Degree Name

EdD (Doctor of Education)

Program

Educational Leadership

Date of Award

December 1983

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the status of general education and occupational program articulation efforts and practices as they existed between community colleges and the public secondary and vocational schools in Virginia. The problem was to also determine if a positive climate existed which was necessary for the planning of articulated programs between the secondary, vocational, and community college systems. The climate was determined by the perceptions reported by administrators toward articulation activities. The population studied included the academic deans from 10 Virginia community colleges and the principals of representative public secondary and vocational schools from each of the selected college service areas. Paired questionnaires were utilized to assess the status of articulation activities and to determine the attitudes of administrators toward articulation activities. Chi square statistics were used to analyze the data. Seven null hypotheses were tested in the study. Comparisons were made based on the responses of the three administrative groups as related to the type of institution, the geographical setting (rural or urban), the geographical location, and the size of the community college. It was concluded that community college administrators, secondary school principals, and vocational school principals indicated overall positive attitudes toward articulation activities. Overall participation of secondary and vocational schools in articulation activities with community colleges was well below the 50% level. Administrators involved in articulation activities felt very positive about the overall benefits of such involvement. Administrators not involved in articulation activities tended to hold positive feelings toward the initiation of most articulation practices. Significant attitudinal differences were identified in administrators' opinions concerning college level courses being offered in the high schools, the sharing of educational resources, and the utilization of college faculty in the high school. Significant differences in the participation of adminstrators in articulation activities were identified in the areas of cooperative program development, the offering of college level classes in high schools, sharing of educational resources, the formulation of written articulation guidelines and policies, and attendance at articulation meetings. Nearly all administrators felt the high school programs were providing the type of preparation needed by students to succeed in community college programs, and they felt positively that high school vocational programs should be designed to allow students to continue in their specialty area at the community college as well as to enter the labor market.

Document Type

Dissertation - unrestricted

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