Degree Name
EdD (Doctor of Education)
Program
Educational Leadership
Date of Award
5-1986
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
J. Howard Bowers
Committee Members
Charles Burkett, Robert Shepard, Rudolph Miller
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine if differences existed between vocational administrators' perceptions of vocational education with business and industry leaders' perceptions in Tennessee. The investigator's concern in this study was to determine the extent of differences between vocational administrators' perceptions of vocational education and perceptions of business and industry leaders in Tennessee. Forty-nine hypotheses were formulated to be tested at the .05 level of significance. The Business Industry Survey used was developed and validated by Walter H. Timm. The survey format was designed to allow responses to the importance and level of knowledge for certain identified Industrial Skill topics needed by entry level employees. The topics were: Math, Measuring, Blueprint Reading, Hand Tools, Power Tools, Stationary Equipment, Materials, Electricity, Hydraulics and Pneumatics, Finishes, Fasteners, Bonding, Communication, Free Enterprise System, and Safety. From the results of the data analysis and interpretation, significant differences were revealed in 36 of the 49 hypotheses tested. Findings are reported as they pertain to each of the hypotheses originally formulated. A summary of Survey Section I, General Questions, showed that administrators and business leaders demonstrated agreement that entry level employees would need either introductory or intermediate/proficient level skills. The summary of Survey Section II, Importance Rating, showed that administrators rated the importance significantly higher for 13 of the 15 topics (Math, Measuring, Blueprint Reading, Stationary Equipment, Materials, Electricity, Hydraulics and Pneumatics, Finishes, Fasteners, Bonding, Communications, Free Enterprise System, and Safety). For the remaining two topics (Hand Tools and Power Tools), the vocational administrators and Business/Industry leaders agreed on their importance. The summary of Section III, Levels of Knowledge desired, showed that administrators rated the level of knowledge desired significantly. Major findings indicated a significant increase in the number of programs being offered, the number of participants and the various ages of the participants. The community school established earliest utilized the services of volunteers to a greater extent than the more recently organized schools. There are significantly more community schools with full-time director/coordinators than part-time director/coordinators. Statistically, newspapers and word-of-mouth are the types of media being used by community schools to develop public awareness to the community education program.
Document Type
Dissertation - unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Bell, George E., "Vocational Administrators’ and Business Leaders’ Perceptions of Vocational Education in Tennessee" (1986). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 4292. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/4292
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.