess a final product completed by a workshop participant using a criteria checklist. --Many research studies have established that a needs assessment should be conducted with participants prior to providing inservice. Consideration should ' be given to conducting a similar analysis for technical assistance in addition to or as part of the initial assessment. --Investigate the appr0priateness of technical assistance following an inservice workshOp relative ' to the nature of the inservice expectations and topic presented. I --If technical assistance is studied a cost analysis should be included in the study. Technical assis- tance can become a very expensive service. --Further research should be made to determine if an interview method would detect more finite infor- mation related to the impact of technical assistance than an assessment instrument using a Likert scale. --Investigate the identification of lack of time as a 90 major reason for not implementing knowledge and/or skills developed when attending an inservice work- shop. * --Additional research should be conducted to see if technical assistance were provided for a period longer than four months, would increased length of time have a greater impact on participants. --Technical assistance should be provided and re- searched for other content areas in addition to home economics. ‘-Possibly the impact of technical assistance is educationally significant even if it is not statistically significant. THE BIBLIOGRAPHY THE BIBLIOGRAPHY Ainsworth, Barbara. "Stated Perceptions: of Teachers Regarding In-Service Programs." Ph.D. dissertation, University of Maryland, 1974. --------- . "Teachers Talk About Inservice Education." In Journal of Teacher Education 27. Summer 1976. American Vocational Association. Promoting Vocational Education: A Public Relations HandboOk for Vbcational Educators. Arlington, Virginia: 1978. Atlanta Conference Materials. WOrkshop on Reconceptualizing In-Service Education. February, 1975. Berman, Paul, and McLaughlin, Milbrey Wallin. Federal Programs Supporting_Educational Change, Volume VII: Factors Affecting Implementation and Continuation. Santa Monica, California: Rand Corporation. April, 1977. Bigelow, E.B. "A Survey, Analysis, and Proposed Program of In-Service Education in Selected School Districts in Six Midwestern States." Ed.D. dissertation, University of South Dakota, 1969. Blackman, Charles A. "Continual Improvement - The Keystone of an Effective School Program." Prepared for Michigan School Board Journal, 1964. Brimm, Jack L. and Tollett, Daniel J. "How Do Teachers Feel About In—Service Education?" In Educational Leadership 31. March, 1974. Davis, Steven B. "Incremental Improvement of a Division Wide Career Education Program." Final Re ort. Bedford County Public Schools, Bedford, Virginia: June, 1976. Devaney, Kathleen and Thorn, Lorraine. Exploring Teacher Centers. San Francisco, California: Far West LaBoratory for Educational Research and Development, 1975. 91 92 Dewey, John. Democracy and Education. New York: MacMillan, 1916. Edelfelt, Roy A. "Inservice Teacher Education---Sources in the ERIC System." ‘Washington, D.C.: ERIC Clearinghouse on Teacher Education, 1975. Edelfelt, Roy A., and Lawrence, Gordon. "Inservice Education: The State of the Art." In Rethinking In-Service Education. Edited by R. Edelfelt and M. Johnson. WaShington, D.C.: National Education Association, 1975. Edwards, Patsy. "Teacher Perceptions of Present Practices, Process-Needs, Alternative Delivery Systems and Priority of Inservice Education." Ph.D. dissertation, University of Michigan, 1975. Fischer, Louis. "In-Service Education." In Im rovin Inservice Education. Edited by Louis J. Rubin. Boston: A11yn and Bacon, 1971. Gallagher, James J. "Technical Assistance and the Nonsystem of American Education." In M. Reynolds (Ed.) National Technical Assistance Systems in Special Education. lMinneapolis: University of Minnesota, 1975. Gardner, John W. Self-Renewal. New York: Harper and Row, Publishers, 1963. Harris, Ben M., and Bessent, Wailand. In-Service Education. