‘._.._V_... M. -_ 2v,‘ THE DEFFfismN OF INSTHUTE CONCEPTS BEYOND THE PARTICIPANTS OF AN NDEA PNSTETUTE IN CRH'ICAL AND APPRECIATEVE READERS Thesis for the Degree of Ph. D. MICHEGAN STATE UNIVERSITY BERRYCE SCOTT EDMONDS 1958 ml: LI B RA R Y Michigan ’" tam Unit/era)! This is to certify that the thesis entitled THE DIFFUSION OF INSTITUTE CON- CEPTS BEYOND THE PARTICIPANTS OF AN NDEA INSTITUTE IN CRITICAL AND APPRECIATIVE READING presented by Bernyce Scott Edmonds has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for Eh. I). degree inEdLLcalion Major professor Date {’30’6( 0-169 ABSTRACT THE DIFFUSION OF INSTITUTE CONCEPTS BEYOND THE PARTICIPANTS OF AN NDEA INSTITUTE IN CRITICAL AND APPRECIATIVE READING by Bernyce Scott Edmonds Problem The problem of this research was to study the dif— fusion activities engaged in by thirty-five administrator, specialist, and classroom teacher participants of a six- week summer NDEA Institute in implementing Institute recom- mended concepts in their schools. The study investigated the relationship that existed between participants' diffusion activities and their professional positions, self—perception of leader behavior, self-perception of diffusion responsi— bility, reasons for attending the Institute, and self-adoption 0f Institute concepts. Extensiveness of diffusion activities was measured by (l) the number of concepts diffused, and (2) the number of concepts adOpted by colleagues. The study was conducted in three phases: during the Operation of the In- stitute; seven months following the Institute; and ten months following the Institute. "—————— Bernyce Scott Edmonds A Procedure A Several techniques were employed in the study: ob- ‘ servation and tests during phase one; a mailed reactionaire during phase two; and sample school visits during phase ‘ three. Data collected through these techniques were analyzed with the Kruskal-Wallis one—way analysis of variance and k the Spearman rank correlation to test ten null hypotheses. ‘ The rejection region of the hypotheses was set at the .05 level of significance. Findings The number of concepts diffused was significantly related to: l. 2. 3. Professional position--Specialists, followed closely by administrators, diffused a greater number of Institute concepts than classroom teachers. Self-perception of diffusion responsibility-~Par- ticipants who expressed strong responsibility for diffusion during the Institute reported greater diffusion activity than those indicating less responsibility. Institute attendance rationale—~Participants whose objectives for attending the Institute were more altruistic reported greater diffusion activity than others. A. Self—adoption of Institute concepts-~Classroom teacher participants who implemented a greater number of Institute recommended concepts in their own classrooms engaged in greater diffusion activity than those adepting fewer concepts. The number of concepts diffused was not related to self- perception of leader behavior. Participants were quite homogeneous in scores earned on this variable. The number of concepts adOpted by colleagues was related only to one of the selected variables-~teacher par- ticipants' self-adOption of Institute recommended concepts. In general, participants seemed not to have been in a tenable position to make accurate assessments of adOption. Diffusion activities were minimal for most partici- pants because of some seemingly built-in obstacles such as lack of time and administrative support for sharing activities, Changes in school assignments subsequent to Institute attend- ance, and, perhaps most important, lack of planned diffusion strategies. THE DIFFUSION OF INSTITUTE CONCEPTS BEYOND THE PARTICIPANTS OF AN NDEA INSTITUTE IN CRITICAL AND APPRECIATIVE READING by Bernyce Scott Edmonds A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY College of Education 1968 3-/a"- 47 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS It is a pleasure for the writer to express her sin- cere gratitude and appreciation to the following persons. Dr. W. Robert Houston, Chairman of the Guidance Com- mittee, for his service during the writing of this thesis as advisor, catalyst, and friend. Dr. Charles A. Blackman and Dr. Shirley A. Brehm, members of the Guidance Committee, for their helpful advice and criticism. Dr. Everett.M. Rogers, member of the Guidance Com- mittee, for his technical assistance, advice, and interest in this study. Dr. Patricia Cianciolo, Director of the Institute, for her kind permission to use the Institute as the problem of this study. Dr. Richard L. Marquard for his kind service during the oral examination as substitute committee member. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . . . . . . LIST OF TABLES . . . . . LIST OF FIGURES . . . . . . . LIST OF APPENDICES . . . . . Chapter I. II. III. PROBLEMS AND ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY TABLE OF CONTENTS Factors Related to Diffusion Effectiveness The Problem of the Study Specific Rationale Definition of Terms Overview of Procedures and Analyses Limitations of the Study Organization of the Thesis REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE . . . . . . . . Diffusion Research Diffusion Research in Rural Sociology Diffusion Research in Medical Sociology Diffusion Research in Marketing Diffusion Research in Education Diffusion Research in Industry Instructional Leadership Summary PROCEDURE AND DESIGN . . . . . . . . . . . . Description of the Population Description of the Institute Design of the Study Description of Instruments Used in the Study Collection of Data Procedures for Analyses Summary iii Page ii viii ix Chapter Iv. ANALYSIS OF DATA AND FINDINGS . . . . . . . . 90 Statistical Analysis 90 Social Structure 90 Leader Behavior 93 Diffusion Responsibility 98 Institute Attendance Rationale 102 AdOption of Institute Concepts I38 111 Retest Reliability Descriptive Analysis Extent of Use and Diffusion lll Diffusion Strategies 128 Factors Limiting Diffusion Activities 131 V. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS . . . . . . . . . . . 134 Summary of Findings 134 Conclusions 139 Implications 143 BIBLIOGRAPHY O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 151 APPENDICES o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 160 iv LIST OF TABLES Table Page 3.1 Professional data and initial research study classification of participants 60 3.2 Job classification and educational status and aspirations of Institute participants 61 3.3 Items and weights of the SADR scale 7A 3.4 Items and weights of the IAR scale 78 3.5 Scores earned by participants on three instru- ments administered during the summer of 1966 84 4.1 Mean diffusion activity scores for three groups of educators , 92 Mean scores of participants for number of 92 4.2 concepts adapted by colleagues '4.3 Correlation between participants' self- assessment of leader behavior and the 96 number of concepts diffused 4.4 Correlation between participants' self— assessment of leader behavior and the number of concepts adOpted by colleagues 97 h.5 Correlation between participants' self- assessment of responsibility for diffusion of Institute concepts and the number of concepts diffused 100 4.6 Correlation between participants' self- assessment of responsibility for diffusion of Institute concepts and adoption of concepts by colleagues 101 4.7 Correlation between participants' reasons for attending the Institute and the number 104 of concepts diffused Table Page h.8 Correlation b for attending of Institute conce etween participants' reasons the Institute and adeption pts by colleagues 105 lassroom teachers' ute concepts and 107 h.9 Correlation between c ffused self-adaption of Instit the number of concepts di b.10 Correlation between classroom teachers' nstitute concepts and self-adaption of I adaption of Institute concepts by col— 108 leagues a1 significance of the hypotheses '109 h.12 Correlation of the long and short forms of Michigan par— 4011 Statistic the reactionaire for seven ticipants 110 4.13 Institute recommended concepts shared by ent of the participants with 11h fifty-nine perc other teachers 4.14 Copy of reactionaire showing classifi- cation of items most frequently shared with 115 other teachers h.15 The least shared concepts 120 4.16 Mean number of teachers with whom each concept was shared 123 4.17 The most effective activities utilized in diffusion of Institute concepts 128 4.18 Percent of administrators, specialists, and teachers utilizing var ous diffusion activities 130 ants by professional 132 4.19 Number of particip position involved in changes in 1966-67 ants' scores and ranks A1 Summary of particip on two measures of diffusion activities 211 vi Page Table A2 Summary of participants' scores and ranks in leader behavior, diffusion responsibil- 12 2 ity, and Institute attendance rationale A3 Summary of scores and ranks for eighteen teacher participants in self-adoption of l 2 3 Institute concepts vii Figure LIST OF FIGURES Pocket chart A scatter diagram of responses by a small sample of participants with respect to amount of agreement with judges on items of the SADR Mean number of discussions held by month by participants in Michigan with colleagues about Institute recommended concepts ,Mean number of Institute recommended con- cepts implemented by month in the class- rooms of teacher participants V///' Page 74 76 112 112 Appendix A. B. C. D. E. LIST OF APPENDICES Page Program of the Institute Participant Evaluation Questionnaire 160 Leader Behavior Description Question— naire Reactionnaire: Institute in Critical and Appreciative Reading in Children's Literature 170 Interview Guide 197 Cover Letter Follow-up Letter 209 Table A1--Summary of participants' scores and ranks on two measures of diffusion activities Table A2--Summary of participants' scores and ranks in leader behavior, diffusion responsibility, and Institute attendance rationale Table A3--Summary of scores and ranks for eighteen teacher participants in self- adOption of Institute concepts 211 ix CHAPTER I PROBLEM AND ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY The explosion of knowledge creates continual pres- sures on teachers to improve their competencies. Yester- day's skills are inadequate to teach in today's classrooms. The truths of yesterday's subject matter are being challenged and revised with unprecedented rapidity. A better under- standing of how people learn provides new insights into teaching strategies. A wide variety of communication media are rapidly being introduced into schools. As a consequence of these rapid changes, teachers are often required to util- ize information and instructional media that even recent graduates of teacher education programs may be unprepared to handle.1 The problem is particularly crucial at the ele- mentary school level where approximately one-third of the teachers received their preservice education at least twenty- five years ago. Mereover, as recently as 1965, 15.1 percent of elementary school teachers did not have a bachelor's degree.2 -__~ lWillard Abraham, A Time for Teachin (New York: Bar-4 per and Row Publishers, 19 a Pp. - . 2National Educatibn Association, "Status of Public- School Teachers, 1965," NEA Research Divisioni Research Dalmatia, XLIII (October. ICES). 63-70. 1 The need for continual in-service education is evident. According to the findings of one survey, three hun- dred seven large school systems make salary increments fer teachers contingent upon administrative approval of their professional growth activities. Further, enrollment in college courses fer credit, and participation in in-service education programs sponsored by the employing school system head the list of activities that are accepted as evidence of professional growth.3 One has only to visit any college campus during the evening hours of the academic year or dur- ing the summer terms to observe hundreds of teachers attend- ing classes. Others participate in school district sponsored in-service programs, attend institutes and conferences, and engage in experimental studies to test new curricular mate- rials or techniques designed to increase pupil achievement. For most of the first 150 years, the United States government left education almost completely to the states. Within the past few years, the federal government has become more active in educational matters.' This is reflected in an increased budget. In l9h0, federal expenditures in.edu- cation were only about one hundred million dollars. By 1950 this budget expenditure had climbed to about five hundred -—__ 3National Education Association, "Professional Growth RequirementsJ'NEA Research Division, Research Bulletin, XLIV December, 1966), I53. i_- 3 million dollars.‘ In 1961, the Department of Health, Edu- cation, and Welfare alone budgeted nearly five hundred eighteen million dollars fer educational purposes.5 It was estimated that federal monies expended for education reached and exceeded the two billion dollar level by 1965.6 Con- tinued federal involvement and expenditures can be anticipated in the future. } One of the most widely employed methods by the fed- eral government for improving teachers' competencies is the federally funded Institute. Typically, teachers participate full-time in a narrowly specialized field of study. The number and variety of institutes grows yearly. Impact of one part of the National Defense Education Act (NDEA) vividly illustrates this phenomenal growth. In the summer of 1959, 930 elementary and secondary school language teachers at- tended twelve fOreign language institutes. In the summer of 1961, the number of language institutes had increased to sixty-eight with an enrollment of 3.595 language teachers.7 LR. Freeman Butts and Lawrence A. Cremin, A Histor of Education in American Culture (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1953). p- 535- 5Abraham, Teachin , p. 235- 6Calhoun Collier, gt_§1., Teachin in the Modern Ele- mentary School (New York: Macmillan company, 1957), p. 5;. 7U. 3., Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Office of Education Re art on the National Defense Educ ~ A ation ACt Fiscal Year 1 61 and asnington, 5- 5.: Govern- ment Frinting Office, Egggg. p. 39. h In 1964, seven new fields were included in the NDEA Insti- tute program when a new act was substituted for the section alluded to above. Under the new provisions, approximately 20,000 elementary and secondary school personnel attended five hundred institutes in a variety of content and special- ist areas in 1965.8 This trend was expected to continue throughout the remaining two years of the program. A basic assumption of such institutes is that par- ticipants will influence others. Institute objectives and strategies should be diffused beyond the population in attendance. This was such an important consideration that improved criteria for selecting participants was a major concern of the on-site evaluators of the 1965 reading insti- tutes. A summary report of their views stated: Doubt was expressed as to whether or not the partici- pants were sufficiently capable people to provide leadership in their home schools either by demonstra- tion of skills learned or by informal discussion. If institute participants are expected to be potential influences of instructional practice in school systems, the selection criteria might well be re-examined. —v~ 8National Education Association, Department of Audio- visual Instruction, EMIE: Educational media Institute Evalu- ation Prodect, Evaluat one o ummer , nst tutes ashington: De artment of Audiovisual Instruction N 1965), Ch. 7, p.p7. ' ovember' 9Final Re rt: Evaluation of National Defense Edu- cation Act Institutes for iavancea Stud in Readin {NewarE, ggiaware: Internationai Reading Association, 19635, pp. Evaluators of the instructional media institutes expressed a similar point of view. Selection of participants is critically important to the success of institutes. . . . Consideration should be given to the desirability of inviting key individuals to apply. . . . selection of participants gigglgobe based more on ability than upon job func- In addition, the evaluators deplored the lack of well artic- ulated plans for followbup studies of participants. To what extent did the institute change participants' teaching strategies? To what extent did it affect the colleagues of participants? While little research has studied changes in participants fellowing an institute, even less has tested the extent to which important concepts of institutes are diffused to other educators. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the diffusion patterns resulting from one such government- sponsored institute. The study was based upon the assump- tion that institutes are related to changes in important teacher behaviors; that participants upon returning to their schools share with their colleagues some of the knowledge, skills and enthusiasm gained in the institute; and try to influence colleagues to adopt some of the recommended prac- tices. What has long been needed is a clearer understanding of the nature and strength of institute participants' M 4 10National Education Association, 31413, Ch. 7, p. 8 influence upon colleagues. Further, more definitive infor- mation is needed concerning the strategies employed by par- ticipants in implementing institute concepts in their schools. Egctors Related to Diffusion Effectiveness Previous research studies have identified several factors that may be related to diffusion effectiveness. Three of these, social structure, leadership and leader behavior, and situational factors, have contributed information of value to this study. That one's position in the social structure of his community determines to a great extent his reaction to ex- posure to new ideas and innovations is adequately supported by current literature. For example, a comparative study of research methodology and findings.in several fields by Katz, Levin and Hamilton revealed that social structure is a cru- cial ingredient in diffusion studies. They emphasized this finding in stating: A diffusion study should classify individuals accord- ing to their place in a social structure. What we need to know is when this kind of differential place- ment in the social structure is also related to dif- ferential access to, or acceptance of, influence stemming from outside the group- Following this line of investigation, Carlson found a ——..x 11 ' H milton ”Traditions E. Katz M. L. Levin and H. a , of Research on the Diffusion of Innovation," American Socio- 10 cal Review, XLVIII (April, 1963). 2h6. functional relationship between a superintendent's rate of adaption of educational innovations and his position in the social structure of superintendents in his county.12 Social structure variables take on added significance when viewed from the vantage point of two key concepts in diffusion studies: the flow of communication, defined as the transfer of information from person to person; and opinion leaders, defined as individuals who are influential in approving or disapproving new ideas.13 Accumulated find- ings of research studies in mass communication and sociology have shown opinion leaders to be somewhat higher in social status than are their follbwers.lh’ 15 That is, advice- giving tends to be downward in the communication network of a social group and advice-seeking tends to be upward. This implies that opinion leaders not only filter the information they pass on to their followers, but they also facilitate or hinder the communication process. Closely related to their somewhat higher social status are other characteristics which tend to distinguish opinion 'v— 12Richard O. Carlson, Ado tion of Educational Innova- tions (Eugene, Oregon: Center for the K3vance3 Study 0? E35: cational Administration, University of Oregon, 1965). P. 28. 13Everett M. Rogers, Diffusion of Innovations (New York: Free Press of Glencoe, 1952). PP. 253-9. 21:. lLIbid. 15Carlson, Adoption of Educational Innovations, p. 43. leaders from their followers. Opinion leaders are charac- terized by gregariousness and accessibility. They are in frequent contact with ideas and influence which come from outside their social system, yet they adhere closely to the social systems' norms of behavior. They visit other cities, use technically accurate sources of information such as the mass media, and make themselves "specialists" in an area (topic) of concern. Accordingly, they are more innovative than are their followers.16 Leadership can be ascribed, delegated or assumed. The methods employed in the designation of leadership affect greatly the outcomes of the leadership dependency. One method, the self-designating technique, appears to be con- sonant with current emphases in perceptual psychology on self-perceptions. Of this method Rogers states: "One advantage of the self-designating technique is that it meas- ures the individual's perception of his opinion leadership, which is actually what affects his behavior. . . . if men define situations as real, they are real in their conse- quences."17 The implications of the above statement are multi- farious. First, leadership is an activity and is largely —___ 16Wilbur Schramm, ed., The Science of Human Communi- cation (New York: Basic Books, nc., u s are, . PP- 17Rogers, Diffusion ofglnnovations, pp. 229-30. 9 situational; hence, an individual who is advertently or in- advertently placed in a leadership role must view himself as a leader in that situation. Second, those who are charged wdth the responsibility fer developing "leaders" must be concerned with the view that these potential leaders have of "self as instrument," defined as one's perception of his ability to use himself, his knowledge, and the resources at hand to solve the problems fer which he is responsible (whether or not it is creative, capable, flexible, confident, responsible, and resourceful).18 Third, the self-designating technique has been used not only in identifying leaders but also in having leaders describe how they behave as leaders.19 Here again, the implication appears to be "we are largely what we perceive." many opinion leaders are self-designated leaders. Lin and others employed the "self as instrument" concept in an investigation of change orientation of teachers in three Michigan high schools. Among the variables found to be significantly related to change orientation were several that centered around the teachers' self-perceptions. Self- designated opinion leadership was related to time of adoption ‘.__~ V—fl 18Arthur W. Combs, The Professional Education 9; Teachers: A Perceptual View of Teacher Preparation (Boston: A Y“ an acon’ nc., ) pp. - 0 I 19Andrew W. Halpin, The Leadershi Behavior of School Superintendents (Chicago: Midwest Admin.stration Center Uni- vers ty 0 icago, 1956), p. 30. ’ 10 of schedule-modification at the .01 level of significance.20 Psychologically, the value of the "self as instru- ment" concept in leadership studies cannot be overemphasized. Research has demonstrated the temporal nature of an indi- vidual’s behavior. . . . all behavior of a person is the direct result of his field of perceptions at the moment of his be- having. . . . his behavior at any instant is the re- sult of 1) how he sees himself 2) how he sees the situations in which he is involved, and 3) the inter- relations of these two.21 In light of the foregoing statement, it seems extremely im- portant that individuals who assume leadership responsibil- ities have accurate perceptions of themselves and the tasks with which they are confronted. They must be able to dif- ferentiate clearly their role behavior in terms of specific situations. On-site evaluators of 1965 reading institutes blamed participants' lack of demonstrable capability of leadership on the fact that participants did not know how or why they were selected to attend an institute.22 In 20Nan Lin, et al., The Diffusion of an Innovation in Threp.Michigan High SchooIs: Institution Buiiding Through ban a. roject on t e Di usion o ucationa ractices in T ai and, Research Report Number 1 (East Lansing: Institute for International Studies in Education and Department of Com- ggnécaggon,.Michigan State University, December, 1966), pp. - , . 12 21Combs, The Professional Education of Teachers, p. ' 22 Fin 1 Re ort: Ev lua ion of Nat onal D fense Edu- SEEAQQ.A§§ nsp tutp or vanced tn 1 n Read ng, pp. A, 83, 11 brief, they did not know that they were expected to influence instructional practices in their schools. If this expecta- tion had been known prior to enrollment, is it possible that the participating population would have been different? The crucial nature of goals as a situational factor in fostering or hindering effective use of institute and workshOp concepts has been found in assessments made of participants' knowledge of institute objectives, their ob- jectives in attending an institute, and their plans for using institute experiences. For example, in a pre-and-post- institute rating during the summer of 1965, approximately 500 participants of instructional media institutes were asked to rate twelve broad goals in terms of importance of the goals and participants' self-perceived competence in achieving the goals. Findings of post-institute assessments revealed that participants indicated more perceived growth in goals that previously had been rated most important.23 It appears that selectivity was operative. That is, participants ap- peared to have been imbued with the zeal to accomplish those tasks that were more closely related to their objectives in (attending an institute. In an investigation of more narrow scope, a similar finding was made by Karbal. He observed that objectives that were rated highest by participants on three separate ___~ 23National Education Association, EMIE, Ch. 5. p. 6. 12 ratings were more often than not translated into worthwhile production.2h Not infrequently the significance of objectives to participants is seen in retrospect. In quest of ways and means for improving workshOps, a subcommittee of the North Central Association found a representative sample of respond- ents from a population of about 2,000 who suggested screen— ing participants on the basis of their objectives for attend- ing a workshop.25 Further evidence of the centrality of objectives can be found in practically every discussion in which a change in behavior is at issue. A consideration of the factors discussed above led to the formulation of the following questions: To what extent does the diversity of professional positions held by participants influence achievement of NDEA Institute goals? What perceptions do institute participants have of their be- havior as leaders? What reasons do participants give for attending an institute? What do they perceive to be their major responsibilities for improving instructional practices in their schools? To what extent do they try to influence the instructional practices of their colleagues? The answers __ 2("Harold T. Karbal, "The Effectiveness of a WorkshOp as a Means of In-Service Education of Teachers" (Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Wayne State University, 1963). PP. 46-52. 25James R. Mitchell, "The Workshop as an In-Service Education Procedure " North Central Association Quarterly, XXVIII (April, l95h . 4&3. 13 to these and similar questions would help clarify the specula- tion that has long existed concerning the outcomes of insti- tute participation. Generally, institutes are funded on the premise that a great many more persons than just participants profit from this important medium of instructional improvement. The Problem of the Study The importance of diffusion of institute concepts to a wider audience cannot be overestimated. Factors which appear to be related to diffusion effectiveness include the position of the participant in his school system, his self- perception of his leadership behavior, his perception of his responsibility for diffusing institute concepts, his objec- tives for attending the institute, and his self-adoption of institute concepts. Specifically, the study was designed to test ten hypotheses, each of which was stated in the null form. 1. H0 There is no difference in extensiveness of diffusion activities among administrators, Specialists, and classroom teachers. H1 The three groups of educators are not the same in extensiveness of diffusion activities. 2. H0 There is no difference in extent of adoption of institute concepts by colleagues of administrator, specialist, and classroom teacher participants. H1 Extent of adoption of institute concepts by colleagues 18 not the same for the three groups of educators. fi—.—— —- 1h 3. H0 There is no relationship between extensiveness of diffusion activities and differences among participants in self-perception of leadership behavior. H1 Extensiveness of diffusion activities is positively related to differences among participants in selfeperception of leadership behavior. A. H0 There is no relationship between extent of adoption of institute concepts by colleagues and differences among participants in self-perception of leadership behavior. Hl Extent of adoption of institute concepts by colleagues is positively related to differences among participants in self-perception of leadership behavior. 5. H0 There is no relationship between extensiveness of diffusion activities and differences among participants in self-perception of responsibility for diffusion of institute concepts. H1 Extensiveness of diffusion activities is positively related to differences among participants in self-perception of responsibility fer diffusion of institute concepts. 6. HO There is no relationship between extent of adoption of institute concepts by colleagues and differences among participants in self-perception of responsibility for diffusion of institute concepts. H1 Extent of adoption of institute concepts by colleagues is positively related to differences among participants in 15 self-perception of responsibility for diffusion of institute concepts. 7. H0 There is no relationship between extensiveness of diffusion activities and differences among participants in reasons for attending the institute. H1 Extensiveness of diffusion activities is positively related to differences among participants in reasons for attending the institute. 8. HO There is no relationship between extent of adoption of institute concepts by colleagues and differences among participants in reasons for attending the institute. H1 Extent of adoption of institute concepts by colleagues is positively related to differences among participants in reasons for attending the institute. 9. HO There is no relationship between extensiveness of diffusion activities and self-adoption of institute concepts by teacher participants. - Hl Extensiveness of diffusion activities is positively related to self-adoption of institute concepts by teacher participants. 10. HO There is no relationship between extent of adoption of institute concepts by colleagues and self-adoption of in- stitute concepts by teacher participants. H1 Extent of adoption of institute concepts by colleagues is positively related to self-adoption of institute concepts by teacher participants. 16 Some descriptive information was considered perti- nent to the hypotheses. To achieve this, several ancillary questions provided a framework for the collection of infor— nation. The questions were: 1. Which concepts were used and diffused most fre- quently by Institute participants? 2. With how many people were each of the Institute concepts shared? 3. Which diffusion activities were considered by Institute participants to have been most effective? 4. Which diffusion activities were used most fre- quently by Institute participants? 5. What factors were identified by Institute par- ticipants as limiters of diffusion? Specific Rationalp In general, research tends to emphasize situational factors in the study of leader behavior.26 Leadership is defined in terms of behavior rather than a person or position. That is, the type and character of a given situation largely determines the choice of a leader. This approach tends to remove the restraints of job assignment or classification as an important factor in the concept of leadership. In the 26Gordon N. Mackenzie, pp_§l., Instructional Leader- %Q%E (New York: Bureau of Publications, Teachers Coiiege, o umbia University, l95h), pp. lh-15o 17 absence of specific data to the contrary, it is assumed that individuals occupying a diversity of professional positions in their school and who are accepted as participants in NDEA Institutes have the potential for leadership. "Perception" and "means" are key ideas in the situ- ational approach to leadership. A potential leader must be perceived as possessing certain means that are needed by an individual or group to achieve a desired goal. Similarly, a potential leader must perceive his own position vis a vis means and capability327' 28' 29 It seems reasonable to hypothesize that acquirement of the means (ideas, informa- tion and skills) of leadership will negate or minimize the effects of participants' preconceived ideas of their leader- ship ability on diffusion activities. The literature supports the idea that goals held by participants prior to institute participation influence sub- sequent use of institute concepts.309 31' 32 Despite these 4 27Rogers, Diffusion of Innovations, pp. 229-30. 28$chramm, The Science of H Communication, p. 98. 29Mackenzie, Instructional Leadership, pp. ll-lZ. 30National Education Association, EMIE, Ch. 5, p. 6. ht8 31Mitchell, "In-Service Education Procedure," p, 3ZKarbal, "In-Service Education of Teachers," p. 1L. 18 findings, it is hypothesized that participants who differ in perception of their responsibility for diffusion and their reasons fer attending the Institute will expend com- parable amounts of time and energy in diffusion activities. The rationale for these hypotheses is based upon the assump- tion stated on page 5 that institutes are related to changes in important teacher behaviors. As suggested by Karbal: "It may well be that his own self-esteem has been enhanced or it may be some particular piece of knowledge that he feels is worthwhile has created in him a desire to change something he is doing in this teaching."33 Institutes have long been believed to create a desire within an individual to do some- thing constructive, differently. Under the stimulation of good leadership,and association with people who share common concerns, it is likely that goals become more altruistic and oriented toward a wider pepulation. Too, an important consideration in the case of this particular institute is that participants were alerted to and periodically reminded of the Institute's objective of diffusion. Definition of Terms Specific terms used in this study are defined as follows: Diffusion "is the process of transmitting a message [object, idea, information, eth from a source system, be m 33Ib1d., p. 7b. 19 it a person or aggregate, through a second system, which acts first as a receiver then as a source, to a third and to later systems."34 Innovation-is an idea or object that is perceived as new by an individual or a group. Adoption is the acceptance and use of an innovation. Extensiveness ogrpiffusion Activities refers to the number of contacts made by an individual in sharing an inno- vation. 1 Leadership is "the behavior of an individual when he is directing the activities of a group toward a shared goal."35 Self-percgption refers to the view a person has of himself and his personal, social and professional attributes in a given setting. Situational Factors refer to stimulus conditions that cause a person to modify his habitual mode of behavior from time to time. Administrator is a person whose professional position includes executive as well as general supervisory responsi- bilities. 3“Lin, "Institution Building Through Change," p. 12. 