| The purpose of this study was to determine the status of aerospace education and teacher preferences for aerospace education instructional materials and resources in grades 3, 4, and 5. This research in grades 3, 4, and 5 was designed as a companion research project with that of Mary Lou Meadows which investigated grades kindergarten, 1, and 2.;There were 40 items in the questionnaire. The first section contained 10 items designed to gather demographic information. The second section contained 15 items concerning the status of aerospace education. The third section contained 15 items concerning the preferences of teachers for aerospace education instructional materials.;The crosstabulation procedure of SPSS was used to analyze the relationships between selected demographic variables and responses to various status items and needs items used in this study. There are also additional frequencies reported.;The findings of the study revealed that: (1) A majority of the respondents indicated that they taught aerospace education at least once each year. (2) Twenty-two of the respondents never taught aerospace education. (3) Sixty-seven of 125 respondents were unaware of the educational services provided by NASA. (4) The majority of the teachers include aerospace education as a part of their science curriculum. (5) Teachers felt deficient in knowledge of available materials, latest developments in aerospace education, and background of aerospace education. (6) The major reasons for not teaching aerospace education were lack of appropriate materials and lack of personal knowledge. (7) Most respondents said they would include planets, energy, stars, and space travel as content areas in teaching aerospace education. (8) Teachers preferred workshops and in-service for continuous educational improvement in regard to aerospace education. (9) Films and filmstrips were the preferred forms of audiovisuals for teaching aerospace education. (10) Worksheets were preferred by more teachers than other types of duplicating material.;Questionnaires were mailed to teachers in seven states. These states include Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee. |
