IMPACT OF CERTAIN SELECTED TYPES OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ON PARTICIPANTS FOLLOWING AN INSERVICE PROGRAM

The problem in this study was to determine the impact of technical assistance on workshop participants following an inservice program.;The following research questions were set fourth: (1) Is there a significant relationship between teacher attitudes toward promoting their home economics program by teachers who receive technical assistance and teachers who do not receive technical assistance? (2) Is there a significant relationship between teacher knowledge on how to promote their home economics program by teachers who receive technical assistance and teachers who do not receive technical assistance? (3) Is there a significant relationship between teachers implementing a public relations campaign for their home economics program by teachers who receive technical assistance and teachers who do not receive technical assistance?;The population for this study was participants who taught and/or supervised home economics programs in the State of Michigan. The particpants were educators who chose to participate in a public relations workshop during the 1980 fall regional inservices at either Grand Rapids or Troy, Michigan. The sample consisted of ninety-two home economics teachers.;An assessment instrument was developed to determine the attitudes, perceived knowledge and product implementation level of participants. The assessment instrument was administered four months after the inservice session during which time one-half of the participants received technical assistance.;The activity of this study centered around an inservice program designed for home economics teachers to promote their local home economics program.;This study should be considered a pilot study. Inferential statistics were used to test the relationship between the treatment and control groups and not for the purpose of generalizing back to a larger group of teachers.;Synopsis of Conclusions. (1) Technical assistance did not significantly impact teacher attitudes toward promoting their home economics program; or their knowledge on how to promote their program; or the implementation of a public relations campaign. (2) Technical assistance made a significant difference in the frequency of use of a series of promotional activities. (3) Technical assistance impacted teachers attitudes on how comfortable they felt about designing and producing a poster. (4) Technical assistance impacted teachers implementation of a public relationships campaign for identifying newsworthy accomplishments. (5) The small number of responses for some items may have caused error.