35Ralph M. Stogdill and Alvin E. Coons, eds., Leader Behavior: Its Description and Measurement, Research hono- grap o. 88 Co umbus: *Bureau of BuSiness Research, Ohio State University, 1957). p. 7- 20 Specialist is a person who teaches or supervises the work of others in a specific subject matter area of instruc- tion. Ovprview of Procedure and Analyses The study was designed to study thirty-five adminis- trator, specialist, and classroom teacher participants of a sixrweek summer Code 3 NDEA Institute for advanced study for teachers of reading in grades four through nine.36 The study was conducted in three phases: during the operation of the Institute (Phase one); seven months following the Institute (Phase two); and ten months following the Institute (Phase three). Three instruments, two constructed by the investiga- tor, procured data during phase one for the independent vari- ables (leader behavior, diffusion responsibility and rea- sons for attending the Institute). Information for a fourth variable (professional position) was procured from par- ticipants' institute application data. A two-part re- actionaire was constructed, pretested and mailed to each participant in phase two. Part A of the reactionaire col— lected information to test hypotheses 9 and 10. Part B collected information for the dependent variables (number of practices diffused and number of practices adopted) and was used in testing all hypotheses. Institute recommended practices and procedures were used in deriving items for 36Code 3 Institutes were designed for those individ- uals who had no more than one course in reading. The great majority of approved Institutes were of this type. 21 the reactionaire. All participants were requested to check each practice and procedure in Part B that had been (a) shared with colleagues, and (b) adapted by colleagues. Class- room teacher participants (the only respondents to Part A) were requested to check those practices and procedures they had adopted themselves. An on-site reliability assessment of information colhacted with the reactionaire was made in seven schools in Michigan during phase three. An interview guide and a short form of the reactionaire were used by the investigator in school visits. The Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance by ranks was used to test hypotheses 1 and 2. Hypotheses 3 through 10 were tested with the Spearman rank correlation coefficient. Limitations of the Study The investigator was aware of several limitations of the study that could not be avoided for various reasons. The study was limited to participants of one Institute. Typically, in a diffusion study the receivers of innovations are con- tacted to find out when designated innovations were received and adopted. Contacting receivers in this case would have resulted in the collection of unwieldy amounts of data since a number of participants worked with more than a hundred individuals in their school systems. Too, visits should have been made to schools of all participants instead of a 22 sample. However, the widely dispersed geographical areas from which participants were drawn made school visits un- feasible. Another limitation involved the subjectivity of information procured with a reactionaire. The investigator's presence as an observer-participant in the Institute may have influenced subjects' perspective of the Institute goals and of the importance of diffusion. The conclusions of this study are limited to the extent that these factors influenced results. was This chapter presented background information con- cerning the study. The problem and rationale of the study were discussed at length. An overview of procedure and an- alyses was presented and specific limitations of the study were noted. A review of the literature is presented in Chap- ter II. The discussion is organized around three major tOp- ics: diffusion strategies; instructional leadership and edu- cational innovations; and the implications from the litera- ture for the design of the present study. The research design and procedures of the study are discussed in Chapter III. The Institute and participating pOpulation, the preparation and administration of the instru- ments used, and follow-up procedures are described in detail. The analyses of data and findings are discussed in Chapter IV. A summary of findings, conclusions, and impli— cations and recommendations are presented in Chapter V. CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Since the present study was concerned primarily with the diffusion of selected educational innovations, a review of pertinent diffusion studies is an appropriate beginning for Chapter II. Section two reviews the literature on in- structional leadership as it relates to the role of admin- istrators, supervisory personnel, and classroom teachers in effecting improvement of instructional practices, a second purpose of the present study. The third section summarizes information and implications from the literature that were useful in the design of the study. Diffusion Research Diffusion has been defined as "the process of trans- mitting a message (object, idea, information, etc.) from a source system, be it a person or aggregate, through a second system, which acts first as a receiver then as a source, to a third and to later systems."1 This definition implies the presence of three indispensable elements in the diffusion process: (a) a source; (b) a message channel; and (c) a *_ lLin, "Institution Building through Change," p. 12. '23 24 receiver. The channels through which new ideas and practices spread from their sources of origin to appropriate receivers has been studied by researchers in many contexts in many fields. Continuous and programmatic study of this phenomenon is called a diffusion research tradition. Four of the several well-known traditions outside the field of education have been selected for review because of their sociometric ap- proach (exploration of interpersonal relationships) to prob- lems of diffusion. These are rural sociology, medical sociology, marketing, and industry. Since rural sociology employed sociometric techniques earlier and more widely than did the other fields2 and since findings in this field are representative of findings in the others, most atten- tion will be directed toward diffusion research in rural sociology. Early studies in this tradition emphasized demonstrators used to give farmers firsthand experiences with recommended practices. Diffusion Research in Rural Sociology Dating back to the early nineteen hundreds, "result demonstration" as a diffusion technique has been continuously given vitality by agricultural extension workers. Tradi- tionally, they engaged in farm and home improvement projects with a few families who in turn served as demonstrators for y 85 86 2Schramm, The Science of Human Communication, pp. 25 their neighbors. The basic assumption of the technique was that peOple were influenced by what they saw. Thus, the process of diffusion of recommended practices was set in motion. Successful use of the technique depended upon close association of demonstrator and followers. In general, ex- tension workers, who were viewed by farmers as change agents, could not achieve the degree of intimacy with farmers that bred trust and imitation. On that ground, an intermediary was used. This was usually someone who knew and lived in the community with the target audience.3 The closer the demonstrator lived to this audience the more effective he was in influencing their behavior. Generally, the distance between them was no more than two miles.h As a result, a given community was likely to have several demonstrators.5 Since a linear relationship did not exist between demonstrations, distance, and adaption, much research atten- tion was focused on other factors and conditions that in- fluenced results of demonstrations. Among the factors that g 3Wilfrid C. Bailey, "The Dilemma of Demonstrations," Igtgrnational Journal of Comparative Sociology, VI (September, . 5 . “Ibid., 262-63. . 5Charles M. Hardin, "'Natural Leaders' and the Ad- ministration of Soil Conservation Programs," Rural Sociology, XVI (September, 1951) 281. ‘ 26 were explored or identified were several that related to the personal characteristics of demonstrators utilized by extension change agents. Others concerned the role of demonstrators in the diffusion-adeption process. These will be summarized briefly. Whether differences in age and educational attain- ment played an important role in differentiating demonstra- tors from followers is a moot question. It has been suggested that the importance of these differences depended, in part, upon whether or not the individuals investigated were com- munity demonstrators or neighborhood demonstrators. The former were older and better educated than their followers.6 In whatever manner they were classified, certain commonali- tiesamong demonstrators were observed. They were generally slightlyhigher in socio-economic status than their fellowers and possessed certain characteristics that neighboring farmers considered worthy of emulation. Such characteristics included contacts and communication outside the community, active par- ticipation in many types of social and civic organizations, and receptivity to new ideas.7' 8’ 9' 10 —— 6Eugene A. Wilkening, "Infbrmal Eeaders and Innovators in Farm Practices," Rural Sociolpgy, XVII (September, 1952), 272, 71bid., 273. 8Herbert F. Lionberger, "Some Characteristics of Farm Operators Sought as Sources of Farm Information in a Missouri Community," Rural Sociology, XVIII (December, 1953). 337. 9Bailey, "The Dilemma of Demonstrations," 261-62. loHardin, "Natural Leaders," 282. 27 The role relationship between demonstrators and their neighbors appeared to be opinion leadership and follow- ership. Demonstrators were believed to play an important role in the diffusion aspect of the diffusion-adoption de- pendency. Theirs was an.explanatory and legitimating role. In essence, they told people about the recommended practices and demonstrated their significance.11 Diffusion Research in Medical Sociology Compared to rural sociology, study of the diffusion of medical drugs is an emerging research tradition that be- gan with the investigations of Caplow in the early fifties. These studies largely investigated channels of communication utilized by physicians in learning about new drugs.12 As a result of the Surgeon General's Conference on Health Com- munications in 1962 in which stress was placed upon the need to understand the factors that influence diffusion and adoption of medical products, investigations turned toward greater use of the sociometric methods employed in rural ”Andrew W. Baird and Wilfrid c. Bailey, Te__s___t- Demonstration and Related Areas. Review'of Literature, Pre- Iiminary Reports In SocIoIogy and RuraI fife No. II (State College: ,Mississippi State University, 1960), p. 15. 12Herbert Mbnzel and Elihu Katz, "Social Relations and Innovations in the medical Profession: The Epidemiolog §£23 New Drug," Public Opinion Quarterly, XIX (Winter, 1955 , 28 sociology and marketing research.13 In general, findings of recent studies in medical sociology tended to support findings in other fields con- cerning the importance of interpersonal relationships in expediting the diffusion process. Sometimes the influence came from detail men (representatives of pharmaceutical companies) and at other times from colleagues, depending upon the vantage point of the investigation. When detail men were treated as primary sources of information in con- trast with reading material, they accounted fer one and three feurths as many adoptions of new drugs as Journal articles, twice as many adoptions as direct mail, and six times as many as journal advertisements.14 Rehder studied the methods employed by detail men in one medical community fer a period of several months.15 He found that in addition to maintaining good public rela- tions with physicians and bringing relevant mass media com- munications to their attention, they gave them samples of —— lBCurtis P. McLaughlin and Roy Penchansky, "Diffu- sion of Innovation in Medicine: A Problem of Continuing Medical Education," Journal of Medical Educatigg, XL (May, 1965). #39. lhTheodore Caplow and John J. Raymond, "Factors In- fluencing the Selection of Pharmaceutical Products," Journal or Marketin , XIX (July, 1954). 20-21. 15Robert Richard Rehder, "The Role of the Detail man in the Diffusion and Adeption of an Ethical Pharmaceutical Innovation Within a Single medical Community," (Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Stanfbrd University, 1961). PP. 110-15. 29 the new drug. These were frequently accepted with the ad- monition that the physicians would test the new drug on their wives, female relatives and nurses befOre making a decision to adopt it. From this it appeared that the effec- tiveness of detail men was inextricably bound to the influ- ence of local interpersonal relationships. Interest in sharing the benefits of utilizing a sociometric approach in diffusion studies motivated Coleman, Katz and Menzel to publish recently a full-volume account of the classic study they conducted several years ago.16 In this study, the personal characteristics and personal relationships (with colleagues) of 216 physicians in feur Midwestern communities were correlated with the time of the physicians' adoption of a new drug. Personal character- istics were measured by factors such as medical training, scientific orientation, medical behavior, type of practice, media exposure, patients' income, etc. Personal relation- ships were measured by responses to three questions relative to advice seeking, discussions and friends in the medical community. The results of the study revealed that early users (innovators) of the drug were: (a) heavy users of -—__ 16James E. Coleman, Elihu Katz, and Herbert Menzel, Medical Innovation: A Diffusion Stud (New York: Bobbs- err ompany, nc., , pp. - 7, passim. 30 certain drugs; (b) specialists: and (c) frequent visitors to out-of-town medical centers and meetings. McLaughlin and Penchansky summarized the salient findings of a number of studies included in the Annotated Biblioggaphy of Studies of the Flow of Infermation to Prac- titioners (a publication of the Institute fer Advancement of Medical Communication).17 These findings disclose that physicians tended to use different channels of communication fer different stages in the adoption process. For example, mass media and detail men generally made them aware of the existence of a new drug, but colleagues were more influen- tial in their decisions to use the drug. However, after adaption had been effected, mass media played an important role in influencing them to continue use of the drug. In addition to using different sources of infermation for dif- ferent stages in adoption, sources of information varied according to the purposes for which information was sought. An interesting finding was that younger physicians relied more heavily than older physicians on detail men and pro- fessional journals as valid sources of information. Physi- cians in the same social group tended to adopt a drug at about the same time. This latter finding tended to support the theory of horizontal opinion leadership, defined as 17McLaughlin and Penchansky, "Diffusion of Innova- tion in Medicine," Lao-46. 31 advice seeking and giving among persons of the same social status . The horizontal flow of communication and influence with respect to medical services was observed in the general populace during the poliomyelitis immunization campaigns in the late fifties.18’ 19 Acceptance was generally asso- ciated with a high socioeconomic status, and, in one study, with the size of the community. Since the highest percentage of acceptance was found in medium-size cities, it was con- cluded that large cities and small towns militate against frequent social contacts, thereby decreasing the influence of interpersonal relationships.20 Diffusion Research in marketing Many of the concepts related to consumer adoption of new products have been considerably modified in recent years. Traditionally, marketing research was based upon the popular belief that a linear relationship existed between mass media exposure and consumer purchases. Thus, it was assumed that 18David L. Sills and Rafael E. Gill, "Young Adults' Use of the Salk Vaccine," Social Problems. VI (Winter. 1959), Zeb-53. 19Leila Calhoun Deasy, "Socio-economic Status and Participation in the Poliomyelitis Vaccine Trial," American §Qciological Review, XXI (April, 1956), 185-91. "“ 20Sills and Gill, "Salk Vaccine," 251. 32 advertising through mass media rapidly accelerated the spread of innovation awareness and influenced consumers' reception of innovations. On that ground, surveys were conducted of the types and frequency of mass media used by business firms. Recently, a trend toward the use of consumer surveys has. changed the depiction of consumer market influences. Irre- spective of the product (household equipment and appliances, short-term consumer items, or clothing), influence for pur- chases has come chiefly from people rather than advertise- ments. Katz and Lazarsfeld advocated research conducted within this context. They posited that personal contacts were greater determiners of behavior than radio advertising, salespersons, newspaper advertising, and magazine advertis- ing, respectively.21 (This proposal was made befbre the advent of TV advertisements.) Accepting the proposition of personal influence, Bell hypothesized that endorsement of a new product comes from the first persons of a particular social group to use the product. Findings of his study supported the hypothesis; therefbre, he concluded: The innovator appears to be the effective sales representative. It has been determined that innovators 21Elihu Katz and Paul F. Lazarsfeld, Personal Influ- ence (New York: Free Press of Glencoe, 1955). P. I76. 33 act as influentials within their circle of friends. They act as demonstrators and opinion leaders. There- fore, the goodwill of the innovators is of impor- tance toihanufacturerfil. The thesis of Bell's study was that innovators vary accord- ing to the complexity of the innovation; therefore, manufacturers should base predictions of the market for a particular class of innovations on empirical studies of the characteristics of innovators of that class. King observed the horizontal flow of influence in the area of fashions and demonstrated the utility of the self-designating method of identifying sources of leader- ship.23 Arndt determined from his study of product-related conversations that in addition to influence, personal con- tacts provide a source of social support and risk reduction for "would be buyers."24 Myers found that indirect influence on the purchase of low-cost food items was exerted in the course of interpersonal conversations of other topics.25 22William Earl Bell, "Consumer Innovation: An In- vestigation of Selected Characteristics of Innovators" (Un- published D.B.A. dissertation, Michigan State University, 1962), p. 189. 23Charles W. King, "Fashion Adoption: A Rebuttal to the 'Trickle Down' Theory," in Toward Scientific Marketing: Proceedin s of the 1963 Winter Conference BTIthe American MEFEe I t n Association (Chicago: American Marketing Associ- atIon, 1561,), p, (22;. ZhJohan Arndt, "Role of Product'Related Conversations in the Diffudion of a New Product," Journal of MarketingARe- §2飣h» IV (August, 1967). 291-95. 25John G. Myers, "Patterns of Interpersonal Influence in the Adoption of New Products," in Science, Technology and marketin , ed. by Raymond M. Hans (Chicago: American marEEEL Ing Association, 1966). PP. 755-56. 3a, Haines found that, though innovators were the influentials among personal contacts, product sampling was a more potent factor of influence than personal contact in product use.26 In summary, parallels can be drawn between findings in rural sociology and findings in medical sociology and marketing research. For example, all recognized the existence of cognitive stages in the adOption process. -These were (a) awareness, (b) interest, (c) evaluation, (d) trial, and (e) adeption. They also agreed on the importance of mass media at the awareness and trial stages and personal influ- ences at the interest and evaluation stages.27’ 28’ 29’ 30 All utilized intermediaries. In medicine, it was the de- tail man; in marketing, the consumer innovator; and in rural sociology, the demonstrator. Medical and consumer innovators had many of the characteristics of opinion leaders in rural A. 26George H. Haines, Jr., "A Study of Why People Pur- chase New Products," Science Technolo and Marketin , ed. by Raymond M. Hans (Chicago: AmerIcan Marketing Association, 1966). pp. 691-95. Coleman, Katz and Menzel, Medical Innovation: A Diffusion Study, p. 57. 28Herbert F. Lionberger, "Diffusion of Innovations in Agricultural Research and in Schools," in Strategy for Curriculum Chan e, ed. by Robert R. Lee or (Washington, D. C.: Assogiation for Supervision and Curricu um Development, 1965), p030 29Rogers, Diffusion of Innovations, pp. 98-102. 30Bell, "Consumer Innovation," 183. 35 sociology and other fields. Too, social influences appeared to flow between persons of similar socio-economic statuses. Finally, physicians' tendency to select sources of informa- tion in terms of the problem under consideration and the tendency for consumer innovativeness to vary with the com- plexity of the innovation approximate the tendency of farmers to use different demonstrators for different purposes. Diffusion Research in Education Until recent years, most educators have been little aware of the tradition of diffusion research in the field of education. Little thought had been given to the process through which educational change had been accomplished though the clamor of ideas and inventions waiting to be im- plemented was generally recognized. The efforts of a few persistent researchers heightened awareness of the role and importance of the diffusion process in channeling ideas and inventions in the schools. Since the thirties, a substantial amount of informa- tion has been collected concerning the diffusion and adoption of educational innovations. For example, Mert and others revealed the commonality of adOption rates of publicly- supported schools and teachers colleges and their laboratory schools. Typically, an innovation was available for fifteen years before it was adopted by three percent (3%) of the 36 schools.31’ 32 Also, school innovativeness was linked to material characteristics and wealth of schools and com- munities.33 Allen determined that a driver education pro- gram had reached one hundred percent (100%) diffusion in the New York metropolitan area schools in sixteen years.34 Carlson discovered that school superintendents wielded con- siderable influence in the five years it took modern math to reach the saturation point in the schools of a county in Pennsylvania.35 From these and similar studies emerged some interesting and sometimes characteristic diffusion patterns; however, the dependencies, the influential factors _ 31Paul R. Mort and Francis G. Cornell, American Schools in Transition (New York: Bureau of Publications, Teachers cox: Iege, Columbia University, l9hl). pp. h6-53o 32Thomas M. Harrington, The Introduction of Selected Educational Practices into Teachers leleges and air ab- orator SchooIs (New York: *BEreau of Publications, Teachers College, Cqumbia University, 1953). P. 23. 33Mort and Cornell, American Schools in Transition, W 19-60 Easels. 3“Everett M. Rogers, "Toward A New Medel for Edu- cational Change" (paper presented at the Conference on Strat- egies for Educational Change, Washington, D. 0., November 3-9, 1965, s nsored by Ohio State University and U. 8. Office of Education , p. 2. 3SRichard 0. Carlson, "School Superintendents and the Adaption of Modern Math: A Social Structure Profile," in Innovation in Education, ed. by Matthew B. Miles (New Yor : Bureau 0 u loat ons, Teachers College, Columbia University, 196A), PP- 332-33- 37 of diffusion rates have been grossly neglected. or this negligence, Eichholz and Rogers stated: In some 150 educational studies completed to date on the diffusion of innovations, the unit of analysis has been the school or the school system. . . . When the school or school system is used . . . much of the in- dividual variation in innovativeness and other vari- ables is cancelled. . . . there is a need for further investigation . . . using the individual teacher as the unit of analysis, ghile taking account of school or group norms. . . .3 Diffusion Research in Industry The literature is limited with respect to diffusion studies in the industrial tradition. Rogers noted the exis- tence of twelve publications as Opposed to one hundred seventy-two in education and thirty-seven in medical so- ciology.37 These studies were largely economic in nature and reflected the interests of economic historians, indus- trial economists, and industrial engineers, thereby de- creasing the relevancy of a majority of the studies to the purposes of this study.38 However, because education is conducted in a formal organizational setting similar to that 36Gerhard Eichholz and Everett M. Rogers, "Resistance to the Adoption of Audio-Visual Aids by Elementary School Teachers: Contrasts and Similarities to Agricultural Inno- vation," in Innovation in Education, ed. by Matthew B. Miles (New York: Bureau of Puincations, Teachers College, Col- umbia University, 196A). p. 31h. 37Rogers, Diffusion of Innovations, p. 24. 381bid., p. A3. 38 of an industrial corporation, and because the problems that beset education are often similar to those in industry, some attention to the industrial tradition is warranted. The two studies to be discussed in the following paragraphs were selected more for their implications of diffusion strategy than for any specific reference to diffusion methodology. In a report to the National Science Foundation, the United States Department of Commerce indicated that changes in mature (traditional) industries such as textiles, machine tool, and machine building have come from outside agencies rather than from within. Reasons proffered for this occur- rence were given as: --focus on production, and on commitments to present methods and machines. --protection of these commitments by powerful social systems-~of family, company, locality, and industry-- which would be threatened by large-scale technical change. --lack of entrepreneurship and of entrepreneurial models.39 The power of internal social systems in facilitating or hindering production were discussed in studies and essays concerned with industrial relationships.“0' "1' "2 ng. S., Department of Commerce, Office of Technical Services, Patterns and Problems of Technical Innovation in oundat on, American Industr e ort to at ona c ence September, I963, p. Igi. LON " li ation in a Formal an Lin Innovation Interna 2 Organization" (Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Michigan State University, 1966), pp. 21-28. “lMcLau hlin and Penchansky, in Medicine," A 0-42. , " therald T. Kowitz, "The Man ement of Motivation, Wages. XLIX (October, 1967 , 78-79. "Diffusion of Innovations 39‘ Most of these social systems were oriented toward protection and maintenance of the perceived norms and status quo of the organization. Industrial firms that were change-oriented expended Gargantuan efforts to provide in-service training for personnel, and to keep abreast of "shop talk" and the work climate in the various units. Also, they tried to keep channels of communication open and accessible to all per- sonnel. The report of the U. S. Department of Commerce asso- ciated improvement of change-orientation with provisions for a consulting process whereby workers could acquire new skills and attitudes. Such a service should be designed to func- tion so that: --management is involved, is aware of serious problems . . . and wants change. --the consultant does not confine himself to assessing the situation and writing reports, but works closely with the client company after his original assessment has been made. --the relationship between consultant and firm is a lon one lasting over many months. --par§ of his [the consultant's; work is with tOp man- a ement itself and takes the form of bringing to tgp management‘s attention its own contribution to what it sees as lack of innovation or creativity within the firm.h3 Carter and Williams made a comparison between innova- tive and non-innovative firms. They observed that: “BU. 8., Department of Commerce, Technical Innovation in American Indust . PP. 193-9h. L0 The greater a firm's technical achievements, the readier it is to share its knowledge with other firms and to contribute to journals, conferences, . . . to supplement their own research and development by buy- ing knowledge from other firms. . . . The more pro- gressive firms have a greater interest in arranging for the training of their staff, whether through in- ternal training schemes . . . or through effective use of local technical college and university facilities.hh Again the inference is made that influence resulting from integration in a social network is more significant than isolationism. The U. S. Department of Commerce related lack of change to fragmentation in the so-called textiles indus- try, when in fact the industry is characterized by separate firms pursuing separate goals without regard to the industry as a whole. Another inference was that leadership fer im- provement of management, skills, attitudes, and output should come from persons who are familiar with and are capable of working with personnel in various echelons of the power structure. It is evident from the feregoing that diffusion of innovations in education and industry differed from the dif- fusion process in the previously discussed fields. Both were characterized by fragmentation and isolation of the various units of the total organization. The potentiality of interpersonal relationships within the organization as an MC. F. Carter and B. R. Williams, Industr and Tech- nical Pro ess: Factors Governin the S ee 0 A cat on 0 c ence (London: Oiiora University Press, I95§7. PP. W #1 important factor in organizational innovativeness was virtu- ally disregarded. Innovation occurred largely as a result of intervention by outside agencies. Thus, changes were piecemeal and poorly articulated. In summary, many diffusion patterns and strategies were implied in the studies cited in the foregoing para- graphs. It appears that some fields have gone far beyond others in achieving a workable facimile of the ideal diffu- sion strategy discussed by Guba.45 Such a strategy consists of: "(a) diffusion techniques; (b) assumptions concerning the nature of the adopter; (c) assumptions concerning the end state in which one wishes to leave the adopter; (d) assumptions about the nature of the agency or mechanism carrying out the diffusion activity; and (e) assumptions concerning the substance of the invention.”6 Education, it seems, is far from achieving an overall diffusion strategy within Guba's frame of reference. A major reason is that education lacks a recognized professional network of dif- fusers to expedite the diffusion process as is feund in rural sociology and medicine."7: 48 In view of this, one mdght ASEgon G. Guba, "Diffusion of Innovations," Educational Leadershi , XXV (January, 1968), 292-94. “—"**—-—— “blbld. L7Lionberger, “Diffusion of Innovations," p. 40. heRonald Lippitt, "Roles and Processes in Curriculum Development and Change," in Strata fer Curriculum Chan e, ed. by Robert R. Leeper (Washington, D. C.: hssociation fer Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1965), p. 13. #2 reasonably ask, "Who are the change agents, the communi- cators, and the legitimators of changes in instructional practices that do occur in schools?" Evidential answers to this question are difficult to secure on a broad scale. How- ever, a few studies have produced findings that are sug- gestive. Instructional Leadership The major contribution to curriculum improvement during the past decade came from programs supported by the National Defense Education Act and the National Science Foundation. Since these programs were chiefly concerned with updating course contents and methods of teaching con- tents, attempts have been made to attract participants who were close enough to the classroom situation to merit the respect of teachers as legitimators of the proposed inno- vations.‘*9 Therefore, participation in the programs was based more upon the perceived relationship that existed between participants and their colleagues than upon school position, per se. Accordingly, administrators, supervisory personnel, and teachers were given potentially equal oppor- tunity to play an important leadership role in improving * LgKimball Wiles, "Contrasts in Strategies of Change," in Strategy for Curriculum Chan e, ed. by Robert R. Leeper (Washington, D. C.: Association for Supervision and Cur- riculum Development, 1965), PPo 7‘90 #3 instructional practices. However, the efficacy of this development depends upon the permeability of the power structure that typically exists in schools. As was discussed in the first section of this chap- ter, interpersonal relationships are significant influencers of reaponsiveness to change. The quality of these relation- ships are particularly consequential in influencing behavior in an organizational setting. Like other corporate organi- zations, the school system is characterized by a number of substrata informal groups which are formed along the lines of affinity and similarity.5o’ 51 Thus, teachers associate with and are influenced by teachers; supervisors associate with and are influenced by supervisors, and so forth. The, "climate" of the formal organization determines mainly whether' or not an informal group will be supportive or combative. A change agent or an innovator, or even a communicator of an innovation is confronted with the necessity of understanding the behavior norms of a target infbrmal group in addition SCDavid Mechanic, "The Power to Resist Change Among Low-Ranking Personnel," Personnel Administration, XXVI (July, 1963) , 5-110 SlRalph B. Kimbrough, "Community Power Structure and Curriculum Change," in Strategy for Curriculum Change, ed. by Robert R. Leeper (Washington, D. C.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1965), pp. 61-64. #4 to the group's expectations of the formal organization.52 An informal group, sometimes referred to as an informal organization, differs from the formal organization in the following reapects: The Informal Group 1. Each member of the group is able to interact with every other member of the group. 2. The group develops its own structure and organization. 3. The group selects its own leader or leaders. h. The group has been voluntarily formed to achieve certain common tasks, goals, and purposes. 5. It does not have an officially prescribed hierarchical structure. The Formal Group 1. Each member of the group usually is not able to interact with every other member of the group. 2. The formal group is usually structured by author- ity external to the group. 3. The holders of positions of status in the organi- zation are usually determined by authority external to the group. h. The tasks, goals, and purposes of the group may be determined in part by authority external to the group. ' 5. It usually has an officially prescribed hierarchical structure.53 ' From the foregoing comparison, it can be seen that relationships are more closely knit and influential in the informal group than in the formal organization. On that ‘.; 52Paul E. Marsh, "Wellsprings of Strategy: Con- siderations Affecting Innovations by the P880," in Ignovation in Education, ed. by Matthew B. Miles (New York: Bureau of“— ub eat one, Teachers College, Columbia University, 196L), pp 0 263-610 0 53Edgar L. Morphet, Roe L. Johns, and Theodore L. Reller, Educational Organization and Administration: Con- ce ts Practices and IssuesTIanfied. TEthéwoodsfiClIffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1967). p. 128. #5 ground, leadership efforts are more effective when the authority for leadership is rendered by the informal group rather than imposed upon it. It can also be reasoned that authority for leadership is rendered to the person, irre- spective of membership, who has the most information and skill related to the activities of the group. How admin- istrators, supervisory personnel, and teachers have served in this role and/or their potentiality for effectiveness in the role is reviewed briefly in the following paragraphs. 