Claudia R. Wright

The Factorial Validity of a Teacher Burnout Measure (Educators Survey) Administered to a Sample of Beginning Teachers in Elementary and Secondary Schools in California.

For the Educators Survey, an inventory designed to assess teacher burnout in each of three scales representing constructs of Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization, and Personal Accomplishment, both exploratory (orthogonal and oblique) factor analyses and confirmatory factor analyses of the correlation matrix of 22 items administered to a sample of 133 elementary and secondary school beginning teachers lent support to a three-factor structure. It was concluded that this multidimensional instrument provides a promising level of construct validity for assessing teacher burnout.

The Relationship of Scores on the Educators Survey, a Modified Version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory, to Three Teaching-Related Variables for a Sample of 132 Beginning Teachers:

For a sample of 133 beginning teachers, the relationship of three teaching-related variables identified as (a) the extent to which the teacher perceived teacher-training courses prepared him or her for the first years of teaching, (b) the level of workload experienced during the first three years of teaching, and (c) if an individual were to begin his or her career again, would he or she select teaching as the first career choice to three measures of burnout (Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization, and Personal Accomplishment). Correlation data were obtained and a series of multiple regression analyses were conducted in which the three teaching-related variables served as predictors. Findings indicated that, for a subsample of female beginning teachers, two of the three variables (perceived adequacy of training and choosing teaching as a career) served as moderately valid predictors of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization measures.

Urban Teachers' Views on Areas of Need for K-12/University Collaboration

Abstract This article describes the beginning of a community education partnership, details the efforts of the partners to determine the problem areas which would become the focus of their collaborative efforts, and provides a summary of the action which was subsequently taken. The purpose of the research effort was: (1) to gather information from teachers and site administrators about the problems and needs in the areas culturally and linguistically diverse urban classrooms (2) to identify what teachers see as the most pressing needs for K-12/University collaboration and (3) to establish collaborative linkages for meeting these needs.

Gender Differences among Self-Assessments, Teacher Ratings, Grades, and Aptitude Test Scores for a Sample of Students Attending Rural Secondary Schools:

For a sample of 222 high school students (124 females and 98 males) enrolled in rural Appalachian schools, gender differences were examined in self-assessments, teacher ratings, and grades in the prediction of verbal reasoning and numerical ability test scores. The results of separate stepwise regression analyses revealed that for females, teacher assessments of ability and grades in English were valid predictors of both verbal and numerical performance (R 2 c = .36 and .25, respectively); for males, teacher ratings of obtaining the correct solution to a task, self-assessments, and GPA contributed jointdy to test performance (verbal, R 2 c = .47; numerical, R 2 c = .45).

The Relationship of Scores of Community College Students on a Measure of Philosophical Orientation to the Nature of Reality to their Standing on Selected School-Related Variables.

A description is presented of an 18-item scale entitled RAM that was designed to indicate a relative, absolute, or mixed relative-absolute philosophical orientation to the nature of reality. For a sample of 261 community college students both item analysis data and correlational information concerning the relationship between placement within each of three classifications of philosophical orientation derived from RAM scores and standing on each of five school-related criterion variables are summarized. Item statements on the RAM scale reliably differentiated between subsamples of students categorized as relative or absolute. Statistically significant indices of association occurred between placement in one of three score categories on the RAM scale and standing on each of two criterion variables: (a) stated preference for an educational system designed to facilitate accepting tension and frustration or for one planned to minimize these factors and (b) expressed reason for dropping the course as being related either to teacher-centered or to personal student-centered characteristics. No statistically reliable level of association was present between placement in one of the three score categories and (a) an index of scholastic achievement, (b) incidence of dropping classes, and (c) declared preference for a job offering challenge and responsibility or for one affording security and dignity.

The Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses of the Latent Structure of the Study Attitudes and Methods Survey for a Sample of 176 Eighth-Grade Students

The data obtained from the sample of 176 eighth-grade students on the SAMS (Short Form) which was subjected to an obliquely rotated (promax) factor solution produced at least four meaningful dimensions of study attitudes and methods. Further, the results from the confirmatory maximum likelihood factor analysis yielded a six-factor oblique solution as providing the closest degree-of-fit.

School-Related Variables as Predictors of Achievement on the National Council Licensure Examination (Nclex-Rn) for a Sample of 418 Students Enrolled in a Diploma Nursing Program

For a total sample of 418 students pursuing the diploma program in nursing and for each of four ethnic subgroups comprising 272 Whites, 67 Hispanics, 34 Blacks, and 20 Asians (an undeclared group of 25 students not being considered), this investigation was concerned with the validity of each of 12 predictor variables representing age, high school grade point average (HS-GPA), GPA in three prerequisite courses and in a composite of these three courses, scores in three reading measures, and scores in three mathematics measures relative to each of two criterion variables reflecting (a) cumulative grade point average in required courses taken in a school of nursing (SN-GPA) and (b) standing in the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN). Parallel information also was sought for eight intermediate variables represented by scores on standardized achievement tests of the National League of Nursing (NLN) corresponding to the content of key academic courses and administered at the end of each course. Selected conclusions were that (a) SN-GPA is a highly valid predictor of NCLEX-RN scores for members of the White and Hispanic subgroups, but only a modestly valid predictor for those in the Black and Asian subgroups, (b) HS-GPA affords little, if any, predictive validity of either criterion measure for any ethnic group, (c) prerequisite coursework taken primarily in a community college affords moderate predictive validity for White, Hispanic, and Asian subgroups but high validity for the Black subgroup, in the prediction of SN-GPA, but reduced if not marginal validity for all ethnic subgroups relative to standing on the NCLEX-RN, (d) standardized achievement tests in reading and mathematics provide somewhat mixed validity promise across the various ethnic subgroups, (e) the NLN measures, with a few noteworthy exceptions, furnish consistently high validity coefficients across all subgroups for both criterion measures.

The RAM Scale: Development and Validation of the Revised Scale in Likert Format.

The development and validation of a revised form of the RAM Scale in Likert format, a measure of student philosophical orientations in terms of relative, absolute, or mixed biases or preferences toward issues of knowledge, methods, and values, are described. As part of a larger investigation, a sample of 125 community college students was administered the Likert version of the RAM Scale. An obtained coefficient alpha for the total scale was equal to .79, with coefficients of .38, .71, and .76 for the Knowledge, Methods, and Values subscales, respectively. An item analysis involving the correlation between the response of each subject to an item and his or her classification as relative or absolute was also conducted. Statistically significant phi coefficients were observed for 26 out of the 36 items. Also completed was a principal factors analysis of intercorrelations of 12 RAM subtests comprising 3 sets of 4 subtests, with each set representing an hypothesized content factor of knowledge, methods, or values. At least one factor (Factor II) contained clusters of items consistent with a content area related to methodological issues and assumptions.

The Relationship of Average Scores of Seniors in 172 Southern California High Schools on a Statewide Standardized Achievement Test to Percentages of Families Receiving Federal aid and to Percentages of Limited-English-Proficient Speakers

In this study of 172 high schools, the relationship of the two demographic variables identified as (a) the percentage of families receiving federal aid (FAFDC) and (b) the percentage of students classified as limited-English-proficient (LEP) to two subsets of a standardized achievement test in English and mathematics administered statewide was investigated. Correlational data were obtained, and two multiple regression analyses were performed in which the two demographic variables constituted predictor variables of each of two criterion variables (average scores on either the English subtest or the mathematics subtest). Findings suggested that when the high school served as the unit of analysis, the FAFDC variable was a highly valid predictor of average achievement on both English and mathematics subtests.