A Survey of a Selected Public Group in the Vinton Community School District With Implications for the Improvement of Certain Educational Services in the Senior High School

The objectives of this study were (1) to determine what a selected group considered to be the major role of a high school education: (2) to determine some attitudes of this public relative to certain educational services being offered in the Vinton High School; (3) to determine the feelings of the group concerning the need for changing certain educational services in the Vinton High School; and (4) to determine some attitudes of the select group concerning what forces have produced change and the best way to bring about educational change in the Vinton High School. The principal method used was a 24 item questionnaire survey distributed to 296 selected adults. This group consisted of the parents of all eleventh and twelfth graders in the Vinton (Iowa) senior high in 1973-74; the thirty-three teachers in the high school; the high school principal., the school superintendent and the curriculum coordinator; and the five school board members. Two hundred five forms were returned for a 69.3 percent return. The significant findings were as follows: 1. The public felt the major purpose of a high school education was to prepare youth for the world in which they will one day be living. 2. The people in the Vinton community were slightly in favor of disciplining unruly students rather than trying to understand them. Eighty-two and nine-tenths percent of the surveyed group indicated that they wanted one type of discipline or another. 3. A combination of teacher reports on student progress, test scores, parent-teacher conferences, and the pass-fail system was the majority response to the question What would you like to see in place of letter grades? 4. A total of 177 people (86 percent) felt the main duty of the counselor was to help students with their problems. 5. The public generally was opposed to the initiation of new and innovative services in the Vinton High School System. 6. Teachers received high rank (67. 3 percent) for their efforts in trying to change with the times. 7. An overwhelming majority of the respondents wanted classroom discussion on controversial topics such as black student rights, sex hygiene, contraceptives, and drugs. 8. Parents do not want to be involved in choosing courses, class conduct, grading, and discipline, nor do they want student involvement except in the area of what courses will be taught. 9. A majority of the public (76.1 percent) felt that changes in the Vinton school were the result of the change in our way of living and the structure of our society. They also felt that students have changed and now see the world from a different point of view than did students five years ago. 10. The select group favored the idea of bringing about change in education through four-way communication between parents, students, teachers, and administrators