GEVIRTZ, MAUREEN CLIFFORD; EDD

                         NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY, 1993

                         EDUCATION, ADMINISTRATION (0514); EDUCATION, VOCATIONAL (0747); EDUCATION, TEACHER TRAINING (0530)
 

                         This study examines the current implementation of job search instruction in the East County Area of the
                         San Diego County Regional Occupational Program, using the Concerns-Based Adoption Model
                         (CBAM). The research was designed to determine patterns in Stages of Concern and Levels of Use of an
                         innovation that has been in place for 4 years. The study is a pre-post experimental and control group
                         investigation of changes in Levels of Use and Stages of Concern as a function of an experimental
                         intervention based on pre-test measures on the Stages of Concern Questionnaire and the Level of Use
                         interview. Seventy-one randomly selected teachers from 10 high school and community college
                         locations participated in the study. Forty-seven teachers completed both pre- and post-measures and
                         participated in either a Job Search (JS) workshop, Job Search Visit (JSV), a Negative Behavior (NB) or a
                         Negative Behavior Visit (NBV) intervention. Pre-test findings indicated that respondents were primarily
                         focused on Awareness, Information, and Personal Stages of Concern. Interview results indicated that
                         70% of the teachers were using Job Search at a Routine Level of Use. Qualitative summaries were made
                         of Level of Use interview data. The apparent inconsistency of these findings was discussed. While
                         respondents self-reported user status, the Stages of Concern findings were more typical of nonusers.
                         This was attributed to a relative lack of interest in the long-standing innovation and an intense interest in
                         current information about pending changes in job search instruction coupled with personal concerns
                         about the innovation in a changing economic and organizational climate. A two-way ANOVA to evaluate
                         pre-post differences on each Stage of Concern demonstrated no statistical significance. Individual
                         changes in Overall Levels of Use were evaluated. Eighteen of the 47 respondents (38%) changed
                         Levels of Use. The null hypothesis that there would be no differences in pre- and post-measures of
                         Levels of Use or Stages of Concern for teachers who participated in interventions designed to respond
                         to their identified concerns and Levels of Use, as compared to a control group, was supported.

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