Date of Award

1989

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Education

First Advisor

Michael F. Burnett

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare perceived stressors of selected secondary vocational teachers by their dominant mind styles. The objectives of this study were to: (1) describe secondary vocational agriculture, home economics and trade and industry teachers in Louisiana using selected demographic variables; (2) identify the dominant mind styles of secondary vocational agriculture, home economics, and trade and industry teachers; (3) identify perceived school-related stressors of secondary vocational agriculture, home economics, and trade and industry teachers; and (4) compare perceived school-related stressors of secondary vocational agriculture, home economics and trade and industry teachers. A questionnaire was mailed to a proportional, stratified, random sample of 429 Louisiana vocational teachers. The instrument consisted of two parts: (1) A researcher-designed questionnaire developed to measure perceived school-related stress and selected demographic characteristics; and (2) the Gregorc Style Delineator: Research Edition, a self-analysis tool for identifying dominant mind styles. Almost two-thirds of the total group and subgroups were identified as having Concrete Sequential dominant mind styles. No stressor for total group and subgroups was rated in the severe range of stress; however, the majority of items were perceived to be in the moderate stress range. Vocational teachers perceived "Student apathy" to be the most stressful item, while "Interacting with students outside the teaching environment" was perceived as the item creating the least stress. Responding vocational teachers in Louisiana with various dominant mind styles had similar perceptions regarding degree of stress. Recommendations included: (1) Teacher educators should increase the emphasis on student motivational techniques and strategies in teacher education programs; (2) Local school systems and State Departments of Education should provide inservice activities which focus on the development and application of coping strategies and techniques for dealing with stress; and (3) More research is needed to investigate the association between dominant mind style and aspects of career success/career choice.

Pages

152

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_disstheses.4860

Download

Share

COinS