Attitudes toward mandatory continuing professional education in 16 selected professions.

The primary purpose of the study was to determine if a parenting program would affect the reading achievement scores of single-parent children. Secondary purposes were to determine if male and female students were affected differently and if middle school students were affected differently than elementary students.Ninety-three students from a rural school district in northern Shelby County, Indiana, were identified to participate in the program. Forty-seven experimental children, were instructed in the parenting program twenty-one weeks, twenty-five minutes, two times a week. Forty-seven control students remained in the classroom.Multivariate analysis of covariance was done to test the null hypotheses. The criterion for rejecting or retaining the null hypothesis was set at the .05 level of probability.Data collected from the pre- and post-test reading scores of the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills, the Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale, the Martinek-Zaichkowsky Self-Conce t Scale for Children, and the Behavioral Characteristics of Single-Parent Children Checklist were analyzed. Findings were:1. There was not a significant difference between experimental and control groups or gender;however, the following differences did exist:a. The experimental group scored higher in reading than the control group, with the exception of the lower grade control females, who scored higher than the experimental lower grade females.b. The females of both groups had higher gain scores than the males.2. There was a significant difference at the .05 level in reading for the variable grade with lower grade students making larger positive gains than the upper grade students.3. There were significant differences in self-concept between the control and experimental groups in the area of anxiety, school status, happiness and athletics.a. The lower grade experimental, upper grade control, and male students (of both groups) were less anxious.b. The lower grade students felt better about school and were happier than the upper grade students.c. The second grade control group felt more confident about ability in athletics than the experimental group.4. The teachers perceived the experimental students as needing less discipline, having higher general achievement and better reading comprehension. Conclusions based on the findings were: 1. The group or the gender did not make a significant difference:a. However, the upper grade experimental group did perform better than the upper grade control group.b. The lower control females performed better than the lower grade experimental females, but the lower grade experimental males out performed the lower grade males in comprehension.2. The lower grade students performed significantly better than the upper grade students in reading vocabulary and comprehension.3. The lower grade experimental students, the upper grade control students and the male students were significantly less anxious.4. The lower grade students felt significantly better about school than the upper grade students.5. Teachers perceptions of experimental students were higher in classroom behavior, general achievement, and reading comprehension.Thesis (D. Ed.