11:00-11:50 a.m. GENDER ISSUES (Discussion Session) Salon A

Presider: Anisa Al-Khatab, Eastern Kentucky University

GENDER EQUITY IN SCHOOL: ARE WE THERE YET?

Michele Kahn, The University of Alabama

             Gender inequity in our schools has long been the topic of discussion in educational literature. Over 20 years of research has confirmed the disparities in achievement, performance and self-esteem between boys and girls. Recent large scale studies reveal that although some improvements have been made, boys and girls still show divergence in: (1) testing, (2) representation in instructional materials, and (3) levels of self-esteem, and (4) are treated in differently by their teachers.
             Girls: (1) lag behind boys in most standardized tests, (2) are practically absent from textbooks and other instructional materials, (3) are more suicidal and at a higher risk for eating disorders, and (4) receive less attention than boys in their classes. These extreme differences can only contribute to the sure failure of girls in school.
             Teacher education programs play a necessary and important role in the training of teachers with gender equitable skills. However, recent studies centered on teacher education programs revealed that the inclusion of gender equitable matters was practically insignificant. Teachers and other participants in the school community such as administrators and counselors need to be informed about curricular and instructional matters regarding gender equity. Teacher education programs can have a positive effect towards increasing gender equitable practices in schools. Teachers who are uninformed about the status of girls in school may unwittingly contribute to their failure.

NONTRADITIONAL, NONGENDER STEREOTYPED EXPERIENCES: DO THEY MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR YOUNG WOMEN?

Beth H. Hensley, The University of Memphis

             Various marginalized groups, including women, have looked to education as a means of achieving social and economic parity. Even with the much heralded changes toward greater gender equity and equal employment opportunity for females, there has been minimal transformation of gender stereotyped careers and few significant economic gains for women. In the United States, 95% of the senior managers in the 1,500 largest companies are males, and women earn approximately 73 cents for every dollar earned by men doing the same or similar jobs. Educators and researchers must wonder why these inequities persist, and how could education make more of a difference in women's career choices.
             A feminist epistomology was used as a theoretical foundation for this research project: (1) taking a stand for questions that are important to women, (2) collaborating with women to design research that is meaningful to them, and (3) examining the real lives of real women to explore possible answers. Theories of vocational gatekeeping, and achievement also frame the analysis of the descriptive data.
             The participants were 17 women who had participated in a nontraditional, nongender-stereotyped work experience during adolescence or young adulthood. These women played professional baseball in the All American Girls Professional Baseball League during the 1940s and 1950s. Life history interviews were conducted with two of the 17 participants and focused interviews were conducted with the remaining 15 women.
             Utilizing constant comparative method of analysis, the data revealed that a nontraditional, nongender-stereotyped experience had an impact on the educational and career choices made by the participants. There were implications for vocational counseling and creating nontraditional educational and vocational experiences for students even within traditional, gender stereotyped fields.

11:00-11:50 a.m. HIGHER EDUCATION (Discussion Session) Meeting Room 1

Presider: Vincent McGrath, Mississippi State University

AN EVALUATION OF KEYWORDS ADDRESSED IN JOURNAL ARTICLES ON THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER DATABASE

Naomi C. Coyle, Centenary College

             The purpose of the study was to investigate the board range of education-related topics and issues and to determine which topics and issues were most and least prevalent during the last five years of this century. The results of the descriptive study provided information for those who desire to enter the ranks of the published.
             ERIC was chosen as the source of education topics and issues because it is the largest database in the field of education in the world and is the most-well known and frequently used body of information with close to one million citations and abstracts. The researcher conducted a review of literature concerning ERIC and contacted AskERIC, an Internet-based question-answering service on education. After collecting data from these sources, 26 keywords were identified. The ERIC Search site was utilized to locate the total number of articles for the past five years for each keyword. A percentage of the total number of articles for each keyword was calculated.
             Based upon the data collected, the researcher concluded that the most prevalent keywords for journal articles included in ERIC from 1995-1999 were higher education, teaching, evaluation, information, and language. The least prevalent keywords were identified as career education, student services, gifted education, educational management, social science education, and urban education. The findings of this study reported the pattern for the identified keywords related to educational topics and issues that has occurred for the past five years.