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1969. Holly, Mary Louise Hulbert. ("A Conceptual Framework for Personal-Professional Growth: Implications for Inservice Education." Ph.D. dissertation, Michigan State University, 1977. Houston, W., and Freiberg, H. "Blindman's Bluff, and In-Service Education." Journal of Teacher Education 30, No. l, 1979. Howey, Kenneth R. "Putting Inservice Teacher Education Into Perspective." In Journal of Teacher Education 27. Summer, 1976. Howey, Kenneth, and Joyce, Bruce. "A Data Base for Future Directions in Inservice Education." In Theory Into Practice. June, 1978. 93 Jackson, Philip W. "Old Dogs and New Tricks." In Improving In-Service Education. Edited by Louis J. Rubin. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1971. James, H. J. "Evaluation of a Junior High School In-Service Program Designed to Help Teachers Provide for Pupilsl Individual Differences in Reading Abilities." Ed.D. dissertation, University of Miami, 1969. ,,/ Jaquith, Charles I. "An Analysis of Perceptions of Junior High/Middle School Teachers, Principals, and University Specialists Concerning Inservice Education." Ph.D. dissertation, University of Michigan, 1973. Jersild, Arthur T. When Teachers Face Themselves. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 1955. Johnson, Margo. "Looking Back at Thinking Ahead: 87 Educators in Session." In Rethinking In-Service Education. Edited by Roy A. Edelfelt and Margo Johnson. Washington, D.C.: National Education Association, 1975. Lawrence, Gordon D.; Baker, D.; Elsie, R.; and Hansen, B. "Patterns of Effective Inservice Education: A State of the Art Summary of Research on Materials and Procedures for Changing Teacher Behaviors in Inservice Education." Report prepared for the State of Florida, Department of Education, December, 1974. Lillie, David L. and Black, Talbot L. "TADS--A Systematic Support System." In M. Reynolds (Ed.), National Technical Assistance Systems in Special Education. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 1975. McLaughlin, Milbrey Wallin, and Marsh, David D. "Staff Development and School Change." Teachers College Record 80. September, 1978. Meers, Gary. "Inservice Training: Planning the Programs." In Journal of the American Vocational Association Voc Ed. April, 1981. Michigan Department of Education. State Plan for Vocational Education. Lansing: Michigan’Department of Education, 1980. Michigan Department of Education. Guidelines for State Approved Secondary Consumer Home Economics Vocational Education Programs. Lansing: ‘Michigan Department of Education, 1977. 94 Michigan State University. "Training Teachers In Inservice Is Key Education Challenge." Michigan State University News Bulletin, May, 1975. Miller, Juliet V. "Promoting Vocational Education Programs." In Journal of the American Vocational Association Voc Ed. *November/December, 1980. National Vocational Home Economics Education Conference. Louisville,Kéntucky. Apri1,41981. ’Sponsoredvby U.S. Office of Vocational and Adult Education. Norton, Robert E. "Personnel Development for Local Administrators of Vocational Education." Final Re ort. National Center for Research in Vocational Education, Ohio State University. Columbus: December, 1978. Peters, Linda Sue. "A Study to Identify the Variables Which Influence the Institutionalization of Incentive- Funded Innovative Projects in Vocational Education Related Areas in Michigan." Ph.D. dissertation, Michigan State University, 1977. Phillips, Ione. "Telling Vocational Education's Story." In Journal of the American Vocational Association Voc Ed. 55. November/December, 1980. Public Relations Guide. Procter and Gamble Company, Educationa1 Services. Cincinnati: 1977. Rogers, Carl. Freedom To Learn. Columbus, Ohio:. Charles E. Merrill, 1969. Rogers, Vincent R. ”Why Teacher Centers in the U.S.?" In Educational Leadership 33. March, 1976. Rubin, Louis J. "Teacher Growth in Perspective." In Improvin In-Service Education. Edited by Louis J. Rubin. oston: AIlyn and Bacon, 1971. Runkel, Phillip. State Department of Education Staff Meeting. Lansing, Michigan: May, 1980. Smith, John Carlton. "An Assessment of the In-Service Education Program in Huntsville, Alabama Schools." Ed.D. dissertation, University of Alabama, 1971. Stedman, Donald J. "The Technical Assistance System: A New Organizational Form For Improving Education." In M. Reynolds (Ed.), National Technical Assistance Systems in Special Education. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 1975. 