| The problem addressed was to identify and analyze perceived instructional needs of Michigan public community college accounting, data-processing, and economics faculty through a needs assessment questionnaire. The investigation likewise examined the extent to which these instructional needs might be met through inservice training, faculty preferences for inservice training, and factors contributing to participation in inservice training.;The instrument was validated by a pilot study and by three nationally known experts in staff development. Results of the study were analyzed by MANOVA, univariate F-tests, and chi-square techniques to determine if demographic variables affected respondents' perceptions of instructional needs and faculty preferences, for inservice training.;Although the means of the subject matter and instructional strategies clusters ranked the highest, few differences in the identification of perceived needs appeared. Only one independent variable, teaching discipline, contributed to significant differences. Data-processing faculty were the most likely group to perceive instructional needs, while economic faculty were the least likely group to perceive instructional needs.;Respondents apparently felt that inservice training has a relationship to meeting perceived instructional needs. One- to three-day seminars, rather than one-week to two-week workshops, predominated the respondents' choices of inservice training time duration. Respondents preferred the sponsorship of inservice training by community colleges and professional organizations.;The population consisted of full-time accounting, data-processing, and economics faculty in Michigan's 29 public community colleges. The survey instrument was based on 34 community college instructional needs assessments. Instructional competencies were categorized into seven clusters: evaluation, instructional technology, learning theory, planning and implementing instruction, relationships with students, subject matter, and teaching strategies.;A 56.6% return of the population indicated that the majority of respondents were male, in the 30- and 40-year age brackets, had 8 to 19 years of community college teaching experience, had master's degrees, had been employed in business or industry, had not completed formal teacher training, and had participated in inservice training within the past five years. |