1. Administrators as Instructional Leaders By definition the principalship is synonymous to leadership. However, the association may be more apparent than real in view of the behavioral concepts presented thus far in this discussion. How a principal behaves is the real determinant of whether or not he is a leader. A prin- cipal is at the same time an administrator and a supervisor. Therefore, he has a dual reSponsibility. On the one hand, he is expected by his superiors to achieve the goals of the school, and on the other hand, he is expected by his sub- ordinates to meet their personal needs.54 A balance between these two sets of expectations determines whether or not a principal is an effective leader. Such a balance is described ‘— 5h Robert H. Anderson, Teachin in a World of Chan e (New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc., I955), p. IE4. A6 by Getzels and Guba as transactional leadership,55 and by Halpin and others as leadership that is high in initiation of structure (attention to goals of the formal organization) and consideration (attention to personal needs of subordi- nates).56 The behavior of a principal of an innovative school is different from that of a principal in a less inno- vative environment. What is the role behavior of principals of innovative schools? From findings of relationships favorable to inno- vativeness in industry and management, Lin hypothesized that the relationship between a principal and teacher should be: "personal rather than job-centered; and helpful rather than rigid-controlled as perceived by the teacher if he is to accept an innovation being diffused in the organizational hierarchy internally."57 This hypothesis was substantiated by Chesler, Schmuck, and Lippitt in an investigation of principal-teacher rela- tionship in nine elementary and secondary schools in 55W. w. Charters, Jr., "The Social Background of Teaching," in Handbook of Research on Teaching, ed. by N. L. Gage (Chicago: American EducationaIflResearch association, Rand McNally and Company, 1963). pp. 786-87. 56Andrew w. Hal in, The Leadershiprehavior of School Su erintendents (Chicago: Midwest Administration Center, University of Chicago, 1959). Po 23- 57Lin, "Innovation Internalization in a Formal Or- ganization," p. 22. A7 58 and by Peterman in an investigation of the prin- Michigan, cipal's role in fostering teacher innovativeness and par- ticipation in in-service education in sixteen secondary schools in Eichigan.59 Chesler, Schmuck, and Lippitt found high significant correlations between teacher innovative- ness and teachers' perception of approval and support by (a) principals, and (b) colleagues. They concluded that the principal was the key factor in creating a climate conducive to innovativeness. Peterman found that though principals were not a major source of ideas for classroom innovations nor the chief determinant of participation in in-service education, teacher innovativeness was significantly corre- lated to classroom visitation by principals. Factors contributing to an administrator's pre- disposition toward innovativeness were investigated by Hanson,60 and Knedlik.61 Hanson determined that participation 58Mark Chesler, Richard Schmuck, and Ronald Lippitt, "The Principal's Role in Facilitating Innovation," Theory Into Practice, II (December, 1963), 274- 59Lloyd Edward Peterman, "The Relationship of In- service Education to the Innovativeness of the Classroom Teacher in Selected Public Secondary Schools in Michigan (Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Michigan, 1966). p. 87. 60John Ofsthus Hanson, "A Descriptive Study of Basic Data and the Educational Innovations Found in Twenty-two Selected North Dakota Small Schools," Dissertation Abstracts, XXVII, No. 6, University of North Dakota , 5 -A. 6lscanley M. Knedlik, "The Effect of Administrative Succession Pattern Upon Educational Innovation in Selected Secondary Schools," Dissertation Abstracts, XXVIII, No. 11, New York University , AL -A. #8 in summer workshops and travel outside the school community differentiated innovative from non-innovative administrators. Knedlik found that administrators who originated from out- side the employing school system were significantly more innovative than were inbred administrators. The role of the principal as an instructional leader has been an area of concern to some investigators. Findings from Peterman's study revealed that principals were neither a major source of ideas for classroom innovations nor the determining factor in in-service education participation. Lippitt reached a similar conclusion from his extensive contacts with in-service educational programs.62 He said that the evaluation relationship which exists between prin- cipals and teachers militates against a trainer-trainee relationship. Tinari highlighted the importance of these findings in his study of the perceived role behavior of the principal in in-service education.63 He found that teachers' perceptions conflicted with those of principals. The role of the principal as an instructional leader was the only one of six areas studied in which conflict was found. Tinari concluded that the instructional leadership 62Ronald Lippitt, "Curriculum Development and Change," 63Charles Tinari, "A Study of the Role Behavior of the Elementary School Principal in In-service Education in Selected Public Schools of New Jersey," Dissertation Ab- stracts, XXVIII, No. 10, New York University (l§6§), 3§54-A, p. 2b. 49 role of the principal needs clarification. In sum, it appears that an effective principal is one who meets the needs of both superiors and subordinates. The role behavior of the principal is of significant import to classroom innovativeness. However, the evidence is stronger that teachers view the principal as a source of professional support rather than of instructional ideas and practices. It appears that the creation of an innova- tive school climate is a principal's major instructional responsibility. 2. Supervisory Personnel as Instructional Leaders For the purposes of this study, supervisory person- nel were designated as specialists, defined as persons who teach or supervise the work of others in a Specific subject matter area of instruction (Chapter I, p. 20). By virtue of position, supervisory Specialists were expected to in- fluence instructional practices. This assumption, perhaps, accounts in part for the paucity of empirical studies on instructional supervision. Since 1963, abundant essays emphasizing the need for descriptive studies of supervisory behavior have appeared in the literature. Harris stated: Notable indeed is the lack of research on the supervisor and supervisory programs and practices in education. We continue to emphasize studies in this field which deal with teacher opinions of supervisors, principals' Opinions, contrasting perception of roles, and role conflicts. . . . it is time to change focus and to sharpen it too. . . . The recent study of 50 administrators and the adoption of innovations by Carlson might well be redgzigned and repeated with supervisors as the focus. Harris' observation about the Carlson study reflects a trend in the literature describing a more dynamic leader- ship function for the specialist in implementing innovations in instructional practices. This trend is evidenced by recent descriptions of the Specialist as a change agent.65’ 66 Some authors do not believe that the past performance of the 67 specialist warrants this description. Why the specialist is viewed as a change agent may best be understood by refer- ence to the role of a change agent. In general, a change agent lives in and holds a status position in the local community in which he purports to introduce a change. Ideally, his knowledge of community norms, values and needs enables him to adapt the innovation 61‘Ben M. Harris, "Strategies for Instructional Change: Promising Ideas and Perplexing Problems," in The Supervisor: A ent for Change in TeachingJ ed. by James Raths and Robert— E. Leeper (Washington, D. 0.4 Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, NBA, 1966), p. 86. 65Luvern L. Cunningham, "Effecting Change Through Lgadership," Educational Leadership, XXI November, 1963), 66Le31ee J. Bishop, "Challenges for Supervisors," in The Su ervisor: A ent for Chan e in Teachin , ed. by James Kathe and Robert R. Leeper (Washington, D. 5.: Association {83 Supervision and Curriculum Development, NBA, 1966), p. 67. 88 Harris, "Strategies for Instructional Change," p. e 51 to the cultural values and past experiencesof the target population. From this vantage point he is able to fUnction as a communication intermediary between the sponsors of an innovation and the target-clientele»68 Similarly, a specialist occupies a status position in the school community and works with both teachers and administrators. In addition, he frequently serves as a local channel fer new ideas originating from-external pro- fessional organizations. Because-he is a member of the school community, it is assumed that a specialist is cog- nizant of the norms and expectations of both teachers and administrators and is able to adapt his behavior accordingly. The real measure of a change agent, however, is the extent to which he is capable of producing changes in a target population. A study by Hardenbrook suggests the feasibility of this occurrence. After determining that the curriculum Specialist was the influential in a district-wide adoption of five innovations, Hardenbrook concluded that the Special- ist should take the leading role in initiating innovative changes.69 . 68Rogers, Diffusion of Innovations, pp. 283-8L. 69Robert Francis Hardenbrook, "Identification of Processes of Innovation in Selected Schools in Santa Barbara County," Dissertation Abstracts, XXVIII, No. 8, University Of Southern California (1963), 2896-A. 52 A study by Houston and DeVault is also suggestive. These investigators studied the relative effectiveness of (a) television, (b) television supplemented by consultant services in the classroom, (c) face—to-face lecture-discus- sion, and (d) face-to-face lecture-discussion supplemented by consultant services in the classroom as methods of in- service education fer teachers. The methods in which the services of a consultant were used were found to be more effective as measured by changes in the achievement of both teachers and pupils.70 These two studies tend to show that the effective- ness of a specialist as an agent of change can be determined by empirical studies of this nature. Assessments of effec- tiveness are based largely upon role expectations of the position. The position of specialist appears to be particu- larly suited to the implementation of instructional inno- vations. If, as Raths observed, specialists are reluctant to admit that they are more knowledgeable about teaching than teachers,71 they are not likely to be perceived by teachers as sources of instructional leadership. __ 70W. Robert Houston and M. Vere DeVault, "Mathe- matics In-Service Education: Teacher Growth Increases Pupil Growth," Arithmetic Teacher, X (May. 1963). 2u3-a7. 71James Raths, "A Final Note," in The Su.ervisor: A ent fer Chan e in Teachin , ed. by James Raths and RoSert R. Eeeper (Washington, D. 5.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1966), p. 125. 53 Teachers as Instructional Leaders Thirty years ago Mort and Cornell observed that teachers would rather follow than lead.72 That depiction of a teacher's leadership behavior has changed very little in the ensuing years as is indicated in the fellowing para- graphs. . Wayland thinks the organizational structure of the school is responsible for teachers' reticient leadership behavior.73 This proposition has been verified by several investigators. From studies of decision-making practices in school systems in New York, Brickell reported: Teachers can make only three types of instruc- tional changes in the absence of the administrative initiative: change in classroom practice; reloca- tion of existing curriculum content; and introduc- tion of single special courses at the high school level.74 Pallegrin analyzed the findings of a number of investigations of perceived sources of innovations in schools. He con- cluded: . . . existing role expectations both encourage and impede change, but in the main they mitigate the teacher's serving as a source of innovation. . . . it 72 290 Mbrt and Cornell, American.Schnols in Transition, p' o 73Sloan R. Wayland, "The Teacher as Decision Maker," in Curriculum Crossroad , ed. by A. H. Passow (New York: Bureau of PuEIications, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1962): PP. “5"?6. 7“Henna-y M. Brickell, Or anizin New York State for Egucational Change (Albany, New York: State Department of ucation, , p. 2b. 5b is quite evident that there is a lack of institu- tionalized procedures through which the teacher can play an important role in the innovative process.75 Walters investigated the extent to which teachers in Miss- issippi share in decision-making practices. The results of his study showed that teachers in 108 school districts are permitted to participate in only 14 of 90 administrative practices in which teachers can and do participate.76 That teachers have internalized the view of the appropriateness of the existing structure is suggested by Nylin.77 He found no significant differenes between innova- tive and. non—innovative teachers in their perception of the organizational climate of the school. Results were influenced, however, by the disproportionately large number of non-innovators in the sample, or by teachers' satisfaction with their present teaching arrangement. Nylin concluded that few teachers are innovators and that teachers are not ready to assume a leadership role in the innovative-process. 75Roland J. Pellegrin, An Analyais of Sources of Innovation in Education (Eugene, Oregon: ’Center f6r Kiianced tu y o ucat ona ministration, University of Oregon, 1966 ’ pp. 8-90 76Robert N. Walters, "An Analysis of the Extent to which Teachers Participate in the Administrations of the Public Schools in Mississippi," Dissertation Abstracts, XXVIII, No. 8, University of Mississippi (I958), 5970-A. 77Donald William Nylin, "An Investigation of the Relationship between Self-Perceived Traits Associated with Innovators" (Unpublished Ed.D. dissertation, University of Illinois, 1967). pp. 82-89. 55 Perhaps the clearest evidence of factors that influ- ence teachers' predisposition toward leadership is provided by Dempsey who assessed teachers' perception of barriers. 78' This investigator hypothesized that teachers to change. who were ready to change perceived fewer barriers to change, while teachers who were least ready to change perceived more internal as well as external barriers to change. The hypoth- eses were substantiated. The outstanding feature of the relationships was that the school figured prominently in the barrier-to-change variables. Research concerning the teacher as an instructional leader is characterized by uncertainty. Factors influencing this were imputed to the teacher and to the school. Lippitt interjected another factor which related teachers' percep- tion of teachers as instructional leaders. He asserted that teachers were reluctant to adopt another teacher's innovations.79 To the extent that this is valid, teachers may not render authority for leadership to another teacher. Summary Whether he was a demonstrator in agriculture, a detail man in medicine, or a consumer-innovator in marketing, 78Richard Allen Dem GWB "An Analysis of Teachers' Expressed Judgments of Barr ers to Curriculum Change" (Un- published Ph.D. dissertation, Michigan State University, 1963): Pp. 86-89. 79L1pp1tt, "Curriculum Devel0pment and Change," p. 13. 56 agencies attempting to introduce new ideas and practices typically employed an intermediary as a personal channel of communication who was capable of exerting some observable degree of influence or opinion leadership on a target popu- lation. The direction of this influence appeared to be horizontal rather than vertical. Hence, intermediaries were most often friends and/or neighbors of the target popu- lation. Conversely, much less was known about the identity and effectiveness of intermediaries in education. There appeared to be no planned strategy for determining the directional flow of influence with respect to instructional innovations. AS suggested by Eichholz and Rogers (p. 37), educational research has not studied the role of the indi- vidual (administrator, specialist, or teacher) in the dif- fusion process. The individual was utilized as the unit of analysis in the present study. Therefore, the character- istic that set this study apart from the mainstream of dif- fusion studies in education was that it dealt with a selected population of trainees who were expected to serve as demon- strators in their schools. In addition to social structure, the literature reviewed in Chapters I and II tended to emphasize the im- portance of self-perception and the perceptions of signifi- . cant others in determining an intermediary's effectiveness as a demonstrator or a legitimator of an innovation. This 57 body of information was helpful in the formulation of hypoth- eses for the study. The literature also revealed characteristic diffusion strategies for different types of intermediaries (or dif- fusers). Further, the success of a diffusion effort depended upon optimal matching of strategy with potential adopter. This led to the formulation of questions concerning whether or not there are identifiable strategies for administrators. Specialists, and classroom teachers. CHAPTER III PROCEDURE AND DESIGN The purpose of this chapter is to describe the fol- lowing elements of the study: the population and the Insti- tute; research design; selection and construction of research instruments; collection of data; and procedures for the analyses of data. Description of the Population During the summer of 1966, thirty-five educators (twenty-five women and ten men) participated in a six-week Institute designed to improve the teaching of critical and appreciative reading in grades four through nine. The par- ticipants represented a wide diversity of professional positions. However, for the purposes of this study they were classified as administrators, specialists, and class- room teachers. There were eight administrators, eleven specialists, and sixteen classroom teachers. Each partici- pant was from a different school or school system and at least half were from schools in widely dispersed geograhical areas. Only two came from school systems with an enrollment of less than two hundred, while nineteen were from systems with enrollments of five thousand to thirty thousand plus. 58 59 In general, the participating population was young. More than half were less than thirty-five, only two were over forty-two years of age. Educational experiences ranged between three and twenty-two years of classroom teaching and/or supervisory responsibilities, with twenty-one par- ticipants having had less than thirteen years of experience. See Tables 3.1 and 3.2 for descriptive data. It can be seen from Table 3.2 that all participants evidenced high professional goals and/or achievement. Four- teen had earned the master's degree, five were working toward a master's degree and sixteen toward the doctorate. It seems significant that better than sixty percent of the Specialists and administrators were working toward the doctorate as opposed to twenty-five percent of the classroom teachers. Only one specialist held less than the master's degree, while three administrators fell in this category. Although no data were collected on the number working toward a specialist's degree, the fact that all participants except one registered for credit in the Institute seems to offer reasonable evidence that some were pursuing this degree. The program leading to a Specialist degree consists of two years of planned graduate study beyond the bachelor's degree.1 ‘— 1 Graduate School Catalo Issue (East Lansing: Mich- igan State University PuEIication, I967), p. 1L9. 60 Table 3.1-~Professional data and initial research study classification of participants *Adm. - Administrator Years of Partic- Job Research Degree Teaching ipant Classification Category Held Experience 1 Reading Teacher Specialist M.Ed. 1h 2 Teacher Teacher A.B. 9 3 Teacher Teacher M.A. 7 A Teacher Teacher M.A. 8 5 Teacher Teacher M.A. h 6 Team Leader Specialist A.M. ll 7 Teacher Teacher M.Ed. 15 8 Supervisor Specialist M.A. 12 9 Consultant Specialist M.A. 5 10 Teacher Teacher B.S. 3% ll Asst.Dir. of Instr.Adm.* B.S. 3 12 Teacher-Librarian Specialist M.S. ll 13 Supervisor Specialist M.A. 10$ 1h Supervisor Adm. M.S. 21 15 Teacher-Principal Adm. B.S. 8 16 Reading Consultant Adm. M.A. 16 1? Supervisor Adm. M.Ed. ll 18 Teacher-Principal Adm. B.E. 1h 19 Teacher Teacher A.M. 8 20 Teacher Teacher M.S. 10$ 21 Teacher Teacher M.S. 13 22 Teacher Teacher M.A. 6 23 Reading Teacher Specialist M.E . 9 2L Principal Adm. M.A. 7 25 Teacher Teacher B.A. 3 26 Teacher Teacher A.B. l9 27 Library Counselor Adm. M.E . 12 28 Librarian Specialist M.A. 6 29 Teacher Teacher B.S. 3 30 Teacher Teacher M.A. 8 31 Reading Teacher Specialist M.A. 13 32 Reading Teacher Specialist M.A. ' 16 33 Teacher Teacher B.S. 5 3h Teacher Teacher M.S. 8 35 Reading Teacher Specialist B.S. 18 61 Hm 0H m mm 0 .mm OH naepoa a e m ea 0 ca 0 teseees a a 0 HA 0 OH H eeaaeaeenm a m N m o m m toeeteeaeaaea mamaoe wmmnopooa menopmmz Hence oompopooo, menopmw: hoamxwmm sowpaoamannmao o eosmndm oohwoo eschew acumen pmmsmwm n w E apneaaeaetua opSpwpmSH mo msoaumufiamm can escape Hemoapmoseo one cowpmowmwmnmdo nonnnm.m canoe 62 Several participants held office in learned associations and societies and others held membership. This in combina- tion with high achievement and goals seemed to suggest that, in general, the pOpulation appeared to be receptive to change and thus were selected. Descgiption of the Institute The Code 3 NDEA Institute for advanced study for teachers of reading was held at Michigan State University from June 22 until August 3, 1966. The Institute was de- signed to provide theoretical and practical experiences that would enable participants to increase their knowledge and use of the skills, understandings and attitudes that are essential to discriminating reading. The objectives of the Institute were: 1. to learn more about the constants of quality literature; 2. to learn more about the fundamental principles of selection of books for use in the elementary school instructional program; 3. to become more familiar with the field of chil- dren's literature (especially the recent publi- cations); A. to learn more about the study and reading inter- ests of children and youth of elementary school 63 age (grades A through 9) and the role that these interests play in the process of educa- cation; 5. to gain a better understanding of what skills and attitudes are necessary to be a critical and appreciative reader; 6. to realize more fully that certain types of curricular design and patterns of instruction tend to create certain reading needs and tend to determine the degree to which discriminat- ing reading (critical and appreciative read- ing) by a child can or cannot be fostered; and 7. to identify specific learning experiences which involve the use of some form of children's lit- erature and which are designed especially to promote further interest in reading by chil- dren and will provide Opportunities for the development of appreciative and critical reading skills and attitudes. Achievement of these varied and comprehensive ob- jectives required the competencies of outstanding educators and consultants in a variety of areas related to critical and appreciative reading. To this end, instructors and guest lecturers were selected on the basis of the unique contributions each could render to the overall program. 6h Three three-credit courses formed the nucleus of the Insitute program. These were: Children's Literature; Teaching of Reading; and a Seminar in Elementary Education. Lectures, discussions and demonstrations were given mornings and the afternoons were freed for individual and/or small group projects, study or field trips. See Appendix A for a description of the contents of the courses. Class sessions were held in a room reserved spe- cifically for Institute use, thereby facilitating transition from one class activity to another. The opportunity to Spend time between classes continuing discussions with in- structors and guest lecturers that would ordinarily be spent in making room changes was a decided value of an Institute room. Another advantage was the readily accessible wealth of trade books and other multisensory aids housed in the room. In addition to creating an attractive physical at- mosphere, the ease with which these materials could be used contributed substantially to the creation of a high level of motivation and togetherness. Communication between participants and Institute faculty and staff was optimum; therefore, no attempt was made to get a written evaluation of the Institute from participants until the last week of the Institute. At that time, participants were asked to react anonymously in.writ- ing to a Participant Evaluation Questionnaire. Questions 65 dealt with the following: efficiency of organization and operation of the Institute; effectiveness of objectives, instruction and course contents; adequacy of ratio between directed and nondirected activities; expedience of time distributed between guest lecturers and regular instructors; efficacity of inviting persons of diversified professional positions as participants; and adequacy of library facil- ities. Further, questions inquired into perceived Strengths and weaknesses of the Institute and participants' plans for using Institute experiences. Thirty-five questionnaires were distributed, and twenty~eight (80%) were returned. A few examples of responses to queries of major strengths and weaknesses of the Institute and plans for innovations in home schools are sufficient to Show the positive influence of the Institute on participants. "Ex- cellent instruction and experiences" was the dominant re- sponse (100 percent of return) for major strengths. It seems appropriate to mention here that all participants reaffirmed this assertion seven months after the close of the Institute. (The follow—up study investigator received 100 percent return on the mailed reactionaire.) "Excellent organization and planning" was next in order of mention. Closely related to this were comments extolling the competence, stamina and friendliness of the Director, the sparkplug of the Institute. 66 With regard to major weaknesses, responses showed that there were no outstanding factors that were obvious to all as in the case of strengths. Participants varied greatly in identifying the following weaknesses: seminar period (31%); work requirements (25%); housing arrangements (lk%); no weaknesses (ll%);library facilities (7%); divers- ity of membership (4%); no provision for seeing instructors work with children (4%); and no comment (4%). flans for innovations in home schools as a result of Institute experiences were as varied as the membership of the Institute. It appears that each had selected from Institute experiences according to his needs and interests (see statement on objectives on p. 11 of Chapter I). Never- theless, five ideas were dominant in stated plans. Illus- trative of these were statements concerning: 1. increased use of trade books in the instructional program; 2. improvement of reading program or development of an individualized reading program to foster devel- opment of critical and appreciative reading skills; 3. improvement of library facilities or establishment of central library or learning center; A. implementation of activities to share Institute concepts with colleagues; and S. implementation of an in-service program related to critical and appreciative reading. 67 In sum, it seems reasonable to conclude that the Institute met the perceived needs of the participants, that whatever happened to hinder implementation and sharing of concepts in home schools was not due to a low level of motivation resulting from the Institute. See Appendix A for a c0py of the evaluation form. Design of the Study The study was designed to determine and analyze effectiveness of diffusion activities resulting from the Institute. A review of the literature related to NDEA In- stitutes conducted between 1961 and I965 revealed a number of uncertainties about what happens after an Institute. These reports were instrumental in the selection of vari- ables and formulation of hypotheses used in this study. The study was conducted in three phases. As an observer, the investigator became familiar with objectives and course contents and participants of the Institute during phase one. Further, three instruments were administered to collect data for the independent variables and to classify partici- Pants into research categories. Phases two and three were used as a follow-up study of participants to: (a) determine the extent to which participants had been able to implement Institute concepts in their schools; and (b) make an on-site reliability assessment of information collected with re- actionaires by visiting the schools of a sample population of Participants. 68 The independent variables of the study were: (a) Professional Position; (b) Self-Perception of Leader Be- havior; (c) Self-Perception of Responsibility for Diffusion; and (d) Stated Reasons for Attending the Institute. Data for the independent variables were collected during the fifth and sixth weeks of the Institute. Instruments ad- ministered were: Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire (LBDQ) Self-Assessment of Diffusion Responsibility (SADR) Institute Attendance Rationale (IAR) Professional position was collected as part of the applica- tion for the Institute. The Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire (LBDQ) was used to classify participants for independent variable two; SADR for variable three; and IAR for variable four. Extensiveness of diffusion activities was the de- pendent variable. Diffusion was measured by (a) the number of concepts shared by participants with other teachers, and (b) the number of concepts adopted by other teachers. To study the dependent variables, the investigator constructed a two-part Reactionaire. Further, a short interview guide and a short version of the Reactionaire were constructed to use in school visitation. Ten null hypotheses were formulated to determine differences and associations between the variables under 69 investigation. Hypotheses l and 2 were statements of no difference, and hypotheses 3 through 10 were statements of no relationship or association between selected variables. The Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance by ranks and the Spearman rank correlation coefficient were used in testing hypotheses. Description of Instruments Used in the Study The instruments used in data collection are described in the following sections. 1. Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire (LBDQ) Form XII This instrument was developed as a research device at Ohio State University in the Ohio Leadership Studies2 to measure twelve dimensions of leader behavior: Representation of member interests Tolerance of uncertainty Persuasion Retention of the leadership role Tolerance of member freedom of action Production emphasis Predictive accuracy Consideration ' Integration of organization Initiation of structure Superior orientation Reconciliation of conflicting demands 2Ralph M. Stogdill, "Manual for the Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire--Form XII" (Bureau of Business Research, Ohio State University, 1963). p. 3. 70 Typically, the instrument had been used to obtain descrip- tions of a supervisor or superior from members of a group that he supervised. These descriptions were then compared with the leader's description of his own behavior. However, the LBDQ manual of directions states: "With proper changes in instructions, the questionnaire can also be used by a leader to describe his own behavior."3 The latter use was made of the questionnaire in this study. The instrument had been used extensively in leader- ship studies in many fields. With educational personnel, it was used to measure the behavior of superintendents, principals and college department chairmen. From research conducted with an earlier form of the scale, effective leaders appeared to rate high in two dimensions: Consideration and Initiation of Structure. Consideration refers to "behaviors that indicate a regard for the comfort and well being of the group members, as well as an equalitarian respect for the member's contributions." Initiation of structure refers to "behaviors that clearly define the leader's role, and structure the expectations of the members."4 Results of research conducted with Form XII suggest that five subscales —_ 31bid., p. 12. ' hRalph M. Stogdill, Omar S. Goode, and David R. Day, 'New Leader Behavior Description Subscales," gpurnal of Esxsasleaz. LIV (1962) 259. 7l (Representation of member interests, Persuasiveness, Role enactment, Production emphasis, and Predictive accuracy) appear to be significant factors in leader behavior.5’ 6 Subscales used in the present study included the five just previously mentioned plus the two subscales that were used successfully in previous research in identifying characteristics of effective leaders. Subscales used were: Representation of member interests Persuasiveness Role enactment Production emphasis Predictive accuracy Consideration Initiation of structure The LBDQ was composed of 100 short, descriptive statements (5 or 10 items on each subscale) of ways in which leaders may behave. Respondents indicated the frequency with which they (or their leader) had engaged in each form of behavior by circling one of five possible responses: always, often, occasionally, seldom, or never. Each posi- tively stated item received a score of 5 to 1. Negatively stated items received a score of l to 5. Theoretically, the range of scores was fnmnlOO to 500. A cepy of the in- strument is presented in Appendix B. 2. Self-Assessment of Diffusion Responsibility (SADR) This instrument was designed by the investigator to assess participants' perceptions of their responsibility in their schools as a result of having attended the Institute. Educational literature concerned with workshops and other 72 types of group in-service education was used in compiling a basic set of items for the scale.7’ 8’ 9’ 10’ 11 In brief, the literature recommended potential procedures for dis- seminating new ideas and practices, or gave examples of those that had been followed. A panel of seven educators critically evaluated the instrument items for clarity and validity, and the instru- ment was edited and revised on the basis of these comments. The revised scale was composed.of ten items. These were submitted to five professional judges. Five faculty members in the College of Education at Michigan State University each ranked the items on a 10 point scale, with 10 representing the rank of most importance and l the rank of least importance. From the means of these separate rank- ings an item value was computed. This method was parallel to methods used in securing sociometric ratings in diffusion 7Mitchell, "In—Service Education Procedure," pp. L42- #5. 8Earl c. Kelley, The Workshpp_Way_of Learnipg (New York: Harper and Brothers, Publishers, 1951), pp. lOL-ZS, passim. 9Vernon E. Anderson, Principles and Procedures of Curriculum Im rovement (New York: Ronald Press Company, 5 , pp. 2 - 3, passim. 