95 Sutherby, Ronald. "Participant Reaction to an Inter- Institutional Approach to In—Service Education: Genesee County Workshop." Ph.D. dissertation, Michigan State University, 1979. Trohanis, Pascal Louis. "Technical Assistance Agency Activities and Media Improvement." In Audiovisual Instruction 20. October, 1975. --------- . "Technical Assistance: An Innovative Approach to Building New Partnerships in Continuing and Inservice Education." Educational Technology. August, 1980. Turner, 1.3. "A Study of Teachers' Perceptions of an Inservice Program in Three Southern Maryland Counties." Ph.D. dissertation. The George Washington University, 1970. - United States Office of Education. Standards for Vocational Home Economics Education, Working Draft. waShington, D.C.: United States Office of Education, September, 1980. Vanderpool, Alden. "Relationships Between Certification and 'In-Service' Education." In Rethinkin Inservice Education. Edited by R. Edelfelt and M. Johnson. Washington, D.C.: National Education Association, 1975. Yankelovich, Daniel. Home Economics Image Study:‘ A Qualitative Investigation. ‘Washington, D.C. : American Home Economics Association, May, 1974. APPENDIX A 96 HOME ECONOMICS PUBLIC RELATIONS ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENT Please answer the following questions on promoting Consumer Home Economics Programs. If you cannot give an answer, please leave it blank. Do you feel that you have enough information about public relations to promote your consumer home economics program? (CIRCLE ONE) (1) 1 2 3 4 Definitely Probably I Don't Think So Definitely Not Overall, do you feel prepared to develop promotional activities to promote your consumer home economics program? (2) 1 2 3 4 Definitely Probably I Don't Think So Definitely Not Do you feel prepared to disseminate promotional materials to promote your consumer home economics program? (3) 1 2 3 4 Definitely Probably I Don't Think So Definitely Not Overall, do you feel prepared to conduct a public relations campaign? (4) l 2 3 4 Definitely Probably I Don't Think So Definitely Not Overall, I would rate my current knowledge of promotional activities as: (5) l 2 3 4 Excellent Good Fair Poor Overall, I would rate my current use of promotional activities to promote my home economics program as: (6) 1 2 3 4 Excellent Good Fair Poor 97 Do you feel you need additional assistance to promote your consumer home economics program? (7) 1 2 3 4 Definitely Probably I Don't Think So Definitely Not Do you feel that technical assistance (follow-up) should be provided after the inservice workshop? (8) 1 2 3 4 Definitely Probably I Don't Think So Definitely Not How many promotional activities have you used to promote your consumer home economics program since November 1, 1980? (9) 1 2 3 4 Three or More Two One None If you have not completed any promotional activities in the past four months, what is the reason? (10) 1 2 3 4 I'm Not Interested Not Enough Time Don't Know How Other Other (Please specify reason) PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIES PLANNING, DESIGNING, AND PRODUCING A: News Release (11) Newsletter (12) Letter (13) Brochure (14) Flyer/Stuffer (15) Pamphlet (16) Poster (17) Bulletin Board (18) Exhibit/Display (19) Slide/Tape (20) A Public Relations Campaign (21) HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT IT? Very Comfor- table (1) 98 Comfor- table (2) Uncomfor- table (3) (CIRCLE ONE) Very Uncomfor- table (4) PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIES HOW WELL CAN YOU DO IT? I Can Do It Very PLANNING, DESIGNING, Well AND PRODUCING A: (1) News Release 1 (22) Newsletter 1 (23) Letter 1 (24) Brochure 1 (25) Flyer 1 (26) Pamphlet l (27) Poster 1 (28) Bulletin Board 1 (29) Exhibit/Display 1 (30) Slide/Tape l (31) A Public Relations 1 Campaign (32) 99 I Can Do It (2) I Can't Do It Very Well (3) (CIRCLE ONE) I Don't Know How To Do It (4) 1130 How often do you use the following steps when planning and developing a promotional activity for your program? (Circle One) Always Often Sometimes Never PLANNING (1) (2) (3) (4) Identify the objective 1 2 3 4 (33) Identify the audience 1 2 3 4 (34) Match media to audience 1 2 3 4 (35) ‘ Match content to audience 1 2 3 4 (36) Match content to media 1 2 3 4 (37) Match media to size of audience 1 2 3 4 (38) Select promotional activity most appropriate to goal and audience 1 2 3 4 (39) DEVELOPING Identify newsworthy accomplishments 1 2 3 4 (40) , write concrete facts 1 2 3 4 (41) Write convincing statements 1 2 3 4 (42) Organize information according to media, content and audience 1 2 3 4 (43) Prepare promotional activities according to guidelines 1 2 3 4 (44) Assess promotional activities with a criterion checklist l 2 3 4 (45) 101 Which of the following promotional activities have you used for your program in the past four (4) months? USED IN THE PAST 4 MONTHS 1-Yes 2-No NEWS RELEASE (46) NEWSLETTER (50) LETTER (54) BROCHURE (58) FLYER/ STUFFER (62) PAMPHLET (66) POSTER (70) BULLETIN BOARD (74) EXHIBIT/ DISPLAY (78) SLIDE/TAPE (82) OTHER HOW TIMES? HOW EFFECTIVE DO YOU FEEL THEY WERE? 1-Very Effective 2-Effective 3-Ineffective HOW WELL PREPARED ARE YOU TO USE - THESE FOR YOUR PROGRAM? 1-Very Prepared 2-Prepared 3-Unprepared 4-Very Ineffective 4-Very Unprepared (48) (60) (64) (76) (80) (49) (53) (57) (61) (65) (77) '73I3_' 102 DEMOGRAPHIC DATA Gender (Circle One) 1) Male 2) Female (88) Age (Circle One) 1) 24 or less 2) 25-30 3) 31-35 4) 36-40 (89) 5) 41-45 6) 46-50 7) 51-55 8) 56-60 9) Over 60. I have been teaching consumer home economics and/or occupational/wage earning home economics for: (Circle One) (90) l) 5 years or less 2) 6-10 years 3) 11-15 years 4) 16-20 years 5) 21-25 years 6) Over 25 years The highest education degree I hold is: (Circle One) (91) 1) Associate's Degree 2) Bachelors 3) Masters 4) Specialist 5) Ph.D./Ed.D. I consider myself to be: (Circle One) (92) 1) A teacher of only occupational/wage earning home economics courses 2) A teacher of only consumer home economics courses 3) A teacher of both occupational/wage earning and consumer home economics courses 4) An administrator of home economics education 5) A teacher educator in home economics I presently am: (Check all that apply) (93) 1) Junior High Teacher (94) 2) Senior High Teacher (95) 3) Area Vocational (96) 4) College or University Teacher Center Teacher I am a member of: (Check all that apply) (97) 1) AVA's Home Economics Division (101) 5) AFT (98) 2) AREA (102) 6) MHEA (99) 3) NEA (103) 7) MHEE (100) 4) MBA (104) 8) MOEA NAME Phone (Optional) SCHOOL DISTRICT STUDENT NUMBER APPENDIX B 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 103 Synopsis of Michigan's Home Economics Inservice Model Establish an advisory committee: membership includes junior high, senior high and HERO home economics teachers, city supervisors, teacher educators, vocational administrators, and representatives from business and industry. Develop a needs assessment instrument. Assess and analyze the prioritized needs of home economics teachers. Identify the top ten priority inservice needs of consumer home economics teachers for the state. Establish a review committee of home economics teachers for the purpose of reviewing, validating, and making recommendations on the inservice topics to be developed. Search for existing materials and/or develop modules and resource packages for each inservice topic. Pilot-test modules and resource materials. Train trainers: usually home economics teachers and/or vocational educators, to deliver inservice workshops using a variety of delivery strategies. - Provide state and regional inservice workshops. Provide inservice workshOps at the local and/or CEPD level. Based on requests, develop inservice workshops to meet the specific needs of the teachers at any local school district or CEPD. By 1982, a local delivery will be available to all vocational and/or general education teachers in addition to home economics teachers. Many of the topics developed for home economics are relevant and appropriate to other educators, ie (discipline, motivating of students, developing modules, dealing with a diversity of students). Evaluate the Inservice WOrkshops. Revise and make appropriate changes based on the inservice evalua- tions and advisory committee recommendations. APPENDIX C 104- TeaCher'Letter November 6, 1980 Dear We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for participating in the Public Relations WOrkshop at the Home Economics Regional In- service in October. We hope you are as excited as we are about ' expanding the image of home economics through the P.R. campaign you planned before leaving the workshop. To help you succeed in this endeavor, we will