Date of Award
12-1985
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Education
Department
Education
Abstract
This study investigated the use of advisement programs in Missouri middle schools. A questionnaire was mailed to principals of 102 middle schools in Missouri. Of the 73 responses, 19 were from schools with an advisement program, five from schools which once had an advisement program, but no longer did, and 49 from schools which never had an advisement program.
There were five purposes of the study: (1) to determine how many middle schools in Missouri utilized an advisement program; (2) to identify the nature of those schools using the factors of number of students, grades in the school, number of counselors, number of years each existed as a middle school, and degree of self-containment and/or departmentalization; (3) to compare middle schools having advisement programs (yes schools) to middle schools which did not use advisement programs (no schools) on the basis of the above five factors; (4) to measure the success of advisement programs based on the principals' rating the benefits of their programs; and (5) to relate the principals' benefit ratings to method of planning, operating, and maintaining the advisory programs.
Results for the yes schools showed that 58% had fewer than 500 students and 32% had from 500 to 999 students. Most (84%) included grades 6-8; most (63%) had existed as a middle school for 2-5 years; 42% were completely departmentalized and 63% had fewer than one counselor per grade.
Of the schools without advisement, 61% had fewer than 500 students and 33% had from 500-999 students. Most (63%) included grades 6-8; 66% had been a middle school for more than five years; 44% were completely departmentalized, and 85% had fewer than one counselor per grade.
To measure the success of the advisement programs, an average benefit rating for each school was determined from individual benefit ratings. Those schools whose principals' rating averaged 8-10 were placed in group A, (4 schools). Those with an average rating from 4-7 were placed in group B (13 schools), and one school rating fell in to the range of 0-3, called group C.
Relating the principal's benefit rating to his method of planning, operating, and maintaining the advisory program revealed the following differences between the A, B, and C schools: most A and B schools carried on all seven of the research recommended activities which would benefit the middle school age child; the C school conducted only two. Most of the A and B schools emphasized parent contact by advisors, the C school did not. A and B school advisees were randomly selected by the teacher. The principal of the C school determined groupings. Most A and B schools frequently provided activities for the advisor to use, allowed the teacher freedom to vary from plans, allowed for teacher input in plans, and had periodic revisions. In the C school teachers seldom varied from plans, seldom had revision of plans, and activities were seldom provided.
The C school involved only administrators in the development of the advisory program, and only teachers and administrators in the ongoing planning. At least 75% of the A and B schools involved teachers, administrators, counselors, and parents in both development and ongoing advisory plans.
The author concluded that schools which maintained an advisement program did so as an adjunct to the counseling programs available; there was no apparent association between school size, nor grades included in the decision to have an advisory program; most schools that were middle schools longer did not have an advisory program, and no apparent changes in classroom organization were made by the Missouri schools with advisement.
Further conclusions were that principals who saw more benefits in their advisement programs involved more persons in the planning and ongoing revisions, allowed teachers flexibility in use of provided materials and frequently evaluated their programs.
Recommended Citation
Roach, Barbara J., "Teachers as Advisers in Missouri Middle Schools" (1985). Theses. 1305.
https://digitalcommons.lindenwood.edu/theses/1305
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