Needs assessment for vocational teachers [1976]

Needs Assessment
j
For Vocational

Teachers
Executive Summary Of Needs Assessment Study Of Georgia Vocational Education For The Georgia Advisory Council On Vocational Education

The mission of the Georgia Advisory Council on Vocational Education is to provide to the Georgia Board of Education and the governor, advice and recommendations concerning the strengthening of vocational education. One method used by the Council is to evaluate the state's current vocational education programs.
Teacher education and training is one of the major issues concerning educators and laymen today. As a result of the emphasis on teacher preparation, competency and assessment, the Georgia Advisory Council on Vocational Education issued a "R equest for Proposal" regarding a needs assessment survey of vocational education teachers. The principal investigative objective of the survey was to determine how and to what level teacher preparation and staff development strengthened vocational education teacher skills as perceived by teachers and administrators. Secondary objectives of the survey were to determine how vocational education teachers perceived other issues affecting vocational education such as guidance and counsel ing, job placement, funding and certification.
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Methodology
Target populations for this study were the j,798 members of the Georgia Vocational Association and 173 Georgia industrial arts teachers for a total of 3,970. The 173 industrial arts teachers are representative of the state's industrial arts teacher population. They were randomly selected by geographic location.
The development of the instrument was initiated by meetings with the Council's Committee on Teacher Education and the executive director. During these meetings general concerns were identified, as well as some of the more specific issues. The areas of most importance were identified as
Pre-service education/training
Staff development programs
Certification requirements
Guidance and counseling

The survey instrument format followed the same design as the needs assessment questionnai re developed by Battelle's Center for Improved Education. However, the questions and/or statements were tailored specifically for this survey and were based on the major areas of concern identified by the Committee on Teacher Education.
The survey instrument was mailed to all 3,970 persons in the target population. A postcard follow-up of over 3,000 nonrespondents was conducted three weeks after the initial mailing. All questionnaires were returned to the Atlanta office. After the return deadline, the completed questionnaires were shipped to the Center for Improved Education, Battelle Columbus Laboratories, Columbus, Ohio for tabulation and analysis.
A total of 1,100 questionnaires was returned to Battelle representing nearly 28 percent of the total survey population. A higher per-

centage of returns was anticipated; however, the survey instrument was lengthy, and this may have had an influence on the rate of returns.
The total number of acceptable questionnaires used in the analysis was 903. A significant number of questionnaires (131) was returned ither incomplete or without approval to be used in the analysis. Many of these were from University System or Georgia Department of Education staff members who felt they were not part of the intended target population.
Survey Analysis
The survey instrument consisted of 70 statements with two questions being asked for each statement. They were "To what extent should this condition exist in your school?" and "To what extent does the condition actually exist in your school?" Each statement addressed an issue, an activity or an
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attitude regarding the teaching of vocational education in either a secondary or post secondary school. Each statement was written in a positive style and attempted to find o~t what the respondent generally considered a desirable condition.
The following analysis methods were utilized.
A summary of all statements was ranked by need index. The need index was determined by calculating the mean score for the desired (or should) and the mean score for the actual.
A summary was made of all statements by the percentage of respondents that answered in each of the selection categories (0-5).
A summary of selected functions was ranked by need index. The selected functions were staff development, pre-service training/education, staff evaluation/ promotion and h ighl ighted questions. In addition, each of these questions and answers were displayed separating the administrator responses from the teacher/ instructor responses.
A summary of "critical issue questions" was displayed giving characteristics of the
respondent such as degree, years of ex-
perience, work role and whether employed in a secondary or post secondary school. Questions and responses were rank ordered according to need index. Responses were also displayed separating the administrator responses from the teacher/instructor responses.
Conclusions
Staff Development Programs
In response to a series of questions, all respondents identified as a critical need the availability of teacher resources such as professional
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library of periodicals, current textbooks on vocational education and instructional materials. Forty-four percent of the participants indicated that these resources do not or only slightly exist in their schools. The respondents also indicated that adequate planning time and leadership are severely needed by the vocational education teacher.
The most significant result of the survey was the conclusion by nearly half the participants that there is very Iittle or no relevance between teacher needs and staff development programs. In response to a statement on staff development and teaching skills, 49 percent said that the existing staff development program does not or only slightly improves teaching skills.
Regarding the involvement of teachers in planning and developing staff development programs, 42 percent of the teachers/administrators did not bel ieve that teachers are involved in the planning of staff development pr,ograms; however, 86 percent saw this as a very desir-
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able or fairly desirable condition.
Pre-Service Training/Education
Regarding a statement conceming teacher preparation, 24 percent of the teachers/ administrators said their teacher preparation experience had not prepared them adequately for teach ing. In answer to another question on pre-service preparation, 20 percent said their college program of study had not prepared them or had only slightly prepared them for teaching vocational education.
Meanwhile, 87 percent of the respondents felt that exposure to industry or business prior to teaching was desirable; however, 43 percent had not had this type of experience or if so, only slightly.
Staff Evaluation/Promotion
Considering all 70 statements on the survey instrument, the statement receiving the highest need index, (2.3), was, "Our instruc-
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tional staff is rewarded and promoted on the basis of job performance." Sixty-three per-
cent statedth;t th is i~ not or is only sl ightly
_ the policy followed. Thirty-three percent did not believe or only slightly believed the purpose of staff evaluation is to improve job performance.
Certification Requ irements
The survey included five statements dealing with certification: the state's requirements, the relevancy of certification to current needs, the relevancy of certification to teaching responsibilities, how requirements are developed and by whom, whether or not requirements should be competency based, and whether or not respondent was teaching in his/her certified area. A very significant number of respondents indicated that they did not know about the certification process, etc. Consequently, Battelle would not draw need index conclusions about this area.
Guidance and Counseling
Five statements were developed for this area. Generally the answers by the respondents identifed th is as a critical need area. About one-third of the participants believed that the state needs to address the problem of too few counselors, and approximately one in four teachers/administrators did not feel that the career education program is being provided in the state's schools.
High lighted Questions
Statements falling into this section of the report covered areas of interest for educators generally. However, the statements were designed to obtain vocational education responses. The areas addressed were funding of vocational education, articulation between secondary and post secondary school sand
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involvement of employers and the community in vocational education program planning.
Perhaps the most encouraging and positive.;.. result was the overwhelming feeling by all .tespondents to the statement "Teach ing in the vocational education program is providing me a very rewarding experience." Ninetyfive percent said that it is a very rewarding experience while only five percent said that teaching vocational education is not or is only slightly rewarding.
Critical Issue Questions
This section of the analysis provided the Advisory Council and the Committee on Teacher Education a summary of the 13 critical issue questions. The section is reported separately for administrators and teachers/instructors. The breakdown of responses in the final report was displayed as follows.

