Attitudes toward local programming needs: A comparison of a northern and southern sample of community leaders and respective publics
Replicating salient features of a study perfomed in Michigan, it was found that the northern and southern community leaders differed in their programming requests. The two public samples were quite similar, however, in ranking their requests. The findings suggest that care should be exercised by concerned public agencies in evaluating community leaders’ opinions, since they differ from their publics’ unsystematically.
A Broadcast Survey of Priority Needs in Baton Rouge, Louisiana From the Perspectives of Black Leaders and Public Representatives.
A BROADCAST SURVEY OF PRIORITY NEEDS IN BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA FROM THE PERSPECTIVES OF BLACK LEADERS AND PUBLIC REPRESENTATIVES by John Nell England The purpose of the present study was to conduct a focused survey o f p r io r ity needs 1n Baton Rouge, Louisiana from the perspec­ tives of certa in black representatives. The primary objective was to secure rank ordered l is ts o f local community problems as Id e n ti­ fied by black leaders and black registered voters. A second objec­ t iv e was to determine I f commonly recognized community problems are s im ila r ly perceived as Important by black representatives w ithin d iffe re n t age, sex, education, and social class categories. To obtain response, group Interviews through nominal group process were conducted among 84 black leader and public representa­ tives during a one evening data gathering conference. Leaders In attendance were leaders by reputation w ithin eighteen community areas. Public members who attended had been randomly selected from the voter re g is tra tio n f i le s o f three predominantly black c ity council d is tr ic ts In Baton Rouge. Results obtained from the conference Included a 11st o f th irty -tw o needs which were Id e n tif ie d as the most Important local problems. A d d ition a lly , one hundred and th ir ty -fo u r other p r io r ity needs were named. To Increase the strength o f public representation, 1 v fo rty -n ine black high school and un ivers ity students were also asked to rank order the most Important local problems. Each conference and student respondent provided personal Information and Individual need l is ts allowing correlation comparisons between the needs rankings of demographic subgroups. Among conclusions resulting from the comparisons were: (1) Black leaders and public representatives perceive needs which a ffe c t black c itizen s as a rac ia l group and as c itizen s w ith in certa in socio­ economic and demographic c la ss ifica tio n s ; (2 ) There 1s a high, positive correlation between the ranked orders In which black leaders and public representatives place local needs; (3 ) There is a high, positive corre­ la tio n between the ranked orders 1n which black male and female re­ presentatives place local needs; (4) There 1s a moderate, positive correlation between the ranked orders In which black representatives within lower socioeconomic categories and those w ith in middle to upper socioeconomic categories place local problems; (5 ) There 1s a moderate, positive co rre la tio n between the ranked orders 1n which black younger and older adults place local problems; (6) There Is a low, positive correlation between the ranked orders 1n which black representatives with a high school education or less and those with more than a high school education place local needs. The resu lts of the survey suggest th a t, although black c itizens of Baton Rouge perceive a broad range of local needs, there 1s con­ siderable agreement concerning which are more Important.
Initial Teacher Training: the French view
ABSTRACT This paper, against the background of trends in the development of initial teacher training in Europe as a whole, identifies and explains some of the recent, radical reforms which were introduced in France by a socialist government. These include the need to raise the status and the competence of the teaching profession; the creation of new teacher‐training institutions of university status (Instituts universitaires de formation des maitres); the introduction of common entry qualifications at degree level for both primary and secondary levels; the harmonisation and the extension to 2 years of the post‐degree teacher‐training course and the increase in emphasis placed on professional training, both theoretical and practical. These reforms provoked a storm of protest and an examination of the reasons for this reveals a multiplicity of crucial questions which have far‐reaching implications.