10National Society for the Study of Education, In- Service Education, Fifty-sixth Yearbook of the Society, Part I (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1957). PPo 103-92. passim. ll 60 88 Karbal, "In-Service Education for Teachers," pp. 73 studies.12 The basic assumption of the scale was that it included the major sharing activities that participants were likely to engage in when they returned to their schools. A cepy of the items and ratings is shown in Table 3.3. Each participant was given a pocket chart and an unordered set of the ten items. No weight designations were shown on the items, and each item was on a separate card. Participants were asked to think of their reaponsibilities to their schools in the coming school year and complete the state- ment: "As a result of my participation in this Institute, I should . . ." This was done by distributing the ten items in the four pockets of the chart. Participants were instruc- ted to place the two items perceived as most important in pocket number A (labeled Major) and the two items perceived as least important in pocket number 1 (labeled Minor). Of the six remaining items, three were placed in pocket number 3 (no label) and three in pocket number 2 (no label). An illustration of the pocket chart is presented in Figure l. Scoring procedures involved sorting participants' responses into categories as is described below. The mean ranking by judges was used to assign a weight to each item. These weights identified objectively the ordinal position of each item in terms of most to least in importance. Then —_ 12Rogers, Diffusion of Innovations, pp. 68-70. 7# Table 3.3--Items and weights of the SADR scale Item Initiate plans to begin an in-service program in reading and children's literature Plan and conduct demonstration lessons for other teachers Summarize in writing significant ideas from the institute and distribute copies to teachers Share my institute experiences informally with the teachers Wait until I have tested institute ideas before I share them with other teachers Share my institute experiences with those teachers who ask me about them Share my experiences if my regular school responsi- bilities are modified to make allowances for sharing activities If asked by my superior, I would share institute ideas If paid by the school district, I would develOp a program for teachers In my position I have no responsibility to push institute ideas Minor Major Fig. l--Pocket Chart Weight 9.6 9.0 8.4 7.2 5.4 4.6 h.O 3.6 2.2 1.6 75 the items, bearing nominal labels (1, 2, 3, etc.), were sorted into four value categories of high, high-moderate, low-moderate, and low. The category labels were placed on a scatter diagram (example shown in Figure 2). Nominal labels for the two items that were ranked as most important were written under "high"; nominal labels for the three items that were next in order of importance were written under "high-moderate"; and on, until two response items were categorized "high," three "high-moderate," three "low- moderate," and two "low." These classifications corresponded to the division of items made by participants. Next, the items were removed one by one from each participant's pocket chart and matched by content with a corresponding item that bore a nominal label. A mark was tabulated on the diagram under the proper category to show agreement between partici- pant and judges for a particular item. The sum of the agree- ments represented the participant's score on the instrument. For example, if a participant agreed with the judges on five items, then the participant's score was five. 3. Institute Attendance Rationale (IAR) The IAR was constructed by the investigator to assess Participants' reasons for attending the Institute. Sugges- tions for the items of the scale were culled from the lit- erature on workshops and other types of in-service Items 8 7 9 2 5 1 2. 3 o 10___. g A x x ' x x ( x x ’ 7 5 " 2 5 B .x x 2 no a. .< .3 x z'm I; C x 0 fi D x x X 3 g o. s E x x x x x 5 8 . - .< ‘ ‘4' High- Lafi. L ‘ High Moderate Moderate Low Figure 2--A scatter diagram of responses by a small sample of participants with reopect to amount of agree- ment with judges on items of the SADR 13, 1h, 15, 16 education. The same procedure used in the development and administration of the SADR was followed in developing and administering this instrument. The items were evaluated by a panel of educators and ranked by five professional judges (faculty members in the College of Edu- cation) on a 10 point scale, with 10 representing the rank of most importance and l the rank of least importance. From the means of these separate rankings an item value was #31 32 13Mitchell, "In-Service Education Procedure," pp. l[‘Kelley, The Workshop_Way, pp. 4-11. lSAnderson, Curriculum Improvement, pp. 221-33. 16Karbal, "In-Service Education for Teachers," pp. 20-9. 77 computed. This method was based on methods used in securing sociometric ratings in diffusion studies.17 The basic assump- tion of the scale was that in selecting items which included reasons why others had attended the Institute, participants would reveal their own reasons for attending. Further, it was assumed that participants would unambiguously interpret the meanings of the items. To insure the latter, participants were asked to raise questions if the intent of the item was not clear. Table 3.4 presents a copy of the items and rat- ings. Each participant was given a pocket chart and an unordered set of the ten items. No weight designations were shown on the items, and each item was on a separate card. Participants were asked to complete the statement: "I believe that most participants attended this Institute to . . ." Participants placed the ten items of the IAR scale in four pockets of a chart in the same manner as was employed with the SADR scale. The two items perceived as most important were placed in pocket number 4 (major), the two items perceived as least important were placed in pocket number 1 (minor), three items were placed in pocket number 3, and three in pocket number 2. Responses were scored by matching the items removed 17Rogers, Diffusion of Innovations, pp. 68-70. 78 Table 3.4--Items and weights of the IAR scale W Items Weights Discover methods of improving instruction in reading and children's literature in my school(s) 9.8 Work cooperatively with teachers from other states in finding solutions to common problems in edu- cation 9.2 Hear outstanding educators and consultants 7.8 Keep from "going stale" 6.4 Take advantage of an opportunity which other teachers have said they liked 5.8 Qualify for a change in assignment or position 4.8 Obtain term hours of credit 3.6 See if I wished to do further work at this institution 3.2 Earn additional credit for higher pay 2.8 Receive a government scholarship 1.6 from the pockets of the participant's chart with those of the expert judges which had been ranked into four categories. The sum of agreements represented the participant's score on the instrument. For example, if a participant agreed with the judges on five items, the participant's score was five. A. Reactionaire A two-part reactionaire was constructed to determine the extent to which Institute concepts had been implemented 79 in participants' schools. The reactionaire was mailed to participants on March 28, 1967. Part A of the reactionaire was a checklist of fifty- nine practices and procedures which had been recommended in the Institute. Forty-nine of these concerned instructional practices and procedures and were answered only by class- room teacher participants. The remaining ten items (50-59) were answered by all participants. These were items relative to the school library or learning center and were structured to assess participants' influence on practices and procedures in this area. Part B was designed to assess the nature and extent of diffusion activities engaged in by all participants. The first forty-nine items were identical to the forty-nine items stated in Part A. That is, the participants were being asked of the same items: first, "Which have you adopted?" (for classroom teachers only); and second, "Which have you shared?" (for all participants). A second section of Part B contained ten descriptive activities from which Participants were instructed to select the three most effec- tive activities they used in sharing Institute concepts with other teachers. To determine the items of the reactionaire, the investigator, as an observer in the Institute, kept a daily record of practices and procedures emphasized in lectures and discussion sessions. From these a listing of recommended 80 practices and procedures was compiled. These were carefully examined and edited by the Institute Director and a staff member. The revised list reflected the recommendations of the faculty. In one sense it reflected the Institute ob- jectives, for it projected in behavioral terms desired out- comes for participants. The reactionaire was composed of the revised set of items and was pretested by five persons in the School of Education. The major portion of the reactionaire was designed to test the ten hpotheses of this study. The first forty- nine items in Parts A and B were used for this purpose. The score on Part A was the sum of the practices and procedures used by a classroom teacher participant. Two scores were recorded for Part B: (l) the number of practices and pro- cedures shared with other teachers; and (2) the number of practices and procedures adopted by other teachers. In addition, information (relative to the ancillary questions) was collected which was not directly related to the hypotheses under investigation but which augmented them through description of relevant diffusion activities. Par- ticipants were asked to react to three scales in Part A: How Often Used; When Use Began; and Change in Practice Since the Institute. These scales indexed the time element in adoption. In Part B of the reactionaire, participants were asked to indicate the number of teachers: (a) worked with 81 one time slightly; (b) worked with once extensively; (c) worked with more than once slightly; (d) worked with more than once extensively; and (e) who have adopted the prac- tice. This was done to determine the number of contacts made and the quality of the contacts. A cepy of the re- actionaire is shown in Appendix B. 5. Interview Guide An interview guide composed of fourteen questions was constructed by the investigator to use in on-site inter- views with seven Institute participants in school systems in Michigan. The questions were structured to ascertain (a) how valuable the Institute experience had been, (b) when used and/or sharing of Institute concepts had been initiated, (0) what key persons had helped to facilitate initiation of concepts, (d) the nature of assistance provided, and (e) problems encountered in their sharing activities. The liter- ature was helpful in develOping the components of the guide.18’ 19’ 20 The interview was used in context with the instrument described in the next section. Appendix C con- tains a copy of the interview guide. 4&3 18Mitchell, "In-Service Education Procedure," pp. -470 19Kelley, The Workshop Way, pp. 93-99. 104 l 20Karbal, "In-Service Education for Teachers," pp. -5. 82 6. A Short Form of the Reactionaire A short form of the reactionaire was constructed to establish retest reliability of data collected with the long form of the reactionaire. The instrument was administered orally to participants during the investigator's visits to their schools. A sampling technique was used to randomly select fifteen items from the original pool of forty-nine items in Parts A and B. The investigator started with a random number of five selected from a table of randomized numbers and used a skip interval of three. A copy of the form is shown in Appendix C. _lelection of Data As was stated in a previous discussion, data for the independent variables were collected while the Institute was in session (phase one). Participants were alerted periodically that the investigator would conduct a follow-up study and would administer some instruments near the end of the Institute. Also they were alerted a day prior to test- ing that some instruments would be administered on the fol- lowing day. However, no mention was made of the nature of the instruments until the day they were administered. Since they were notified in advance, all participants attended each administration of instruments. Near the end of the Institute, the SADR and the IAR instruments were administered. The LBDQ was administered 83 on August 1. Participants were asked to think of and de- scribe their own behavior as leaders in responding to items. Results of tests administered in phase one are presented in Table 3.5. The reactionaire was administered via mail in phase two. Several techniques were employed in an effort to se- cure a 100 percent return of reactionaires. l. A personally addressed letter to each participant was mimeographed on official stationery of the College of Education and signed by the investi- gator who had served as an observer throughout the Institute and was therefore known by all participants. 2. A personal note remindful of some shared Insti- tute experience was handwritten at the bottom of most letters. The investigator operated on a premise that receivers of these letters would be among the first to respond. The premise was well-founded. 3. In the cover letter, April 10, 1967 was desig- nated as the deadline for return of reactionaires. A. A stamped, self-addressed envelope was supplied to facilitate returns. 5. A follow-up letter and a second stamped, self- addressed envelop were sent to participants who 8h Table 3.5--Scores earned by participants on three instruments administered during the summer of 1966 Partici- SADR IAR LBDQ pant Possible Score: 10 10 500 l 7 A 257 2 2 5 21L 3 2 6 224 A 3 l 221 g 5 3 232 7 6 4 193 8 7 l 230 7 6 218 18 5 6 230 11 2 A 214 12 5 8 175 1 6 6 203 la 8 10 182 1 5 A 223 16 10 6 235 17 8 6 218 18 5 6 241 19 2 5 230 20 6 6 208 21 3 3 214 22 5 6 204 23 10 3 227 2h 5 3 197 25 2 6 212 26 5 2 194 27 8 8 251 28 3 A 212 29 7 A 218 30 3 5 191 31 7 l 193 32 h 6 214 33 3 2 249 34 6 5 226 35 5 3 227 3 6 238 85 had not returned the reactionaires by the designated date. Copies of the cover letter and the follow-up letter are included in Appendix D. 0f the thirty-five reactionaires mailed on March 28, 1967, thirty-two (approximately 91%) had been returned by April 29. A follow-up letter was mailed June 1 to the three participants who had not responded, and a 100 percent return was achieved by June 6. One return was not usable because the participant had failed to react to Part B of the reactionaire. This information was necessary in secur- ing data for the dependent variables, so that return was deleted. Therefore, data were analyzed for thirty-four participants instead of the initial thirty-five. Identifying data and written comments on returned reactionaires revealed that fourteen participants (approxi- mately one-third) underwent some change in status or assign- ment in the 1966-67 school year. Nine went to new schools or school systems, three were assigned new roles, and two met some type of reorganization in their schools. Nec- essarily, the research categories into which some of these participants had been placed had to be changed. As a result, the pepulation was distributed as follows: eight adminis- trators, eight Specialists, and eighteen classroom teachers. Phase three involved the reliability assessment. 86 During the first two weeks of June 1967, the investigator visited the schools of seven of the nine participants who were working in the state of Michigan to make an on-site reliability assessment of data collected with the reaction- aire. Visits were restricted to Michigan for two reasons: (a) the investigator was operating on a limited travel bud- get; and (b) reattionaire information provided by the Michi- gan participants appeared to be representative. Two methods of collecting data were employed on school visits. A structured interview was held with par- ticipants to find out when use and/or sharing of Institute concepts had been initiated and other information. A second method involved the oral administration of a short form of the reactionaire. After the interviews, partici- pants generally shared informally some of the things they had done with children and/or colleagues. Visits usually ended with a tour of the school; however, the investigator made no attempt to question colleagues of participants about the results of the Institute. Procedures for Analyses Because of the small population used in the study and the kinds of data collected, nonparametric statistical tests were used to analyze the data. The Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance and the spearman rank corre- lation coefficient were the tests to which the data were 87 subjected. Both are so-called "ranking tests." In effect, data are treated by ranks instead of scores. Both are used extensively in testing null hypotheses. Since the ten hypotheses of this study are stated in null form, the tests seemed appropriate. The Kruskal-Wallis determines whether a number of independent samples are from the same population. Hypotheses l and 2 are statements of no difference, therefore, they were subjected to treatment by this test. The Spearman rank tests the degree of association between variables. Hypotheses 3 through 10 are statements of no relationship or association, so they were subjected to treatment by the Spearman rank test. Since a fairly large number of ties in scores occurred in the dependent variables (number of concepts diffused and number of concepts adopted): a correction for ties was used in the formulas of both tests. The formulas are shown below. Formula for the Kurskal-Wallis Test: :28 12 E; - 3(N+ 1) n. J T 88 Formula for the Spearman Rank Test: = 2x2 + 2% - 2:2 2/zx2 if The hypotheses were rejected if the observed values of H and r8 were significant at the <(.05 level. Data collected with three scales of Part A of the reactionaire was tabulated to determine which Institute recommended conepts and procedures were used earliest in the school year and which were used most frequently. A180,. information reflecting participants' influence was sum- marily presented. Data from four scales in Part B of the reactionaire were tabulated to determine which practices and procedures were shared most widely, the average number of contacts made, and the quality of these contacts. Further, a comparative summary was made of diffusion strate- gies used by administrator, specialist, and classroom teacher participants. The Spearman rank correlation coefficient test was used in establishing the retest reliability of the informa- tion collected with the short form of the reactionaire on school visits. Summary Thirty five participants of an NDEA Institute were the subjects of a research investigation from June 22, 1966 89 through June 17, 1967. Several techniques were employed in the study: observation and tests; a reactionaire; and sample school visits. Data collected through these tech- niques were analyzed with the Kurskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance and the Spearman rank correlation to test ten null hypotheses. The rejection region of the hypotheses was set at the .05 level of significance. CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS OF DATA AND FINDINGS Included in this chapter are the statistical analyses of the hypotheses and the descriptive analyses of related problems. Statistical analyses are presented in relation to the major variables of the study: social structure; leader behavior; diffusion responsibility; Institute attend- ance rationale; and adOption of Institute concepts. In addition, the related problems of the study are considered under three headings: extent of diffusion; diffusion strategies; and factors limiting diffusion activities. Statistical Analysis Social Structure To what extent is professional position related to diffusion activities of three groups of educators is the question raised by null hypotheses l and 2. To answer this question, alternative hypotheses were tested with the Kruskal- Wallis one-way analysis of variance test. The hypotheses stated: 1. HO There is no difference in extensiveness of diffusion activities among administrators, Specialists, and classroom teachers. 90 _91 H1 The three groups of educators are not the same in extensiveness of diffusion activities. 2. HO There is no difference in extent of adoption of Institute concepts by colleagues of administrator, specialist, and classroom teacher participants. H1 Extent of adoption of Institute concepts by colleagues is not the same for the three groups of educators. The value of H and its associated probability for hypothesis 1 were H = 7.22, df = 2, thus p<<;.05. Since this probability was greater than the previously set level of significance,e(.= .05, the null hypothesis was rejected and the alternative hypothesis was accepted. It was con- cluded that the three groups of educators differed in dif- fusion activities. The value of H and its associated probability for hypothesis 2 was H = 5.05, df = 2, thus p) .05. This probability was less than the previously set level of sig- nificance,aCL= .05. Null hypothesis 2 was accepted. There- fore, it was concluded that colleagues of the three groups of educators did not differ in adOption of Institute concepts. These findings indicate that participants differed with reapect to hypothesis 1, but were no different with re- 8Pect to hypothesis 2. Findings (using mean diffusion scores) are shown in Tables 4.1 and 4.2. In Tables 4.1 and 4.2 the mean acore for teachers was lowest in both diffusion activity and colleagues' adoption 92 (l1)\ 1, mm.sa osonoooe c mHmHHNflUUQm .M 00 ma m GHEU< memo: mpsoowofiphsm h< ouooaoopm Sm mml,m~ aw om ma, ma ea oa as as aw: mosoom cw omsmm Mo oaamopm nun z--~.s canoe moswmoaaoo an condoms mpaoosoo mo Aeneas sou mosmaao«ppma mo mosoom use (I no Vnm ..|||ll|||ll||\.|.l|\|.ll(« MH.MN ”DQHHQHOOQW «0|! NN.> u m ///////x cm.am whopmhpmwswaus ll oaooaooom am mm mm Hm om as ma us ca ma as ma .mw memo: cocoaaoaosoa mosoom cw owsmm no oHHMOpL Hg muoumospo mo na50hm mouse sou mosoom >9fi>wpom gownsmmHo sooznna.4 sands 93 of Institute concepts. Specialists and administrators were very similar in diffusion activity (Table 4.1); however, the mean score in adoption was 4.87 points higher for ad- ministrators than for specialists. This seems to suggest the better vantage point of the administrative position in ascertaining extent of adoptions. Leader Behavior ‘ 4 Whether or not possession of "means" (ideas, informa- tion, skills) was sufficient to assume that any person was capable of directing the activities of another or a group was the concern of hypotheses 3 and 4. Specifically, these hypotheses stated: 3. HO There is no relationship between extensiveness of diffusion activities, and differences among participants in self-perception of leadership behavior. H1 Extensiveness of diffusion activities is positively related to differences among participants in self-perception of leadership behavior. 4. HO There is no relationship between extent of adoption of institute concepts by colleagues and differences among participants in self-perception of leadership behavior. H1 Extent of adoption of Institute concepts by colleagues is positively related to differences among participants in self-perception of leadership behavior. The alternative hypotheses were subjected to the 94 Spearman rank correlation coefficient test with the follow- ing results: The value of rS and its associated probability for hypothesis 3 was r3 = .052, and p ;>.05. Since this proba- bility was less than the previously set level of significance, OC.= .05, null hypothesis 3 was accepted. No relationship between diffusion activities and self-perception of leader behavior was supported by these data. For hypothesis 4, the value of rs and its associated probability was r = .20, thus p :>.O5. This probability 5 was also less than the previously set level of significance, OCH= .05. Null hypothesis 4 was accepted, indicating no relationship between colleagues' adoption of Institute con- cepts and participants' self-perception of leader behavior. Both null hypotheses 3 and 4 were accepted. Several factors may have contributed to these results. Participants' scores were quite homogeneous on the SADR scale (see Table 3.5). Possible range for the test was 100 to 500. Only two scores exceeded the midpoint of the range. Ninety-four percent (94%) of the participants scored between 175 and 249 points. It would appear that all participants assessed their leadership behavior conservatively in this case. In addition, one might ask: "What effect, if any, did the fourteen changes in assignment or status (Chapter III, p. 85) have on the results of the findings?" This question is 95 discussed further in a later section of this chapter. Data relative to hypotheses 3 and 4 are shown in Tables 4.3 and 4.4. In Table 4.3 and Table 4.4 data are ranked in ascending order on the LBDQ measure. Table 4.3 shows a comparison between a participant's rank in leader behavior and his rank in number of concepts diffused. For example, participant No. 11 made the lowest assessment of his leader behavior but he was fourth highest in the number of concepts diffused to his colleagues. On the other hand, participant No. 1 made the highest assessment of all participants of his leader behavior but he diffused only as many concepts as did participant No. 11. Since the diffusion score for both was high, it seems that participant No. 11 made an extremely conservative estimate of his leadership behavior. The correlation between leader behavior and diffusion activities was not significant. Table 4.4 compares a participant's rank in leader behavior with his rank in number of concepts adopted by colleagues. Another look at participants No. 11 and 1 shows that participant No. 11 was also high in number of concepts adopted by colleagues, though he ranked slightly below participant No. l in this activity. This seems to confirm the observation made in connection with Table 4.3 of conserva- tism on the part of participant No. 11 in self-assessment 96 Table 4.3--Correlation between participants' self-assessment of leader behavior and the number of concepts diffused Ranks Number Partici- of Con- pant LBDQ cepts Diffused Statistic 11 1 30.5 13 2 26 29 3 7 30 4.5 13 6 4.5 33 rs = 052 25 6 2 23 7 20.5 12 8 20.5 p > .05 21 9 9.5 19 10 17.5 24 11.5 11.5 27 11.5 3 2 14.5 32 10 14.5 27 20 14.5 7 31 14.5 22 28 18 23 8 18 24 l6 l8 l7 5 4 20 15 14 21 7 3 22 9.5 33 23 29 22 24.5 25 34 24.5 9.5 7 27 1 9 27 15 18 27 4 5 29 11 S 15 30 34 17 31 19 32 32 26 33 28 97 Table 4.4--Correlation between participants' self-assessment of leader behavior and the number of concepts adepted by colleagues Ranks Number Partici- of 08n- pant LBDQ cepts A opted Statistic 11 l 26 13 2 18 29 3 16.5 30 4.5 5.5 6 4.5 33 23 7 28.5 12 8 24 rs = .20 21 9 12 19 10 5.5 24 11.5 16.5 p ;> .05 27 1105 505 2 14.5 19.5 10 14.5 31 20 14.5 5.5 31 14.5 12 8 18 14.5 16 18 21.5 4 20 12 14 21 14 5 3 22 23 33 23 32 22 24.5 27 34 24.5 25 7 27 5-5 9 27 5-5 18 27 5-5 5 29 5-5 15 3O 34 17 31 28.5 32 32 21.5 26 33 19.5 1 34 30 98 of leadership behavior. The correlation between leader behavior and the number of concepts adopted by colleagues was not significant. Diffusion Responsibility Most institutes and other programs designed to im- prove instructional practices make an effort to determine formally or informally participants' plans for using their new learnings. Since this is frequently the only indication directors of these programs have of program effects on par- ticipants, plans for future use become quite important in evaluation studies. In effect, plans are objectives; there- fore, a public commitment of plans was hypothesized to be synonymous to implementation. Hypotheses 5 and 6 were de- signed to test participants' plans for using Institute con- cepts. 5. H0 There is no relationship between extensiveness of diffusion activities and differences among participants in self-perception of responsibility for diffusion of institute concepts. H1 Extensiveness of diffusion activities is positively related to differences among participants in self-perception of responsibility for diffusion of institute concepts. 6. H0 There is no relationship between extent of adoption of institute concepts by colleagues and differences among Participants in self-perception of responsibility for diffusion 99 of institute concepts. H1 Extent of adoption of institute concepts by colleagues is positively related to differences among participants in self-perception of reaponsibility for diffusion of institute concepts. The alternative hypotheses were subjected to the Spearman rank correlation coefficient test with the follow- ing results: The value of rs and its associated probability for hypothesis 5 was rs = .43, and p< .05. Since this probabil- ity was greater than the five percent level of acceptability, 0CF= .05, null hypothesis 5 was rejected and the alternative hypothesis accepted. The results, reported in Table 4.5, indicated a significant relationship between self-assessment of responsibility for diffusion and extensiveness of diffu- sion activities. The value of rS and its associated probability for hYpothesis 6 was r8 = .18, and p:;>.05. This probability was less than the five percent level of acceptability,a(.= .05; thus, null hypothesis 6 was accepted. The results, reported in Table 4.6, indicated no relationship between adoption of Institute concepts by colleagues and partici- pants' self-assessment of responsibility for diffusion of Institute concepts. 100 Table 4.5--Correlation between participants' self-assessment of responsibility for diffusion of Institute con- cepts and the number of concepts diffused Ranks ’Number Partici- of Con- pant SADR cepts Diffused Statistic 2 3 32 3 3 9.5 10 3 27 18 3 4 24 3 11.5 rs = .43 a 8 15 2O 8 7 27 8 3 29 8 7 p «<1 -05 32 8 5 5 11.5 11.5 31 11.5 22 9 16.5 15 11 16.5 30-5 14 16.5 7 17 16.5 19 21 16.5 9.5 23 16.5 20.5 25 16.5 2 34 16.5 15 6 22.5 33 12 22.5 20.5 19 22.5 17.5 33 22.5 29 1 27 30-5 7 27 1 8 27 24 28 27 £3 30 27 13 13 31 £6 16 31 17.5 26 31 28 15 33.5 94 22 33.5 e 25 101 Table 4.6--Correlation between participants' self-assessment of responsibility for diffusion of Institute con- cepts and adoption of concepts by colleagues Ranks Numberfifi— Partici- of Con- pant SADR cepts Adopted Statistic 2 3 19.5 3 3 23 10 3 31 18 3 5.5 24 3 16.5 r8 = .18 4 8 12 20 8 5.5 27 3 5.5 p j)» .05 29 8 16.5 32 8 21.5 5 11.5 5.5 31 11.5 12 9 16.5 5.5 11 16.5 26 14 16.5 14.5 17 16.5 28.5 21 16.5 12 23 16.5 28.5 25 16.5 5.5 34 16.5 25 6 22.5 33 12 22.5 24 19 22.5 5.5 33 22.5 32 1 27 30 7 27 5.5 8 27 5.5 28 27 14.5 30 27 5.5 13 31 18 16 31 21.5 26 31 19.5 15 33.5 34 22 33.5 27 102 With only ten items on the SADR scale; a large number of ties in ranks occurred. The ranks in SADR are arranged in ascending order in Tables 4.5 and 4.6. Institute Attendance Rationale It there a relationship between objectives in attend- ing the Institute and behavior subsequent to Institute attend- ance? This question undergirds null hypotheses 7 and 8. To answer it, the alternative hypotheses were tested with the Spearman rank correlation coefficient test. The hypotheses were: 7. HO There is no relationship between extensiveness of diffusion activities and differences among participants in reasons for attending the institute. Hl Extensiveness of diffusion activities is positively related to differences among participants in reasons for attending the institute. 8. HO There is no relationship between extent of adoption of institute concepts by colleagues and differences among Participants in reasons for attending the institute. H1 Extent of adoption of institute concepts by colleagues is positively related to differences among participants in reasons for attending the institute. The alternative hypotheses were subjected to the Spearman rank correlation coefficient test with the follow- ing results. 103 The value of rs and its associated probability for hypothesis 7 was r3 = .41, thus p< .05. This probability was greater than the previously set level of significance, «C = .05, hence the null hypothesis was rejected and the alternative hypothesis which posits a relationship between participants' reasons for attending the Institute and ex- tensiveness of diffusion activities accepted. The value of rs and its associated probability for hypothesis 8 was rs = .18, and p<1 .05. This probability was less than the previously set level of significance,:v: = .05, therefore, null hypothesis 8 was accepted. No re- lationship was found between participants' reasons for attending the Institute and subsequent adoption of Institute concepts by colleagues. The results of hypotheses 7 and 8 are presented in Tables 4.7 and 4.8. Adoption of Institute ConcePts Implied in the definition of diffusion used in this study (Chapter I, p. 18) was the idea that participants were adopters of Institute concepts before they became secondary sources of the concepts. Classroom teachers were the only participants on whom this theory could be tested, for they work directly with children who are really the ultimate receivers of the innovations. Hypotheses 9 and 10 were designed to determine the relationship between self- adoption and diffusion, and self-adoption and colleague-adoption. 104 Table 4.7--Correlation between participants' reasons for attending the Institute and the number of con- cepts diffused Ranks Number Partici- of Con- . pant IAR cepts Diffused Statistic 4 2 15 7 2 l 30 2 13 rS = .41 25 4.5 2 32 4.5 5 5 8 11.5 p <: .05 20 8 7 22 8 25 23 8 20.5 34 8 15 1 13.5 30.5 6 13.5 33 10 13.5 27 14 13.5 7 27 13.5 3 28 13.5 23 2 18.5 32 18 18.5 4 29 18.5 7 33 18.5 29 3 26 9.5 8 26 24 9 26 15 12 26 20.5 15 26 34 16 26 17.5 17 26 19 19 26 17.5 21 26 9.5 24 26 11.5 31 26 22 11 32.5 30.5 26 32 5 28 H w w 4,- O N O\ 105 Table 4.8--Correlation between participants' reasons for attending the Institute and adoption of Institute concepts by colleagues Ranks Number Partici- of Con- pant IAR cepts Adopted Statistic 4 2 12 7 2 5.5 30 2 5.5 25 4.5 5.5 rS = .18 32 4.5 21.5 5 8 5.5 22 8 27 23 8 28.5 34 8 25 1 13.5 30 6 13.5 33 10 13.5 31 14 13.5 14.5 27 13.5 5.5 2 18.5 19.5 18 18.5 5.5 29 18.5 16.5 33 18.5 32 3 26 23 8 26 5 5 9 26 5 5 12 26 24 15 26 34 16 26 21.5 17 26 28.5 19 26 5.5 21 26 12 24 26 16.5 31 26 12 11 32.5 26 26 32 5 19.5 106 Specifically, the hypotheses were: 9. HO There is no relationship between extensiveness of diffusion activities and self-adoption of institute con- cepts by teacher participants. H1 Extensiveness of diffusion activities is positively related to self-adoption of institute concepts by teacher participants. 10. HO There is no relationship between extent of adoption of institute concepts by colleagues and self-adoption of institute concepts by teacher participants. H1 Extent of adoption of institute concepts by col- leagues is positively related to self-adoption of institute concepts by teacher participants. The alternative hypotheses were subjected to the Spear- man rank correlation coefficient test with the following results: The value of rs and its associated probability for hypothesis 9 was rS = .66, thus p< .05. This proba- bility was greater than the five percent level of accept- ability,¢L,= .05, the null hypothesis was rejected and the alternative hypothesis which posits a relationship between self-adoption and diffusion accepted. The value of rs and its associated probability for hYPOthesis 10 was rs = .48, with ps(_.05. Since this prob- ability was equal to the five percent level of acceptability, 107 iv<== .05, the null hypothesis was rejected and the alterna- tive hypothesis accepted. This hypothesis posits a rela- tionship between participants' self-adoption of Institute concepts and adoption of the concepts by colleagues. The results of hypotheses 9 and 10 are presented in Tables 4.9 and 4.10. ' Table 4.9--Correlation between classroom teachers' self- adoption of Institute concepts and the number of concepts diffused :—: ‘-: - l Ranks Number Partici- Self-Adoption of Con- . . pant of Concepts cepts Diffused Statistlc 7 1 a. 5 2 . 20 305 505 r3 = .66 5?. 5'5 <2) 5 32 6 4' p <1 .05 3 7 7.5 9 9 12 19 9 14 29 9 5.5 10 11.5 17 21 11.5 7.5 18 13.5 3 a 12.5 i: 22 16.5 16 4 18 12 When compared with administrators and specialists, classroom teacherS' diffusion impact was less (see pp. 91 and 92). Extensiveness of diffusion activities and the number 108 Table 4.lO--Correhnfion between classroom teachers' self- adoption of Institute concepts and adoption of Institute concepts by colleagues Ranks Partici- Self-Adoption Colleagues' Adoption pant of Concepts of Concepts Statistic 7 1 4 5 2 4 20 3.5 4 rs = .48 25 3.5 4 2' 5 it o. 32 6 P . 