be providing you with technical assistance during the next four months to assist you in transferring your new knowledge and skills to your local setting so you can implement your Public Relations campaign. As part of the technical assistance, you will find enclosed a P.R. campaign management plan which should help you organize your time and resources. Your building principal will receive a letter informing him/her of your participation in the Public Relations WOrkshop and encouraging his/her support of you. You will also receive a poster, brochures and flyers for your use. A slide-tape is also being developed and will be made available to you in January. Please feel free to contact the project director and request any additional assistance you may need. This could include, but is not limited to, an on-site consultation, answers to specific problems, ideas for implementing your campaign, or anything we can do to assist you in implementing your P.R. campaign. You have many resources available; be assertive and access them. For additional technical assistance, please contact: ’ Dr. Clifford 0. Jump Project Director Michigan State University 120 Agriculture Hall East Lansing, Michigan 48824 517/355-0190 Good luck in expanding the image of Home Economics! Sincerely, Barbara Atkins 105 Principal's Letter November 13, 1980 Dear I would like to take this opportunity to inform you that your home economics teacher(s) participated in a regional home economics inservice sponsored by the State Department of Education Vocational Home Economics Unit during the month of October. Your teacher(s) participated in a workshOp to develop skills in expanding the image of home economics. During this workshop, developed promotional activities and a Public Relations campaign she plans to implement this school year. As project director, I want to help your teacher succeed in her endeavor. To do this, your teacher will be provided with techni- cal assistance which will include brochures, flyers, posters, and a slide-tape available for her use. In addition, support will be available by request to help her with any problems, new ideas, developmental activities, or on-site consulting she may need to reach her goal. . Please help me in providing with some encouragement and support. In fact, why not stop and ask her what her plans are for expanding the image of home economics in your district today. Thank you for your help. Sincerely, Barbara Atkins 106 Brochures/Poster Cover Letter December 5, 1980 Dear Have you started your Home Economics Public Relations Campaign? Now that you have survived one major holiday, maybe you will be able to set aside some time before Christmas to get at least one promotional activity started on expanding the image of Home Economics with the personal publics you identified for your Public Relations Campaign this year. Like all of us, we are sure you are very busy so enclosed you will find a poster and brochures that you may want to use for your campaign. You will notice that "Life Saver" is a theme we are using to promote Home Economics and we hope these materials are a "Life Saver" for you. The poster and brochures are being provided to you as a component of the technical assistance we hope will help you to succeed with your campaign goal this year. If you need additional brochures or any type of technical aSsistance, please let us know. Call 517/355-0190. Don't forget our goal! Two Promotional Activities Completed by February 27, 1981!!! Good Luck! Sincerely, Barbara Atkins , 107 Flyer Cover Letter December 17, 1980 Ho Ho Ho!!! And Merry Christmas! Since all of you have been such good teachers this year, Santa is giving you some additional materials for your public relations campaign. Enclosed you will find stocking stuffers -- these are flyers or what Santa's elves call student stuffers. These are promotional flyers specifically designed to expand the image of home economics with students. You may want to give them to the students you have now, and probably should give them to counselors and other faculty to distribute to other students, as well as leave some in the school office. If you need additional stuffers, or any of the brochures and posters, please feel free to request them. .A slide/tape is being prepared now and should be available for your use in the middle of January. Think about some opportunities where you could show the slide/tape before February 27 - - staff meeting, parent- conference, school board meeting, student assembly. If you need any help, please call (517) 355-0190. