Exploring and testing cluster analysis

Academic deans annually negotiate for a fair share of university resources. Without quantitative accreditation standards to serve as minimum guidelines, the competition is more difficult. Peer institution comparison, derived from the analysis of quantitative data on resource and productivity variables, assists by providing less biased justification for budget requests. In this study, data from a national study of doctoral-granting teacher education programs was used for a factor analysis of key resource and productivity variables. Seven alternative cluster analysis methods were used and compared. Three follow-up procedures (analysis of variance, discriminant analysis, and classification analysis) tested the cluster analysis results to verify the differences between clusters and their internal homogeneity on three different cluster solutions. The classification analysis showed that 88.2% of the 76 programs were correctly classified on the five-cluster solution produced using Ward's minimum variance method. The practical use of such data suggests that Cattell's pattern of profile similarly is a useful beginning to compare programs on factor scores; following that, raw data on each key variable might be used to prepare individual program profiles for more specific comparison.     

Impact of cutback planning and management on the poor and minorities in New York City: The case of public education

It is argued that the plight of the dependent-poor is likely to get worse as New York City's fiscal crisis is transformed into a service crisis. Considerable emphasis is given to describing the politics of school closings. The school closure issue has profound implications for any attempts to improve the educational lot of urban schools due to the potential relationship between white flight and school closings. The common tendency to close small and old school facilities located in areas where densities are higher (which minimizes transportation costs) results in schools being closed that are predominantly attended by poor and minority students. Policymakers should be able to learn a great deal about cutback management and planning in general through a better understanding of retrenchment policies which school districts throughout the nation have adopted.Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, Washington, D.C., October, 1981.     

Persistence of Attitudes and Values of NDEA Students-Two Years Post Institute

Eighty-two students who had been enrolled in year-long NDEA Counseling and Guidance Institutes were followed up for a two-year period concerning attitudes and values. Subjects were administered the Porter Test of Counselor Attitudes and the Study of Values. Students attitudes and values similar to those present at the onset of their program and similar to those present after they had been away from their program one year. Some differences were noted concerning end-of-institute responses. Changes occuring during the programs appear minimal. Since there were no differences indicated between the one- and two-year follow-up, one year might be a sufficient period for this type of investigation.     

What Teachers and Headteachers Think about Inspection

This is a study of 14 inspections of primary and secondary schools carried out by local inspectors in five widely separated areas during 1992 and 1993. The inspection approaches varied and in two cases followed the new OFSTED pattern. Reactions to inspection were gathered through interviews with headteachers and discussions with groups of teachers. Teachers’ reactions are described in relation to: the preparation for inspection; the inspectors as individuals; the inspection process; reporting and follow‐up. It is suggested that some of the concerns associated with these issues will be met by the new OFSTED arrangements. However, OFSTED practice may be less satisfactory in meeting other concerns such as the provision of adequate teacher feedback and the organisation of follow‐up advice and support     

Quality assessment and quality assurance in distance teacher education

Governments around the world have increasingly used distance education (DE), both preservice and inservice, to overcome conventional, campus‐based programme constraints in funding, access and student places. DE programmes have shown that they can expand assess to teacher education, but still need to demonstrate that they can produce teachers of the quality needed for today's schools. Quality assessment systems have been developed, using either examinations or impact studies, to demonstrate programme effect on graduate outcomes related to good teaching. Quality assurance systems have been designed, based on the concept of the ‘learning organisation’, to assure continuous improvement in programme conditions related to the desired outcomes. Quality assessment and assurance systems are reviewed and some examples of quality DE programmes presented.     

The effect of gender composition of faculty on student retention

The gender composition of faculty is an important issue on many campuses. Substantial efforts are taken by colleges to hire a diverse faculty where women are equitably represented. Several papers suggest that female faculty can act as role models for female students. This issue is particularly emphasized in science and engineering programs. However, empirical research finds mixed support for this hypothesis. We provide a new test of this issue by examining whether female students have higher first-year retention rates when a greater percentage of their classes are taught by female faculty. There is a positive relationship between retention of female students and the percentage of their science and mathematics classes taught by female faculty. Also faculty gender has a greater impact on female students when their classes have few female students. Thus this study provides support for gender-based programs for hiring.