FACULTY PARTICIPATION IN GOVERNANCE: A FOUR-YEAR LONGITUDINAL STUDY

Jack Blendinger, Linda Cornelious, and Vincent McGrath, Mississippi State University

             This qualitative case study reported experiences in shared governance at a college of education over a four-year period (1996-2000). Initial experiences in shared governance was first presented at the 1997 annual meeting of the Mid-South Educational Research Association (MSERA). This paper chronicled four years of experience and represented the only longitudinal study on the topic of shared governance in colleges of education reported in the literature.
             Establishing shared governance has been a disappointing quest. Early exuberance evolved into apathy and then into pathos. Benign indifference, high turnover of faculty, and a drawn-out process of restructuring the college complicated matters and retarded progress. After a fast start, the movement steadily declined. Promise of gaining momentum slowly faded.
             In addition to bylaws, shared governance as reported in this case study has been guided by a faculty council, a representative body comprised of professors and research scientists selected by academic departments and research units. The council emerged in 1996 as the primary mechanism to implement shared governance. Capitalizing on the need for shared responsibility in governance, the faculty members who were elected to the council moved rapidly to make it a viable means for participating in the decision-making process and facilitating communication. Unfortunately, little success has occurred.
             Data collected over a four-year period from artifacts such as operational guidelines, memoranda, minutes, reports to the dean, and faculty surveys were shared with those attending the session. Participants attending the session were invited to share their own experiences and become partners in an on-going research project chronicling shared governance in colleges of education.

11:00-11:50 a.m. MOTIVATION (Discussion Session) Meeting Room 2

Presider: Barbara Kacer, Western Kentucky University

SAMANTHA, MATTHEW, AND SHANE: A CASE STUDY OF THE MOTIVATIONAL FACTORS THAT DRIVE THESE TRIPLETS TO LEARN

Julie A. Holmes, Louisiana Tech University/ Lincoln Parish (LA) Schools

             The purpose of this qualitative case study was to determine the motivational factors that prompted a set of triplets to excel in school. These three children were observed to be outstanding students as compared to other students in terms of their participation in school, the quality of their work, and their continual enthusiasm to learn. The working research questions dealt with different facets of school and home, whether motivation was linked to a certain subject, certain topics within various subjects, or high demands from their parents. These questions were refined as participant observation revealed subtle differences in motivation in the three children, which became the focus of the study.
             A review of literature showed major themes of motivation appeared to be related strongly to intrinsic goals. Being intrinsically motivated was shown to improve self-concept and academic achievement. Various people in the child's life and the viewpoint of achievement by the child are other contributing factors in motivation.
             Data were collected through participant observation, semi-structured interviews with the triplets and other key informants, solicited documents, and samples of work done by the triplets. Data were coded and sorted into eight categories.
             The results showed that within a shared basic framework of self-motivation, each of the three children developed separate, distinct "motivational personalities." The parents had provided a wide variety of activities early in life that were perceived to be enjoyable. Positive self-concept and intrinsic motivation were evident in all three children. Each child had varying reasons for motivation: wanting perfection motivated one, interest motivated another, and one was motivated by wanting to please others and be noticed. A collective case study was recommended of children of multiple births to inquire further into the phenomenon of motivation.

SISTERS AS A SOURCE OF MOTIVATION FOR THOSE PURSUING HIGHER EDUCATION

Sandra M. Harris, Troy State University, Montgomery

             As technological advancements increase the demand for an educated work force, educators struggle to develop ideas on how to attract more individuals into higher education and how to retain them after they enter the system of higher education. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that motivate individuals to pursue higher education. The researcher used the literature-based, researcher-developed Factors Influencing Pursuit of Higher Education (FIPHE) Questionnaire to determine, quantitatively, what those factors are. The FIPHE Questionnaire contains 10 scales that address factors thought to impact a person's decision to pursue higher education. Several of the items in the questionnaire address family variables such as mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters.
             The sample consisted of 509 participants from two southeastern universities. Reliability estimates for the scales ranged from .66 to .90. Principal component analysis using varimax rotation was used to factor analyze the data. While 10 factors were specified in the extraction criteria, results revealed that a nine-factor solution was as effective in defining the data. A nine-factor solution accounted for 43% of the common variance in the data. Consequent to the factor analysis, the items regarding sisters merged on a separate scale, which the researcher named Sister's Influence Scale. A post hoc reliability analysis revealed a coefficient alpha of .81 for the scale. In addition, a correlation analysis showed that the scale was significantly correlated with nine of 19 other measures of interest. The significant correlation coefficients ranged from .19 to .42.
             The researcher concluded that although not hypothesized as an original scale, the Sister's Influence Scale is a valid and psychometrically sound scale that warrants further investigation. The researcher also concluded that Sisters might be pivotal forces not only in terms of encouraging individuals to pursue higher education, but also in persisting after doing so.