3 7 15 < 9 9 4 19 9 4 29 9 11 10 11.5 18 21 11.5 8.5 18 13.5 4 34 13.5 16 28 15 ll 2 16.5 13 22 16.5 17 4 l8 8.5 of concepts adopted by colleagues were considerably less than for staff in the other groups. Yet when professional position was held constant, differences between individual participants were clearly evident. Those who tended to adopt Institute concepts in their own classrooms also tended to be more active disseminators of Institute concepts. The alternative hypotheses are summarized in Table 4.11 with a designation of their level of significance. Five were significant and five were not. 109 Table 4.ll--Statistical significance of the hypotheses Hypotheses Significance l. H The three groups of educators are not t e same in extensiveness of diffusion ac- tivities. I><1-05 2. H1 Extent of adoption of institute con- cepts by colleagues is not the same for the three groups of educators. -- 3. H Extensiveness of diffusion activities is positively related to differences among participants in self-perception of leader- ship behavior. -- 4. H Extent of adoption of institute concepts b9 colleagues is positively related to differ- ences among participants in self-perception of leadership behavior. -- 5. H Extensiveness of diffusion activities i8 positively related to differences among participants in self-perception of reaponsi- ‘bility for diffusion of institute concepts. p<( .05 6. H1 Extent of adaption of institute concepts by colleagues is positively related to dif- ferences among participants in self-perception of responsibility for diffusion of institute concepts. -- 7. H1 Extensiveness of diffusion activities is positively related to differences among participants in reasons for attending the institute. p < .05 8. H1 Extent of adoption of institute con- cepts by colleagues is positively related to differences among participants in rea- sons for attending the institute. -- 9. H1 Extensiveness of diffusion activities is positively related to self-adoption of institute concepts by teacher participants. p.<;,o5 10. H1 Extent of adoption of institute con- cepts by colleagues is positively related to self-adoption of institute concepts by teacher participants. p< .05 110 Retest Reliability Seven participants were visited and a short form of the reactionaire was verbally administered. To determine the reliability coefficient, the short and long forms of the reactionaire were compared using the Spearman rank test. Results obtained for rS and its associated probability for Part B of the reactionaire (diffusion and adoption) showed that rs = .98, with p<:,.01. Since this probability exceeds the set level of significance,oC = .05, it was concluded that data collected with the short form were reliable. Table 4.12 includes these results and the rankings for the seven participants on the short and long forms of the reactionaire. Table 4.12--Correlation of the long and short forms of the reactionaire for seven Michigan partiClpants H Ranks Participant Long Form? Short Form Statistic 27 1.5 1.5 32 1.5 1.5 9 3.5 4 rs --= .98 12 5 5.5 23 6 5.5 p 4; .01 33 7 7 Data collected on school visits with a sample pOpu- lation of the participants corresponded closely to responses of these participants on the long form of the reactionaire. Recall for the number of persons contacted for each concept 111 appeared to have been less accurate than recall for specific concepts shared with other teachers. However, this did not impair the analysis since the correlation was based on spe- cific concepts shared rather than number of persons con- tacted. Participants were asked to estimate by months the number of discussions they had had with others concerning Institute concepts. Such information would identify periods of greatest activity as compared with less active periods. Since the investigator neglected to inform participants to keep a monthly record of contacts (with groups or individu- als), recall for this factor was poor. However, it appears that the number of separate contacts rose from a mean of about twelve in September to fourteen in October. The number decreased in November and in succeeding months. A measure of the effects of the Institute over time is illus- trated in Figure 3. Descriptive Analysis Extent of Use and Diffusion Which concepts were used and diffused most fre- quently by Institute participants? Reactionaire data showed that participants began using Institute concepts early in September, 1966. A category labeled "When Use Began" showed that more concepts were implemented in September than in any other month (Figure 4). Every practice and procedure 112 1...: \J'! I HHHHH Hmwrmoqmoowmwr nuuunn L .1, V 1 1 I '1 i l 1 Mean Number of Discussions . l f F i i f \ . j 1 Sep. Oct.7 Nov. DecTI'Jan.' Féb. Figure 3--Mean number of discussions held by month by participants in Michigan with colleagues about Institute recommended concepts. Mean Number of Concepts eu- HNWPU'IOQ C300!“ *“"""1 _. "- fl ‘ H i _ - -. .... -‘ . -————d ( J L--—-—:1 Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Figure 4--Mean number of Institute recommended concepts implemented by month in the classrooms of teacher participants. was being used by at least one teacher participant. A similar pattern was noted for diffusion. Every concept had been shared with other teachers by at least three partici- Pants. These data seemed to affirm the'significant value 113 of the Institute to participants. Fifteen of the forty- nine concepts included in the reactionaire had been shared by at least fifty-nine (59%) of the participants. A list of these concepts is presented in Table 4.13. Figure 4 shows that a mean of ten and one-half con- cepts were implemented by the eighteen teacher participants in September. The number decreased to four in October, two in November and one in December. The average rose to one and one-half in January and fell to less than one (three- fourths) in February. Table 4.13 shows that concepts most frequently shared dealt primarily with the use of trade books and application of critical reading skills in various subject areas. These concepts not only occupied a place of promi- nence in course content during the Institute but appeared to be concepts that easily and clearly could be communicated to other teachers. These were followed closely by concepts related to knowledge of authors and literary techniques. In constructing the reactionaire, eight broad areas of emphasis were identifed and specific concepts that were discussed in daily sessions were classified. While concepts were not categorized on the reactionaire sent to participants, they have been in Table 4.14 for convenience in analyzing data. 114 Table 4.13--Institute recommended concepts shared by fifty- 10. 11. 12. 13. nine percent of the participants with other teachers No. of Participants Concept Sharing Concept Fiction trade books are uSed in the teaching of language arts and literature. Pupils are taught to use critical reading skills (such as classifying, comparing and contrasting ideas, identifying cause and effect relationships, distinguishing fact from opinion, finding information to prove or disprove a statement, etc.) in the social studies. Pupils are taught how to examine the theme, plot, characters, and style of a story. Pupils are taught how to analyze the major types of news events reported in the daily newspaper. Elementary English is used in keeping abreast of new boOks for children. Fiction trade books are used in the teaching of social studies. Non-fiction trade books are used in the teaching of language arts and literature. Non-fiction trade books are used in the teaching of social studies. Pupils are taught how to write in several forms (e.g., original poetry, stories, essays, plays, and biographies). Pupils are taught how to find information to prove or disprove a statement. Pupils are taught how to distinguish fact from opinion in general. Pupils are taught how to recognize the com- petency of an author to write about a given subject. The private interview is used as a technique for finding out about children's reading interests. 32 28 26 25 24 24 24 ' 24 24 24 23 22 22 115 Table 4.13--Continued No. of Participants Sharing Concept Concept 14. Films related to literature and social studies are used in classroom instruc— 20 tion. 15. Television programs that will stimulate reading are assigned for home or school viewing. Table ** 1. 10. 12. 14. 20. 4.14--Copy of reactionaire showing classification of items and items most frequently shared with' other teachers* Item Newspapers and Magazines Pupils are taught how to analyze the major types of news events reported in the daily neWSpaper. Pupils are taught to examine two or more independent newspapers to see how they differ in the treatment, amount of space and prominence (location in the paper given to the same news event. Pupils are taught how to critically evaluate political and editorial comments and or cartoons. Pupils are taught to read letters to the editor for a point of View. Pupils are taught to discriminate a factual report from an interpretive report of the same news event. Pupils are taught to read magazine articles to get more detailed discussions of certain news events that appear in the daily newspaper. t how to integrate news stories from Pupils are tau newspapers and or magazines with the subject matter in textbooks. 116 Table 4.14--§ontinued Item 21. Pupils are taught to read critical reviews and com- on items such as children's books, drama, art, ments ( _ movies, and radio and television programs). 27. Pupils are taught to appraise the types and content of advertisements appearing in print as compared with those appearing on radio and television. Trade Books ** 2. Fiction trade books are used in the teaching of language arts and literature. ** 9. Fiction trade books are used in the teaching of social studies. **11. Non-fiction trade books are used in the teaching of language arts and literature. **15. Non-fiction trade books are used in the teaching of social studies. 28. Fiction trade books are used in the teaching of science. 30. Non-fiction trade books are used in the teaching of mathematics. 35. Non-fiction trade books are used in the teaching of science. Audio-Visual and Community Resources **13. Films related to literature and social studies are used in classroom instruction. . **29. Television programs that will stimulate reading are assigned for home or school viewing. , 43. Pupils’ creative activities are tape-recorded for use in classroom instruction. 46. Tape and disk recordings of television and radio pro- grams are used in classroom instruction. 48. A9. ** 6. 16. ##17, 18. ##19. 22. 117 Table 4.14-~Continued Item Pupils are taken on field trips. Check the following places to which pupils have been taken. Community libraries Book fairs Publishing firms Newspaper plants Others (specify) Hlll Authors and Literary Techniques Pupils are taught how to examine the theme, plot, characters, and style of a story. Pupils are taught how to recognize an author's purpose, point of view and possible biases. Pupils are taught how to write in several forms (e.g., original poetry, stories, essays, plays, and biog- raphies). Check the following forms that are used. Poetry Stories Essays Plays Biographies Pupils are taught how to recognize the competency of an author to write about a given subject. Pupils are taught to use critical reading skills (such as classifying, comparing and contrasting ideas, identifying cause and effect relationships, distinguish- ing fact from opinion, findin information to prove or disprove a statement, etc. in their study of sci- ence and scientific problems. 2h. 25. **41. ** 5, 33. **36. 39. ** 7, 34. 118 Table 4.14--Continued Item Pupils are encouraged to study in depth the philosophy, style, themes and/or techniques of a favorite author or illustrator (e.g., read all the juvenile books written by the author). Pupils are taught to compare the techniques used by different authors in the treatment of a single topic. Pupils are taught how to find information to prove or disprove a statement. Propaganda Pupils are taught how to evaluate materials that appear to make use of standard propaganda devices such as "name calling" and "glittering generalities." Pupils are taught to use critical reading skills (such as classifying, comparing and contrasting ideas, identifying cause and effect relationships, distinguish- information to prove ing fact from opinion, findin or disprove a statement, etc. in the social studies program. Pupils are taught how to recognize information that appears to make use oftim "jump on the band wagon" theme. Pupils are taught how to distinguish fact from opinion in general. Pupils are taught how to recognize emotional reactions and motives. New Books for Children Elementar En lish is used in keeping abreast of new BOOKS 201" CH]. faren . The Children's Catalog is used in locating books to meet the reading interests and needs of children. 119 Table 4.14---Continued Item 37. Top of the News is used in keeping abreast of new cake or children. 40. The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books is usEd'to keep abreast of booksfifor children. The Horn Book Magazine is used in keeping abreast of new books for children. 47. The Booklist of the American Library Association is used in keeping abreast of new books for children. 44. Reading Interests Written questionnaires are used to discover children's reading interests. **31. The private interview is used as a technique for find- ing out about children's reading interests. 26. Pupils' written self-reports are used to discover their reading interests. 42. Library circulation tallies on books of certain sub- ject matter are used to discover the children's reading interests. 45. Pupils's oral self-reports in class are used to dis- cover their reading interests. 38. Evaluation 23. Teacher-prepared, informal tests are used to determine pupils’ growth in the ability to make objective, critical appraisal of reading materials. 32. A file of practice questions and associated answers about current materials is kept in the classroom for pupil use and self-appraisal. *Item numbers correSpond to those on the reactionaire presented in Appendix B. **Concepts shared by fifty-nine percent of the partici- pants . 120 That participants were rather highly selective in the concepts that were most frequently shared can be seen readily in Table 4.14. Only one concept with respect to newspapers and none in the area of evaluation appeared among those most frequently shared. Concepts that were shared least are highlighted in Table 4.15. Table 4.lS--The least shared concepts No. of Participants Sharing Concept Concept 27. Pupils are taught to appraise the types and content of a advertisements appearing in print as compared with those appear- ing on radio and television. 7 Fiction trade books are used in the teach- ing of science. 10 Non-fiction trade books are used in the teaching of mathematics. 6 28. 30. 32. A file of practice questions and asso- ciated answers about current materials is kept in the classroom for pupil use and self-appraisal. 7 37. Top of the News is used in keeping abreast of new books for children. 3 40. The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books is used to keep abreast of books for 7 children. 42. Library circulation tallies on books of certain subject matter are used to discover 7 children's reading interests. 46. Tape and disk recordings of television and radio programs are used in classroom in- 9 struction. 121 It would appear that certain characteristics (rel- ative advantage, compatibility, complexity, and/or communi- cability) of the concepts presented in Table 4.15 militated against their being shared more widely.1 For example, num- bers 28 and 30 are practices relative to the use of trade books (an area of widespread diffusion). However, the use of fiction trade books in science (number 28), and non- fiction trade books in mathematics (number 30) appeared to have been incompatible with the past experiences and/or perception of participants regarding proper use of trade books. Despite the fact that fiction trade books, such as A Wrinkleip Time by D'Engle, were discussed in connection with the teaching of science, participants seemed not to have perceived this practice as an innovation to be shared. Too, participants seemed unable internally to differentiate fiction and non-fiction trade books, though both could be used in teaching mathematics. One other example should suffice to illustrate the case in point. Number 32 concerned keeping a file for pupil use of current critical reading materials with associated answers in the classroom. Ap- parently, this seemed to have been a complex practice for Participants because it implied changing materials fre- quently and structuring answers so that pupils could have a _ 1 Lionberger, "Diffusion of Innovations," p. 38. 122 frame of reference for self-appraisal. Only seven partici- pants shared this concept. With how many people were each of the Institute concepts shared? In general, diffusion activities were minimal for most participants. The most widely diffused concept reached a mean of sixteen and six-tenths (16.6) (teachers. Participants reported many reasons for their ’limited diffusion activities. These are discussed in the section on factors limiting diffusion activities. The mean number of teachers contacted for each concept is presented in Table 4.16. Most participants felt that they had exerted a positive influence on library facilities in their school. During the Institute, improvement of school libraries was a focal point of interest for several participants. In a few cases, participants' schools did not contain either central libraries or learning centers. On returned reaction- aires, at least one participant indicated that he had been instrumental in establishing a central library in his school, two said that plans were under way to establish central libraries, two indicated that their libraries were being expanded to encompass the concept of a learning center, and three said they had been selected to prepare library book orders for 1967-68. Other types of influence were evi- dent in the acquisition by participants' schools of a large number of Institute-recommended trade books. Table 4.16--Mean number of teachers with whom each concept 123 was shared 10. 12. 14. 20. 21. 27. Mean Number of Concept Teachers Contacted Newspapers and Magazines Pupils are taught how to analyze the major types of news events reported in the daily newspaper. 10.0 Pupils are taught to examine two or more independent newspapers to see how they dif- fer in the treatment, amount of s ace and prominence (location in the paper given to the same news event. 6.6 Pupils are taught how to critically eval- uate political and editorial comments and/or cartoons. 6.8 Pupils are taught to read letters to the editor for a point of view. 6.5 Pupils are taught to discriminate a fac- tual report from an interpretive report of the same news event. ' 7.2 Pupils are taught to read magazine arti- cles to get more detailed discussions of certain news events that appear in the daily newspaper. 5.2 Pupils are taught how to integrate news stories from newspapers and/or magazines with the subject matter in textbooks. 7.1 Pupils are taught to read critical reviews and comments (on items such as children's books, drama, art, movies, and radio and television programs). 3.7 Pupils are taught to appraise the types and content of advertisements appearing in print as compared with those appearing on radio and television. 3.2 124 Table 4.16--Continued Mean Number of Concept Teachers Contacted Trade Books 2. Fiction trade books are used in the teach- ing of language arts and literature. 16.6 9. Fiction trade books are used in the teach- ing of social studies. 7.3 11. Non-fiction trade books are used in the teaching of language arts and literature. 9.8 15. Non-fiction trade books are used in the teaching of social studies. 8.9 28. Fiction trade books are used in the teach- ing of science. h.3 30. Non-fiction trade books are used in the teaching of mathematics. 1.9 35. Non-fiction trade books are used in the teaching of science. 5.5 Audio-Visual and Community Resources 13. Films related to literature and social studies are used in classroom instruction. 8.8 29. Television programs that will stimulate reading are assigned for home or school viewing. 9.2 43. Pupils' creative activities are tape- recorded for use in classroom instruction. 11.6 L6. Tape and disk recordings of television and radio programs are used in classroom in- struction. 4.0 48. Pupils are taken on field trips. 7.9 *h9. Check the following places to which pupils have been taken. 125 Table 4.16--Continued +— Mean Number of’ Concept Teachers Contacted Community libraries Book fairs Publishing firms Newspaper plants Others (specify) Authors and Literary Techniques 6. Pupils are taught how to examine the theme, plot, characters, and style of a story. 11.1 16. Pupils are taught how to recognize an author's purpose, point of view and possi- ble biases. 13.8 17. Pupils are taught how to write in several forms (e.g., original poetry, stories, essays, plays, and biographies). 11.9 *18. Check the following forms that are used. Poetry Stories Essays Plays Biographies 19. Pupils are taught how to recognize the com- petency of an author to write about a given subject. 13-4 22. Pupils are taught to use critical reading skills (such as classifying, comparing, and contrasting ideas, identifying cause and effect relationships, distinguishing fact from opinion, finding information to prove or disprove a statement, etc.) in their study of science and selentific problems. 5.7 24. Pupils are encouraged to study in depth the philosophy, style, themes and/or techniques of a favorite author or illustrator (e.g., read all the juvenile books written by 9 2 the author). 126 Table 4.16--Continued 1 _'_v _ 25. 41. 33. 36. 39. 7. 3h. 37. fi ’Mean Number of ‘— Concept _‘ Teachers Contacted Pupils are taught to compare the tech- niques used by different authors in the treatment of a single topic. 6.8 Pupils are taught how to find information ‘ to prove or disprove a statement. 11.3 Propaganda Pupils are taught how to evaluate materials that appear to make use of standard propa- ganda devices such as "name calling" and "glittering generalities." 10.8 Pupils are taught to use critical reading skills (such as classifying, comparing and contrasting ideas, identifying cause and effect relationships, distinguishing fact from Opinion, finding information to prove or diaprove a statement, etc.) in the social studies program. 9.1 Pupils are taught how to recognize infor- mation that appears to make use of the "jump on the band wagon" theme. 8.9 Pupils are taught how to distinguish fact from Opinion in general. 9.2 Pupils are taught how to recognize emo- tional reactions and motives. 10.3 New Books for Children Elementar En lish is used in keeping abreast of new books %or,children. 6.9 The Children's Catalog is used in locating oo 3 to meet t e reading interests and needs of children. 7.1 22p of the News is used in keeping abreast of new books for children. 1.6 127 Table 4.16--Continued Mean Number of Concept Teachers Contacted 40. The Bulletin of the Center for Chil- dren's BoBks is used to keep abreast of books for children. 3.4 44. The Horn Book Ma azine is used in keep- ing abreast of new Books for children. 5.6 47. The Booklist of the American Library Association is used in keeping abreast of new books for children. 8.3 Reading Interests 26. Written questionnaires are used to dis- cover children's reading interests. 8.8 31. The private interview is used as a tech- nique for finding out about children's reading interests. 10.0 38. Pupils' written self-reports are used to discover their reading interests. 10.2 42. Library circulation tallies on books of certain subject matter are used to dis- cover the children's reading interests. 5.7 45. Pupils' oral self-reports in class are used to discover their reading interests. 8.5 Evaluation 23. Teacher-prepared, infbrmal tests are used to determine pupils' growth in the abil- ity to make objective, critical appraisal of reading materials. 9.1 32. A file of practice questions and associated answers about current materials is kept in the classroom for pupil use and self- appraisal. 4.7 *Items 18 and 49 were not included in the computation. 128 Diffusion Strategies Which diffusion activities were considered by In- stitute participants to have been most effective? Of ten stated activities, participants were asked to indicate the three they found most effective in sharing Institute con- cepts with other teachers. Analysis of the responses re- vealed that infbrmal discussion with individual teachers and presentations at faculty meetings were considered most effective. However, the apparent effectiveness of these activities may be due in part to some participants who limited their reSponse only to these modes. Three other activities tied for third in frequency of mention. A list of the most effective activities is presented in Table 4.17. Table 4.17--The most effective activities utilized in dif- fusion of Institute concepts Number of Participants Activity Utilizing Activity Informal discussion 29 Faculty meeting 12 Small group meeting (less than 10 persons) 11 Assistance in the preparation of a lesson 11 Distribution of duplicated or printed materials on critical reading skills ll _* Which diffusion activities were used most frequently by Institute participants? Sociologists identify four or 129 five stages in the adOption process, defined as "the mental process through which an individual passes from first hearing about an innovation to final adOption."2 These are: (a) awareness; (b) interest; (c) evaluation; (d) trial; and (e) adaption. Specific channels of communication have been found effective for different stages.3' 4 Thus, individuals who rely almost solely on one form of communication are hypothe- sized to experience less success in getting others to adapt an innovation. Table 4.18 presents the activities engaged in most frequently by the three groups of educators. Administrators and specialists made greater use of cer- tain activities than teachers. Specialists tended to use demon- stration lessons and assistance in preparation of lessons, while administrators used distribution of printed materials, fac- ulty meetings, and small group meetings. Perhaps the reason teachers employed fewer diffusion activities might be attrib- uted to their inordinate dependence on informal discussion as their major mode of dissemination. Six of the eighteen teachers in the study indicated this to be their only diffusion strate- gy. Some activities seldom were used by any participant. In- itiation of an in-service education program was one of the 2Rogers, Diffusion of Innovations, p. 76. 3Ibid., pp. 98-102. 4Coleman, Katz and Menzel, Medical Innovation: A Diffusion Study, p. 57. 131 these activities they would reach a larger population and the effects on teaching practices would be more lasting. Factors Limiting Diffusion Activities What factors were identified by Institute partici- pants as limiters of diffusion? Returned reactionaires revealed that fourteen participants (approximately one- third) underwent some change in status or assignment in the 1966-67 school year. Nine went to new schools or school systems, three were assigned new roles, and two were in- volved in some type of reorganization in their schools. For these participants, adjustment to new situations and limited rapport with new school personnel were the major barriers to sharing. Changes in schools and assignment are presented in Table 4.19. That educational workers are highly mobile is evi- dent from Table 4.19. Of the fourteen changes, seven were specialists. Fifty percent of the Specialists changed positions during the year following the Institute. DeSpite this handicap, Specialists engaged in more diffusion activities than the others (see Table 4.1). This seemed to suggest that in addition to the probable advantage of being better prepared as a group as measured by earned degrees (Table 3.2), specialists had access to larger pop- ulations. 132 Table 4.19--Number of participants by professional position involved in changes in schools and/or assign- ment in 1966-67 Position of Participant Type of Change Administrator Specialist Teacher Totals New School 2 3 5 New School and New Role Administrator Specialist 1 1 Teacher 1 1 2 More Schools to Service 1 1 New Principal l l Reorganization of School from 1-6 to K-4 1 1 New Role Administrator 1 1 Specialist Teacher 2 2 Totals 2 7 5 l4 Other factors limiting diffusion activities were: 1. disinterest and lack of support by administra- tors; 2. difficulties arising from lack of time to engage in sharing activities; 133 3. inadequate library facilities and materials; 4. difficulty in finding ways to reach a larger population; and 5. need for supportive visits from the Institute staff at strategic points during the school year. Studies by Karbal and Johnson authenticate the validity of the first factor.5’ 6 They assert that teachers who are expected to influence the instructional practices of their colleagues must have the approval and support of admin- istrators in order to increase their credibility with other teachers. Time in which to share and ways of sharing were problems faced largely by teacher participants. Almost without exception, they indicated that the reaponsibility and isolation of classroom teaching limited the number of contacts teachers had with each other. They suggested that perhaps Institute personnel should make a formal request that teaching loads be lightened for Institute participants so that they will have time to engage in sharing activities. Also, it was felt that more Institute time should be Spent on diffusion strategies. 5Karbal, "In-Service EducationJ'p. 62. 6Donald Johnson, "Title III and the Dynamics of Edu- cational Change in California Schools," in Innovation in Education, ed. by Matthew B. Miles (New York: Bureau 0? ub igatgons, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1964), pp. 1 1- 2. CHAPTER V SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS This study investigated the extensiveness of dif- fusion activities engaged in by participants of an NDEA Institute in critical and appreciative reading in imple- menting Institute concepts in their schools. A two-part reactionaire was developed to determine extensiveness of diffusion activities, as measured by (a) the number of con- cepts diffused, and (b) the number of concepts adopted by colleagues. Professional position, self-perception of lead- ership behavior, self-perception of diffusion responsibil- ity, rationale for attending the Institute, and self-adoption of Institute concepts were independent variables. Measures of these variables were correlated with the measures of diffusion activities to test ten null hypotheses. Summary of Findings Hypotheses l and 2 were tested to assess the im- portance of professional position. 1. HO There is no difference in extensiveness of diffusion activities among adminis- strators, specialists, and classroom teachers. 134 135 2. HO There is no difference in extent of adoption of institute concepts by colleagues of ad- ' ministrator, specialist, and classroom teacher participants. Professional position was related to the number of concepts diffused at <:: .05 level of significance, but was not re- lated to the number of concepts adopted by colleagues. Con- sequently, null hypothesis 1 was rejected and null hypothe- sis 2 was accepted. Leadership behavior was tested in hypotheses 3 and 4. 3. H0 There is no relationship between extensive- ness of diffusion activities and differences among participants in self-perception of leadership behavior. 4. HO There is no relationship between extent of adoption of institute concepts by colleagues and differences among participants in self- perception of leadership behavior. Leadership behavior was neither related to the number of concepts diffused nor to the number of concepts adopted by colleagues. The correlations failed to achieve the set level of significance of .05. As a result, null hypotheses 3 and 4 were accepted. 136 Hypotheses 5 and 6 were tested to ascertain the influence of self-perception of diffusion responsibility on diffusion activities. . 5. H0 There is no relationship between extensive- ness of diffusion activities and differences among participants in self-perception of reSponsibility for diffusion of institute concepts. There is no relationship between extent of adoption of institute concepts by colleagues and differences among participants in self- perception of responsibility for diffusion of institute concepts. The variable was significantly related to the number of concepts diffused at the <:,.05 level. However, it was not related to the number of concepts adopted by colleagues. On that ground, null hypothesis 5 was rejected and null hypothesis 6 was accepted. Hypotheses 7 and 8 were tested to assess the im- portance of reasons for attending the Institute in diffusion activities. 7. HO There is no relationship between extensive- ness of diffusion activities and differences among participants in reasons for attending the institute. 137 8. Ho There is no relationship between extent of adap- tion of institute concepts by colleagues and dif- ferences among participants in reasons for attend- ing the institute. Reasons for attending the Institute were positively related to the number of concepts diffused at the <1.05 level. The vari- able was not related to the number of concepts adOpted by col- leagues. Hence, null hypothesis 7 was rejected and null hypoth- esis 8 was accepted. Self-adoption of Institute concepts was tested in hypotheses 9 and 10 to ascertain the importance of this vari- able in diffusion activities. 9. HO There is no relationship between extensiveness of diffusion activities and self-adoption of institute concepts by teacher participants. , 10. HO There is no relationship between extent of adoption of institute concepts by colleagues and self-adop- tion of institute concepts by teacher participants. Self-adOption of Institute concepts was positively related to both the number of concepts diffused and the number of con- cepts adopted by colleagues at'<:.05 level of significance. Consequently, null hypotheses 9 and 10 were rejected. Hypotheses were written in pairs with the odd numbered hypotheses dealing with extensiveness of diffusion activities while the even-numbered hypotheses were concerned with adap- tion by colleagues. Null hypotheses 3 and 4 were accepted and null hypotheses 9 and 10 were rejected. Null hypotheses 1, 138 5, and 7, concerned with extensiveness of diffusion activities were rejected. However, with their counterparts, 2, 6, and 8, the null hypotheses were accepted. All Institute concepts were used and/or shared by par- ticipants. Concepts relative to trade books, sources of in- formation about books, authors and literary techniques, and application of critical reading skills were more extensively shared than other concepts. Nevertheless, no concept was shared by less than three participants. Sharing (diffusion) was more widespread for specialists than for administrators or teachers. Teachers appeared to have been in the least ten- able position for achieving this objective. Although several strategies were used by participants in diffusing Institute concepts, informal discussion, faculty meetings, and distribution of written materials were most fre- quently employed. Activities encompassing a number of strate- gies, such as in-service education and demonstration lessons, were little used. Preparation of a handbook on critical read- ing skills was not utilized by any participant. Findings indicated that a number of perceived factors hindered extensiveness of diffusion activities. Fourteen (41%) of the participants changed jobs or schools after attending the Institute. These changes entailed making new professional contacts and adjustments, thus intensifying to some degree the effects of other factors on some participants. Non-supportive administrators, lack of time for sharing, lack of knowledge of effective ways of sharing, and lack of contact with 139 Institute Staff were notable among the variety of factors mentioned. Conclusions Based on the findings presented above, the following conclusions were indicated: 1. 2. 