Date of Award

1983

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

College

College of Education and International Services

Program

Higher Education Administration EdD

First Advisor

Edward A. Streeter

Second Advisor

George H. Akers

Third Advisor

Fonda Chaffee

Abstract

Problem

While an active and costly inservice program exists for teachers of the Lake Union Conference, there appears to be no data on the perceived inservice needs of these teachers. Consequently, there is a need to identify their perceived inservice educational needs for purpose of enhancement and strengthening the existing program. The present study attempts to identify the perceived inservice needs of the K-12 teachers of the Lake Union Conference currently employed within its educational system.

Method

Data was gathered by using the "Lake Union Conference Inservice Assessment" which was a modified version of Ingersoll's Teacher Needs Assessment Survey modified to incorporate the unique place of religion in the curriculum under study. Responses for each item on the Likert-type scale were weighted giving strongly disagree --1, disagree--2, undecided--3, agree--4, and strongly agree--5. Items were ranked using weighted scores. Nine categories were ranked according to the mean of the weighted score, while each item within the category was ranked. Teachers were analyzed as a K-12 group, divided into elementary and secondary, further divided by years of experience and teaching assignment.

Results

Responses indicated similar perceived inservice needs, such as integrating the religious concepts into the curriculum, making it applicable to everyday life, motivating and instilling in the student the will to learn on his own. On the other hand, distinct differences were observed such as secondary teachers perceived a greater need for discipline and teaching techniques, whereas, the elementary teachers had a greater need for implementing and supervising individualizing instruction and developing better communication with parents and students.

Conclusions

The K-12 teachers of the Lake Union Conference were cognizant of their responsibility in the development of religious and moral values. It appears the teachers were more concerned about the development of the students in their classroom than their own personal development. Years of experience and teaching assignment had a direct affect on the teachers' perceived inservice needs.

Subject Area

Teachers--In-service training; Seventh-day Adventists--Education--Lake Union

DOI

https://dx.doi.org/10.32597/dissertations/1563

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