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Sincerely, Santa Claus 108 Telephone Call and Slide/Tape Notification NAME SCHOOL DISTRICT Telephone Script for Inservice Technical Assistance I'm calling for the CHE Inservice Project. I would like to ask you a few questions about the Public Relations Inservice you participated in. 1. How are you doing with your P.R. Activities? Have you completed two activities yet? Do you think you will be able to complete two activities by March 1, 1980? 2. Are you having any problems deveIOping or implementing your P.R. activities? If so, what kind. How could we help you. 3. Have you received the technical assistance materials? i.e., brochures, poster, student stuffer, management plan. 4. Do you need any kind of help (TA)? A staff person will call you back if you do. We have staff who are available to assist you. ' 5. We now have a fifteen minute slide tape available for your use. WOuld you be able to use it in the near future? If they want it sent to them, you need to ask if they want an automatic or manual (beeper). 6. we are planning to bring the inservice participants back together the first week of March. we have some activities planned, additional materials, and will show the slide-tape. we also will have an opportunity to share any materials Others have used or developed. You will have a chance to see at least 100 different ideas. What would be the best time for you: Dates ' Time Location March 3 (Tue) After school Grand Rapids March 5 (Thur) Evening Lansing March 10 (Tue) Other Troy 109 Pbst Card February 1, 1981 PUBLIC RELATIONS INSERVICE PARTICIPANTS Congratulations to those of you who have completed two P.R. activities! For those of you that haven't completed them, you have 4 weeks left! You can still do it. Over the last 4 months, you have received technical assistance (i.e. management plan, 2 brochures, poster, stuffer, slide-tape, phone call) and we hope that this support has helped you to reach your goal. we are looking forward to seeing you at the P.R. followbup inservice in March. Please bring with you any promotional activities you would like to share. WE KNOW YOU CAN MEET YOUR GOAL! Barb Atkins 110 Technical Assistance Request Log Type of Assistance Number of Requests (1) Brochures 15 * (2) Poster 14 (3) Flyer/Stuffer 10 (4) Slide-Tape 32 (5) Individual Assistance (a) telephone 1 (b) on—site visitation 0 * approximately 50-250 brochures were requested by each individual 3:00 3:15 3:45 3:50 4:10 4:35 5:00 111 CONSUMER HOME ECONOMICS PUBLIC RELATIONS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE March 3, 1981 Kent Area Skills Center Grand Rapids, Michigan welcome P.R. Slide/Tape Completion of Technical Assistance Instrument Why an Assessment? What Image is Showing? Small Group Discussion - Recommendations for future P.R. Programs Group Sharing of P.R. Ideas - What Did You Do? - What Are You Going To Do? Adjourn 3:00 3:15 3:45 3:50 4:10 4:35 5:00 112 CONSUMER HOME ECONOMICS PUBLIC RELATIONS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE March 5, 1981 University Club Lansing , Michigan welcome P.R. Slide/Tape Completion of Technical Assistance Instrument Why An Assessment? What Image is Showing? Small Group Discussion - Recommendations for future P.R. Programs Group Sharing of P.R. Ideas - What Did You Do? - What Are You Going To Do? Adjourn 3:00 3:15 3:45 3:50 4:10 4:35 5:00 pom. 113 CONSUMER HOME ECONOMICS PUBLIC RELATIONS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE March 10, 1981 Troy Hilton Troy, Michigan welcome P.R. Slide/Tape Completion of Technical Assistance , Instrument Why An Assessment? What Image is Showing? Small Group Discussion - Recommendations for Future P.R. Programs Group Sharing of P.R. Ideas - What Did You Do? - What Are You GOing To Do? Adjourn 114 March 16, 1981 Dear we missed you at the Public Relations follow-up workshop last week. During the workshop, we asked the participants to answer the enclosed assessment instrument and we hope you will help us by taking fifteen minutes to answer it for us also. This infor- mation.will help us make