3. The three groups of educators were not the same in extensiveness of diffusion activities. Special- ists, followed closely by administrators, diffused a greater number of Institute concepts than the classroom teachers. There was no difference in extent of adaption of Institute concepts by colleagues of administrator, specialist, and teacher participants. AdOption of Institute concepts was difficult to assess. All participants made very conservative estimates of adOption; thus, the small numerical differences that did appear favored administrators over specialists and teachers, respectively. How- ever, these differences were not statistically sig- nificant. There was no relationship between extensiveness of diffusion activities and differences among partici- pants in self-perception of leadership behavior. Participants were quite homogeneous in scores earned on the LBDQ. Casual observations made of participants during the Institute revealed many 140 overt indications of differences in perseverance, role enactment, and self-confidence. Either the instrument employed was not sensitive enough to reveal these differences, or participants did not perceive readily their behavior as leaders. A third possibility was that the high percentage of changes in assignments and/or schools pro- duced correSponding modifications in perception or behavior. . There was no relationship between extent of adOption of Institute concepts by colleagues and differences among participants in self-perception of leadership behavior. Extensiveness of diffusion activities was posi- tively related to differences among participants in self-perception of responsibility for diffusion of Institute concepts. Participants who expressed strong responsibility for diffusion during the Institute reported greater diffusion activity than those indicating less responsibility. No relationship was found between extent of adoption of Institute concepts by colleagues and differences among participants in self-perception of responsibility for diffusion of Institute concepts. 141 7. Extensiveness of diffusion activities was positively related to differences among partici- pants in reasons for attending the Institute. Participants whose objectives were more altru- istic reported a greater number of diffusion activities than others. 8. No relationship was found between extent of adoption of Institute concepts by colleagues and differences among participants in reasons for attending the Institute. 9. Extensiveness of diffusion activities was posi- tively related to self-adoption of Institute concepts by teacher participants. Comparisons made between the concepts teacher participants implemented in their classrooms and the concepts they diffused indicated that only those concepts that were being or had been tested by the participants were recommended to others. This pattern tended to corroborate findings from other diffusion studies that second- ary sources of innovations are also adopters of the innovations. 10. Extent of adoption of Institute concepts by colleagues was positively related to self- adoption of Institute concepts by teacher par- ticipants. 11. 12. 142 Since this was the only instance in which the number of concepts adopted was significant, it was a relatively meaningless measure of ex- tensiveness of diffusion activities for the larger population. Either the measure was inade- quate or, as was stated previously, participants' appraisals were inadequate. Diffusion activities were minimal for most participants because of some seemingly built-in obstacles. Classroom teachers had little time and little administrative support for sharing activities. Specialists were encumbered by changes in assign- ments. Administrators were not suited to the role of demonstrator of new instructional prac- tices. Finally, and perhaps most important, little attention had been given to appropriate diffusion strategies for varied school personnel during the Institute. Despite several factors that militated against greater effectiveness in diffusion activities, some observable changes occurred in schools as a result of participants' efforts. 143 Implications Numerous sources in the field of education have pointed to the need for critical, objective analyses of the effectiveness of NDEA Institutes as a means of improving instructional practices. Information of this type is so urgently desired that the Consortium of Professional Asso- ciations to Supervise Studies of Special Programs for the Improvement of Instruction in American Education (CONPASS) was commissioned to assess the impact of NDEA Institutes on participants.l’ 2' 3 The present study investigated one aspect of the problem-~diffusion of Institute concepts to a wider popu- lation of educators. It has affirmed that some diffusion did occur. However, much of the diffusion activity was poorly articulated. Diffusion in rural sociology and medical sociology was conducted according to a carefully planned diffusion strategy. Sponsoring agencies maintained close contact 1James w. Brown, "NDEA Educational Media Specialists Institutes: Preliminary Review," Audiovisual Instruction, XI (December, 1966). 803- 2Kenneth W. Mildenberger, "CONPASS: A Cooperative Arrangement for Assessing Federally Supported Institutes," Audiovisual Instructigg, XI (December, 1966), 829-30. 3Richard 0. Ulin, "What Makes an NDEA Institute Dif- §ggent?" Peabody Journal of Education, XLIV (May, 1967) 144 with intermediaries throughout the diffusion process. Further, an effective diffusion strategy took into account the nature of the diffuser, the adopter, and the innovation and tried to achieve consonance between these dependencies.h Findings of the present study suggest several implications with respect to diffusion strategy for special programs in which diffusion of improved instructional practices is a major objective. Implications for Sponsors of Institutes and WorkshOps Optimal selection of participants is vitally important to the success of programs. Attention should be given to the potential advantages and disadvantages of selecting participants in terms of diversity in geographical origin and job assignment. For certain types of programs, homogeneity is more effective than diversity.5 This would narrow the range of needs to be met and facilitate post- prOgram follow-up. Teachers appear to accept specialists as the apprOpriate demonstrators and legitimators of new instruc- tional practices. These functions are role-expectations itGuba, "Diffusion of Innovations," 292—95. 5Fingl Report: Evaluation of National Defense Edu- ggtion Act nstitute or Advanced Stud in Readin , pp. 24, .7. 145 held by teachers and administrators of the position. There- fore, it seems that specialists are the professionals who should be invited to attend programs of the type studied in this investigation if the objective is wider dissemination of recommended concepts. The results of this study corroborate findings in the literature reviewed previously which suggest that participants who express strong altruistic feelings Of responsibility toward their schools as a result of program participation and high-principled reasons for participating do more to diffuse recommended concepts. Assessment Of these behavior tendencies should be a built-in evaluation of all participants of funded projects, and should be made prior to program attendance. Participants Of the 1965 NDEA reading institutes criticized many programs because no Opportunity was provided for practical demonstrations with children of institute recommended concepts.6 The significant relationship found between both measures of diffusion activities and teachers' self-adOption of Institute concepts in the present study appeared to be indicative of the importance of the demonstra- tion as an instructional technique that should be used in institutes and workshops. Thus, if applicability of recom- mended concepts is shown readily in programs (e.g., using 6Final Re rt: Evaluation of National Defense Edu- cation Act Ifistitutesfor Advanced Study in Reading, p. 72. 146 children in demonstrations), it appears that more implementa- tion and diffusion Of concepts would result. Follow-up of participants appears to be essential to the achievement of institute and workshOp Objectives. Re- sults of the present study revealed that diffusion activities dropped markedly after a period of about two months of fairly active dissemination. Thus, it appeared that diffusion ef- forts might have received a needed "boost" if Institute staff members had been able to schedule help sessions for par- ticipants at designated periods between November and March. Sponsoring faculty should visit the schools of participants to provide help and support at strategic points in time. Program objectives should be communicated clearly to administrative personnel in the schools of participants so that they understand the importance of providing support and time for dissemination activities. More effective dissemination may be possible if institute participation were based on agreements from school systems that participants would be given time and administrative support to assume leadership functions.7 That participants who have the support Of sponsors, superiors, and colleagues are likely to be more successful in diffusing recommended concepts is supported by the —— vi ‘— 7Johnson, "Title III," pp. 181-82. 147 literature.8' 9 Therefore, it would appear that sponsors could insure a degree of success by inviting two persons, one of whom should be an administrator, from the same school system to attend the proffered programs. Successful diffusion depends to a great extent upon diffusion strategy. Participants frequently seem unable to map an effective strategy. Some portion of institute and workshop time should be given to mapping a diffusion strategy that is consonant with the ability Of the participants. In- stitute time devoted to analysis of participant change and the probable lack of school system and colleague change in the same dimensions would likely result in more effective diffusion activities. Implications for Participants and Their Schools Participants demonstrate dynamic leadership by em- ploying every means possible to bring improved instructional practices to the attention of colleagues. Casual diffusion procedures are not adequate to arouse the interest of teachers who have many activities and responsibilities competing for their attention. In-service education programs, demonstration lessons, and teachers' handbooks appear to be important in 8Chesler, Schmuck, and Lippitt, "The Principal's Role," p. 274. 20 21 9Lippitt, "Curriculum Development and Change," pp. 148 effecting adoption and continued use of recommended innova- tions in instructional practices. A significant prOportion of the participants Of the present study appeared not to have had a plan of action for initiating diffusion activities in their schools. Diffusion activities cannot be carried out effectively without the help and support of administrators and colleagues. Partici- pants could work intensively with a few innovative teachers who would in turn serve as demonstrators for their close professional associates. In the present institute, diffusion was not a Specified Objective; with consequent lack of com- mitment by some participants to that end. Administrators should be aware of the objectives Of the institutes or workshOps and involved in the recommends? tion of participants best suited to the achievement of these Objectives. Arrangements for Optimal use of participants when they return to their school systems is another useful role which could be assumed by administrators. Implications for Research On-site evaluators of the 1965 instructional media and reading institutes suggested that selection of institute participants should be based upon leadership ability.10 Though 10See page 8, Chapter I. 149 the present study did not reveal a relationship between dif— fusion activities and participants' self-perception Of leader behavior, informal observation suggested that this is an area worthy of further investigation. A larger sample in the research design might yield more meaningful results. Using a different or a more refined instrument, or perhaps a different approach to the problem would be more fruitful. In the present study, the number of concepts adopted by colleagues was assessed through participants' responses to the question. Findings revealed that this was not a very meaningful measure of diffusion activities. Participants seemed not to have been in a tenable position to make accurate assessments of adoption. The limited range of reported ac- tivities seemed to be a function of limited amount of activ- ity. To increase validity and precision of measurement in this area, adoption should be determined by contacting the receivers of an innovation. Results Of diffusion studies in other fields suggested the importance of interpersonal communication between persons of similar social status in the diffusion-adaption process. Specialists, who occupied a position midway between teachers and administrators, were the influentials in the present study. Whether this was a reflection of the horizontal flow of influence in which the advisor occupied a slightly higher social status than the advisees, or whether it was a reflec- tion of the role-expectation held by teachers of the position 150 of specialist was not revealed. This dependency should be explored further in other studies. As suggested by the literature, diffusion strategies should vary according to the particular abilities and char- acteristics of different types of intermediaries or diffusers. Optimal diffusion strategies for administrators, specialists, and classroom teachers could be determined in future research studies. In summary, a source, a message channel, and a re- ceiver are three indispensable elements of the diffusion process. Attention to one to the exclusion of the others mitigates diffusion effectiveness. In the diffusion Of in- structional innovations, sponsors of special programs are the sources; trainees are the message channels; and school systems are the receivers. Only close coordination of effort and feedback among these interdependent elements will result in improved instructional practices. Identification of ways in which better coordination and communication can be achieved is the responsibility of future research. 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New YOrh: Holt, Rins- hart and Winston, Inc., 1953. Carlson, Richard O. Ado tion of Educational Innovations. Eugene, Oregon: enter or t e vanced tu y of Educational Administration, University of Oregon, 1965. . "School Superintendents and Adoption of Modern Math: A Social Structure Profile." Innovation in Education. Edited by Matthew B. Miles. New Yorh: Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1964. Carter, C. F., and Williams, B. R. Indu tr and Technical Progress: Factors Governing the Speed of 151 152 Application of Science. London: Oxford University Press, 1957. Charters, W. W. "The Social Background of Teaching." Hand- book Of Research_gp:Teaching. Edited by N. L. Cage. The American Educationa Research Association. Chicago: Rand McNally and Company, 1963. Coleman, James E.; Katz, Elihu; and Menzel, Herbert. Medical Innovation: A Diffusion Stud . New YOrk: Bobhs- Merrill Company, Inc., 1966. Collier, Calhoun, et al. Teachin in the Modern.Elementar School. New YOrk: MEcmiiIan Company, 1967. Combs, Arthur W. The Professional Education of Teachers: A Perce tual View of Teacher Pre aration. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Inc., 1965. Eichholz, Gerhard, and Rogers, Everett M. "Resistance to the Adoption of Audio-Visual Aids by Elementary School Teachers: Contrasts and Similarities to Agricultural Innovation." Innovation in Education. Edited by Matthew B. Miles. New YOrh: Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1964. Haines, George H., Jr. "A Study of Why PeOple Purchase New Products." Science, Technologp and Marketing. Edited by Raymond M. ans. C icago: mer can ar eting Association, 1966. Halpin, Andrew W. The Leadership Behavior of School Super- intendents. Chicago: Midwest Administration Center. University of Chicago, 1956. Harris, Ben M. "Strategies for Instructional Change: Promis- ing Ideas and Perplexing Problems." The Su ervisor: A ent for Chan e in Teachin . Edited By James Raths and Rohert R. Beeper. 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"Roles and Processes in Curriculum Development and Change." Strategy for Curriculum Change. Edited by Robert R.Leeper. Washington, D. C.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1965. iacKenzie, Gordon N., et. a1. Instructional Leadership. New York: Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1954. Marsh, Paul E. "Wellsprings of Strategy: Considerations Affecting Innovations by the P830." Innovation in Education. New York: Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1964. Morphet, Edgar L.; Johns, Roe L.; and Reller, Theodore L. Educational Organization and Administration: ,Qpnceptsj Practices, and Issues. 2nd ed. Engle- woods Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1967. Mort, P. R., and Cornell, F. 0. American Schools in Transition. New York: Bureau ofPuincations, TeachersfiCollege, Columbia University, 1941. MYers, John 0. "Patterns of Interpersonal Influence in the Adoption of New Products." Science, Technology and Marketing. 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Leader Behavior: Its Description and Measurement. Research’Monograph NO. 88. Columbus: Bureau of Business Research, Ohio State University, 1957. Wayland, S. R. "The Teacher as Decision-Maker." Curric- ulum Crossroads. Edited by A. H. Passow. New York: Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1962. Wiles, Kimball. "Contrasts in Strategies of Change." Strategy for Curriculum Change. Edited by Robert R. Leeper. Washington, D. C.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1965. Articles in Periodicals Arndt, Johan. "Role of Product-Related Conversations in the Diffusion of a New Product." Journal of Marketing_Research, IV (August, 1967). 291-95. Bailey Wilfrid C. "The Dilemma of Demonstrations." International Journal of Comparative Sociology VI'(September, 1965), 256F65. 7*", Brown, James W. "N EA Educational Media Specialists Institutes: Preliminary Review." Audiovisual _Instruction, XI (December, 1966), 801-3. Pfi— 155 Caplow, Theodore, and Raymond, John J. "Factors In- fluencing the Selection of Pharmaceutical Products." Journal of I-Iarketipg, x1}: (July, 1954), 18-23. Chesler, Mark; Schmuck, Richard; and Lippitt, Ronald. "The Principal's Role in Facilitating Innovation." Theory into Practice, II (December, 1963). 269-77. Cunningham, Luvern L. "Effecting Change through Leader- ship.” Educational Leadership, XXI (November, 1963) 9 75’79 e Deasy, Leila Calhoun. "Socio-economic Status and Partici- pation in the Poliomyelitis Vaccine Trial." American Sociological Review, XXI (April, 1956), 185-91. Guba, Egon G. "Diffusion of Innovations." Educational Leadership. XXV (January, 1968), 292-95. Hardin, Charles M. "'Natural Leaders' and the Administra- tion of Soil Conservation Programs." Rural Sociology. XVI (September, 1951), 279-81. Houston, W. Robert, and DeVault, M. Vere. "Mathematics In-Service Education: Teacher Growth Increases Pupil Growth." Arithmetic Teacher, X (May, 1963), 243-47. Katz, E.; Levin, M. L.; and Hamilton, H. "Traditions of Research on the Diffusion of Innovations." .American Sociological Review, XXVIII (April, 1963), 237-52. . Kowitz, Gerald T. "The Management of Motivation." Phi Delta Kappan, XLIX (October, 1967), 79-80. Lionberger, Herbert F. "Some Characteristics of Farm Operators Sought as Sources of Farm Information in a Missouri Community." Rpral Sociology, XVIII (December, 1953), 327-381 McLaughlin, Curtis P., and Penchansky, Roy. "Diffusion of Innovation in Medicine: A Problem of Continuing Medical Education." Journal of Medical Education' XL (May, 1965), 437-47. *’ Mechanici DaRidk "Tge Power to Resist Change Among ow- an ing ersonnel." Personnel Administr ‘ XXVI (July, 1963). 5-11- atigp, 156 Menzel, Herbert, and Katz, Elihu. "Social Relations and Innovations in the Medical Profession: The Epide- miology of a New Drug." Public Opinion Quarterly, XIX (Winter, 1955). 337-52. Mildenberger, Kenneth W. "CONPASS: A COOperative Arrange- for Assessing Federally Supported Institutes." Audiovisual Instruction, XI (December, 1966), 828-30. Mitchell, James R. "The Workshop as an In-Service Educa- Procedure." North Central Association Quarterly, XXVIII (April, I954). 421-50. National Education Association. "Status of Public-School Teachers, 1965." NBA Research Division, Research Bulletin, XLIII (October, 1965), 68-70. . "Professional Growth Requirements." NEA Research Division, Research Bulletin, XLIV (December, 1966), 104-6. ' Sills, David L., and Gill, Rafael E. "Young Adults' Use of the Salk Vaccine." Social Problems, VI (Winter, 1959)) 2h6-530 Stogdill, R. M.; Goode, Omar 8.; and Day, David R. "New Leader Behavior Description Subscales." ‘qurnal of Psychologyl LIV (1962), 259-69. "The Leader Behavior of United States Senators." Journal of Psychology, LVI (1963), 3-8. Ulin, Richard 0. "What Makes an NDEA Institute Different?" Peabody_Journa1 of Education, XLIV (May, 1967), 357-60. Wilkening, Eugene A. "Informal Leaders and Innovators in Farm Practices." Rural Sociology, XVII (September, 1952). 272-75. Reports and Proceedings Baird, Andrew N., and Bailey, Wilfrid C. Igst-Demonstra- tion and Related areas: Review of Literature. Preliminary Reports in Sociology and Rural Life No. . State College: Mississi i S sity, 1960. pp tate Univer- 157 Final Report: Evaluation of National Defense Education .Agt InstippteSBTOr Advanced—Study‘inReading.‘_Y Newark} Delaware: InternationalReading Associa- tion, 1965. King, Charles W. "Fashion Adoption: A Rebuttal to the 'Trickle Down' Theory." Toward Scientific Mpgketingg Proceedings of the 1963 Winter Conference of the American Marketing Association. Chicago: American Marketing Association,l964. Lin, Nan, et al. The Diffusion of an Innovation in Three Michigan High SChOOls: ‘Institution Buildinggthrough Change. Projec on the Diffusion of Educational Practices in Thailand, Research Report Number 1. East Lansing: Institute for International Studies in Education and Department of Communication, Iichigan State University, December, 1966. National Education Association, Department of Audiovisual Instruction. EMIE: Educational Media Institute Evaluation Project. Evaluations of Summer 1965, NDEA Institutes. Washington: Department of Audio- visual Instruction, November, 1965. U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Technical Services. Patterns and Problems of Technical Innovation in hmerican Industry. Report to National Science FoundatiOn, September, 1963. U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Office Of Education. Report on the National Defense Educa: tion Act, Fiscal Year 1961 and 1962;_ Washington, D. C.: Government Printing Office, 1962. Dissertation Abstracts Hanson, John Ofsthus. "A Descriptive Study of BaSic Data and the Educational Innovations Found in Twenty- two Selected North Dakota Small Schools."p Disserta- tion Abstracts, XXVII, No.6, UniverSity 0. North Dakota, 1966, 1587-A. Hardenbrook, Robert Francis. "Identification of Processes ' Selected Schools in Santa Barbara of Innovation in XXVIII, No. 8 Count ." Dissertation Abstracts , Univegsity of Southern California, 1968, 2896-A. 158 Knedlik, Stanley M. "The Effect of Administrative Succession Pattern upon Educational Innovation in Selected Secondary Schools." Dissertation Abstracts, XXVIII, NO. 11, New YOrk University, 1968, 4415-A. Tinari, Charles. "A Study of the Role Behavior of the Ele- mentary School Principal in In-service Education in Selected Public Schools Of New Jersey." Disserta- tion Abstracts, XXVIII, No. 10, New York University, 1:68, 39569-55-Ao Walters, Robert Nevil. "An Analysis of the Extent to which Teachers Participate in the Administration of the Public Schools in Mississippi." Dissertation Ab- stracts, XXVIII, No. 8, University of Mississippi, , 2969-70‘Ae Unpublished Materials Bell, William Earl. "Consumer Innovation: An Investigation of Selected Characteristics of Innovators." Unpub- lished D.B.A. dissertation, Michigan State University, 1962. Dempsey, Richard Allen. "An Analysis of Teachers' Expressed Judgments of Barriers to Curriculum Change.". Unpub- lished Ph.D. dissertation, Michigan State Univer31ty, 1963. Karbal, Harold T. "The Effectiveness of a Workshop as a Means of In-Service Education of Teachers." Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Wayne State University, 1963. Lin, Nan. "Innovation Internalization in a Formal Organi- zation." Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Michigan State University, 1966. Nylin, Donald William.‘ "An.Investigation of the Relation- ship between Self—Perceived Traits Associated with Innovators." Unpublished Ed.D. dissertation, Uni- versity of Illinois, 1967. Peterman, Lloyd Edward. "The Relationship of In-service Edu- cation to the Innovativeness of the Classroom Teacher in Selected Public Secondary Schools in Michigan." Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Michigan, 1966. 159 Rehder, Robert Richard. "The Role of the Detail Man in the Diffusion and Adoption of an Ethical Pharmaceutical Innovation within a Single Medical Community." Un- pgglished Ph.D. dissertation, Stanford University, Rogers, Everett M. "Toward a New Model for Educational Change." Paper presented at the Conference on Strate- gies for Educational Change, Washington, D. C., Nov- ember 8—9, 1965, sponsored by Ohio State University and U. S. Office of Education, 1965. Other Sources Gr duate School Catalo Issue. East Lansing: Michigan State University Pthication, 1967. APPENDICES APPENDIX A Program of the Institute Participant Evaluation Questionnaire 160-169 Program of the Institute The program of the Institute consisted Of three three-credit courses, the contents of which, in light of the purposes Of the Institute, were closely related and integrated. Specific details of the Institute program are stated below: Daily: 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. Title: Children's Literature Credits: 3 (Education 830A) Instructor: Dr. Wanda Gray Content of Course: a. The study Of the genres and techniques Of the different kinds of literature (e.g., fiction - contemporary and folk, adventure, biography, science, poetry, drama, essays and the like). b. Analytical study and appraisal of the appropri- ateness of the recent publications of the various literary forms with regard to such factors as expression of form, content,-and theme and the probable potential of these pbulications for use in the development of facility in the various discriminating reading skills. 0. The study of the reading interests of children as a significant factor affecting the development of literary taste and appreciation. Special lecture topics: Miss Jean Karl, Editor of juvenile literature, Atheneum Publishing Company-- June 28-9 "The Constants of Good Literature" "The Art of Illustrating Children's Books" Dr. Charlotte Huck, Professor of Education, Ohio State University -- July 7-8 "The Reading Interests of Children and Youth" Dr. Doris Young Kuhn, Consultant in Elementary Education, Lafayette, Indiana -- July 12 "Criteria for Evaluating-Informational Books: Social Studies" Miss Mildred Nickel, Director of School Libraries, Lansing, Michigan -- July 19 "Some Vital Considerations for Selecting Books for Use in the Elementary School Program" Dr. William Jenkins, Associate Dean of Education,and Editor of Elementar En lish, University of Wisconsin -- July 21-2 "The Variants in the Genres and Techniques of Different Kinds of Literature" Dr. Shirley Brehm, Assistant Professor Of Education, Michigan State University -- July 25 "Criteria for Evaluating Informational Books: Science and Mathematics" Dr. Jean LePere, Professor of Education, Michigan State University -- July 29 "Poetry -- a Form of Literature Children Can Appreciate" Daily: 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. Title: The Teaching of Reading Instructor: Dr. Patricia J. Cianciolo, Director Of the Institute Credits: 3 (Education 830C) Content of Course: a. Definition of the Nature of Reading. b. Identification of the relationship of reading to the sociocultural conditions. c. Identification of critical reading skills and some specific instructional materials and techniques that are likely to provide for the development of these skills. d. Identification of appreciative reading skills and some specific instructional materials and techniques that are likely to provide for the development of these skills. e. Identification of criteria that should guide the evaluation of reading. Some lecture topics: Dr. William Durr, Professor of Education, Michigan State University -- July 6 "Teaching Critical Reading with Informational Books" Dr. Charlotte Huck, Professor of Education, Ohio State University -- July 8 "What Evidence do we have that makes us Think Elementary School Children can be Discriminating Readers?" Dr. John Mulhern, Associate Professor, Marquette University -- July 14-15 "Newspaper Accounts Of Controversial Issues as an Aid in the Development of Critical Reading Multiple Sources in the Study of Economic Issues" Miss Mildred Nickel, Director of School Libraries, Lansing, Michigan --July 19 "The Role of the School Library in Fostering the Development of Facility in Discriminating Reading" Dr. Jean LePere, Professor of Education, Michigan State University -- July 29 "Emotional Identification of the Reader with the Book Characters and Situations as a Factor Affecting Development of Facility in Appre- ciative Reading" Daily: 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Title: Seminar in Elementary Education: Using Literature to Foster the Development of Critical and Apprecia- tive Reading Skills and Attitudes Instructor: Dr. Wanda Gray Credits: 3 (Education 882) Content Of Course: The daily subjects of this seminar grew out of the courses in Literature and reading instruction described above. Thus, the participants were able to study areas of special interest in greater depth. The participants studied relevant research, media, films, kinescopes and the like. When they desired, they used a small portion of this time they made and to demonstrate or present the materials that planned to use with elementary school children. Participant Evaluation Questionnaire PLEASE DO NOT sign your name to this questionnaire. Be as objective as possible. The purpose of this questionnaire is to provide an evaluation of the Institute as a whole, not an evaluation of its specific parts. For example, in evaluating instruction do not consider individual instructors separately, but consider the total instructional staff in general. PART I -- Please circle the numeral which corresponds to your Opinion regarding each continuum. YOu are encouraged to use the space following each item for any additional comments which you may wish to make. 1. (a) HOw well was the Institute organized and activities structured? 1 2 3 4 5 Excellently Adequately Poorly (b) Describe any aspects of the Institute which were inadequately structured. 2. How was emphasis distributed between substantive content and teaching skills? 1 2 3 4 5 . TOO much on substantive Satisfactory Too little on substantive content and too little on Distribution content and too much on teaching skills teaching skills 3. (a) How well was class time generally spent? 1 2 3 4 5 Excellently Satisfactory Poorly (b) Describe any activities for which class time was poorly spent. 4. How was time distributed between class time and free time? 1 2 3 u littl I time Too much class time Satisfactory Too 9 c ass t' and too little free Distribution and too much free 1me 2 5. HOw was time distributed between guest lecturers and regular instructors? l 2 3 4 5 Too much time with Satisfactory Too little time with guest lecturers and Distribution guest lecturers and too little time with too much time with regular instructors regular instructors 6. As a group how well did the instructors and visiting lecturers seem to know the subject matter? 1 2 3 4 5 Broad and accurate Adequate Several gaps in knowledge Knowledge knowledge 7. HOw much Opportunity was there to ask questions in class? 1 2 3 4 5 Very much Some Very little 8. How easy was it to get help from the instructors and assistant instructors as a group? 1 2 3 4 5. I felt welcome to seek I felt hesitant I avoided seeking extra help as often as to ask for extra extra help needed help 9. How would you describe the attitude of fellow class members? 1 2 3 4 . 5 Attentive and Passive and Inattentive or ' active Indifferent even antagonistic 10. (a) ‘Were the major objectives of the Institute made clear in the brochure which described the Institute? 1 2 3 4 5 11 Absolutely clear Somewhat Not clear at a and definite Clear (b) Describe any misconceptions regarding the objectives, which You had prior to your arrival on campus. 11. (a) How much agreement was there between the objectives and the Institute assignments and requirements? 3 4 5 1 2 Very little agreement Very close agreement Some agreement 3 (b) Describe any specific disagreement of assignments and objectives. 12. ‘Was the beginning date Of the Institute convenient for you in relation to your academic year position? 1 2 3 4 5 TOO early Just right TOO late 13. ‘Was the duration Of the Institute satisfactory? 1 2 3 u 5 Too many weeks Just right TOO few weeks 14. 'Was the number of participants conducive to a stimulating and profitable educational experience? 1 2 3 4 5 Too many participants Just right Too few participants 15. (a) How adequate was the orientation to the compus? 1 2 3 4 5 Excellent Satisfactory Poor (b) Describe any aspects of orientation which were inadequate. 16. How adequate were the Opportunities for recreational and social activities? 1 2 3 4 5 Mbre than adequate Adequate Less than adequate 17. How adequate were the Opportunities outside Of class for communica- tion among the participants? 1 2 3 4 5 Excellent Satisfactory Poor 18. How would you describe the classroom and physical facilities Of the Institute? 1 2 3 4 5 Excellent Satisfactory Poor Comments: 4 19. How would you describe the library facilities of the Institute? 1 2 3 4 5 Excellent Satisfactory Poor Comments: 20. How would you describe your housing and dining facilities while attending the Institute? 1 2 3 4 5 Excellent Satisfactory Poor PART II -- PLEASE respond concisely to the following items. 1. Briefly evaluate the field trip activities in terms of their effectiveness, their relevance to the Objectives of the Institute, and the number of trips. 2. The Institute participants were purposely chosen from a variety of professional positions and responsibilities and included classroom teachers, librarians, supervisors, and teacher-training personnel. DO you feel that this was desirable or undesirable? State reasons to support your answer. 5 3. What was the most significant experience which you have had during the Institute? Indicate more than one if you wish, but list them in order from greatest to least significance. 4. One Of the objectives of the NDEA Institute for Advanced Study is to encourage progress and promote improvement of school instructional programs. What do you plan to do differently in your school this year as a result of your experience in the Institute? 5. What experiences which were not included in the Institute do you think should have been? 6. Discuss briefly what you consider to be the major strengths Of the Institute. 