School study councils affiliated with Ball State University.

The purpose of the study was to determine the perceptions of member superintendents regarding topics and services provided by the study councils affiliated with Ball State University. The total population consisted of 116 superintendents of school corporations which were members of study councils affiliated with Ball State University.A questionnaire consisting of fifty-four items and two Likert type response scales was utilized. Superintendents were asked to indicate on the first scale the degree to which the item ideally should be provided and on the second scale the degree to which the item actually was provided by study councils. Treatment of the data included tabulation of the frequency and percentage for each level of the ideal scale and actual scale of each questionnaire item. Two means were calculated for each item. The first mean represented the degree to which the study council ideally should provide the subject of the item. The second mean represented the degree to which the study council actually did provide the subject of the item. The difference between the ideal and actual mean was considered important if a numerical value of 1.00 was exceeded.FindingsThe highest degrees to which services ideally should be provided by study councils were indicated by member superintendents for the following items:Study Council MeetingsProfessional Sharing Between Council Members Organizing Workshops for Superintendents Organizing and Disseminating Surveys or Studies Compiling a Directory of Members Study Council RetreatsInformation concerning Negotiations/PL 217 Distributing Periodic NewslettersInformation concerning Curriculum Development Information concerning Educational Accountability Information concerning Management TeamThe highest degrees to which services actually were provided by study councils were indicated by member superintendents for the following items:Study Council MeetingsCompiling a Directory of Members Professional Sharing Between Council Members Organizing and Disseminating Surveys or Studies Organizing Workshops for Superintendents Study Council RetreatsInformation concerning Negotiations/PL 217 Information concerning Management Team Superintendents did not indicate a difference of 1.00 or more between the ideal degree mean and actual degree mean for any questionnaire item.ConclusionsServices provided by study councils affiliated with Ball State University were meeting the needs of member superintendents.Superintendents perceive the activities requiring the direct involvement of member superintendents as being the most important services provided by study councils affiliated with Ball State University.Thesis (D. Ed.