changes in the inservice project so we can better serve you in the future. Please circle only one number for your answer, since the responses will be keypunched for computer tabulation. If you have already ordered the public relations slide-tape, answer yes on page six for this item. This information will be compiled in group totals so your anonymity will be maintained. . Thank you for your assistance. We will appreciate your returning the survey immediately. Sincerely, Barbara Atkins 115 March, 1981 Dear Colleague: Thank you for helping us by completing this assessment instrument. Your responses will be kept strictly confidential and therefore, your anonymity maintained. This information will help us make some key decisions for future inservices and help us establish new directions for the inservice project. we appreciate your help. Thank you. Sincerely, Barbara Atkins APPENDIX D 116 December 5, 1980 Dear Thank you for agreeing to review the enclosed assessment instrument for content validity. As an expert in the area of inservice education I believe you will be as interested as I am in the results of this study. Let me take this opportunity to review briefly the purpose of this research study. A group of consumer home economics (CHE) teachers chose to participate in a workshop to learn how to expand the image of their home economics program.by developing promotional activities and designing a public relations campaign. The teachers' goal when they left the workshop was to complete two promotional activities prior to March 1, 1981, and to complete a total of four activities by the end of the school year. One-half of this group has been receiving technical assistance since the workshop; the control group has had no assistance since the workshop. I am planning to reconvene both groups the first week in March and assess their attitudes, knowledge, and implementation of promotional activities. Enclosed you will find an assessment instrument, answer and comment sheet, and a stamped, addressed envelope to return the materials. I would like you to read each question and identify whether it measures the participants' (a) attitudes - how they feel, (b) knowledge - perceived knowledge, what they think they know, and (c) implementation - did they apply their knowledge and develop promotional activities. Secondly, identify if the question is clear and concise, or suggest any changes you feel are necessary to make this instrument understand- able to the participants. I truly appreciate your time and expertise in helping me validate this instrument. It is important that I receive your comments by December 15, 1980, so that I can make the necessary changes and then test the instru- ment for reliability. I will send you the results of the study for your information. ' Thank you! Sincerely, Barbara Atkins APPENDIX E 117 mo.vm« 0.0 o.NH c.0m o.m B we 9 5Eouwoun mafiaoaooo oaon “dabmaoo o.o 5.oa 5.0m 5.9 mm o Mach ouoaoun ou monoumwmmo Hmaowuwmwm wood :05 doom :05 on .5 o.o m.¢ o.~m n.4H a «s a Namamaamo 0.0 o.NH o.w~ c.e mm o macauoaou oedema o uosvsoo ou mouseoum Moon :05 om .Hamno>o .e 5amuwoua moafiooooo o.o o.q 5.om m.HN Ne H mEo: uoasmsoo u=o5 ouoaoua o.o o.¢ m.nn 5.0 mm 0 cu mHofiHOuma Honoauoaoun mum Isfiaoomwv Ou vouodoum Hoom :05 on .m , 5amuwoun moafioaooo o.o o.~ ~.¢m «.ma we a mac: noesmaoo usom ouoaoue ou m.H m.m m.~m m.m «m o mofiua>auom Hmaoeuoaosa ao~m>me Ou mounmoue Hoom sch om .HHmuo>o .N 5amumoun mafifiosoom 0.0 5.5 n.5m o.oH a we a mac: amasmooo “sch ouoaowa On c.o o.s m.m~ ~.oa mm o maofiuaaou change Omens coauaauomca nwsoso o>m£ :05 use» Hoom sch on .H uoz om xsune manoooum haoufiawmon honoavoum amuH samueseuma u.:on H z Ao5uav mEMBH NDDHHafid 5N mom mmmzommmm ho onHmomomm NIH mnm<fi 118 5.5 5.55 5.55 5.55 H 55 a «.5 m.m o.om 5.0 C em 0 aummmaum\ummam .me «.5 m.o~ c.5N m.o~ a as a 5.5 5.55 0.55 5.5 o «5 o wousnooum .55 5.5 5.5 5.55 5.55 s cc H 5.5 5.5 0.55 5.55 u on u 5uouno5 .55 5.< 5.