7. Discuss briefly what you consider to be the major weaknesses of the Institute. APPENDIX B Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire Reactionnaire: Institute in Critical and Appreciative Reading in Children's Literature 170-196 Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire Form XII Purpose Of the Questionnaire On the following pages is a list Of items that may be used to describe 222; behavior as a leader. Each item describes a specific kind of behavior. Although some items may appear similar, they express difference that are important in the description Of leadership. As you read each item, substitute "I" for "He." Mark the frequency with which you believe you engage in each kind of behavior. Note: The term, "group," as employed in the following items, refers to a department, division, or other unit Of organization that is supervised by the person being described. The term "members," refers to all the people in the unit of organization that is supervised by the person being described. DIRECTIONS: a. READ each item carefully. b. THINK about how frequently the leader engages in the behavior described by the item. c. DECIDE whether he (A) always, (B) often, (C) occasionally, (D) seldom or (E) never acts as described by the item. d. DRAW A CIRCLE around one of the five letters (A B C D E) following the item to show the answer you have selected. A - Always B - Often C - Occasionally D = Seldom E — Never e. MARK your answers as shown in the examples below. Example: He often acts as described ...................................... A C D E Example: He never acts as described ...................................... A B C D ® Example: He occasionally acts as described ................................ A B © D E 1. He acts as the spokesman of the group ................................ A B C D E 2. He waits patiently for the results of a decision ......................... A B C D L 3. He makes pep talks to stimulate the group ............................ A B C D E 4. He lets group members know what is expected of them ................ A B C D 1; 5. He allows the members complete freedom in their work ................ A B C D I: 6. He is hesitant about taking initiative in the group ..................... A B C D E 7. He is friendly and approachable ...................................... A B C D E 8. He encourages overtime work ........................................ A B C D E 9. He makes accurate decisions .......................................... A B C D E 10. He gets along well with the people above him ......................... A B C D E 11. He publicizes the activities of the group ............................... ' A B C D E 12. He becomes anxious when he cannot find out what is coming next ...... A B C D E l3. 14. 15. 16. l7. l8. I9. 21. I8 33. 35. A =- Always B = Often C =-= Occasionally D =-= Seldom E = Never His arguments are convincing ........................................ He encourages the use Of uniform procedures .......................... He permits the members to use their own judgment in solving problems. He fails to take necessary action ...................................... He does little things to make it pleasant to be a member of the group. . . He stresses being ahead of competing groups .......................... He keeps the group working together as a team ....................... . He keeps the group in good standing with higher authority ............ He speaks as the representative of the group ........................... . He accepts defeat in stride ........................................... . He argues persuasively for his point of view ........................... . He tries out his ideas in the group .................................... . He encourages initiative in the group members ........................ . He lets other persons take away his leadership in the grOUp ............ . He puts suggestions made by the group into operation ................. He needles members for greater effort ................................ . He seems able to predict what is coming next .......................... . He is working hard for a promotion .................................. . He speaks for the group when visitors are present ..................... . He accepts delays without becoming upset ............................ He is a very persuasive talker ......................................... . He makes his attitudes clear to the group ............................. He lets the members do their work the way they think best ............ . He lets some members take advantage of him ......................... A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A menu: w wwwwwwwwwwww on moat-see 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 000000 000000 UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDCUCUUU t'nt'flt'fll‘fil'flt'fitfl tn 1'11 A - Always B =- Often C = Occasionally D =- Seldom E = Never 37. He treats all group members as his equals ............................. A 38. He keeps the work moving at a rapid pace ............................ A 39. He settles conflicts when they occur in the group ...................... A 40. His superiors act favorably on most of his suggestions .................. A 41. He represents the group at outside meetings ........................... A 42. He becomes anxious when waiting for new developments .............. A 43. He is very skillful in an argument .................................... A - 44. He decides what shall be done and how it shall be done ................ A 45. He assigns a task, then lets the members handle it ...................... A 46. He is the leader of the group in name only ............................ A 47. He gives advance notice of changes ................................... A 48. He pushes for increased production ................................... A 49. Things usually turn out as he predicts ................................ A 50. He enjoys the privileges of his position ................................ A 51. He handles complex problems efliciently .............................. A 52. He is able to tolerate postponement and uncertainty ................... A 53. He is not a very convincing talker .................................... A 54. He assigns group members to particular tasks ......................... A 55. He turns the members loose on a job, and lets them go to it ............ A 56. He backs down when he ought to stand firm .......................... A 57. He keeps to himself ................................................. A 58. He asks the members to work harder ................................. A 59. He is accurate in predicting the trend of events ........................ A 60. He gets his superiors to act for the welfare of the group members ....... A was: mmmm A — Always B - Often C — Occasionally D - Seldom E ==- Never 61. He gets swamped by details .......................................... 62. He can wait just so long, then blows up ............................... 63. He speaks from a strong inner conviction .............................. 64. He makes sure that his part in the grOUp is understood by the group members ........................................................... 65. He is reluctant to allow the members any freedom of action ............ 66. He lets some members have anthority that he should keep .............. 67. He looks out for the personal welfare of group members ............... 68. He permits the members to take it easy in their work .................. 69. He sees to it that the work of the group is coordinated ................ 70. His word carries weight with his superiors ............................ 71. He gets things all tangled up ......................................... 72. He remains calm when uncertain about coming events ................ 73. Hs is an inspiring talker .............................................. 74. He schbdules the work to be done .................................... 75. He allows the group a high degree of initiative ........................ 76. He takes full charge when emergencies arise .......................... 77. He is willing to make changes ........................................ 78. He drives hard when there is a job to be done ......................... 79. He helps group members settle their differences ....................... 80. He gets what he asks for from his superiors ........................... 81. He can reduce a madhouse to system and order ........................ 82. He is able to delay action until the proper time occurs ................. 83. He persuades others that ‘ ‘s ideas are to their advantage ............... A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A wwwwwwwwwwwwwww DJ on 000000000000000 0 0 0 0 0 0 U UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU tflrflt‘flrfll‘fl westernmost-unmet: {Tl repaint-n A - Always B — Often C =- Occasionally D — Seldom E - Never 84. He maintains definite standards of performance ....................... A 85. He trusts the members to exercise good judgment ..................... A 86. He overcomes attempts made to challenge his leadership ............... A 87. He refuses to explain his actions ...................................... A 88. He urges the group to beat its previous record ........................ A 89. He anticipates problems and plans for them ........................... A 90. He is working his way to the top ..................................... A 91. He gets confused when too many demands are made of him ........... A 92. He worries about the outcome of any new procedure .................. A 93. He can inspire enthusiasm for a project ............................... A 94. He asks that group members follow standard rules and regulations ..... A 95. He permits the group tO set its own pace .............................. A 96. He is easily recognized as the leader of the group ...................... A 97. He acts without consulting the group ................................. A 98. He keeps the group working up to capacity ............................ A 99. He maintains a closely knit group .................................... A A 100. He maintains cordial relations with superiors .......................... B ll B B B B B B B B 00 0 0 C C C C let lo: Scl Reactionaire INSTITUTE IN CRITICAL AND APPRECIATIVE READING IN CHILDREN ' S LITERATURE Your Name Position School (Give location Of your Office if you are a supervisor or consultant) Number of Teachers of Grades 4-9 in Your School (Schools if supervisor or consultant) (IF you pre a pppervggor, coppultent or principal skip pp_ppgp=}2) Part A Listed below are a number of instructional practices and procedures that were emphasized in the Institute. Thinking of your own classes, check the tppest response for each Of the three scales: a. How Often Used b. When Use Began c. Change in Practice Since Institute 1. Pupils are taught how to analyze the major types of news events reported in the daily newspaper. Change in.Precticer Em Often Used When Use Began Since Institute_ .__;Daily ___Before institute ___Decreased significantly ___pnce a week .___Sept. .__pDee. ,__pDecreased slightly ___Iwice a month ___Cct. ___Jan. .___Not at all ___pnce a.month ___Nov. ___Peb. ___Increased slightly Never ___lncreased significantly 2. Pictjon trade books are used in the teaching of language arts and literature. Change in Practice How Often Uged Whep Upe Begpn Since Institute .__40311y ' .__;Before institute ___Pecreased significantly ___9nce a week ___Sept. ___pec. ___Decreased slightly __Tw1¢e a month ___Oct. ____Jan. ____Not at all Once a month ___hov. ___Peb. ___lncreesed slightly 1 ugygr ___lncreased significantly 3. Pupils are taught how to evaluate materi " dard propaganda devices such as "name calling and How Often Used Daily -2- W ___Before institute als that appear to make use 0 f stan- "glittering generalities." Change in Practice W— ___pecreased significantly Decreased slightly :Once a week Sept. ___Dec. __... Twice a month Oct. ___Jan. ___Not at all ‘_-70nce a month Nov. Feb. Increased slightly Never .___lncreased significantly How Often Used How Often Used Pupils are taught to examine two or more independent newspapers to see how they differ in the treamment, amount of space and prominence (location in the paper) given to the same news event. W Before institute Change in Practice _§ipp§_ipstitute Daily Decreased significantly :::Once a week Sept. Dec. ___Decreased slightly ___Twice a month ___0ct. ____Jan. ___Not at all Once a.month ___Nov. ‘___Peb. ___Increased slightly Never ___Increased significantly Pupils are taught to use critical reading skills (such as classifying, com- paring and contrasting ideas, identifying cause and effect relationships, distinguishing fact from.opinion, finding information to prove or disprove a statement, etc.) in the social studies program. Change in Practice When Use Began Since Institute Before institute ___Decreased significantly Daily ___Once a week ___Sept. ‘___Dec. ___pecreased slightly __pTwice a month ___Oct. ___Jan. ___N0t at all Never ___lncreased significantly Pupils are taught how to examine the theme, plot, characters, and style of a story. Change in Practice _§ipce Institute ___Decreased significantly When Use Began ___Before institute How Often Used Daily ___Once a week ___§ept. ___Dec. ___Decreased slightly _____'l‘wice a month ____Oct. ____Jan. ____Not at all Once a month “NOV. ___F€b. ____Increased Slightly Never ___Increased significantly 7. 10. 11. -3- Blempppagy Epglipp is used in keeping abreast of new books for children. Change in Practice How Ofgep ngd When Use Began Since Inptitute ___Daily ___Before institute ___Decreased significantly ___Once a week ___Sept. ___pec. ___Decreased slightly _Twice a month ___Oct. _Jan. __Not at all ___Once a month _Nov. _Feb. _Increased slightly _Never _Increased significantly Pupils are taught how to critically evaluate political and editorial comments and/or cartoons. Change in Practice Bow Oftep Uped When Upe Began Since Institute ___Daily ___Before institute ___pecreased significantly ___Once a week ___Sept. ___Dec. ___Decreased slightly ___Twice a month ___Oct. ___Jan. ___Not at all ___Once a month ____Nov. _Feb. _Increased slightly ___Never ___Increased significantly Ficgion trade books are used in the teaching of social studies. Change in Practice W Wes WEE... ___Daily ___Before institute ___Decreased significantly ___Once a week ___Sept. ___Dec. ___Decreased slightly _Twice a month _Ocr. ___Jan. _Not at all ___Once a month ___Nov. '___Peb. ___Increased slightly ~__Never l___lncreased significantly Pupils are taught to read letters to the editor for a point of view. Change in Practice How Often Used When Use Began Since Institute ___Daily Before institute Decreased significantly ___Once a week Sept. _ Dec. Decreased slightly ___Twice a month ___Oct. ___Jan. ___Not at all Once a month Nov. Feb. Increased slightly Never Increased significantly £22;£i§§ipp trade books are used in the teaching of language arts and literature. Change in Practice How Often Used When Upe Began Since Institute Daily Before institute ___Decreased significantly ._—70nce a week -—_Sept. Dec. Decreased slightly .__Twice a month ___Oct. ___Jan. ___Not at all Once a.month Nov. Feb. ___Increased slightly Increased significantly Never I 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. -4- Pupils are taught to discriminate a factual report from an interpretive report of the same news event. Change in Practice How Often Used When Use Began Since Institute ___Daily ___Before institute ___Decreased significantly ___Once a week ___Sept. ___Dec. ___Decreased slightly _Twice a month ____Oct. _Jan. _Not at all ___Once a month ___Nov. ___Feb. ___Increased slightly ___Never ___Increased significantly Films related to literature and social studies are used in classroqm instruction. Change in Practice How Often Uped When Use Began Since Institute ___Daily ‘___Before institute ___Decreased significantly ___Once a week ___Sept. ___Dec. ___Decreased slightly ___Twice a month ___Oct. ___Jan. ___Not at all ___Once a month ___Nov. ___jeb. ___Increased slightly ___Never ___Increased significantly Pupils are taught to read magazine articles to get more detailed discussions of certain news events that appear in the daily newspapers. Change in Practice How Often Used When Use Began Since Institpte ___Daily Before institute Decreased significantly Once a week Sept. Dec. Decreased slightly ___Twice a month Oct. Jan. Not at all Once a month Nov. Feb. Increased slightly Never Increased significantly E2£;£ig£ipp trade books are used in the teaching of social studies. Change in Practice How Often used When Use Began Since Institute Daily Before institute Decreased significantly Once a week Sept. Dec. _mmDecreased slightly Twice a month Oct. Jan. ___Not at all Once a month Nov. Feb. Increased slightly Increased significantly .___Never PuPils are taught how to recognize an author's purpose, point of view and possible biases. Change in Practice How Often Uged When Use Began Since Institute _m Daily Before institute ___pecreased significantly Once a week Sept. Dec. Decreased slightly _.._.. Oct . ____Jan. _Not at all gzigeaamgfigfih Nov, Feb. Increased slightly Increased significantly ___Never W7. *—'finmr~ew'r . 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. -5- Pupils are taught how to write in several forms (e.g., original poetry, stories, essays, plays, and biographies). Change in Practice How Often Used When Use Began Since Institute .__;Daily ‘___Before institute .___Decreased significantly ___Once a week ___Sept. ___Dec. ___Decreased slightly ___Iwice a month ___Oct. ___Jan. ___Not at all _Once a month _Nov. _Feb. _Increased slightly ___Never ___Increased significantly Check the following forms that are used. Poetry Stories Essays Plays ___fiiographies Pupils are taught how to recognize the competency of an author to write about a given subject. Change in Practice How Often Used When Use Began Since Ingtitute ___Daily Before institute Decreased significantly Once a week Sept, Dec. Decreased slightly __Twice a month Oct. Jan. Not at all Once a month Nov. Feb. Increased slightly Never Increased significantly Pupils are taught how to integrate news stories from newspapers and/or magazines with the subject matter in textbooks. Change in Practice How Often Used When Use Began Since Institute ___Daily ___Before institute ___pecreased significantly ___Once a week ___Sept. ___pec. ___Decreased slightly ___TWice a month ___Oct. ___dan. ___Not at all Once a month Nov. ___Feb. ___Increased slightly :Never — _Increased significantly and comments (on items such as PuPils are taught to read critical reviews radio and television programs). children's books, drama, art, movies, and - Change in Practice How Often Used When Use Began Since Ingtitute Decreased significantly m. Dail Before institute Onceya week Sept. Dec. Decreased slightly ___Twice a month ___Oct. ___Jan. ___Not at all Once a month Nov. Feb. Increased slightly Increased significantly __ ever 22. 22. 23. 24. 25. -6- Pupils are taught to use critical reading skills (such as classifying, comparing and contrasting ideas, identifying cause and effect relationships, distinguishing fact from opinion, finding information to prove or disprove a statement, etc.) in their study of science and scientific problems. Change in Practice How Ofpen Upgg, When Upe Began Since Institute ‘__;Daily ___Before institute ___Decreased significantly ___Once a week ___Sept. ___Dec. ‘___Decreased slightly __Twice a month __Oct. ___Jan. ___Not at all ___Once a month ___Nov. ___Feb. ___Increased slightly ___Never ___Increased significantly Teacher-prepared, informal tests are used to determine pupils' growth in the ability to make objective, critical appraisal of reading materials. Change in Practice How Often Used When Use Began Since Institute .___Daily ___Before institute ___Decreased significantly ___Once a week ___Sept. ___Dec. ___Decreased slightly ___Twice a month ___Oct. ___Jan. ___Not at all ___Once a month ___Nov. ___Feb. ___Increased slightly ___Never ___Increased significantly Pupils are encouraged to study in depth the philosophy, style, themes and/or techniques of a favorite author or illustrator (e.g., read all the juvenile books written by the author). Change in Practice How Often Used When Use Began Since Institute ___Daily ___Before institute ___Decreased significantly ___Once a week ___Sept. ___Dec. ___Decreased slightly ___Twice a month ___Oct. ___Jan. ___Not at all ___Once a month Nov. ___Feb. ___Increased slightly ___Never ._—— ___Increased significantly Pupils are taught to compare the techniques used by different authors in the treatment of a single topic. Change in Practice How Often Uged When Use Began Since Institute Decreased significantly \ ___Paily ___Before institute ‘___ ___Once a week Sept. Dec. ___Decreased slightly ___Twice a month Oct. Jan. -'¥°t at aél 11 htl Once a th Nov. Feb. ___ ncrease s 8 Y mon Increased significantly Never 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. -7- Written questionnaires are used to discover children's reading interests. Change in Practice Since Institute ___Decreased significantly Bow Oitep Uped When Use Began Daily Before institute Once a week ___Sept. ___pec. ___Decreased slightly Twice a month Oct. Jan. Not at all Once a month Nov. ‘___Feb. ___Increased slightly Never Increased significantly Pupils are taught to appraise the types and content of advertisements appearing in print as compared with those appearing on radio and television. Change in Practice Since Inptitute Decreased significantly How Often Uped When Use Began ___Daily ___Before institute ___, ___Once a week ___Sept. ___Dec. ___Decreased slightly ___Twice a month ___Oct. ___Jan. ___Not at all Once a month ___Nov. ___Feb. ___Increased slightly Never Increased significantly Fiction trade books are used in the teaching of science. Change in Practice How Oiten Uped Since Institute Decreased significantly When Use Began ___Before institute Daily :::Dnce a week Sept. ___Dec. Decreased slightly ___TWice a month ___Oct. ___Jan. __Not at all Once a month Nov. Feb. Increased slightly Increased significantly Never Television programs that will stimulate reading are assigned for home or school viewin . g Change in Practice Since Institu e Decreased significantly Decreased slightly Waste ___Before institute How Often Uped Daily .__;Once a week Sept. Dec. ___TWice a month ___Oct. ___Jan. ___Not at all Once a month Nov. Feb. Increased slightly ___Never Increased significantly 5222£i2£ipp trade books are used in the teaching of mathematics. Change in Practice How Often Used Daily Once a week Twice a month Once a month Never I When Use Began l__;Before institute Sept . ___-Dec 9 __Oct . ___Jan. ___Nov. ,___Feb. 8 nce Inst tute Decreased significantly Decreased slightly Not at all Increased slightly Increased significantly 32. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. -3- The private interview is used as a technique for finding out about children's reading interests. How Often Used Daily Once a week Twice a month Once a month Never When Use Began ___Before institute ___—Sept. Dec 0 Oct. Jan. Nov. Feb. Change in Practice Since Ingtitute Decreased significantly Decreased slightly Not at all Increased slightly Increased significantly A file of practice questions and associated answers about current materials is kept in the classroom for pupil use and self-appraisal. How Oftep Uped Daily Once a week Twice a month Once a month ___Never When Use Began. Before institute Sept. Dec. ___Oct. Jan. Nov. Feb. Change in Practice Since institute Decreased significantly Decreased slightly Not at all Increased slightly ___Increased significantly Pupils are taught how to recognize information that appears to make use of the "jump on the band wagon" theme. How Often Used Daily Once a week Twice a month Once a month ___Never Wear; ___Before institute Sept. Dec. Oct. Jan. Nov . ___Feb . Change in Practice 3W9... Decreased significantly Decreased slightly Not at all Increased slightly ___Increased significantly The Childrep'g Catalog is used in locating books to meet the reading interests and needs of children. How Often Used Daily Once a week Twice a month Once a month ___Never When U e Be an ___Before institute Sept. Dec. __Oct . ___Jan. ‘___Nov. ‘___Peb. Change in Practice Since Institute Decreased significantly Decreased slightly Not at all Increased slightly ___Increased significantly £222£Lg§ipp trade books are used in the teaching of science. How Often Used Daily Once a week Twice a month Once a month Never Was .__pBefore institute Sept e _ ___Dec 0 ___Oct. ___Jan. Nov. ___Feb. Change in Practice Since Institute Decreased significantly Decreased slightly Not at all Increased slightly Increased significantly 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. -9- Pupils are taught how to distinguish fact from opinion in general. Change in Practice How Ofpep Used When Use Began Since Inptitute ___Daily ___Before institute ___Decreased significantly ___Once a week ___Sept. ___Dec. ___Decreased slightly ___jwice a month ___Oct. ___dan. ___Not at all ___Once a month ___Nov. ___Feb. ___Increased slightly ___Never ___Increased significantly Top of the News is used in keeping abreast of new books for children. Change in Practice How Often Used When Use Begap Since Inptitute ___Daily ___Before institute ___Decreased significantly ___Once a week ___Sept. ___Dec. .___Decreased slightly ___Twice a month ___Oct. ___dan. ___Not at all ___Once a month ___Nov. ___Feb. ___Increased slightly ___Never __plncreased significantly Pupils' written self-reports are used to discover their reading interests. Change in Practice How Often Used When Use Beggp Since Institute .__;Daily ___Before institute ___Decreased significantly ___Once a week ___Sept. ___Dec. ___Decreased slightly ___Twice a month ___Oct. ___Jan. ___Not at all Once a month Nov. ___Feb. ___Increased slightly :::Never -_— ___Increased significantly PuPils are taught how to recognize emotional reactions and motives. Change in Practice Hog Oigen Uped When Use Began Since Institute .__;Daily Before institute Decreased significantly ___Once a week Sept. Dec. Decreased slightly ___Twice a month ___Oct. ___Jan. ___NOt at all Once a month Nov. Feb. Increased slightly Increased significantly ___Ne ver The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books is used to keep abreast of books for children. Change in Practice HOW Often Used When Use Began _Since Institute ' Daily Before institute Decreased significantly Once a week Sept. Dec. Decreased slightly ___Twice a month ___Oct. ___Jan. ___Not at all Once a month Nov. Feb. ___Increased slightly I Increased significantly Never 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. .. 10- Pupils are taught how to find information to prove or disprove a statement. Change in Practice How Often Used When Use Began Since ingtitute Daily Before institute Decreased significantly Once a week Sept. Dec. Decreased slightly Twice a month Oct. Jan. Not at all Once a month Nev. Feb. Increased slightly Never Increased significantly Library circulation tallies on books of certain subject matter are used to discover the children's reading interests. Change in Practice How Ofpgp Uped When Uge Begap Since Institute .__;Daily Before institute Decreased significantly Once a week Sept. Dec. Decreased slightly ___Twice a month Oct. Jan. Not at all ___Once a month Nov. Feb. Increased slightly Never Increased significantly Pupils' creative activities are tape recorded for use in classroom instruction. Change in Practice How Often Used When Use Began Since Institute Daily Before institute Decreased significantly ___Once a week Sept. Dec. ___Decreased slightly Twice a month Oct. Jan. “__NOC at 311 ___Once a month Nov. ___Feb. ___Increased slightly Never ___Increased significantly The Horn Book Magazine is used in keeping abreast of new books for children. Change in Practice How Often Used When Use Began Since IDS£$£2£2__ Daily Before institute ,_ Decreased significantly Once a week Sept. Dec. Decreased slightly ___Twice a month ___Oct. ‘___Jan. ___th at all Once a month Nov. '___Feb. ___Increased slightly Never ___Increased significantly PuPils' oral self-reports in class are used to discover their reading intere ta. 8 Change in Practice How Often Used When Use Began Since Institute Daily Before institute Decreased significantly ___Once a week Sept. Dec. Decreased slightly ___Twice a month Oct. Jan. - Not at all . Once a month Nov. Feb. Increased slightly Increased significantly ___Never l6. #8 46. 47. 48. 49. - 11- Tape and disk recordings of television and radio programs are used in classroom instruction. Change in Practice How Often Used When Uge Beggp Since Institute Daily Before institute Decreased significantly Once a week Sept. Dec. Decreased slightly ___Twice a month Oct. Jan. Not at all Once a month Nov. Feb. ___Increased slightly Never Increased significantly The Booklist of the American Library Association is used in keeping abreast of new books for children. Change in Practice How Ofpeg Used Whep Use Began Since Institute ___Daily ___Before institute ___Decreased significantly [__JOnce a week ___Sept. ___Dec. .___Decreased slightly Twice a month ___Oct. ___Jan. ___Not at all -_Once a month Nov. ___Feb. ___Increased slightly :::Never ___. ___Increased significantly Pupils are taken on field trips. Change in Practice How Often Used Whep Use Begag Since Institute Once a week Before institute Decreased significantly Twice a month Sept. Dec. Decreased slightly ___Once a month Oct. Jan. Not at all Less often than Nov. Feb. Increased slightly Increased significantly once a month Check the following places to which pupils have been taken. Community libraries Book fairs Publishing firms Newspaper plants Others (specify) I?” -12- Many schools'have a special place for instructional materials. Sometimes it is called a 'library," sometimes an "instructional materials center," some- times a "learning center." a. In your school, what is this room called? b. Describe this room in terms of the eguippent it contains. c. Please check the statements which are true about your school library or learning center. ___50. Books for the library or learning center are selected by a single person (such a person might be a librarian, principal, curriculum supervisor,etc.). ___51. Prior to the institute, books for the library or learning center were selected by a committee (such a committee might have been composed of teachers, administrators and curriculum specialists). .__52. Since the institute, books for the library or learning center are selected by a committee (such a committee might have been composed of teachers, administrators and curriculum specialists). ___§3. As a result of my institute experience, I have helped to effect a number of changes in the organization and operation of the school library or learning center. ___54. Since the institute, I have helped to establish a library or learning center in my school. ___55. Plans are under way to establish a school library or learning center. ___56. A full time professional librarian is employed in my school. ___57. Many of the books that were studied in the institute have been ordered by my school. ___58. Teaching of critical reading and literature is done in this school. 59. The resources of the library are used extensively in the teaching of critical reading and literature. -13- Part B In this section you are asked to give five responses for each practice or procedure you shared with other teachers (regardless of whether or not you are using the practice). In each blank, write the number of teachers described in the statement that follows the blank. If you did not share a particular practice, check "no" and go on to the next practice. Pupils are taught how to analyze the major types of news events reported in the daily newspaper. Did you share this with other teachers? Yes No with one time slightly. with once extensively. with more than once slightly. with more than once extensively. adopted the practice. of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers who have -The The The The ___The number number number number number Fiction trade Did you share I 2. books are used in the teaching of language arts and literature. No this with other teachers? Yes The The The l number number number with one time slightly. with once extensively. with more than once slightly. teachers I worked teachers I worked teachers I worked of of of with more than once extensively. adopted the practice. teachers I worked teachers who have of of The The number number to evaluate materials that appear to make use of standard 3. " and "glittering generalities." Pupils are taught propaganda devices such as "name calling No this with other teachers? Yes Did you share with one time slightly. with once extensively. with more than once slightly. with more than once extensively. adopted the practice. of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers who have The The The The ___The number number number number number I Pupils are taught to examine two or more independent newspapers to see how they differ in the treatment, amount of space and prominence (location in the paper) given to the same news event. 4. No this with other teachers? Yes Did you share with one time slightly. The The The The The number number number number number of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers who have with once extensively. with more than once slightly. with more than once extensively. adopted the practice. 5. 6. 7. 9. -14- Pupils are taught to use critical reading skills (such as classifying, comparing and contrasting ideas, identifying cause and effect relationships, distinguishing fact from opinion, finding information to prove or disprove a statement, etc.) in the social studies program. Did you share The The The The ___The I Pupils number number number number number No * this with other teachers? Yes with one time slightly. with once extensively. with more than once slightly. with more than once extensively. adopted the practice. of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers who have are taught how to examine the theme, plot, characters, and style of a story. Did you share The The The The ___The I number number number number number No this with other teachers? Yes with one time slightly. with once extensively. with more than once slightly. with more than once extensively. adopted the practice. of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers who have Elementapy English is used in keeping abreast of new books for children. Did you share The The The The ___The Pupils and/or number number number number number No this with other teachers? Yes with one time slightly. with once extensively. with more than once slightly. with more than once extensively. adopted the practice. of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers who have are taught how to critically evaluate political and editorial comments cartoons. Did you share The The The The ___The number number number number number Pussies trade Did you share The The The The The 1 number number number number number this with other teachers? Yes No with one time slightly. with once extensively. with more than once slightly. with more than once extensively. adopted the practice. of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers who have books are used in the teaching of social studies. Yes No this with other teachers? # of teachers I worked with one time slightly. of teachers I worked with once extensively. of teachers I worked with more than once slightly. of teachers I worked with more than once extensively. of teachers who have adopted the practice. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. -15.. Pupils are taught to read letters to the editor for a point of view. Did you share this with other teachers? The The The The ___The number number number number number of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers who have No ' Yes with one time slightly. with once extensively. with more than once slightly. with more than once extensively. adopted the practice. Nop-fiption trade books are used in the teaching of language arts and literature. Did you share this with other teachers? ___The Did you share this with other teachers? The The The The ,__;The number number number number number of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers who have No Yes with one time slightly. with once extensively. with more than once slightly. with more than once extensively. adopted the practice. are taught to discriminate a factual report from an interpretive of the number number number number number Films related instruction. Did you share The Did you share this with other teachers? The The The The The number number number number number same news event. teachers I worked teachers I worked teachers I worked teachers I worked teachers who have of of of of of to this with other teachers? of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers who have are taught to read magazine of certain news events that appear in the daily newspapers. number number number number number of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teadzers who have No Yes with one time slightly. with once extensively. with more than once slightly. with more than once extensively. adopted the practice. literature and social studies are used in classroom Yes No with one time slightly. with once extensively. with more than once slightly. with more than once extensively. adopted the practice. articles to get more detailed discussions No * Yes with one time slightly. with once extensively. with more than once slightly. with more than once extensively. adopted the practice. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. -15- Non-fiction trade books are used in the teaching of social studies. Did you share The The The The ___The Pupils number number number number number are taught how to recognize No this with other teachers? Yes of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers who have with one time slightly. with once extensively. with more than once slightly.' with more‘than once extensively. adopted the practice. an author's purpose, point of view and possible biases. Did you share The The The The p__The Pupils number number number number number No Yes this with other teachers? of teachers I worked with one time slightly. of teachers I worked with once extensively. of teachers I worked with more than once slightly. of teachers I worked with more than once extensively. of teachers who have adopted the practice. are taught how to write in several forms (e.g., original poetry, stories, essays, plays, and biographies). Did you share The The The The [___The Check the following forms that are Poet number number number number number ry Stories Essays Plays ___Biographies this with other teachers? Yes No with one time slightly. with once extensively. with more than once slightly. with more than once extensively. adopted the practice. I worked I worked of teachers of teachers of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers who have used. Papils are taught how to recognize the competency of an author to write about a given subject. Did you share The The The The The number number number number number No this with other teachers? Yes of teachers I worked with one time slightly. of teachers I worked with once extensively. of teachers I worked with more than once slightly. of teachers I worked with more than once extensively. of teachers who have adopted the practice. 20. 20. 21. 22. 23. -17.. Pupils are taught how to integrate news stories from newspapers and/or magazines with the subject matter in textbooks. Did you share The The The The .__;The Pupils number number number number number are taught to read critical No this with other teachers? Yes of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers who have with one time slightly. with once extensively. with more than once slightly. with more than once extensively. adopted the practice. reviews and comments (on items such as children's books, drama, art, movies, and radio and television programs). Did you share The The The The ___The Pupils number number number number number this with other teachers? Yes No I worked with one time sligthly. I worked with once extensively. of teachers I worked with more than once slightly. of teachers I worked with more than once extensively. of teachers who have adopted the practice. of teachers of teachers are taught to use critical reading skills (such as classifying, camparing and contrasting ideas, identifying cause and effectrelationships, distinguishing fact from opinion, finding information to prove or disprove a statement, etc.) in their study of science and scientific problems. Did you share The The The The ___The number number number number number No Yes this with other teachers? with one time slightly. with once extensively. with more than once slightly. with more than once extensively. adopted the practice. I worked I worked of teachers of teachers of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers who have Teacher-prepared, informal tests are used to determine pupils' growth in the ability to make objective, critical appraisal of reading materials. Did you share The The The The The number number number number number No "- Yes this with other teachers? with one time slightly. with once extensively. with more than once slightly. with more than once extensively. adopted the practice. of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers who have 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. -18- Pupils are encouraged to study in depth the philosophy, style, themes and/ or techniques of a favorite author or illustrator (e.g., read all the juvenile books written by the author). Did you share The The The The ___The Pupils the treatment of a single topic. Did you share this with other teachers? The The The The ___The number number number number number No this with other teachers? Yes of teachers I worked with one time slightly. of teachers I worked with once extensively. of teachers I worked with more than once slightly. of teachers I worked with more than once extensively. of teachers who have adopted the practice. are taught to compare the techniques used by different authors in r number number number number number -;-v- -. l.’ 2“: No Yes with one time slightly. with once extensively. with more than once slightly. with more than once extensively. adopted the practice. of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers who have Written questionnaires are used to discover children's reading interests. Did you share The The The The ___The Did you share this with other teachers? The The The The ___The number number number number number are taught to appraise the typ number number number number number Fiction trade Did you share The The The The The number number number number number No this with other teachers? Yes with one time slightly. with once extensively. with more than once slightly. with more than once extensively. adopted the practice. I worked I worked of teachers of teachers of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers who have as and content of advertisements hose appearing on radio and television. No Yes of teachers I worked with one time slightly. of teachers I worked with once extensively. of teachers I worked with more than once slightly. of teachers I worked with more than once extensively. of teachers who have adopted the practice. books are used in the teaching of science. No " Yes this with other teachers? of teachers I worked with one time slightly. of teachers I worked with once extensively. of teachers I worked with more than once slightly. of teachers I worked with more than once extensively. of teachers who have adopted the practice. t‘t‘: . 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. -19- Television programs that will stimulate reading are assigned for home or school viewing. Did you share this with other teachers? Yes No The The The The ___The number number number number number of teachers I worked with one time slightly. of teachers I worked with once extensively. of teachers I worked with more than once slightly. of teachers I worked with more than once extensively. of teachers who have adopted the practice. Non-fiction trade books are used in the teaching of mathematics. Did you share The The The The ‘_p_The l The private interview is used as a technique for finding out about children's number number number number number this with other teachers? , Yes No of teachers I worked with one time slightly. of teachers I worked with once extensively. of teachers I worked with more than once slightly. of teachers I worked with more than once extensively. of teachers who have adopted the practice. reading interests. Did you share The The The The The A file number number number number number of practice questions and associated answers about current materials this with other teachers? Yes No of teachers I worked with one time slightly. of teachers I worked with once extensively. of teachers I worked with more than once slightly. of teachers I worked with more than once extensively. of teachers who have adopted the practice. is kept in the classroom for pupil use and self-appraisal. Did you share The The The The ___The Pupils number number number number number are taught how to recognize this with other teachers? Yes No of teachers I worked with one time slightly. of teachers I worked with once extensively. of teachers I worked with more than once slightly. of teachers I worked with more than once extensively. of teachers who have adopted the practice. the "jump on the band wagon" theme. Did you share this with other teachers? The The The The The number number number number number Yes No of teachers I worked with one time slightly. of teachers I worked with once extensively. of teachers I worked with more than once slightly. of teachers I worked with more than once extensively. of teachers who have adopted the practice. information that appears to make use of ‘33-. ‘3’ A 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. -20- The Children's Catalog is used in locating books to meet the reading interests and needs of children. Did you share The The The Th - ___The number number number number number No this with other teachers? Yes with one time slightly. with once extensively. with more than once slightly. with more than once extensively. adopted the practice. of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers who have Non-fiction trade books are used in the teaching of science. Did you share The The The The ___The Pupils number number number number number this with other teachers? Yes No of teachers I worked with one time slightly. of teachers I worked with once extensively. of teachers I worked with more than once slightly. of teachers I worked with more than once extensively. of teachers who have adopted the practice. are taught how to distinguish fact from opinion in general. Did you share The The lgl The ___The number number number number number No this with other teachers? Yes with one time slightly. with once extensively. with more than once slightly. with more than once extensively. adopted the practice. I worked I worked of teachers of teachers of teachers I worked of teachers I worked of teachers who have Top of the News is used in keeping abreast of new books for children. Did you share this with other teachers? The The The The ___The Pupils' written self-reports are used to discove Did you share this with other teachers? The The The The The number number number number number number number number number number Yes No of teachers I worked with one time slightly. of teachers I worked with once extensively. of teachers I worked with more than once slightly. of teachers I worked with more than once extensively. of teachers who have adopted the practice. r their reading interests. Yes No with one time slightly. with once extensively. with more than once slightly. with more than once extensively. adopted the practice. I worked I worked I worked I worked who have of teachers of teachers of teachers of teachers of teachers 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. -21... Pupils are taught how to recognize emotional reactions and motives. Did you share this with other teachers? The The The The ___The number number number number number of teachers of teachers of teachers of teachers Yes No I worked with one time slightly. I worked with once extensively. I worked with more than once slightly. I worked with more than once extensively. of teachers who have adopted the practice. The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books is used to keep abreast of new books for children. Did you share '2 The The The .___The Pupils Did you share this with other teachers? The The The The ___The number number number number number this with other teachers? of teachers of teachers of teachers of teachers Yes No I worked with one time slightly. I worked with once extensively. I worked with more than once slightly. I worked with more than once extensively. of teachers who have adopted the practice. are taught how to find information to prove or disprove a statement. number number number number number of teachers of teachers of teachers of teachers Yes No I worked with one time slightly. I worked with once extensively. I worked with more than once slightly. I worked with more than once extensively. of teachers who have adopted the practice. Library circulation tallies on books of certain subject matter are used to discover the children's reading interests. Did you share I? e The The The ___The Pupils' creative number number number number number instruction. Did you share The The The The The number number number number number this with other teachers? of teachers of teachers of teachers of teachers Yes No I worked with one time slightly. I worked with once extensively. I worked with more than once slightly. I worked with more than once extensively. of teachers who have adopted the practice. this with other teachers? of teachers of teachers of teachers of teachers activities are tape recorded for use in classroom Yes No I worked with one time slightly. I worked with once extensivd.y. I worked with more than once slightly. I worked with more than once extensively. of teachers who have adopted the practice. _M-q-a-nn CI. - r—"_—- Mo. 45 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. Wham is used in keeping abreast of new books for children. Did you share this with other teachers? The The The The ___The Pupils' oral self-reports in class number number number number number interests. Did you share The The The The ___The number number number number number of teachers of teachers of teachers of teachers of teachers this with other teachers? of teachers of teachers of teachers of teachers of teachers who have -22.. No Yes I worked I worked I worked I worked who have with one time slightly. with once extensively. with more than once slightly. with more than once extensively. adopted the practice. are used to discover their reading No Yes with one time slightly. with once extensively. with more than once slightly. with more than once extensively. adopted the practice. I worked I worked I worked I worked Tape and disk recordings of television and radio programs are used in classroom instruction. Did you share The The The The ___The The Booklist of the American Library Association is used in keeping abreast of new books for children. number number number number number Did you share The The The The ___The Pupils number number number number number are taken Did you share The The The lgl The number number number number number this with other teachers? of teachers of teachers of teachers of teachers of teachers who have this with other teachers? teachers teachers teachers teachers teachers of of of of of on field this with other teachers? of teachers of teachers of teachers of teachers of teachers No Yes with one time slightly. with once extensively. with more than once slightly. with more than once extensively. adopted the practice. I worked I worked I worked I worked Yes No with one time slightly. with once extensively. with more than once slightly. with more than once extensively. adoptedthe practice. I worked I worked I worked I worked who have trips. Yes No I worked with one time slightly. I worked with once extensively. I worked with more than once slightly. I worked with more than once extensively. who have adopted the practice. 49. -23- Check the following places to which pupils have been taken Community libraries Book fairs Publishing firms Newspaper plants Others (specify) Circle the letters of the three most effective activities you used in sharing the practices and procedures emphasized in the Institute with other teachers. a. Please use the space below Informal discussion Special committee meeting Small group meeting (less than 10 persons) Faculty meeting In-service education Assistance in the preparation of a lesson on the questionnaire, Institute, Institute concepts in your 3. h. i. Demonstration lessons An exhibit Distribution of duplicated or printed materials on critical reading skills Preparation of a handbook on critical reading skills Other activities (specify) to state any particular comments you wish to make or problems you encountered in implementing school(s). APPENDIX C Interview Guide (The short form of the Reactionaire is included in this instrument.) 197-208 Interview Guide INSTITUTE IN CRITICAL AND APPRECIATIVE READING IN CHILDREN'S LITERATURE Name Position School or School System Name of Principal or Superior N Did you discuss the Institute with your principal or superior? Yes No Give an approximate date of your discussion. (If the answer is "no," the participant will be asked: ”Why did you not discuss the Institute with her/him?“) Did she/he assist you in making plans for sharing Institute recommended practices and procedures with other teachers? Yes No What were these plans? (If the answer is "no," the participant will be asked to explain.) Did you receive help from other persons in implementing or sharing the practices and procedures? Yes No- What was the nature of this help? (This question will be asked if the answer to the question above is yes. (a) In what month did you begin using the practices and 10. ll. 12. 13. 14. procedures in your classroom? Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. (b) In what month did you begin sharing the practices and procedures with other teachers? Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. How many discussions did you have with teachers about the practices and procedures in the following months? Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Did you have any problems with teachers or superiors in implementing and/or sharing Institute recommended practices and procedures? Yes No With whom or from what source did you encounter diffi- culties? a. Teachers b. Administrators c. Others (speCify[_ Explain the nature and circumstances of the problems? As you look back at the Institute one year later, how do you evaluate its effectiveness in terms of instruc- ional improvement? What major things are you doing differently than you fi 0 ., Q‘s ( would have done if you had not attended the Institute. If little or nothing has been done in your school to implement some of the practices and procedures recommended in the Institute, why do you think this happened. Thinking of your own classes, give the truest response for each of the following practices and procedures. 15. Pupils are taught to use critical reading skills (such as classifying, comparing and contrasting ideas, iden- tifying cause and effect relationships, distinguishing fact from opinion, finding information to prove or disprove a statement, etc.) in the social studies program. Change in Practice How Often Used When Use Began Since Institute ___Daily Before institute ___Decreased ___Once a werk ___Sept. ___Dec. significantly ___Twice a Oct. ___Jan. ___Decreased month Nov. ___Feb. slightly ___Once a ___Not at all month ___Increased ’__Never slightly ___Increased significantly 16. Pupils are taught how to critically evaluate political and editorial comments and/or cartoons. Daily ___Before institute ___Decreased —_—Once a week Sept. ___Dec. significantly ———Twice a ———Oct. ___flan. __.Decreased month ———Nov. ___feb. slightly Once a —“— ___Not at all month ___Increased Never slightly ——-' ___Increased significantly 17. Non-fiction trade books are used in the teaching of language arts and literature. Daily Before institute ___Decreased —_—Once a week Sept. ___Dec. significantly ___-Twice a flOct . ___Jan. ___Decreased ———' month _——Nov. ‘___Feb. slightly Once a '—_— Not at all -_—' month ___Increased Never ' slightly -——' Increased ” significantly 18. Pupils are taught to read magazine articles to get more detailed discussions of certain news events that appear in the daily newspapers. Daily Before institute "“ Dec. Once a week Sept. Twice a ___Oct. month '___Nov. ___Once a month ___hever Feb. ___Decreased significantly Decreased slightly ___yOt at all Increased slightly ___Increased significantly . Pupils are taught how to write in several forms (e.g., original poetry, stories, essays, plays, and biogra- phies). ___Daily Before institute ___Once a week ___Sept. ‘____Dec. ___Twice a ___Oct. ___Jan. month ___hov. ___Feb. ___Once a month ___Never Decreased significantly Decreased slightly ___hot at all Increased slightly Increased significantly . Pupils are tau ht how to integrate news stories from newspapers and or magazines with the subject matter in textbooks. ___Daily ___Before institute ___Once a week ___“Sept. ___Dec. Twice a _ct. ___flan. month Nov. ___feb. ___Once a month ___yever ___Decreased significantly Decreased slightly ___fiot at all Increased slightly Increased significnatly 21. Teacher-prepared, informal tests are used to determine pupils' growth in the ability to make objective,- critical appraisal of reading materials. Daily Once a week ___Twice a month Once a month ____hever Before institute Sept. Dec. Oct. Jan. Nov. Feb. Decreased significantly ___Decreased slightly ___fiot at all ____Increased slightly Increased significantly 22. Written questionnaires are used to discover children's reading interests. ___Daily __“Before institute Once a week ___Sept. ___Dec. ___Twice a ___Oct. Jan. month ___fiov. ___Feb. Once a month ___N ever ____Decreased significantly Decreased slightly ___flot at all .___Increased slightly ___Increased significantly —_—. 23. Television programs that will stimulate reading are assigned for home or school viewing. ___Daily Once a week Twice a month ___Once a month Never Ill Before institute Sept. Dec. Oct. ___Jan. Nov. ___Feb. 1 Decreased significantly Decreased slightly ____Not at all Increased slightly Increased significantly ” 2a. A file of practice questions and associated answers about current materials is kept in the classnxmlfor pupil use and self-appraisal. ___Daily Before institute ___Once a week ___Sept. ___Dec. ___Twice a ___Oct. ___Jan. month ___Nov. ___Feb. ‘___Once a month .___Never 25. Non-fiction trade books are used in science. .___Daily ‘___Before institute ___Once a week ___Sept. ___Dec. ___Twice a ___Oct. __Jan. month ___yov. ___Peb. ___Once a month ___hever Decreased significantly .__Decreased slightly __fiot at all __Increased slightly __Increased significantly the teaching of __Decreased significantly [__Decreased slightly __hot at all __Increased slightly __Increased significantly 26. Pupils' written self-reports are used to discover their reading interests. [___Daily ___Before institute .___Once a week ___Sept. Dec. ___Twice a ___Oct. ___Jan. month ___Nov. ___feb. ___Once a month ___hever '__Decreased significantly __Decreased slightly Not at all :Zlhcreased slightly __Increased significantly 27. Pupils are taught how to find information to prove or disprove a statement. Daily ___Before institute ___Once a week ___Sept. .___Dec. ___Twice a ___Oct . ___Jan. month ___hOv. ___Feh. ___Once a month ___Never __Decreased significantly __Decreased slightly __flot at all __Increased slightly __Increased significantly 28. 29. 30. The Horn Book Magazine is used in keeping abreast of new books for children. ___Daily ___Before institute ‘___Decreased ___Once a week ___Sept. ___Dec. significantly ___;Twice a ___Oct. ___dan. Decreased month ___Nov. ___Feb. slightly ___Once a ___Not at all month ___Increased ___Never slightly Increased significantly The Booklist of the American Library Association is used in keeping abreast of new books for children. ___Daily ___Before institute ___Decreased ___Once a week ___Sept. Dec. significantly .___Twice a Oct. ___Jan. Decreased month ___fiov. ___Feb. slightly ___Once a ___hot at all month ___Increased ___fiever slightly ___Increased significantly Regardless of whether or not you are using a practice, give the number of teachers with whom you shared each of the practices and procedures described below. Pupils are taught to use critical reading skills (such as classifying, comparing and contrasting ideas, identi— fying cause and effect relationships, distinguishing fact from opinion, finding information to prove or disprove a statement, etc.) in the social studies program. Did you share this with other teachers? Yes No __The number of teachers you worked with one time slightly. __The number of teachers you worked with once exten- sively. __The number of teachers you worked with more than once slightly. __The number of teachers you worked with more than once extensively. __The number of teachers who have adopted the practice. 31. Pupils are taught how to critically evaluate political and editorial comments and/or cartoons. Did you share this with other teachers? Yes__ No__ ___The number of teachers you worked with one time slightly. The number of teachers you worked with once exten— sively. ____The number of teachers you worked with more than once slightly. ___The number of teachers you worked with more than once extensively. ___The number of teacher who have adopted the practice. 32. Non-fiction trade books are used in the teaching of language arts and literature. Did you share this with other teachers? Yes_;_ No__ ___The number of teacher you worked with one time slightly. ___The number of teachers you worked with once exten- sively. ___;The number of teachers you worked with more than once slightly. ___The number of teachers you worked with more than once extensively. ___The number of teachers who have adopted the practice. 33. Pupils are taught to read magazine articles to get more detailed discussions of certain news events that appear in the daily newspapers. Did you share this with other teachers? Yes__ No__ The number of teachers you worked with one time slightly. The number of teachers you worked with once exten- sively. ___;The number of teachers you worked with more than once slightly. ___The number of teachers you worked with more than once extensively. ___The number of teachers who have adOpted the practice. 3h. Pupils are taught how to write in several forms (e.g., original poetry, stories, essays, plays, and biogra- phies). Did you share this with other teachers? Yes__ No__ ___The number of teachers you worked with one time slightly. The number of teachers you worked with once exten- sively. ___The number of teachers you worked with more than once slightly. The number of teachers you worked with more than once extensively. The number of teachers who have adopted the practice. 35. Pupils are tau ht how to integrate news stories fr: m newspapers and or magazines with the subject matter in textbooks. Did you share this with other teachers? Yes__ No__ ___The number of teachers you worked with one time slightly. ' The number of teachers you worked with once exten- sively. ‘___The number of teachers you worked with more than once slightly. ___The number of teachers you worked with more than once extensively. The number of teachers who have adopted the practice. 36. Teacher-prepared, informal tests are used to determine pupils' growth in the ability to make objective, critical appraisal of reading materials. Did you share this with other teachers? Yes__ No__ The number of teachers you worked with one time slightly. The number of teachers you worked with once exten- sively. The number of teachers you worked with more than once slightly. The number of teachers you worked with more than once extensively. The number of teachers who have adopted the practice. 37. Written questionnaires are used to discover children's reading interests. h Did you share this with other teachers; Yes__ No The number of teachers you worked with one time *"slightly. The number of teachers you worked with once exten- sively. ___The number of teachers you once slightly. ___The number of teachers you once extensively. ___The number of teachers who 38. Television programs that will assigned for home viewing. Did you share this with other ___The number of teachers you slightly. ___The number of teachers you sively. ___The number of teachers you once slightly. ___The number of teachers you once extensively. ___The number of teachers who worked with more than worked with more than have adopted the practice. stimulate reading are teachers? Yes___ No__ worked with one time worked with once exten- worked with more than worked with more than have adopted the practice. 39. A file of practice questions and associated answers about current materials is kept in the classroom for pupil use and self-appraisal. Did you share this with other ___The number of teachers you slightly. ___The number of teachers you sively. ___The number of teachers you once slightly. ___The number of teachers you once extensively. ___The number of teachers who teachers? Yes__' ho__ worked with one time worked with once exten- worked with more than worked with more than have adopted the practice. LO. Non-fiction trade books are used in the teaching of science. Did you share this with other ___The number of teachers you slightly. ___The number of teachers you sively. .___The number of teachers you once slightly. ___The number of teachers you once extensively. ___The number of teachers who teachers? Yes__, No__ worked with one time worked with once exten- worked with more than worked with more than have adopted the practice. hl. Pupils' written self-reports are used to discover their reading interests. Did you share this with other teachers? Yes__] No__ ___;The number of teachers you worked with one time slightly. The number of teachers you worked with once exten- sively. ___The number of teachers you worked with more than once slightly. ___The number of teachers you worked with more than once extensively. ___The number of teachers who have adopted the practice. #2. Pupils are taught how to find information to prove or disprove a statement. Did you share this with other teachers? Yes__ No__ The number of teachers you worked with one time slightly. The number of teachers you worked with once exten- sively. ___The number of teachers you worked with more than once slightly. ___The number of teachers you worked with more than once extensively. ___The number of teachers who have adopted the practice. L3. The Horn Book Magazine is used in keeping abreast of new books for children. Did you share this with other teachers? Yes___ ho__ ___The number of teachers you worked with one time slightly. ___The number of teachers you worked with once exten- sively. .___The number of teachers you worked with more than once slightly. ___The number of teachers you worked with more than once extensively. ___The number of teachers who have adopted the practice. AA. The Booklist of the American Library Association is used in keeping abreast of new books for children. X; T_[ les .40 Did you share this with other teachers? .___The number of teachers you worked with one time slightly. ___The number of teachers you worked with once eXten— sively. , .__;The number of teachers you worked with more than once slightly. ___;The number of teachers you worked with more than once extensively. .___The number of teachers who have adopted the practice. Indicate the three most effective activities you used in sharing the praCtices and procedures emphasized in the Institute with other teachers. a. Informal discussion g. Demonstration lessons b. Special committee meet- h. An exhibit ing i. Distribution of duplicated 0. Small group meeting or printed materials on (less than 10 persons) critical reading skills d. Faculty meeting j. Preparation of a handbook on critical reading skills e. In-service education k. Other activities f. Assistance in the (Specify) preparation of a lesson APPENDIX D Cover Letter Follow-up Letter 209-210 Ml CO! I) ‘l- I'll-l | ll!) 1". MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY erANsmc-mancm 4882} COLLIGI O! EDUCATION - BMCKSON HALL March 27, 1967 Dear Several months have passed since the Institute in Critical and Appreciative Reading, and by this time you have had an opportunity to test new of the institute concepts directly in your own classroom or indirectly in the classrooms of other teachers. The purpose of this reactionaire is to obtain information from you concerning the extent to which selected institute concepts have been implemented in your school(s). The first part of the scale is directed toward classroom teachers, asking them about the practices and procedures they are using in their classrooms as a result of their institute experiences. If you are not teaching children directly (super- visor, consultant or non-teaching principal), you may sld.p this portion of the Scale and begin with the section that concerns the school library or learning center on page 12. All participants are asked to respond to Part B of the scale. Please do not be dismam by the sips of the reactionaire. Except for about two The total time required pages, there are no more than five items on each page. to respond to the scale will not exceed an hour. Please be assured of the fact that only "group data" will be used in the study, therefore, no reference will be made to individual participants. Your cooperation in this study will enable the faculty in the Department of Elementary Education to make institute experiences more meaningful for participants in the future. A stamped, self-addressed envelope is enclosed. Please return the reactionaire by April 10. Thanks very much. Sincerely yours, Bernyce S. deonds MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY am LANSING-name»: 48823 COLLEGE OF EDUCATION 0 BUCKSON HALL June 1, 1967 Dear On March 2 I sent u a copy of the Reactionaire dealing with last summer's Izstitute 1:0 Critical and Appreciative Reading. Since your completed Reactionaire has not arrived yet, I am assuming that i w: somehow misdirected in the mail. Perhaps you inadvertently misplac it, since we all receive such a quantity of mail these days. I am sending you another capy because it is veg immrtant to tilt te fouow-up study that we hear from everyone who attended ttie Inslo :d . Please complete the Reactionaire and return it to me in e one s envelope by June 12. Ihank you very much for your help. Sincerely, Ber-moo S. Edmonds APPENDIX E Table Al--Summary of participants' scores and ranks on two measures of diffusion activities Table A2--Summary of participants' scores and ranks in leader behavior, diffusion responsibility, and Institute attendance rationale Table A3--Summary of scores and ranks for eighteen teacher participants in self-adoption of Institute concepts 211-213 Table Al--Summary of participants' scores and ranks on two measures of diffusion activities Participant Diffusion Rank Adoption Rank 1 38 30.5 24 30 2 39 32 13 19.5 3 17 9.5 15 23 L 20 15 1 12 5 18 11.5 0 5.5 6 Al 33 bl 33 7 2 1 O 5.5 8 29 2L 0 5.5 9 20 15 O 5.5‘ 10 32 27 28 31 11 38 30.5 18 26 12 23 20.5 lb 24 13 31 26 11 18 1h 15 7 2 14.5 15 an 3% hh BL 16 21 17.5 lb 21.5 17 22 19 21 28.5 18 11 h 0 5.5 19 21 17.5 0 5-5 20 15 7 0 5.5 21 17 9.5 1 12 22 30 25 19 27 23 23 20.5 21 28.5 24 18 11.5 9 16.5 25 5 2 0 5.5 23 28 23 2 14.5 30 19 13 0 5-5 31 26 22 l 12 33 37 29 30 32 3h 20 15 17 25 Table A2--Summary of participants' scores and ranks in leader behavior, diffusion responsibility, and Institute attendance rationale Partici- pant LBDQ Rank SADR Rank IAR Rank 1 257 3A 7 27 h 13.5 2 21a 11.5 2 3 5 18.5 3 221 22 2 3 6 26 a 221 20 3 8 1 2 5 232 29 1 11.5 3 8 6 193 L.5 6 22.5 a 13.5 7 230 27 7 27 l 2 8 218 18 7 27 6 26 9 230 27 5 16.5 6 26 10 212 1u.5 2 3 h 13.5 11 175 1 5 16.5 8 92.5 12 203 8 6 22.5 6 26 13 182 2 8 31 10 3a 1a 223 21 5 16.5 R 13.5 15 235 30 10 33.5 6 26 16 218 18 8 , 31 b 86 17 2L1 31 5 16.5 9 £6 18 230 27 2 3 5 18.5 19 208 10 6 22.5 6 26 20 21a 14.5 3 8 3 ,8 21 204 9 5 16.5 6 26 22 227 2L.5 10 33.5 3 8 23 197 7 5 16.5 3 8- 2a 212 11.5 2 3 9 29 25 191‘ 6 5 16.5 3 1+.5 26 251 33 8 31 8 32'5 27 212 11.5 3 8 h 13'5 28 218 18 7 27 a 13.5 29 191 3 3 8 5 13.5 30 193 4.5 7 27 g 26 31 211 11.5 a 11-5 32 2A9 32 3 8 2 g.5 33 226 23 6 22.5 5 18. 31 227 21.5 5 19.5 3 Table A3--Summary of scores and ranks for eighteen teacher participants in self-adoption of Institute concepts Self-Adoption Participant of Concepts Rank 2 37 16.5 3 31 7 h #0 l8 5 22 2 7 13 1 9 32 9 10 33 11.5 18 3h 13.5 19 32 9 20 28 3.5 21 33 11.5 22 37 16.5 2h 29 5 25 28 3.5 28 35 15 29 32 9 3g 30 6 3 9 2 1