Degree, i.e., BS, MS, Phd. Years o~ teaching exper!ence; i.e., 0-2,
3-10; 11+ Teaching in a secondary or post secon-
dary school High schoolltechnical school training; i.e.,
H/TEC
The 13 critical issue questions were selected based on their relationsh ip to the two major objectives of the study, staff development and pre-service training. Analysis of the critical issues compares the responses of all four sub-groups to each question and ranks each question in descending need index order.
Major findings included the following.
Administrators and teachers/instructors agree on three of the five top ranked needs. The three highest ranked needs by both teachers and administrators focus on staff development.
Teachers rank the critical issue questions at a slightly higher need index than do the administrators.
The two lowest ranked needs are concerned with certification.
Administrators with more experience tend to rank the critical issue questior higher than do their less experience' coli eagues.
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J
Survey Summary
In addition to the specific conclusions identified earlier, it is necessary to list again a few of the general conclusions of the survey. - .;.
.- Staff development is considered by the respondents as the need area with the highest need index rating.
Professional Iibraries and material resource centers are needed by the vocational education teacher.
Pre-service training and/or education is not considered adequate for one in five respondents.
The greatest single need (2.3) perceived by teachers is the disparity between job performance and promotion.
Certification is either not considered a major issue, or the respondents are not familiar with certification procedures and requ irements.
In the development of in-service programs teachers should be involved in the planning process.
Career education is not being included in staff development programs.
Vocational guidance and job placement are areas where respondents indicated more emphasis is needed.
Two of the most positive conclusions drawn from the survey are the attitudes of vocational educators. In response to the statement concerning "vocational education emerging as a vital component," 98 percent said that it shou Id be a vital component. The second significant conclusion is the overwhelming feeling by 95 percent of the respondents that teaching in this field is a very rewarding experience.
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The Georgia Advisory Council on Vocational Education has five distinct functions as required by Public Law 90-576.
To Advise The Council advises the State Board of
Education on the development of the State Plan for Vocational Education. This includes such advisory activities as assisting in the preparation of long lange and annual program plans and advising and assisting the board on policy issues arising in the administration of the state plan.
To Consult The Council consults with employers,
educators, students, citizen agencies and ol-ganizations on the preparation, conduct and evaluation of the state's vocational education programs.
To Evaluate The Council conducts a program of
independent evaluation of vocational education programs, services and activities as described in the state plan.
To Report The Council is required to submit, through
the State Board of Education, an annual report to the U. S. Commissioner of Education and to the National Advisory Council. The report is required to evaluate the effectiveness of the state's vocational education programs, services and activities.
To Inform The Council submits to the Governor of
Georgia, on a timely basis, information concerning and affecting vocational education within the state. The Council also provides to the citizens of the state special reports and other information through the news media.
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Members of the Georgia Advisory Council on Vocational Education 1976
Richard C. Owens, ChiJirlllan Richard B. Cobb, Vice Chairman "Dr. Doris Adams F. Sibley Bryan Jr. Ellen Coody Aaron Cook John R. Hawkins Dr. Howard Jordan Pet(; Ph iII ips Fred Rich Richard Sh inhoster Roy L. Simmons Jr. Dr. John W. Teel Jimmy H. Tirnrnolls Howard Waters Howard Weeks Lynda Weissmarl Dr. George S. Whatley Robert L. White H. W. Wiley Penn Worden Don Cargill, Executive Director
For Additional I nformation Contact State of Georgia Advisory Council on Vocational Education 303 State Office Building Atlanta, Georgia 30334 (404) 656-2674
Council members are appointed by the Governor of Georgia. They come from areas of management, labor, industrial and economic development, education and other disciplines related to vocational and career education.