¢ «.55 5.5 a 55 a «.5 5.55 5.55 5.5 0 em 0 5uoqu5m3oz .55 5.5 5.5 5.55 5.55 5 5e a 5.5 5.5 5.55 5.5 o #5 o 5OmmO5om o3oz .55 . ....m 5:5osmou5 use .5a5:55mov .mcwanm5n usoom 5oom :05 cm 3oz O5oou O5omu O5omu O5omu Isomaoosb Iuowaoosa uncuaou Iuowaou mononaoum Eou5 huo> >uo> z 55o5mxuoa o.o 5.5 5.55 5.55 a co H o05>uoms5 Ono nouns oop5>oue o.o m.m a.oH m.ea u an o as assess Aaausoseouv moans IO5mmo 5m05anomu uosu 5Com :05 on .5 uoz om 3:555 55ooooum 55ou5c5moa hoaoavoum EOuH maauaaeume D.aon H z eosaauaoo .muH canny 119 5.0 5.55 5.55 0.5 H 50 H o.s 5.55 o.e~ 5.5 0 sm 0 acmemaamo maofismamm OAHnam 0.55 5.5 5.55 5.5 H 55 a 5.55 0.55 5.55 5.5 0 05 0 ommexm0555 0.0 5.5 0.55 5.55 H 55 a o.o m.m «.55 5.55 u an o ehmflaman\ueafiesm 5.0 0.0 5.5 5.00 a 50 a , 5.5 5.5 5.55 0.05 0 05 0 50umom :5uO5535 5.5 0.0 5.55 5.05 a 50 a 5.5 0.5 0.05 0.05 0* 05 0 wuonmom 5.5 5.05 5.05 5.5 H 55 H 5.5 5.55 0.05 5.5 0 05 0 5u05amaom ....m 5n5o=0ou5 0cm .5G5sm5m00 .mc5snM55 usoom 500u no» 00 so: O5oou O50oH O50ou O5oou anomaoooa Iuomaoosa :uomEoo Iuowaoo hasosvoum aou5 5wo> 5wo> z eoaaancoo .m-H «Home 120 5.5 5.5 5.55 5.55 H 5 a 0.0 5.0 0.0 5.05 0 0 0 0505500555 .05 0.5 0.0 5.55 5.55 a 55 a o.o 0.5 5.55 5.55 o 55 o 5mflam5n5u5neexm .om 0.0 0.5 5.50 5.55 a 05 a 5.0 0.5 0.55 5.05 0 55 0 uumom :5u05555 .05 o.o 0.5 0.55 5.55 a 55 a 0.0 0.5 5.50 5.5 0 55 0 amumom .55 0.0 5.55 0.55 5.55 a 5 B 0.0 0.0 0.0 5.55 0 5 0 um5naaom .50 0.0 5.5 5.55 5.55 .IIH 5 H o.o o.o m.om o.o o 0 o nomuaum\uo5am .00 5.0 0.0 5.55 5.50 H 5 a 5.5 0.0 5.55 5.55 0 0 0 ousnooum .00 0.0 0.0 5.55 5.05 a 55 a 5.0 0.0 0.05 0.05 o 55 0 umquA .05 5.5 0.0 5.05 5.55 a 5 a 5.0 5.5 5.55 0.5 0 0 0 uOqu5maoz .55 0.0 0.5 5.00 5.0 a 05 a 0.0 0.0 0.55 5.55 o 55 0 mmmO5Om maoz .50 . «mums mO5u5>5uom 5mGO5uoEoua 5:53055ow one 5Com =05 o0 o>5uoommo so: o>5uoommos5 o>5ooommos5 o>5uoowmm o>5uommmm 5oco=5oum amu5 huo> huo> z eoaaauaoo .muH manna 121 5.0 5.05 5.55 5.5 5 .00 5 5.5 5.5 0.55 5.5 0 05 0 uo555 .05 0.5 0.55 5.55 0.5 5 00 a 5.5 5.05 5.55 5.0 0 05 o ouncuoum .55 5.0 5.5 0.55 0.55 5 50 a 5.0 5.5 5.05 5.55 0 05 0 wouuo5 .05 0.5 5.5 5.55 5.0 5 55 5 0.5 0.5 5.55 5.0 0 05 0 wouu05m3oz .55 0.5 5.5 5.55 5.5 tIF 50 a 5.5 5.0 5.55 5.55 0 05 0 owOO5om maoz .55 ....m mosvoum 0am .o55mo0 .so55 so» moo 5503 so: 55 on oh so: 5503 5uo> u5 on 5503 5uo> bucoauoum , Eou5 30am o.aon 5 u5 o5 u.:mo 5 sec 5 O5 on emu 5 z 5.0 5.5 5.55 5.5 5 50 5 “mm mO5u5>5uoo 5.5 5.55 m.om o.c 0 sm 0 choauoaoua mo «mamasoax unouuso 58 Down 05:03 5 .55muo>0 .5 noon u5m5 0oo0 u=055ooxm moooacoum . aou5 z 505n=0 mEflHH MUQMABOZK 55 mom mmmzommmm no 2058505655 MIN 5555uo0 50:05005055 5:5305505 0:0 00: On :05 050 00505050 5503 30: 00:050:5:0 .00u0q0ua:0 00505055 00:05055 50:0:5055 E005 550> . 550> z 0.5 5.05 5.05 5.5 5 50 5 0.0 5.5 5.55 o.o 0 en 0 00500000 meagumame 0:505: < .55 5.55 5.05 5.05 0.5 a 00 a 0.55 5.05 5.5: 0.5 0 en 0 0505\0055m .55 5.5 5.5 5.55 5.05 H 50 5 o.o 0.0 0.05 5.55 o 05 0 . 5mflsmfin\uanfiexm .om 0.0 0.5 5.55 5.55 5 50 5 0.0 0.5 5.55 5.55 0 05 0 0:005 :50055:5 .55 5.5 0.5 5.55 5.55 5 00 a 0.5 5.0 0.55 5.05 5 05 0 500005 .55 0.5 5.55 5.05 5.5 a 55 5 5.5 5.55 5.05 5.5 0 05 0 005:5605 .55 ....0 00:0055 0:0 .:55000 .:055 :05 :00 5503 300 05 05 05 so: 5503 hu0> 05 on 5503 hu0> 50:0:5055 5005 30:5 0.:05 5 05 00 0.:00 5 :00 5 05 00 :00 5 z vmscaucoo .muN 05:05 123 5.5 5.55 0.55 0.55 5 55 a 5.55 5.5 5.5 5.55 0 55 o 0505\00555 .55 0.5 0.5 5.55 5.55 5 55 5 0.0 5.0 0.55 0.55 0 05 o 5maam:n\u:n:exm .55 0.5 0.0 0.00 0.05 5 55 5 0.0 5.5 5.55 0.05 o 55 0 05005 :50055:5 .55 5.5 5.5 0.00 5.55 5 55 5 0.5 5.5 0.55 0.55 0 55 0 500005 .55 0.0 0.05 0.55 0.05 5 55 5 0.5 0.55 0.05 0.5 0 5 o u05£550m .50 5.5 5.55 0.55 5.55 5 55 a 5.5 0.5 0.05 5.5 0 m: 0 Camusum500555 .50 0.0 5.05 5.05 5.55 5 55 5 , 5.0 5.05 0.55 5.5 o 55 0 0::cooum .50 0.5 0.5 5.55 5.05 5 55 5 0.0 5.5 5.05 5.05 o 55 0 :0uu05 .55 5.0 0.55 0.55 5.55 a 55 5 0.0 5.5 5.05 5.5 0 55 o u0uu050302 .55 ”005u5>5uo0 50:05uoaoua 5:5305505 0:0 00: 0: :05 0:0 00505055 5503 30: 00:000:::= 00:050u5:= 00505055 00505055 50:0:50um E005 58> 58> z emsafiucou .m-~ 05:05 124 0.0 5.5 0.55 H 50 H o.o 5.5 0.2 505 0 mm 0 20082.. 20 50383 .8 "005w050 5005 505 55 1535500 50005500050 0 5050050>00 000 50500050 0003 00050 505 . :305505 005 000 005 00 00550 305 50>0z 000550005 00550 050350 500000050 0055 2 50005 .5 50000>oz 00050 5.5 0.0 5.55 5.55 B 50 5 0055050 005000000 000: 50000000 5.5 0.5 0.05 5.55 0 55 0 5005 0500050 05 0000 005 0>00 0055535500 50005500050 5000 300 .0 0002 000 039 050: 50 500000055 , 0055 00505 2 "00 0055050 5.5 5.05 5.55 5.5 5 50 5 005000000 000: 50 0500050 5.5 5.55 0.05 5.5 0 55 0 05 0055535500 50005500050 50 000 5005500 50 0505 05003 5 .5505030 .0 5000 5500 0000 500550005 500000050 0055 z 505-00 mzmaH ZOHH